Asuka when the boys call around

[ObsessiveMathsFreak]

I'm pretty sure this hasn't been discussed before, but I wanted to bring up a small detail from Episode #12, when Toji and Kensuke call around to Misato's apartment, to get in out of the rain. Shinji offers the pair towels so they can all dry their wet hair.

Toji: Thanks, Shinji, you really saved us from the rain.
[wkimg]12 C028.jpg[/wkimg] [wkimg]12 C030b.jpg[/wkimg]

As Toji and Kensuke urge Shinji to be quiet so as not to wake Misato, Asuka lets out a peal from the bathroom.

Asuka: What are you guys doing here?!
Shinji: Taking shelter from the rain.
Asuka: You sure you guys aren't after me?
Well, I'm changing, so if you peep, I'll kill you!

[wkimg]12 C035c.jpg[/wkimg]
Asuka is dressed in her school uniform. Later, we are also shown Asuka wearing her yellow dress and drying her hair.
[wkimg]12 C051b.jpg[/wkimg]
This all seems pretty straightforward. Asuka has also been caught in the rain and is changing out of her wet uniform and drying her hair.

Except, we are then shown the following cut, which appears to turn the above conclusion completely on its head.
[wkimg]12 Asuka Shoes Umbrella.jpg[/wkimg]
Asuka's school shoes are shown next to an umbrella. It's not Shinji's as he is also drying his hair. The implication here is that Asuka had an umbrella with her when he was going home, and thus did not get wet. Her towel drying of her hair is an act!

I'm not really able to go any farther with this observation, particularly into Asuka's motivation for putting on this charade. I note that the shows and umbrella cut is shown along with Toji's spoken words about how himself and Kensuke are the only ones with any human compassion
Toji: We're the only ones who've got any human compassion.
Kensuke also noted earlier in the scene that Asuka was "Way too self conscious".

Another point that should be made is that, unlike Shinji, Asuka rarely wears her school uniform in Misato's apartment.

The only explanations I can think of are:
a) Asuka is making up an excuse for changing into her dress to show off in front of the visiting Toji and Kensuke. She did more or less do this before in episode #08, but would she really do so again for Toji and Kensuke? Alternatively
b) Asuka routinely dresses in various outfits, or else was going to change into one, and needed to find some excuse to do so when Toji and Kensuke called around. This seems unlikely, as she started off in her uniform anyway.

I'd really like to know what other people think here. Exactly what is Asuka up to in this scene? Is the shot of the shoes and umbrella really meant to undermine Asuka's overt actions here? Your thoughts on this?

Full Scene text  SPOILER: Show

TOJI (OFF): Thanks, Shinji, you really saved us from the rain.

KENSUKE (OFF): Where's Miss Misato?

Shinji (OFF):I guess she must still be asleep.
She's been working all night recently.

TOJI (OFF) :That's right, she has a tough job.

KENSUKE: Let's keep it quiet so that we don't wake her up.

Asuka: What are you guys doing here?!

Shinji: Taking shelter from the rain.

Asuka: You sure you guys aren't after me?
Well, I'm changing, so if you peep, I'll kill you!

TOJI: Shut up, ya idiot! Who'd wanna see ya changin' clothes?!

KENSUKE: She's way too self-conscious.

KENSUKE: Sorry for disturbing you!

Misato: Well, welcome, you two.
I see you're back. We've got a harmonics test tonight, so don't be late.

Shinji: Right.

Misato: Did you hear that, Asuka?

Asuka (OFF): Yes, Ma'am!

KENSUKE: Congratulations on your promotion!

TOJI: Congratulations!

Misato: Thank you.

KENSUKE: You're most welcome.

Misato: Well, see you later.

TOJI & KENSUKE: See you!

Shinji:What's up? Did something happen to Miss Misato?

KENSUKEidn't you see her collar tab? The number of lines increased to two.
That means that she's been promoted from captain to major.

Asuka:Really? I didn't notice that.

Shinji:Yeah, I wonder when...

TOJI:Are ya serious? You guys are pathetic!

KENSUKEon't you two have any compassion?
You know, it's a tough job for someone so young
to foster two junior high kids!

TOJI: We're the only ones who've got any human compassion.

[Monk Ed]

OMF IT IS SO GOOD TO HAVE YOU BACK I CAN BARELY MAINTAIN MY COMPOSURE.

You don't even know me but I LOVE YOU

r analysis

How can we be so many years on from this show and still these little character-revealing details keep popping up?

I in particular am glad to have things like this pointed out because it makes me want to work on that thing I keep talking about but never finish

Ahem! Anyway.

It seems a little weird that Asuka would go to the trouble of fake-drying her hair if it was not obviously wet. Also, isn't there a possibility that the umbrella was just already there and not used by anyone, including Asuka? And was she changing for the boys or for Shinji?

I'm assuming the passage of time precludes the possibility that she simply took a shower as part of changing clothes.

