Was it a mistake to put Asuka in the same class as Shinji?

[orcot]

One of the things that is never really addressed is that Asuka has a university degree and is forced to sit, with students of her own age in second class/junior high school in Japan.
Whilst you could easily argue that she could use some work on her (Japanese) reading skills, this could have been solved by, you know giving her Japanese reading and writing lessons, something I'm sure they no longer focus on in second class.
Also whilst the pilots academic skills are somewhat explored. Shinji is a average student and I'm sure his cello music was choosen by a above average 14 year old cello player. Rei is into genetics (probably metaphysical biology). Asuka is sort of left blank apart from having a university degree in who cares.

My point being Asuka get's rarely challenged and this detrimental to her mental wellbeing. Also some of Misato's interactions with Asuka aren't in her best interest for example can I borrow this? M- No that's for adults VS No, buy your own.

It would have also be fun when Asuka was reading her magazine before deciding to kiss Shinji that she was writing on the article in a Japanese version of Pinyin (Hepburn romanization).

[Bagheera]

I don’t think so? I mean, school is about socialization as much as it is about learning, and Asuka arguably needs even more of that than a typical girl her age. Also, school gives her something to do during the day, as well as a venue for interacting with/relating to her fellow pilots. Take her away from that and it just leaves her all the more isolated and dysfunctional.

[UrsusArctos]

I agree with Bagheera's point about socialization. Remember that the school is actually a pool of potential pilot candidates, so being there would allow her to know more than just Shinji or Rei, but potential future pilots as well.

It would have also be fun when Asuka was reading her magazine before deciding to kiss Shinji that she was writing on the article in a Japanese version of Pinyin (Hepburn romanization).

Do you mean Romaji? (I don't understand how this would've been fun...)

[Berserker]

It's clearly stated that students of class 2-A have the highest potential of being eva pilot (maybe the only class having the potential). So, it's obvious to sort them in the same class just for the sake of keeping everything in order. It would rather be stupid of NERV if they didn't. I mean, who would want a situatuion when you need an emergency pilot and all potential ar scattered up and you can't find them while angels are destroying everything?
Things like how much capability, educational qualification she holds won't matter at a time,place like that. And bagheera's right about the socialization.

From these we also learn how NERV likes to keep everything in order.

[orcot]

I agree with Bagheera's point about socialization. Remember that the school is actually a pool of potential pilot candidates, so being there would allow her to know more than just Shinji or Rei, but potential future pilots as well.

Yet when Asuka clearly states against Rei we should be friends (because it's convenient). Most people agree that it's Asuka that is unfair. (Arguibly she had already bended herself in an impossible position most people would have refused to, to be honnest you might as well have asked Misato to attend the school)
Also Rei (I) had clearly been involved in the project before she was of an appropriate age to attend school. Then theirs Shinji who should have been kept in the same school but wasn't for plot reasons. Asuka meanwhile went to university in America. Whilst I agree most of their classmates are potential pilots see Toji for example. Asuka's mental situation sharply started to decline afther arriving in Japan.
Some of that could have been caused by Misato and the refusal to put her in a situation where she could excel.

Do you mean Romaji? (I don't understand how this would've been fun...)

It looks goofy/awkward, it shows Asuka needs a extra step to comprehent what people are saying (something that might be usefull to portray abouth a show where all characters have difficulty communicating). It shows her (attempting) to work (around) weak points, a lot of the fan base (I assume) aren't Japanese but do speak a couple of words but can read it, seeing it written down in yes Romaji could make some of the fans try to read it. (As seen by many fans obsessing for example what Rei reads).
Also theirs a scene where Asuka and Shinji's name are written under a umbrella on a school desk, this is rather hard to understand, you have to know the meaning of the umbrella (lovers) and their names are written in difficult (for non asiantic people) letters. This would essentially portray the same for an audiance that is less fluent in Japanese.
(If i was a ward of someone like Asuka seeing that would make me smile and I would call it fun).

From these we also learn how NERV likes to keep everything in order.

