"Curse of Eva"

Discussion of the new series of Evangelion movies ( "Evangelion Shin Gekijōban", meaning "Evangelion: New Theatrical Edition"). The final instalment made its debut in Japan on March 8, 2021.

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Postby Warren Peace » Tue Feb 19, 2013 5:32 pm

As has been said, the idea of stunted, perpetual adolescent has lots of narrative possibilities. That kinda thing is right up Anno's alley.

It also kept the time skip a secret in the previews (and related merch). If Asuka/Mari had been drawn somehow older, people could have caught on ahead of time.

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Postby Angel of Will » Thu May 02, 2013 10:24 am

My interpretation was that in order to keep their Eva pilots, NERV or WILLE administered stunting hormones or something, as it had been mentioned (not sure if in Rebuild, but certainly in NGE) that only 14 year olds can pilot them.

In which case, Asuka's line "It's the curse of Eva" was just expressive language, or a pseudo-explanation to throw back at Shinji's question.
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Postby driftking18594 » Thu May 02, 2013 10:26 am

View Original PostAngel of Will wrote:My interpretation was that in order to keep their Eva pilots, NERV or WILLE administered stunting hormones or something, as it had been mentioned (not sure if in Rebuild, but certainly in NGE) that only 14 year olds can pilot them.

In which case, Asuka's line "It's the curse of Eva" was just expressive language, or a pseudo-explanation to throw back at Shinji's question.


Both Mari and Asuka got too close to their Eva's cores (02 in Mari's case, 03 in Asuka's). That's my personal theory as to why they can't age.

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Postby Lennik » Thu May 02, 2013 12:17 pm

View Original Postdriftking18594 wrote:Both Mari and Asuka got too close to their Eva's cores (02 in Mari's case, 03 in Asuka's). That's my personal theory as to why they can't age.


In which case, Shinji probably won't age either, considering how close he got at the end of 2.0.

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Postby Angel of Will » Thu May 02, 2013 12:24 pm

I dunno. Eva has tended to have a theme of forging one's own future. Thematically, it would make more sense for them to start aging again once this is over (speculation, of course). Whatever the mechanics are behind it, whether it be accidental or forced, I'd like to think that it's only temporary, and that once they no longer have to pilot Eva, they'll start aging again.
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Postby Grimmjow » Thu May 02, 2013 2:04 pm

I just get the feeling that the Curse of Eva was invented so the fans wouldn't get angry at "Old" Asuka and Mari.

That being said, since being in an Eva is supposed to mimic being inside of your mother's womb, I do understand the eternal youth part of the equation thematically.

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Postby Angel of Will » Thu May 02, 2013 3:59 pm

Yeah; you got my drift. So I think it would fit once the pilots make a life for themselves and get rid of Eva, that the 'curse should lift'.
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Postby sephiros » Thu May 02, 2013 5:25 pm

View Original PostAngel of Will wrote:Whatever the mechanics are behind it, whether it be accidental or forced, I'd like to think that it's only temporary, and that once they no longer have to pilot Eva, they'll start aging again.

Maybe whatever happened around N3I caused the curse. Something made all that weird shit in Gendo's basement, it could be connected. It would also give Anno an easy excuse for them to start aging/growing again. Although it would fit, it seems a little too fairy-tale for eva.
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Postby kuribo-04 » Sat May 11, 2013 8:50 pm

So is Asuka "28 years old" (mentally) or is it not confirmed?
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Postby Jadley » Sat May 11, 2013 9:07 pm

View Original Postkuribo-04 wrote:So is Asuka "28 years old" (mentally) or is it not confirmed?

not confirmed, all we know is that 14 years passed.
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Postby FreakyFilmFan4ever » Sat May 11, 2013 9:11 pm

View Original PostJadley wrote:not confirmed, all we know is that 14 years passed.

Well, she seems to have mentally matured a bit. 14 years ago she was screaming at the top of her lungs and nearly tossing school chairs because Shinji forgot lunch. Now she physically vents her anger once, cleanly and concisely, and speaks in hushed tones for the rest of the scene. Seems like some sort of mental maturity occurred there, though it's uncertain of that because of the amount of time that has passed or because of the gravity of the world she woke up to.

(Also, we don't know how long she's been awake either. She could have been out for years after the events in 2.22.)

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Postby bobbyfischer's ghost » Sat May 11, 2013 10:13 pm

View Original PostFreakyFilmFan4ever wrote:(Also, we don't know how long she's been awake either. She could have been out for years after the events in 2.22.)