[TheFriskyIan]

It seems a little weird that Asuka would go to the trouble of fake-drying her hair if it was not obviously wet. Also, isn't there a possibility that the umbrella was just already there and not used by anyone, including Asuka? And was she changing for the boys or for Shinji?

I was thinking the umbrella might have just been there too. Also, if she was changing for anybody it would be for Shinji. She's been known to try and attract him before such as in the case of Thermal Expansion, it isn't too far stretched to think she would try to put the thought of peeping into his mind.

[Monk Ed]

I was thinking the umbrella might have just been there too. Also, if she was changing for anybody it would be for Shinji. She's been known to try and attract him before such as in the case of Thermal Expansion, it isn't too far stretched to think she would try to put the thought of peeping into his mind.

If it was for the other boys, though, it puts a different cast on her character, which is why finding this out is important to me. It makes Shinji less special and Asuka more of a teaser in general, or something like that .

The clue about the umbrella doesn't even matter here, actually -- one way or another she's really drawing attention to the fact that she's changing with her whole "Don't throw me into that briar patch" type proclamation. I don't even see why she'd need to pretend she got caught in the rain, when it's logical enough that she might just want to change into something other than her stuffy school uniform.

[TheFriskyIan]

If it was for the other boys, though, it puts a different cast on her character, which is why finding this out is important to me. It makes Shinji less special and Asuka more of a teaser in general, or something like that .

Which is why I doubt she would do it for the other two. She doesn't really seem to show any care or interest at all for any of their other classmates other than Hikari. And besides this and her comment about her breasts, I don't recall her doing much teasing, but that could just be the fact that it's been some time since I actually went through the T.V. show.

[Baz]

When she asks them not to peep, she's in the shower.

When she's towelling her hair in her sundress, she's in her room.

So it should be obvious how her hair got wet... it wasn't the rain. I think the real question should be, what was she wearing from the shower to her bedroom?

[Bryan]

Very interesting! The shot actually lasts for quite a while, about as long as you can comfortably look at a pair of shoes and an umbrella. It definitely seems to be intentionally saying something. Maybe she did come up with this plot as an excuse to look good in her dress around Shinji. I'm reminded of Scott Pilgrim when Lisa Miller has a reunion with Scott after a very long time and she happens to be in a very revealing outfit which Scott can't stop looking at. She likes his response so much that she only wears very revealing outfits around him.

When she asks them not to peep, she's in the shower.

I havn't memorized the layout of Misato's apartment, but isn't the bathroom separated by more than a curtain? And if she was showering, wouldn't she say "I'm showering" instead of "I'm changing". Not to mention she's done by the time they see Misato off after a few words.

[Monk Ed]

I just reviewed that scene. Actually, she never goes to her bedroom. When she reappears in her sundress, it's in the entrance hallway. Asuka simply went straight from the bathroom to there, wearing the clothes that she obviously brought with her into the bathroom.

Seems like there's no mystery here. Asuka got home, took a shower, changed her clothes.

[Bryan]

I just reviewed that scene. Actually, she never goes to her bedroom. When she reappears in her sundress, it's in the entrance hallway. Asuka simply went straight from the bathroom to there, wearing the clothes that she obviously brought with her into the bathroom.

Seems like there's no mystery here. Asuka got home, took a shower, changed her clothes.

I could be missing something, but what makes you think she's showering? If she was, wouldn't showering be the event to mention? Don't look at me, I'm showering! Why would she only mention changing, something only quickly done after a relatively long shower? Or is that just how Japanese people talk?

[ObsessiveMathsFreak]

If it was for the other boys, though, it puts a different cast on her character, which is why finding this out is important to me. It makes Shinji less special and Asuka more of a teaser in general, or something like that .

Just as you mention this, I am reminded of Asuka's other odd turnabout in episode #09 when she perks up on hearing herself and Shinji will be alone, only to grow stern immediately thereafter. Maybe this is all part of a pattern of obfuscated behaviour on Asuka's part. Perhaps we're being shown here an explicit example of Asuka lying about what she is doing.

When she asks them not to peep, she's in the shower.

When she's towelling her hair in her sundress, she's in her room.

Asuka tells them that she is changing. And when she is towelling her hair, she's standing in the kitchen, leaning out into the hallway. Here's the layout of Misato's apartment for comparision.

There's really not enough time to Asuka to have taken a shower, and she says she's changing. Also, Asuka takes baths.

[wkimg]09 C214e.jpg[/wkimg] [wkimg]16 C009c.jpg[/wkimg] [wkimg]22 C331.jpg[/wkimg]

[Baz]

Yeah, I see now that she's towelling off in the kitchen.

But honestly, who goes into the bathroom just to change clothes?

Also, she was caught unawares, so if she did have the sundress in the bathroom, it wasn't for their sake. She either went to her bedroom to get it after cleaning up (instead of the usual shorts-and-shirt that she wears around the house), or she rushed to her bedroom to grab it when she heard them in the genkan, and her surprise was just an act.

Edit: typos.