Perhaps but do you stil agree that it was a factor in Asuka's decreasing mental state.
Meaning it made her miserable and some of her tsundere personality could be contributed by her understandable frustration. And had she been allowed to either work for NERV directly or attend a university and had she not lived with Misato, but on her own or with her foster parents she would have been better off mentally.
(yes she made friends easily but she would have done the same on campus)

[Zusuchan]

How is being told to go to school and socialize "bending in an impossible situation"? I'm sorry, but the entirety of your post here seems to think that the best thing for Asuka's mental health would be her staying in exactly the same position she was at during the beginning of the series and not getting better. She doesn't need to be only given things she can "excel" at, she needs to be told that her life shouldn't be focused on being the best at everything. What you suggest would only lead to her being more and more hidden inside her own world and a possible mental decline after that would potentially be even more horrifying and devastating than what we got in the show. Not to say that Misato didn't do as much as she should've when it comes to supporting Asuka and helping her get better, but quite honestly going to school is a good idea.

Also, Asuka's mental health did not sharply start to decline after arriving in Japan. It started to decline with her synch rate. The cultural differences and her relationship with Shinji played a part in that, yes, but to say that she started breaking apart mentally very qucikly after arriving in Japan is just plain false. Were there any hints of decline in ep.11 or ep. 13? No. And neither would she have been particularly happy to be with her father and foster mother, as she herself basically said in ep. 22.

One final thing: Shinji wasn't in the same school as Rei from the beginning, because Gendo didn't want to see Shinji pilot-it was a last-minute resort due to the unexpected angel attack while Rei was unable to pilot. After that, it was just kind of generally accepted that Shinji would stay in, especially with Unit-01/Yui reacting quite positively to him.

[orcot]

How is being told to go to school and socialize "bending in an impossible situation"?

Asuka has a university degree, she is send to a high school. This must be frustratingly boring for her. Like why threat her differently then Kaji give her a job and title ad NERV? Sure Child labor laws, but she is the simply the oldest age one can be and pilot a eva.

I'm sorry, but the entirety of your post here seems to think that the best thing for Asuka's mental health would be her staying in exactly the same position she was at during the beginning of the series and not getting better. She doesn't need to be only given things she can "excel" at, she needs to be told that her life shouldn't be focused on being the best at everything.

It feels more like Asuka's accomplishments are glossed over, don't you think?
You have a university degree? Don't care your 14 your going to a high school.
You have problems reading Kanji scipt sure let's never mention it again and have your fail school for stupid reasons.

Sure Asuka should learn to be more of a team player, but somehow I don't think that the school experience is adding any value here and is in fact detrimental. And her having a ego , sure whatever don't let it interfere on the job I guess

What you suggest would only lead to her being more and more hidden inside her own world and a possible mental decline after that would potentially be even more horrifying and devastating than what we got in the show. Not to say that Misato didn't do as much as she should've when it comes to supporting Asuka and helping her get better, but quite honestly going to school is a good idea.

The fact that Eva pilots do not get asked for interviews or PR events is astounding.
Misato tried forcing a good thing during "Both of You, Dance Like You Want to Win" episode. The synchro tests are necessary, but seems to pit the pilots against each other. Yet we see Shinji pilot together with "Asuka Strikes". Having the pilots work together to get a better score would perhaps not be scientifically necessary, but would have increased cameraderie and a freer flow on pilot technics amongst the pilots. Resulting in better results overal. Like why are all the importent events happening in lifts, escalators and toilets in stead of lounges.

Also, Asuka's mental health did not sharply start to decline after arriving in Japan. It started to decline with her synch rate. The cultural differences and her relationship with Shinji played a part in that, yes, but to say that she started breaking apart mentally very qucikly after arriving in Japan is just plain false. Were there any hints of decline in ep.11 or ep. 13? No. And neither would she have been particularly happy to be with her father and foster mother, as she herself basically said in ep. 22.

Not being happy with her foster parents isn't really inportant it's good for her mental wellbeing and that's what counts.

