Rei has Aspergers / High Functioning Autism / NLD

[Stryker]

Mind Not Putting Capitals On Every Single Word.

Oh wait..

[Bagheera]

So, hmmm. Having recently been on the receiving end of some psychological/personality testing, and having recently gone over the results of said testing...

...I think applying labels to characters like this is a bad idea. Psychological problems, I'm finding, aren't like medical problems where you can objectively identify specific deficiencies and treat them. It's not like HIV, or cancer, or a fungal infection or an ulcer or something. It's just a set of tendencies that can shift over time and wax and wane depending on the situation.

In my case, the psychologist with whom I discussed my results didn't even care to use the names of specific disorders -- he could put a label on it, he said, but what's the point? We know what's wrong with me, and trying to fit it into a box somehow isn't going to help matters. Am I schizoid? Avoidant? Dependent? Depressive? Masochistic (which doesn't mean what we typically think it means)? Well, yes. Is there a specific disorder for all of that? No, not really. They're just tendencies that interact in various ways, and have produced a set of problems that I need to deal with.

Looking at Rei...well, is she really avoidant or schizoid or any of the above (or any of the other personality disorder scales)? Probably not. It's plain that, while she has very little experience with others, she nonetheless does want human contact. She seeks it out from Shinji, and ultimately betrays Gendo for its sake. Mind you, she looks schizoid because of her inexperience, which is why Asuka thinks of her as a doll, but ultimately...not so much. She's not a doll. She has feelings. She wants human contact. With that in mind, does anything else really fit? I don't think so. I don't think she's even had enough of a chance to think about such things to adequately address the question.

So, long story short, I don't think Rei has Asperger's. I don't think she's autistic. I don't even think she's particularly schizoid (or at least wouldn't be given time). I think she has her own unique set of problems, and that they really aren't comparable to the bulk of the human condition. In other words Rei is just Rei. There's nothing more to it than that.

[child of Lilith]

Great post, Bagheera. I agree with almost all of it.

[AuraTwilight]

Ditto. It's like, spot on in every sense.

On that note, Rei's circumstances are screwed as all hell. You can't call a conspiracy nut paranoid, for instance, if the government really is trying to probe his brain.

[Warren Peace]

I've always operated on my own little theory that Gendo had Rei genetically altered/drugged/otherwise modified to be as docile as she is. That mental fogginess (whatever you want to call it) keeps her in line to carry out his insidious plan. Until the end, anyway. If I were him, I'd want my super-scientists keeping her in check.

[Bagheera]

I've always operated on my own little theory that Gendo had Rei genetically altered/drugged/otherwise modified to be as docile as she is. That mental fogginess (whatever you want to call it) keeps her in line to carry out his insidious plan. Until the end, anyway. If I were him, I'd want my super-scientists keeping her in check.

That "mental fogginess" is inexperience. Gendo's mad plan for keeping Rei under his thumb is...rapport. He's nice to her, she likes him, simple as that. Nothing else is needed to explain her behavior toward him (which is why some chiding from Asuka and some affection from Shinji are all it takes to get her to change her mind).

[Trajan]

Is it a manipulative plan to leave her emotionally vulnerable? Or does he actually care about Rei like he would a daughter and her isolation is simply a misguided attempt at being overprotective?

[Someone]

^Maybe he just doesn't give a shit.

[Bagheera]

Is it a manipulative plan to leave her emotionally vulnerable? Or does he actually care about Rei like he would a daughter and her isolation is simply a misguided attempt at being overprotective?

Neither. She's important to his plans and she reminds him of Yui, so he values/protects her accordingly.

Someone: See the failed Unit 00 activation experiment. That is not the reaction of someone who doesn't give a shit. Said reaction obviously left a rather large impression on Rei, and she responded in quite appropriate fashion.

[Trajan]

^
Perhaps, but I think Gendo sees Rei as the child he wishes he had in that he is able to interact with her more easily. He obviously feels somewhat guilty over abandoning Shinji so perhaps Rei isn't just a replacement for his wife but for his son too and he therefore harbors parental feelings for her in a sense.

[child of Lilith]

He cares about her, it's just Yui will always be number 1.

[Warren Peace]

That "mental fogginess" is inexperience.

No way does that in and of itself explain her passivity. Even the most isolated girl would react a tad more strongly to a boy falling on her when she got out of the shower. It's not even that she feels embarrassed and isn't showing it, she just doesn't seem to register anything at all. There has to be something different about her, somehow.

If Rei's powers are comparable Kaworu's, then Gendo is dealing with a very powerful being that he would take every step to control. And even if she isn't, well, she still knows things that could make life very hard for him if she got too independent. As for how much Gendo genuinely cares for Rei, she seems to think it isn't completely heartfelt at the end. "I am not your puppet" are pretty harsh parting words.

EDIT: Oh, and sorry if this goes too far off into a tangent, but do we know if Gendo had the technology to replace Rei at the time of the activation disaster? If not, maybe that made him think, "Hey, maybe we should develop some kinda brain switcheroo thingamajig in case this chick dies so we can have another one. Make it so, Dr. Akagi!"

[Bagheera]

No way does that in and of itself explain her passivity. Even the most isolated girl would react a tad more strongly to a boy falling on her when she got out of the shower. It's not even that she feels embarrassed and isn't showing it, she just doesn't seem to register anything at all. There has to be something different about her, somehow.

That's not necessarily true, actually. There are a number of behavior reasons she might show that degree of passivity, and most of them don't involve "mental fogginess" or being drugged or what have you. And again, she does demonstrate emotional reactions at various points over the course of the show.

