What were the words Kaji couldn't say to Misato 8 years ago?

[Princess Asuka]

You know the answering machine message.

"I'll say the words that I couldn't say 8 years ago."

What are they?

[ChaddyManPrime]

Let me take a guess Good Mam

"I left the stove on"

"I love you"

"37!?"

"Misato, will you marry me?"

"I think you, Ritsuko, and I should" *Makes a gesture with his hands*

"You don't deserve to be happy"

"What the hell did you cook?"

"Oh God is this poison?"

[ElMariachi]

My guess would be "I love you and I want to marry you".

[pwhodges]

I imagine that he already said "I love you" in their youthful passion, so the obvious next step is "Marry me" or some socially acceptable alternative wording: "Let's make a baby - we could call it Shinji".

[ChaddyManPrime]

^
Oh God I could imagine how Shinji would feel about that.

[Firetrout]

I have the strangest feeling he was going to say "You remind me of my mother."

[robersora]

I'll go with
"Smack you hottest gear onto your body; Daddy's coming home tonight!"

[Kendrix]

Some of the dialogue/motifs used there are clearly meant to in invoke "basic fond romance memory tropes' - it sounds poetic in itself, like ep 24's "the password is our first memory" - We never learn what that is, either.


But if Anno had an actual line in mind, I'm pretty certain it was "Marry me."

Because of the entire Christmas Cake complex subplot and Misato being griped about it in eps 1 and 15, when she and Ritsuko were conversing about how all their same-age friends were getting married by the dozen and Ritsuko jibs her about 'just being afraid she'll be left over'

Then, she gets some unexpected smoochies of her own in that same episode... yeah. It's a motif~


While they already have Asuka and Shinji for children and might even go on to formally adopt them, I don't think either of them would be too keen about the procreating, if they had a kid, it would be because, "Ooops, I forgot the pill from all the morning beer". It'd probably involve Ritsuko, and Asuka gleefully destroying all the alcohol and caffeine in their dwellings....

Of course, that bubble was popped already when that SEELE goon got him

[obliterates]

Remember this is Japanese culture we are talking about. Even many married couples go their whole lives without hearing the words "I love you" in its formal sense. While I'm sure Misato heard the words "Suki" and even "daisuki" (I love you/I adore you) in college, she never got the committed, formal declaration of undying love: "aishiteru". Finally, he planned on saying it to her now.

I can't see it likely that Kaji and Misato would get married, even with a recognized formal declaration of love. Misato comes from a divorced home, Kaji has no family whatsoever: that's really not any grounds to get engaged in a Japanese society. And I'm sure Misato has a lot of hangups surrounding "marriage" and "revenge and duty". I can imagine her, after getting over her shock, saying no. Kaji probably already knows about this anyway.

Marriage and love can be mutually exclusive. Also, in on of the Eva Panchinko games, Kaji actually says the words: and all it is "Aishiteruze, Katsuragi."

That's a pretty big bomb by itself, marriage proposal or no.

[ElMariachi]

I can't see it likely that Kaji and Misato would get married, even with a recognized formal declaration of love. Misato comes from a divorced home, Kaji has no family whatsoever: that's really not any grounds to get engaged in a Japanese society.

But take also in account that they live in a world where Second Impact happened, which killed half of the world's population, so mostly everyone lost at least one member of its family, so people who lost both their parents like Kaji wouldn't be that rare of an occurrence that it would prevent a marriage.

[Chuckman]

In the original Japanese it would be a formal declaration of love, in English it would be a sincere marriage proposal. They carry the same weight.

I say sincere because if I had a girlfriend that was willing to do nothing but have sex and lay in bed for an entire week, adored me, and took it up the butt, I would propose every day.

Sex is cheap, love is precious. What bugs me about the whole thing is that Kaji is not dying for Misato's sake (which would be equivalent, thematically) but is placing his own goal ahead of happiness with her. Hence I take all his poetic nonsense about distant shores with a grain of salt.

[obliterates]

I guess I mean that while we don't know what Kaji's family life was like Pre Second Impact, losing everything at fourteen or fifteen years old and being forced to be two parents at that age isn't much of a foundation for a future marriage. Same with Misato, though her problem concerns an already broken family unit.

What bugs me about the whole thing is that Kaji is not dying for Misato's sake (which would be equivalent, thematically) but is placing his own goal ahead of happiness with her. Hence I take all his poetic nonsense about distant shores with a grain of salt.

Kaji was learning about the imminent destruction of the universe as they knew it. I think he just assumed the happiness wasn't worth it, or in the end it would be meaningless.

Or, he recognized that Misato would be more capable of making a change than him. Kaji struck me as a person who knew his place and stuck with it till his grave.

[Catamari]

"Be sure to drink your Ovaltine."

[Chuckman]

Kaji was learning about the imminent destruction of the universe as they knew it. I think he just assumed the happiness wasn't worth it, or in the end it would be meaningless

Valar morghulis. He committed suicide by thug to escape his entanglement with Misato.

[ChaddyManPrime]

^
Bro, is that Black Speech and Elvish?

[Nuclear Lunchbox]

In my personal headcanon, Kaji's words would be "I love you." While I don't know if it's the most realistic of options, its what I like to believe (and I've never really been told otherwise.)

[Mr. Tines]

Bro, is that Black Speech and Elvish?

2 seconds with a search engine points at Game of Thrones.

[Dataprime]

I just always assumed he was trying to say that he was sorry for all the
pain he put Misato thru; and was asking for forgiveness.

[Princess Asuka]

In my personal headcanon, Kaji's words would be "I love you." While I don't know if it's the most realistic of options, its what I like to believe (and I've never really been told otherwise.)

I agree with you on this, Nuke-kun.

Something along the lines of I love you, let's get married.

[Ornette]

I just always assumed he was trying to say that he was sorry for all the
pain he put Misato thru; and was asking for forgiveness.

8 years ago was when Misato ran away from Kaji because he reminded her too much of her father, so it doesn't seem like "sorry" was what he wanted to say back then. Together, with his lack of commitment, the words that he couldn't say back then was probably a marriage proposal.