One final thing: Shinji wasn't in the same school as Rei from the beginning, because Gendo didn't want to see Shinji pilot-it was a last-minute resort due to the unexpected angel attack while Rei was unable to pilot. After that, it was just kind of generally accepted that Shinji would stay in, especially with Unit-01/Yui reacting quite positively to him.

Shinji was brought to Tokyo 3 the moment Rei was incapacitated, the angel attack was yust coincidental. Considering he was the next best thing he should have already been their, but it would have been weird for Misato to adopt him with his teacher still present.
Still Gendo's effort to keep his son away from harmsway is noted.

[IgRAzm]

I think there would be more training scenes if they had more time until the anime's finishing deadline. There was Shinji's aiming exercise in episode 3. There just was nowhere to fit a regular training scene between all three pilots. Would take as much effort to animate as an actual battle, anyway.

[Lavinius]

Yes, it absolutely was. Regardless of the details of the college degree (I think it's probably honorary), it's clear that Asuka is considerably advanced, so that he only thing for Asuka to learn is the kanji (and Japanese literature &c.), but she's not going to learn those by just being thrust into assignments she isn't able to read (and it's just wasting her time when she could be actually learning).

Forcing someone into a repressive institution that isn't even going to educate them is morally unjustifiable, and certainly isn't going to help her psychologically- boring & humiliating her is far more likely to aggravate how aggressive and bitter she is. It's just Misato disposing of Asuka in the first obvious way. I hate to say "typical Japanese conformism", but that's exactly how Misato justifies herself when questioned about it, so I can't really avoid it.

What should have been done is to have someone actually learn what her academic level is. Give her some kanji textbooks for the lower grades and order her some German textbooks in calculus / advanced physics / whatever else she take the next level in. See if Fuyutsuki or Ritsuko or one of the countless other educated personnel in this international organization can't spare an hour a week to touch base with her- that is, if Misato, who herself knows German and is supposed to be caring for Asuka, can't do that herself.

It's possible, of course, that Asuka herself exaggerated her Japanese reading level and it's partly her fault. But there's no evidence in the show for that- the text pins the blame squarely on Misato.

[Kendrix]

She was probably put there for 2 reasons:
a) NERV surveillance stuff - all the pilot candidates are in that class
b) because Misato wanted her to develop social skills/ interact with other kids/ have as close as a "normal childhood" as its possible under the circumstances, which is at least a good intention

Academic achievement & emotional maturitydon't always correlate and it would be neglectful to assume that

While it's not unreasonable to suppose that a "working at NASA teen"-level genius teen might feel terribly understimulated and underemployed at an ordinary school; She complains like one time in a way that makes it seem like her complex of counterdependence, wanting to do everything herself, to appear adult etc. in a manner that is itself pretty juvenile, like a boy doing a reckless dare as a "man test"
She already has "serious employment" through her pilot work, after all.
Now I'd be the first person to argue that very young people can totally be mature & discerning. I can think of many examples both among personal acquaintances and from history. (and many "adults" who are very immature and impulsive)
But when you look at how Asuka acts in day to day life she doesn't act especially mature, she's concerned with all this pointless competition due to her personal perfectionism not what is constructive to the task of protecting the earth.
Shinji at least wonders now & then about the bigger picture, though he's too docile/dependent/clinging to be called mature, either.
Given that they're at a point in their lives where they've only just acquired the physical capacity for maturity & discernment me can probably forgive them both; The most mature person in the original trio is probably Rei though she has even more limited life experience.
Apart from her initial complaints we are not shown at any point that she's "suffering" from being in school.

Also not letting Asuka use her sexy perfume is hardly the detail that set her over the edge. ppl regularly ask you if you're 16 if you want to buy those (it happened to me a lot thanks to a severe case of babyfaced.)
Misato is far from a perfect guardian, but if anything the problem was opposite - not that she treated Asuka like a kid when she was actually mature, but that she bought Asuka's false facade of maturity when she actually needed caretaking.
Granted, Misato was not prepared to take care of any kids and only did it cause no one else would and a mediocre guardian is still better than none; Shinji makes it very obvious when he's troubled about something; Asuka expends a lot of energy in hiding it; Also Misato's own optimism & wishful thinking probably inclines her to believe it.

