Did Rei ever express sexual feelings in the series?

[Duke]

I was just wondering, because throughout the series Shinji and Asuka are all uhm... "OMFG YOU TRIED TO KISS ME IN MY SLEEP", or when Asuka kissed Shinji. Showing some form of sexual attraction.

Does Rei ever express sexual feelings in the series?

-Duke

[Combs]

When Armisael infected Unit-00 in 23', the other end manifests itself as Rei. It grabs out towards Unit-01, giving it a big hug, revealing her true, hidden sexual desire for him. Something never explicitly stated with Kaworu

That and the "would you like to become one with me" stuff.

[Duke]

That and the "would you like to become one with me" stuff.

I thought that that was just Shinji's mind evaluating itself? I'm probably mistaken.

[Combs]

Edit: That Hell's traincar sequence in EoE had the actual people talking to him, implied by Asuka's "If I can't have you all to myself" bit. Shinji couldn't come up with that. So it took place with the actual other characters in that twilight zone-ish kinda place.

[FreakyFilmFan4ever]

"What are sexual feelings?"

Other than episode 23, there was also a scene with Rei and Toji, when Toji tells Rei she has a "thing" for Shinji. There might have been a hint to a sexual desire in Rei bubbling up there.

As for the whole "Would you like to become one with me?" trip, I thought that was just the instrumentality combining the souls onto one, and Shinji rejecting it. At least that's all it was gonna be with Rei and Misato. But Asuka in EoE puts her foot own and says "If I can't have you all to myself, then I don't want any part of you!" (I think I'm paraphrasing.) Interestingly enough, both Shinji and Asuka reject instrumentality after that little argument. I would wonder if there was a connection between their argument and their decision to reject instrumentality, but I'm already WAY off topic.

[Sailor Star Dust]

Rei's "I want to become one with Ikari-kun. ...No." line in 23' always seemed like a reference to this:



eg, Instrumentality instead of anything sexual. Rei or Kaworu just never struck me as sexual/romantic characters in terms of their feelings for Shinji.

[scarmullet]

Rei's "I want to become one with Ikari-kun. ...No." line in 23' always seemed like a reference to this:

Lol, they are playing Evangelion....

Rei is the Eva, and Shinji is the Entry Plug and Shinji doesn't seem to be enjoying it.

[icomeanon4]

Rei or Kaworu just never struck me as sexual/romantic characters in terms of their feelings for Shinji.

One thing that people often forget is that sex is not love. When Kaoru says that he loves Shinji, and when Rei implies that she does as well, it means that they love him as a person. It does not mean that the sight of him makes their hormones kick in. Describing Kaoru as either a homosexual or a heterosexual makes no sense, because there is nothing sexual about his words or actions. As for Rei, her scenes involving nudity early on establish her lack of regard to or even ignorance of sexuality, in visible contrast to Shinji.

Upon deeper scrutiny, I think it's clear that the themes of nakedness with Shinji, Rei, and Kaoru allude to the removal of barriers between the souls, rather than anything to do with sexuality. This is especially evident when contrasted to the relationship between Shinji and Asuka, which has more to do with the process of becoming a sexually mature adult.

[FreakyFilmFan4ever]

Describing Kaoru as either a homosexual or a heterosexual makes no sense, because there is nothing sexual about his words or actions. As for Rei, her scenes involving nudity early on establish her lack of regard to or even ignorance of sexuality, in visible contrast to Shinji.

Upon deeper scrutiny, I think it's clear that the themes of nakedness with Shinji, Rei, and Kaoru allude to the removal of barriers between the souls, rather than anything to do with sexuality. This is especially evident when contrasted to the relationship between Shinji and Asuka, which has more to do with the process of becoming a sexually mature adult.

Agreed. Those are often confused (even by myself). And cootoes for actually interpreting those nude scenes properly!

[Chrad]

One thing that people often forget is that sex is not love. When Kaoru says that he loves Shinji, and when Rei implies that she does as well, it means that they love him as a person. It does not mean that the sight of him makes their hormones kick in. Describing Kaoru as either a homosexual or a heterosexual makes no sense, because there is nothing sexual about his words or actions. As for Rei, her scenes involving nudity early on establish her lack of regard to or even ignorance of sexuality, in visible contrast to Shinji.

