Postby Incisivis [ANF] » Fri Oct 19, 2007 6:01 pm
My non-refundable $0.02:
I think the Incest! angle bothered Shinji somewhat. I look at him as being sexually confused, in the sense that there's a part of him that's attracted to Rei, Misato, and Asuka, all in *that* way, but these feelings never solidify, are too nebulous and subconscious to be part of Shinji's "official" character. I think his "official" character grew to be focused on Asuka.
Besides the "she's not related to him in any biological or emotional sense" factor, I think what really drew Shinji to Asuka was that her bullying would draw him out of his shell, make Shinji argumentative and confrontational (look at episode 9 for examples). Shinji may be stuck in an emotional rut, but he certainly doesn't *want* to be, and Asuka's taunting was the closest he got to anyone helping him emotionally. (Misato gave good advice, but I never felt she really confronted Shinji). I think that's why he asks the sleeping Asuka, "Call me an idiot like you always do," in EoE.
I also think Shinji is in love with the image Asuka projects, that of the warrior. While that is a facade that crumbles, Shinji is still attached to the image, and wants to believe that she is strong and so is capable of helping him...because Shinji thinks he can't help himself.
Furthermore, I think Shinji just might be able to fall in love with anyone if they gave him what he wanted. That is why, in my mind, he gets rather flustered around Kaworu; it's not part of Shinji's individual makeup to be attracted to males, but Kaworu was a way towards some of the things Shinji wanted. The barrier of emotional or physical incest would be much harder to break, but I think it could happen.
I also believe, because Shinji seeks love in such a needy way and is so emotionally awkward, he does not, in the series and movies, have the capacity to love someone in a "real" way. I'm not saying he *couldn't*, but for now he only wants someone because they fill a certain need of his. Shinji can't see their needs, wants to take but not give. This isn't how he wants to be, but it's how he is. Such as in End of Evangelion, when he tells Asuka he wants to help her, but has no idea how.
As far as the significance of the kiss in episode 15 goes, I think it was part of Asuka's bid for affection, but there was some spitefulness in it, too, since Asuka often saw Shinji as a rival or simply disliked his attitudes. What Asuka felt for Shinji at that point in the series might have grown into love, but somewhere along the line it grew into hate in EoE.
Now, all that remains for my ideas is to figure out why Asuka would be attracted to Shinji...
Originally posted on: 10-Jul-2003, 23:22 GMT