Some of that could have been caused by Misato and the refusal to put her in a situation where she could excel.

Honestly I don't think there's any mystery; we're told very clearly why she got miserable:
She had built all her self-esteem on her role as a pilot & spent all her life expecting the time when she would save the Earth, and then reality didn't match up to her fantasy; She put herself under unrealistic pressure to always have the spotlight and incurred many losses; Plus a total newcomer "bested" her.

I suppose you could draw some parallels with how many children who are deemed "gifted" when they're young crash & burn as adults and seldom actually become successful, because they're put under so much pressure & expectations that it ruins their ability to function. You tie your whole self-concept to being "special" so every test of that becomes an existential threat so that you're not able to have the rate, joy and love of problem solving & constructive attitude necessary to succeed, so that neither the person nor their skills can mature naturally.

There are no child prodigies; There are only stage parents. That's certainly true for Asuka who has this idea that she had to be the best because of all that unpleasantness with her mother.

[orcot]

What should have been done is to have someone actually learn what her academic level is. Give her some kanji textbooks for the lower grades and order her some German textbooks in calculus / advanced physics / whatever else she take the next level in.

Would you say Misato herself is up to the job? She worked in Germany aftheral. (This is no guarentee that she actually speaks the language tough)
Alternativly theirs Rei, it's confirmed she can read german and is fluent in her native Japanese. This option would not only fix Asuka's reading problems over time, but force the 2 pilots together hopefully improving their relations, helping both Asuka and Rei the latter one who could use the forced interactions as well.

a) NERV surveillance stuff - all the pilot candidates are in that class

False, All the students in the class are pilot candidates would have been correct.
While all the students in the class are pilot candidates, neither Shinji, Asuka and Kaworu originally attended the school.

because Misato wanted her to develop social skills/ interact with other kids/ have as close as a "normal childhood" as its possible under the circumstances, which is at least a good intention

I never claimed she had bad intentions, I wondered if it was a bad decision. All the develoments you suggest are good, but badly executed by sending her to that school.
Having a shared garden growing stuff would be a little thing but in the good direction.

Academic achievement & emotional maturitydon't always correlate and it would be neglectful to assume that

It's a difficult topic sure

like a boy doing a reckless dare as a "man test"

My dad was out riding his motorbike yesterday he has a 5 bypass operation in december. It never stops I think. He's 66.

But when you look at how Asuka acts in day to day life she doesn't act especially mature, she's concerned with all this pointless competition due to her personal perfectionism not what is constructive to the task of protecting the earth.

This is true, the argument remains that if placing her amongst kids (her age) is the best choice of action.

Shinji at least wonders now & then about the bigger picture, though he's too docile/dependent/clinging to be called mature, either.

examples?
Rei pilots to protect humanity (or alternativly protecting humanity gives her life worth/meaning)
Asuka pilots to proof to world and herself of her worth
Toji pilots because he want's to provide for his family in a way he could otherwise not (medical attention for his sister)
Kaworu pilots because he is forced to and will be killed if he does not or regardless if he fails.
Kensuku indicates he wants to pilot to be a somebody, in living what is essentialy a warzone he want's to have some control.
Shinji pilots because (he hopes) his dad wil give him attention. He's usually the least informed whilst NERV activly keeps him in the dark the other pilots have their ways.

Apart from her initial complaints we are not shown at any point that she's "suffering" from being in school.

Asuka protest to having to go to school against Misato. She answers when in Rome
Asuka complains against Shinji that her grades are low because she has problems reading.
When Both Shinji and Asuka stop attending school and Misato tries to convince Shinji to return to school she states that she's not concerned abouth Asuka's studies.
These are 20 minutes episodes she's trying to make the best of it but she doesn't like it. (I wouldn't)

Also not letting Asuka use her sexy perfume is hardly the detail that set her over the edge. ppl regularly ask you if you're 16 if you want to buy those (it happened to me a lot thanks to a severe case of babyfaced.)

Alcohol/lube I get, but parfum? Anyway it's not abouth the parfum, but saying it is for adults instead of saying buy your own. Or literally any other excuse.