[MoroNoKimi]

Given that the tsundere archetype has a pattern of repeated lying alternated with letting little bits of true feelings "slip though" then that fits, especially with that additional piece of evidence.

There wouldn't be time to shower or take a bath, but I wonder if as part of the charade she would have had time to essentially run into the bathroom, get her hair wet, and then run back out in time to be toweling her hair off? Animation being the way it is we can't necessarily tell but we could assume that the other characters would be able to.

Although the evidence seems to clearly point to deliberate deception on her part regardless of the fine details of how it was done.

[Monk Ed]

There's really not enough time to Asuka to have taken a shower, and she says she's changing. Also, Asuka takes baths.

Why wouldn't there be enough time? There's a sudden cut indicating an unspecified passage of time between when Misato et al are in the kitchen talking and when they're seeing Misato off. Furthermore, why would Asuka go into the bathroom and not her bedroom just to change? Who goes to their bedroom, picks out clothes, then goes all the way to the bathroom just to change there and not do anything else like take a shower? And even if she takes baths on some regular basis, that doesn't mean she'd never take a quick shower.

And why "dry" your hair (fakely) if it wasn't obviously wet before when they could obviously see her?

Although the evidence seems to clearly point to deliberate deception on her part regardless of the fine details of how it was done.

She's obviously calling attention to herself, and doing so in a manner that reminds me of the Wall of Jericho scene.

[Bryan]

Why wouldn't there be enough time? There's a sudden cut indicating an unspecified passage of time between when Misato et al are in the kitchen talking and when they're seeing Misato off. Furthermore, why would Asuka go into the bathroom and not her bedroom just to change? Who goes to their bedroom, picks out clothes, then goes all the way to the bathroom just to change there and not do anything else like take a shower? And even if she takes baths on some regular basis, that doesn't mean she'd never take a quick shower.

I'll go one further: Why dry your hair after changing your clothes if you just came out of the rain and are (supposedly) dripping wet?

Maybe that one's easier to explain, but why "dry" your hair (fakely) if it wasn't obviously wet before when they could obviously see her?

In NME she makes a big fuss about how there's no privacy in the bedroom since there's no lock, but there would have to be in the bathroom, wouldn't there? So that could explain it. It's also probably hard to tell if someone's hair is truly wet or if they're drying dry hair.

[Monk Ed]

In NME she makes a big fuss about how there's no privacy in the bedroom since there's no lock, but there would have to be in the bathroom, wouldn't there? So that could explain it. It's also probably hard to tell if someone's hair is truly wet or if they're drying dry hair.

Fantastic point! She also mentions the lack of door locks in the original. That certainly takes care of why she'd change in the bathroom if it was just to change clothes. However, even given that, I think a few things still don't add up:

(1) Most importantly of all, why bother to pretend she's been caught out in the rain? She doesn't need the excuse; Asuka always changes into something else when she's home anyway.

(2) Why even put on the facade that she was caught out in the rain when everyone could clearly see her hair and its dryness before she even got started?

[NemZ]

Alternatively, perhaps the point is that these are things Misato didn't take with her? When she walked out of her room she obviously didn't have shoes on and then just got the hell out of there, not grabbing the umbrella or stopping to put shoes on.

Is she just embarrassed about her promotion for some reason? I have no idea what else that could mean though.

[BC Baron]

And even if she takes baths on some regular basis, that doesn't mean she'd never take a quick shower.

Not sure whether this is helpful at all (granted, my assumption is based mostly on fanfiction), but I always thought all three pilots regularly took quick showers in NERV's locker rooms immediately following synch testing in order to rinse excess LCL out of their hair.

You sure you guys aren't after me?
Well, I'm changing, so if you peep, I'll kill you!

She's obviously calling attention to herself, and doing so in a manner that reminds me of the Wall of Jericho scene.

Once again, I'm a bit out of my element here, but I'm thinking that just because Asuka claims she doesn't want any of the boys to peep, doesn't necessarily mean that she doesn't want them to want to peep, if that makes any sense.

[NemZ]

Once again, I'm a bit out of my element here, but I'm thinking that just because Asuka claims she doesn't want any of the boys to peep, doesn't necessarily mean that she doesn't want them to want to peep, if that makes any sense.

Makes perfect sense. I thought that was just assumed though, Asuka being Asuka and all that.

It's that she's lying (or that Misato took off barefoot and with no umbrella in the rain for some reason) that is noteworthy.

[Dima]

Nice observation you have there.

I think there is a high chance that her towel drying of her hair is an act.I doubt that the umbrella was there from the start mostly because it wouldn't make sense to show it and it's not the right place for a closed umbrella either.They could just show the shoes and not the umbrella.Also the umbrella seems to be opened and usually we put an umbrella on a special basket.

I think you found something mister.

[Elect G-Max]

Simple, straightforward explanations:

- It was Misato's umbrella, and Asuka really had walked in the rain.

- She was toweling her hair off because she spilled soup in it.

- The animators just couldn't be bothered to keep track of details like this, and not everything makes sense.

Asuka fanboys