Upon deeper scrutiny, I think it's clear that the themes of nakedness with Shinji, Rei, and Kaoru allude to the removal of barriers between the souls, rather than anything to do with sexuality. This is especially evident when contrasted to the relationship between Shinji and Asuka, which has more to do with the process of becoming a sexually mature adult.

This is all very true.

[Sailor Star Dust]

icomeanon4: Thank you for that post.

[Duke]

icomeanon4's post was epic win.

Another thing I was wondering, since Rei/Kaouru house the souls of Lilith and Adam respectively, could the angels actually feel sexually attracted to anything?

[Timstuff]

That would depend on what you define the soul as, I suppose. Really though, it's too late at night and I'm too sleepy to think hard about it, and I have to get up early tomorrow...

[Duke]

Then go to bed. :P

[NemZ]

It does not mean that the sight of him makes their hormones kick in.

...nor does it mean that they don't do that as well. Parallel process that often, but not always, coincide.

As for Rei, her scenes involving nudity early on establish her lack of regard to or even ignorance of sexuality, in visible contrast to Shinji.

Or it means that she has so little regard for herself that she just doesn't care what happens so long as she can get to work on time. Also note that at this point in the story she doesn't seem to like Shinji much at all... giving him the stink-eye in the halls of the hospital and so on doesn't stop until he mimics Gendo by saving her in ep6.

Upon deeper scrutiny, I think it's clear that the themes of nakedness with Shinji, Rei, and Kaoru allude to the removal of barriers between the souls, rather than anything to do with sexuality.

Except that sex is in some ways an attempt at exactly the same goal... to synchronize body and mind with a partner in an attempt to come as close as possible to being one single entity for a few brief moments. Modern sensibilities may have sanitized the notion, but sexuality and spirituality are very closely linked concepts. Thus if you can watch the various interactions of Shinji, GNR, GNK, Unit 01, the LoL, and LCL sea Rei/Lilith as completely non-sexual then I think that says a lot more about you than it does about the characters.

This is especially evident when contrasted to the relationship between Shinji and Asuka, which has more to do with the process of becoming a sexually mature adult.

I think Asuka/Shinji has more to do with Lust than love, and should be viewed as a treatise on miscommunication, self-deception and psychological projection rather than anything even remotely approaching a mature view on sex.

[oOoOoOo]

Does Rei ever express sexual feelings in the series?

sexual
1. of or relating to having sex (as in verb phrase usage; e.g. sexual reproduction)
2. of or relating to the sex of an organism (as in concrete noun usage; e.g. male or female)
3. of or relating to sexuality (as in abstract noun usage; e.g. sexual behavior)

Using the power of language, it now becomes apparent that Rei does express sexual feelings in the series. Let's find out more~

When Kaoru says that he loves Shinji, and when Rei implies that she does as well, it means that they love him as a person. It does not mean that the sight of him makes their hormones kick in.

Well, the biological material within Rei's body (being from Yui) might be reacting to the association Rei seems to make between Gendo and Shinji. There are so many layers to the character to consider. What is Rei? What is Lilith? Etc.

There certainly is a more than platonic quality to Rei's feelings for Shinji, but that's almost beside the point.

We could look at Rei's reaction to Shinji's "good mother" comment. Is she reacting because of the thought of making babies with Shinji? The idea of being a mother in general? The fact that she is his pseudo-mother to begin with? All of these are sexual thoughts. The fact that she reacts to the comment is proof enough that the answer to this thread's question is "yes".

Describing Kaoru as either a homosexual or a heterosexual makes no sense, because there is nothing sexual about his words or actions.

There are plenty of sexual things about Adam and Lilith, specifically the fact that they are mothers. Menstrual blood is huge in Evangelion, and she herself is aware of this sexual situation, as noted in "Rei's Monologue". Does her clone body not bleed? Is she saying "Lilith" bleeds LCL not blood? To be thinking of this, she clearly has sexual awareness.