She had built all her self-esteem on her role as a pilot & spent all her life expecting the time when she would save the Earth, and then reality didn't match up to her fantasy; She put herself under unrealistic pressure to always have the spotlight and incurred many losses; Plus a total newcomer "bested" her.

Well the synchro test are a way to pit the pilots against each other, Rei always have the lowest score but pilots yust fine. Footage of Eva 01 going Beserk should show that theirs is something like a to high synchro rate. And I doubt Asuka would want to win a fight by going beserk. Even in her final fight with the mass produced eva's you could argue that she is insane, but you can't argue she's beserk in a similar way that Shinji get's.

I suppose you could draw some parallels with how many children who are deemed "gifted" when they're young crash & burn as adults and seldom actually become successful, because they're put under so much pressure & expectations that it ruins their ability to function. You tie your whole self-concept to being "special" so every test of that becomes an existential threat so that you're not able to have the rate, joy and love of problem solving & constructive attitude necessary to succeed, so that neither the person nor their skills can mature naturally.

That's the whole talented children never have to put in a effort and then quit the first time they can't do anything right away, because they never learned to deal with learning. Especially western media make it sound that having to learn something is a weakness. I remember a cirque du soleil interview, stating that whilst yes the stunts are difficult to master the real effort is in making them look effortlessly/painlessly

There are no child prodigies; There are only stage parents. That's certainly true for Asuka who has this idea that she had to be the best because of all that unpleasantness with her mother.

I think she is a prodigie, she also put's up a false facade to hide her insecurities. I doubt her (foster) parents made any real mistakes apart from not following Asuka to Japan to make sure she is settled in. They do call her. (Whilst Shinji makes it seem like it's the first time they called. That's not true, he yust says that she is like an other person when she speaks german it was just the first time Asuka elaborated that it was not her real mother to Shinji).
Did Shinji know Asuka had no mother before the phone call? We know but did Shinji knew he is mostly clueless So if no-one tolled him on ascreen I assume he didn' knew especialy with Asuka having phone calls with her mutty.

[Berserker]

While all the students in the class are pilot candidates, neither Shinji, Asuka and Kaworu originally attended the school.

Yeah, Shinji and Asuka did. You clearly may have skipped through ep 3 and 9. Kaworu attending class is out of question here, because he barely got the screen time of one episode. Not to mention tokyo 3 was getting barren day by day, as civilians were abandoning city because of the constant attack. Attending school is out of context at a time and place like that.
The rest of the things you're pointing is merely off topic, as the main question is already answered.

[orcot]

Yeah, Shinji and Asuka did. You clearly may have skipped through ep 3 and 9.

Semantics Shinji and Asuka are actual pilots not candidate pilots, Shinji arrived in tokyo 3 and piloted the eva before attending class, similary Asuka piloted her eva on screen aswel before attending class. But I get your point.
However I'm not Sure what you mean with skipping through episode 3-9 Asuka doesn't show up until episode 9. Shinji starts attending class in episode 3.

Also I'm repeating her, but it was stated: all the pilot candidates are in that class this was a false statement a more correct statement was: All the students in the class are pilot candidates.
like the group of all numbers includes all the even numbers but the group of even numbers does not include all numbers.

Even if Asuka was put in this class for this reasons that was never the question, the question was,

was it a mistake to put Asuka in the same class as Shinji

But perhaps it's discussed to it conclusion their reasons for and against it aftherall.

[Zusuchan]

orcot: Asuka went to school because she needed to socialize with others and because NERV probably thought they were giving her a 'normal' childhood. Note that the synch tests seem to be scheduled around the school days as much as possible. (Rei is a different thing.)

In terms of Asuka's mental well-being, I think that just saying "Go to school" was obviously a mistake, since that alone could never really help her, but I think she needed to be told that constantly finding her worth only in being the absolute best at everything wasn't good and that she needed to accept that there's more to life and that she has worth even without being a triple-A genius or whatnot. Did Misato ever do something like that? No. But Asuka going into the same class by its own isn't something I'd consider a mistake.