[Warren Peace]

What are those reasons, then? I'm certainly not saying she has no emotions, just that the idea of her being modified to be suggestible seems likely. Her mental age isn't enough -- if you think "chronic stoicism" is found in most four-year-olds, you haven't seen many. There are other possible reasons ("she's a weird ass alien!") but an organization like Nerv, powerful enough to transfer thought itself from one clone to another, certainly isn't above that.

[SaltyJoe]

What are those reasons, then?

Getting her soul split into pieces? If you follow the "Rei-I was in Unit-00" theory, at least. I grant you that, even though that might be the best explanation for Rei's overall demeanor, it doesn't give the impression that it's a process Nerv could actually control do make Rei docile.

[Bagheera]

What are those reasons, then? I'm certainly not saying she has no emotions, just that the idea of her being modified to be suggestible seems likely. Her mental age isn't enough -- if you think "chronic stoicism" is found in most four-year-olds, you haven't seen many. There are other possible reasons ("she's a weird ass alien!") but an organization like Nerv, powerful enough to transfer thought itself from one clone to another, certainly isn't above that.

That's not enough, though. You need evidence, not supposition. That evidence is thin on the ground when you consider the fact that she's animated, involved, and aware when the situation calls for it. Combine that with the fact that she isn't particularly suggestible with Shinji or Asuka, and seems to actively dislike Ritsuko, and the notion that she's been tailored to be suggestible seems unlikely.

Also, you're forgetting that she's not just a four-year-old -- she's a four-year-old with a fully developed brain and no socialization beyond what we see between her and Gendo (and to a lesser extent with Ritsuko). Given that I think her mental age, combined with the rapport Gendo's developed with her, is quite enough to explain her behavior.

[Warren Peace]

When it comes to Rei's background and what happens behind the scenes, all we have is speculation. Hell, even the "four-year-old" thing is supposition. You could just as easily say that Rei is melancholy because she remembers that time she got murdered. You can't avoid speculation on this stuff. Maybe she has all her prior memories.

That evidence is thin on the ground when you consider the fact that she's animated, involved, and aware when the situation calls for it.

Well, by Rei standards. Her most "animated" reactions are to physical pain. Otherwise she's pretty stoic. She blushes slightly and also stared really hard at Asuka that one time.

[AuraTwilight]

Rei's soul has been ripped in HALF. There's your answer. Compare Rei 1 and Rei 2.

[Stryker]

Bagheera, could it be more then just inexperience with others? Because I felt that although yes, she does have inexperience with other people, that she also has difficulty dealing with those problems? Or that she doesn't know what to say (that doesn't have to do with inexperience because you don't need experience in expressing yourself. Small talk though, does need experience) Because, I do remember seeing her have the perfect moment (in which experience isn't even needed), and then just fail at using it because she can't cope with even talking to people.

When Rei was talking to Gendo during dinner in 2.0 (a perfect moment), she seemed to be hesitant over every question she asked Gendo. I also felt that she was the same way when she was talking to Shinji at the Aquarium. Understandably, you might not like 2.0, but I cannot remember anything from NGE.

Warren, I think I would be more angry if I remembered I was murdered. And anyways, Rei III obviously shows that she doesn't remember being killed by Armisael, so why should Rei II remember being murdered? To add, Rei III would be the most likely one to remember that she was murdered, considering how she has both Rei II and Rei's souls. And even then, she wasn't either angry or sad. In fact, the only thing that has notably changed about her is her loss of memory and a detachment from Gendo.

[Bagheera]

Bagheera, could it be more then just inexperience with others? Because I felt that although yes, she does have inexperience with other people, that she also has difficulty dealing with those problems? Or that she doesn't know what to say (that doesn't have to do with inexperience because you don't need experience in expressing yourself. Small talk though, does need experience) Because, I do remember seeing her have the perfect moment (in which experience isn't even needed), and then just fail at using it because she can't cope with even talking to people.

Well, I'm not saying the girl doesn't have issues. Just that we don't have to resort to genetic tampering or drugs or serious personality disorders to explain her behavior. The partial soul business no doubt plays into it, of course, but as to how it manifests...who knows? I just don't see any real benefit to reading too much into it, you know?

When Rei was talking to Gendo during dinner in 2.0 (a perfect moment), she seemed to be hesitant over every question she asked Gendo. I also felt that she was the same way when she was talking to Shinji at the Aquarium.

Have you never felt that way, though? Given who Gendo is and what she was asking of him I thought her nervousness was quite appropriate. As for Shinji...he's someone new, and she has no idea how to deal with people. Isn't that to be expected?

But note that NME is a separate continuity, and that Rei's nature and history might very well be different there.

Warren, I think I would be more angry if I remembered I was murdered. And anyways, Rei III obviously shows that she doesn't remember being killed by Armisael, so why should Rei II remember being murdered? To add, Rei III would be the most likely one to remember that she was murdered, considering how she has both Rei II and Rei's souls. And even then, she wasn't either angry or sad. In fact, the only thing that has notably changed about her is her loss of memory and a detachment from Gendo.

Remember that the nature of Rei's souls is not a settled issue. It's likely that Rei I's soul went into Unit 00 (which is bafflingly stupid, but it's hard to parse it any other way given that chibi Rei, who appears in sync tests with Unit 00, is explicitly identified as Rei I in the scripts), and that Rei II thus got a separate fragment of Lilith's soul. We can't say anything about Rei III's soul, though; some have assumed that she has both Rei II's and Rei I's souls, and while there's some support for that it's awfully sketchy. She could just have a shiny new soul fragment just as her predecessor did.