We also know Adam and Lilith are inhabiting biological adolescent bodies going through puberty, meaning there would be hormones at work. Whether or not Lilith cared for Shinji consciously, she might not be able to stop herself from blushing like a school girl over the delicate piece of glass in her homeroom.

As for Rei, her scenes involving nudity early on establish her lack of regard to or even ignorance of sexuality, in visible contrast to Shinji.

Knowledge of sex, sexuality, or gender is not required for sexual feelings. Being aware is not a prerequisite for feeling. She may be indifferent or numb, as eluded to by Nemz.

Upon deeper scrutiny, I think it's clear that the themes of nakedness with Shinji, Rei, and Kaoru allude to the removal of barriers between the souls, rather than anything to do with sexuality.

It is an interesting creative choice to use a scene of vaginal penetration to reflect on the supposedly non-sexual union of all things, isn't it? Where were all the naked boys asking Shinji to become one with them? I only remember three naked girls, each at some point having some level of sexual tension with the protagonist.

As it is, all vices (sex, drugs, etc) are attempts to "become one". The language used to describe nirvana, intoxication, and orgasm are all rather similar. Visual abstractions are likely going to be the same, but it certainly isn't necessary to depict vaginal penetration to visually express the idea of becoming one.

This is especially evident when contrasted to the relationship between Shinji and Asuka, which has more to do with the process of becoming a sexually mature adult.

Asuka's personality and her cozy living arrangements probably had a large influence on this. Although I think Asuka is Shinji's one true and only eternal love from beyond time, I don't think it was the only plausible pairing.

[Chrad]

As for Rei, her scenes involving nudity early on establish her lack of regard to or even ignorance of sexuality, in visible contrast to Shinji.

Or it means that she has so little regard for herself that she just doesn't care what happens so long as she can get to work on time. Also note that at this point in the story she doesn't seem to like Shinji much at all... giving him the stink-eye in the halls of the hospital and so on doesn't stop until he mimics Gendo by saving her in ep6.

It's hard to ignore that the scene is establishing that Rei is completely out of touch with her sexuality.
Any normal person would react with shame, embarrassment...SOME obvious show of emotion. That's the nature of people when confronted by sex. Shinji's reactions in this scene, a perfect example of this, are contrasted with Rei's total obliviousness (or abnormal lack of concern) in there having been any sexual connotations to what has just taken place.
What she thinks of Shinji is irrelevant. In fact, it should stir a reaction from someone even more so that they are in such a position with a person they dislike.

Upon deeper scrutiny, I think it's clear that the themes of nakedness with Shinji, Rei, and Kaoru allude to the removal of barriers between the souls, rather than anything to do with sexuality.

Except that sex is in some ways an attempt at exactly the same goal... to synchronize body and mind with a partner in an attempt to come as close as possible to being one single entity for a few brief moments. Modern sensibilities may have sanitized the notion, but sexuality and spirituality are very closely linked concepts. Thus if you can watch the various interactions of Shinji, GNR, GNK, Unit 01, the LoL, and LCL sea Rei/Lilith as completely non-sexual then I think that says a lot more about you than it does about the characters.

It's certainly true that Anno is using sexual metaphors to illustrate the closeness of instrumentality, and the spiritual and mental highs that it gives participants.

[oOoOoOo]

Any normal person would react with shame, embarrassment...SOME obvious show of emotion. That's the nature of people when confronted by sex.

Tell me more about the nature of people when confronted by sex. Do you observe a lot of shame and embarrassment in your field research? ^_~

What she thinks of Shinji is irrelevant. In fact, it should stir a reaction from someone even more so that they are in such a position with a person they dislike.

Unless she is indifferent to him at this stage.

See also: my epic post above!

[AuraTwilight]

Instrumentality is a metaphor for sex. Therefore everyone wants to bonk everyone in the world, except for Shinji, who only wants to bonk two or three people. Rei wants to bonk Shinji. Kaworu's just circlejerking and making Shinji watch. /thread.

[THE Hal E. Burton 9000]

^I haven't heard that before