Not being happy with her foster parents isn't really inportant it's good for her mental wellbeing and that's what counts.

Explain to me please how this is supposed to work. Asuka isn't happy being with her foster mother (she doesn't have a foster father), but being with her parents would somehow be good for her mental stability nonetheless? Huh?

Shinji was brought to Tokyo 3 the moment Rei was incapacitated, the angel attack was yust coincidental.

That could be true. But the point stands: Gendo didn't want Shinji to have anything to do with NERV and he was a last-minute addition to the pilot roster.

Also, we first see Asuka in ep.8.


Lavinius: I agree with everything you said, except for the part about how it's not going to help her psychologically. I think actually socializing with people her age could help her psychologically-the problem was that no one really thought much about making sure that she and by extension Shinji and Rei as well weren't intensely fucked-up psychologically, so going to school didn't end up helping Asuka much at all-whereas it could have if some other measures were also taken into place, such as Misato actually attempting to talk to Asuka. I do like Kendrix's idea that Misato actually bought into Asuka's claims of maturity, for that matter...

But this is all circumstantial and speculative.

[orcot]

orcot: Asuka went to school because she needed to socialize with others and because NERV probably thought they were giving her a 'normal' childhood.

This answers why did they send her to school, not was it a mistake to put Asuka in the same class as Shinji.

that the synch tests seem to be scheduled around the school days as much as possible. (Rei is a different thing.)

I do not have that impression at all. I would have assumed most of these tests are done during the office hours. Regardless I doubt if there would be any evidence before or against that.

In terms of Asuka's mental well-being, I think that just saying "Go to school" was obviously a mistake,was obviously a mistake, since that alone could never really help her, but I think she needed to be told that constantly finding her worth only in being the absolute best at everything wasn't good and that she needed to accept that there's more to life and that she has worth even without being a triple-A genius or whatnot

Yes that's a decend answer to the question

Did Misato ever do something like that? No. But Asuka going into the same class by its own isn't something I'd consider a mistake.

You agree that school did not help her, but do you mean it also didn't hurt her? Like it was a true neutral? If so I disagree it made it worse.
Both I and Lavinus have some reasons why it made the situation worse. (This does not mean there weren't any reasons to send her to the school, theirs pro and contra and in hindsight it might have been a mistake).

Explain to me please how this is supposed to work. Asuka isn't happy being with her foster mother (she doesn't have a foster father), but being with her parents would somehow be good for her mental stability nonetheless? Huh?

Definitly kids (that age) are supposed to be rebellious and Asuka keeps both a civil pretends at all times with her (foster)mom and they seems somewhat genuiliy on good terms. We know deep down Asuka really want's her mother and having a actual (foster) mother around would do wonders for her wellbeing. Whilst at times she hates Misato, Shinji and herself she never says a bad worth on her foster mother except for perhaps a objective truth that she is not her real mother something she only discloses pretty late in the series. Also she calls it a routine update but it's very casual talk
(Apparently she does complain to her fostermom that she can't learn anything Auch, wenn ich gehts keine lerne. (Also, when I got I don't learn anything)
thread/3072/What-the-heck-is-Asuka-saying-in-German-in-episode-22/

Gendo didn't want Shinji to have anything to do with NERV and he was a last-minute addition to the pilot roster.

Proving my point that all classmates are candidates but not all candidates are classmates

[UrsusArctos]

Orcot, please use a spellchecker. Your posts are hard enough to read because you reply to every single point, and the bad spelling makes it worse.

Proving my point that all classmates are candidates but not all candidates are classmates

Proving nothing, actually. Class 2-A consists of the (implicitly) motherless children of Nerv employees, and it is unlikely that they have any other souls stored away for children not around in Tokyo-3. Shinji is unique because Gendo wanted him kept as far away as possible, and was forced to call him in a hurry - had Yui not disappeared into Eva-01, Shinji would never have been a pilot candidate and Gendo would've done his best to keep it that way.