Good point.We really have no idea when Asuka woke up. I'm hoping we get some clarification in the next movie.
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Postby Angel of Will » Sat May 11, 2013 10:50 pm

However, she tells Shinji she punched the glass for the years of grief he caused her. We can imagine that she's been conscious and missing him for a long, long time. (That's my bet. Could be she's also peeved a bunch of people are dead, but she didn't exactly have any good friends.)
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Postby bobbyfischer's ghost » Sat May 11, 2013 11:13 pm

Yes. She seems to be more than a bit bitter but who wouldn't be being stuck in perpetual adolescence.
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Postby Na7e » Sun May 12, 2013 1:41 am

View Original Postbobbyfischer's ghost wrote:Good point.We really have no idea when Asuka woke up. I'm hoping we get some clarification in the next movie.


I really wonder how old she is? I mean when we first see Shinji he's in the standard ICU box....surrounded by Angel Sealing Hex pillars. The last time we saw something similar to that was when Asuka was lying unconscious on the slab. So it's possible there just reusing it for Shinji. Though if that's the case there's no way she can be 28.

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Postby bobbyfischer's ghost » Sun May 12, 2013 2:48 am

View Original PostNa7e wrote:Though if that's the case there's no way she can be 28.

She shows a great deal of maturity if that's the case.
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Postby Jadley » Sun May 12, 2013 3:39 am

Punching glasses, holding grudges, calling a person "Glasses" instead of Mari and calling Shinji a brat every single second she gets the chance to, isn't exactly what i would call "Being Mature".
She still hasn't changed that much.
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Postby aboose » Sun May 12, 2013 3:48 am

Yeah, I don't really see why people think she's mature. She smashed the glass with her fist (think about it, who really does that), constantly teases Mari like a schoolgirl BFF, and still gets all hot-blooded in her eva. She also pretty much teases Shinji in the exact same way.

She seems pretty much the same to me.

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Postby kuribo-04 » Sun May 12, 2013 4:17 am

So we are supposed to watch this 90 minute film, third in a series of four, without knowing how old one of the main characters is? That's important. I know Asuka is not as important as in the series, but...
Also, who knows if the relationship between Shinji and Asuka is important in 4.0 like in End of Eva, and what if she's 28? And that would mean that for her 14 years have passed without talking to Shinji. And that she's too old for him. Or maybe not? Maybe she's in the same situation as Shinji? If she woke up only a year ago or something like that... I don't care about Mari, but...come on, this is ASSKA, IMPORTANT CHARACTER. Do you think they will explain this in 4.0? Like in strange Instrumentality scenes? So that we think "Ah, that's why she was acting like that in 3.0". Maybe she's angry because she missed Shinji? Maybe Shinji is sad because she has changed? Only Instrumentslity could help. Or just a conversation between the two. Anno...please. Give us something.
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Postby ObsessiveMathsFreak » Sun May 12, 2013 6:29 am

View Original Postaboose wrote:Yeah, I don't really see why people think she's mature. She smashed the glass with her fist (think about it, who really does that), constantly teases Mari like a schoolgirl BFF, and still gets all hot-blooded in her eva. She also pretty much teases Shinji in the exact same way.
I disagree here. While her rather caustic core remains, Asuka does seem a lot more mature mentally than any previous incarnation. I think that in 3.0, what we see is Asuka with all the teenage Angst stripped away.

But I wanted to go back to this point about Asuka smashing the glass. I think this is pretty important.
[wkimg width=400]Eva3-33 C0299.jpg[/wkimg]
She really breaks the glass. You can see that the glass is single layered, and at least an inch thick. She's broken it in one blow. Of note here is that Shinji later beats on the glass himself, and you can tell that it's quite solid.
Glass Observations  SPOILER: Show

[wkimg width=400]eva3-33_C0302.jpg[/wkimg]
[wkimg width=400]eva3-33_C0344.jpg[/wkimg]

Ordinarily, if someone tried to break glass like this, they would shatter half the bones in their hand. Asuka frame clearly belies a much tougher frame.

Now Asuka is somewhat of an exception, owing to her contamination in Eva-03. But I think the implication here is that over time, her bones or body have somehow hardened or ossified for some reason. She's been locked into her past form, but whatever this is it looks like it has affected her metabolic structure as well.

There' are actually a few objects in NTE which undergo something like this "ossification". The MP-Evas /FoI's are frozen on the spot all around Tokyo-3, as are Lilith and Eva-06. Perhaps whatever caused all these entities to freeze in place also affected Asuka if she was inside her entry plug at the time.

That said, we don't see similar symptoms from Mari, and Asuka is a special case owning to her exposure to the Angel. However, we do see Asuka, Rei and Shinji being able to survive in the LCL desert at the end of the film. If this is also an effect of their exposure to LCL, then an event near 3I wouldn't explain how Shinji was also able to survive.
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