Asuka and Kaworu were with Nerv Germany and it is likely that Asuka was the only pilot candidate they had that we know of, and while Germany can manufacture Evas, they have no use for sending them against Angels if the Geofront they're heading towards is in Japan. Asuka was probably their only real pilot candidate. Kaworu carrying Adam's soul makes him a unique case, since he's an Angel and not an actual pilot candidate.

America is said to manufacture Evas for political reasons; again, they have no use sending them against Angels for the same reasons. So it's not likely that Nerv US or Nerv Germany actually have a pilot roster, not with Nerv HQ in Japan and the Marduk Institute (controlled by Gendo, Fuyutsuki, Keel Lorenz and possibly other Seele members) selecting the pilots. Remember that they have to pick Toji for Eva-03 and get a core prepared for him, when Eva-02 came from Germany complete with Asuka as the pilot. That means that the Americans didn't have any souls of their own to use for Eva-03's core or pilots that they had in mind.

All of this means that the only real pool of pilots is Class 2-A.

[orcot]

Proving nothing, actually. Class 2-A consists of the (implicitly) motherless children of Nerv employees, and it is unlikely that they have any other souls stored away for children not around in Tokyo-3. Shinji is unique because Gendo wanted him kept as far away as possible, and was forced to call him in a hurry - had Yui not disappeared into Eva-01, Shinji would never have been a pilot candidate and Gendo would've done his best to keep it that way.

This would suggest Rei was the designated pilot for Unit 01, meaning it's unlikly that unit 00 has a shard of Rei's soul, or Gendo was willing to sacrifice unit 00 from the start then again with Rei II badly wounded he could have atempted to extract the shard of Rei's soul in unit 00 leaving it blank and put the shard in Rei III and let her/that atempt to pilot unit 01...
This opens a whole can of worms of speculative thinking don't you think.

Asuka and Kaworu were with Nerv Germany and it is likely that Asuka was the only pilot candidate they had that we know of, and while Germany can manufacture Evas, they have no use for sending them against Angels if the Geofront they're heading towards is in Japan. Asuka was probably their only real pilot candidate. Kaworu carrying Adam's soul makes him a unique case, since he's an Angel and not an actual pilot candidate.

Speculative at best more whisful thinking, Asuka was kept in America when she could have been kept at Japan with little problems. Only Rei and Toji where pilots who came directly from the class this represents 40% of their pilots. It's a minority that said Shinji came from elsewhere in Japan, Asuka came from America and kaworu came from Germany, so the class is still the largest individual pool of candidates and yes I agree all classmates are potential pilots, but it's foolish to suggest they are the only source.
Also the angels where attracted to adam not lilith kaworu was rather surprised to meet lilith in central dogma, so the angels should have visited Germany instead of Japan. I tought this was a know plothole in the eva series? Angels only have a reason to visit Japan afther Asuka arrives (because Kaji has brought adam with him in a suitcase).

America is said to manufacture Evas for political reasons; again, they have no use sending them against Angels for the same reasons. So it's not likely that Nerv US or Nerv Germany actually have a pilot roster,

Theirs no reason to assume this apart from the fact they never mention a pilots name, nor is their a hole in the numbering of pilots.

Remember that they have to pick Toji for Eva-03 and get a core prepared for him, when Eva-02 came from Germany complete with Asuka as the pilot. That means that the Americans didn't have any souls of their own to use for Eva-03's core or pilots that they had in mind.

Again no reason to assume so, however when Asuka's mom died the graveyards holds latin script (horizontal letterings) compared to Yui's stone who holds the asiatic verticale script then again people including kyoko and at the funeral where speaking Japanese. I have no outspoken opinion on this apart from I'm not sure.

This is getting complicated but you say

All of this means that the only real pool of pilots is Class 2-A.

But you agree that Unit 2 core was allready in place on it's way to Japan yes. So it was probably installed in America yes? So not all candidates are in Class 2-A those are yust the active pilots and the potential pilots NERV keeps a personal tab on.

[UrsusArctos]

Rei would have piloted Eva-00 against the Angels, and Gendo wanted to keep Shinji and Eva-01 out of the way until absolutely necessary. And the cross-compatibility test in Episode 14 (which would probably have been done sooner in different circumstances) proves that Rei can pilot Eva-01 just fine.

Speculative at best more whisful thinking, Asuka was kept in America when she could have been kept at Japan with little problems.

Asuka's dad was American, but Asuka was in Germany the whole time.

The only reason that one of the Angels (Gaghiel) was attracted by Adam was because it discovered the fleet en route to Tokyo-3. The Angels were mostly attracted to Lilith's Geofront because Adam's Geofront in Antarctica had been blown to bits, and Adam was an embryo at the time. Had there really been a danger of an Angel being attracted to Adam's embryo in Germany (and not in the vicinity of Tokyo-3) common sense is that the embryo would have been sent to Tokyo-3 long before Sachiel appeared. Gaghiel knows that the embryo is around but can't seem to figure out which ship it's on, and seems to be more fixated on fighting Eva-02 than sinking the very carrier it's landed upon (and which still has the embryo!)

Only Rei and Toji where pilots who came directly from the class this represents 40% of their pilots. It's a minority that said Shinji came from elsewhere in Japan, Asuka came from America and kaworu came from Germany, so the class is still the largest individual pool of candidates and yes I agree all classmates are potential pilots, but it's foolish to suggest they are the only source.

How is this "foolish"? Also, the pilots are numbered when they are selected, not before that.

Both Yui and Kyoko have Latin script on their tombstones in NGE, and the only reason people at Kyoko's funeral are speaking Japanese and not German or English is because of translation convention: they are presumably speaking German in-universe but it is rendered as Japanese for the convenience of the audience.

[orcot]

Rei would have piloted Eva-00 against the Angels, and Gendo wanted to keep Shinji and Eva-01 out of the way until absolutely necessary. And the cross-compatibility test in Episode 14 (which would probably have been done sooner in different circumstances) proves that Rei can pilot Eva-01 just fine.

In the manga a injured Rei is actualy seen fighting sachiel in unit 01 (the first manga chapters came out before the anime). But people around here don't like that.

Asuka's dad was American, but Asuka was in Germany the whole time.

The only reason that one of the Angels (Gaghiel) was attracted by Adam was because it discovered the fleet en route to Tokyo-3. The Angels were mostly attracted to Lilith's Geofront because Adam's Geofront in Antarctica had been blown to bits, and Adam was an embryo at the time. Had there really been a danger of an Angel being attracted to Adam's embryo in Germany (and not in the vicinity of Tokyo-3) common sense is that the embryo would have been sent to Tokyo-3 long before Sachiel appeared. Gaghiel knows that the embryo is around but can't seem to figure out which ship it's on, and seems to be more fixated on fighting Eva-02 than sinking the very carrier it's landed upon (and which still has the embryo!)

Yes we're beginning to go off topic here I think.

How is this "foolish"?

Basicly at best you are trying to prove a negative (and that's foolish).

Both Yui and Kyoko have Latin script on their tombstones in NGE, and the only reason people at Kyoko's funeral are speaking Japanese and not German or English is because of translation convention: they are presumably speaking German in-universe but it is rendered as Japanese for the convenience of the audience.

Agreed but we are off topic

[Derantor]

@Orcot: Ursus already reminded you, but I'll say it again: please read the forum rules: Stick to the main points. Don’t respond line-by-line to every little thing said (aka omnislashing). Half of your posts or more consist of quotes. Omnislashing tends to make discussions veer off into an ever increasing bundle of tangents and "what-about-ism", that's why it's discouraged. I'd also discourage you of accusing other people of veering off-topic when you are the one who started it. Thanks for turning on your spellcheck at least.

@Lavinius: You are right, Asuka needed to be actually engaged at her level, but still, having contact with adolescents her age is valuable for her. If she hadn't gone to school, she also wouldn't have met Hikari, the only true friend she has in Japan (who isn't also a pilot or otherwise related to NERV). So I'd say sending her to school wasn't a mistake in itself; spending too little effort on making her stay there worthwhile was. NERV's neglect of their pilots well-being is pretty crass in either case.