Evangelion and the Right Hand

[KhakiBlueThunderSocks]

In Evangelion, there are many instances where the Right hand is used a few notable ones are:

1. Kaworu is "killed" with Evangelion Unit 01's right hand

2. When Shinji first meets Rei, her right hand is bandaged

3. When Shinji..."Relieves" himself by Asuka's bedside on "End of Evangelion", he uses his right hand.

4. The Adam embryo is embedded in Gendo's right hand.

5. During the last scene in "End of Evangelion", Asuka's right hand is bandaged just like Rei's.

What exactly is the meaning behind this use of the right hand? Is all this just a coincidence, or is there a hidden meaning behind it?

[master0rolando]

i seriously doubt it...

Shinji jerking off...right hand = hand of "swords"...hehe

left handed people are better in bed anyway

[Anonymous_Evafan]

I love fanwanking as much as the next person but there is a point where you're just overanalyzing things. Most people are right-handed plain and simple.

[Katayoku no Tenshi]

Rei: What is your hand for?

The hand is used to take action. To affect or manipulate the world around you. In Evangelion hands form a recurring visual motif. Shinji is constantly clenching and unclenching his fist, representing his inability or unwillingness to make a decision or him making a decision and wanting to unmake it or negate it with a later action. What hand action do you think Shinji might later have regretted?
^ Hands are also used for fanwankery. (½ Serious)

[Reichu]

In Evangelion hands form a recurring visual motif.

What KnT said.

Incidentally, there's only one (AFAIK) left-handed person in the cast: Dr. Katsuragi.

Kaworu is ambiguous -- they really don't give you enough information. (But we could use another lefty. Fufufu.)

[Szmitten]

In Evangelion hands form a recurring visual motif.

What KnT said.

Incidentally, there's only one (AFAIK) left-handed person in the cast: Dr. Katsuragi.

Kaworu is ambiguous -- they really don't give you enough information. (But we could use another lefty. Fufufu.)

Opening a hatch with a free hand while you're falling to pieces and carrying a child in the other =/= being left-handed.

[The Eva Monkey]

What exactly is the meaning behind this use of the right hand? Is all this just a coincidence, or is there a hidden meaning behind it?

It's called right-handedness.

If you're going to fanwank ANYTHING regarding hands, I would go for Shinji's amgiguous clenching and unclenching of his hand which is shown throughout the series.

[Mr. Tines]

Shinji's amgiguous clenching and unclenching of his hand which is shown throughout the series.

Which led me to not notice *that* scene because I'd just thought "He's staring at his f---ing hand again, the tosser!" and didn't bother to look at the extra detail.

[Reichu]

Opening a hatch with a free hand while you're falling to pieces and carrying a child in the other =/= being left-handed.

He also put the pendant around her neck with his left hand. (He used his right arm to lean against the capsule.) Incidentally, two of his fingers had lost functionality.

[Katayoku no Tenshi]

Which led me to not notice *that* scene because I'd just thought "He's staring at his f---ing hand again, the tosser!" and didn't bother to look at the extra detail.

:shock: ah ha ha ha ha ha ha @tosser.
Oh I'm so immature.

[Sailor Star Dust]

Shinji is constantly clenching and unclenching his fist, representing his inability or unwillingness to make a decision or him making a decision and wanting to unmake it or negate it with a later action.

I was going to bring up the clenching/unclenching motif, but you beat me to it. Agree with what it represents.

What hand action do you think Shinji might later have regretted?

Oh gee, I wonder.... ;) 1) The "terrible thing" he did to Asuka (in quotes as apparently she herself doesn't care :shock:) 2) In general, his indecision with doing what he should know is right, ie Rei: "What are your hands for?"

left handed people are better in bed anyway

Good thing for me to keep in mind when I finally start having teh sexy time. (Is left-handed)


Anyway, this IS interesting, but I have to agree with AEF and say it's symbolic...but still overanalyzing. Don't feel bad, though. Hell, recently I was wondering if there was possibly some connection between Rei=Water and Asuka=blood (mostly because of her period in 22) untill I realized it was probably just overanalyzling, plain and simple. ^^;


But in terms of the hands, one "cute" thing Reichu pointed out is how in 25, Shinji is in Yui-sama's lefty and in 26', Gendou's in Yui-sama's righty.

[poetic_assassin]

Perhaps the right hand is like sunglasses in the Matrix. Good guys had round sunglass, while bad guys had square. And when Neo punches Smith, he breaks his singlasses.

[Rawinder]

Opening a hatch with a free hand while you're falling to pieces and carrying a child in the other =/= being left-handed.

He also put the pendant around her neck with his left hand. (He used his right arm to lean against the capsule.) Incidentally, two of his fingers had lost functionality.

Isn't it possible his right hand was simply blown off?

[Trigger's Elysium]

Doesn't matter. I fap with my left!

...<_<

[Katayoku no Tenshi]

He had both hands when he was walking towards the camara Rawinder. His gloves are burnt for some reason though.

When he opens the hatch with his left hand isn't he holding his daughter with his right hand/arm? (I wouldn't use my weaker hand to hold something as important as that. ) When he does that his gloves are melting ouch. When Shinji and Misato were a mile or so from an N2 explosion they only got knocked backwards.

[Reichu]

@Raw: What KnT said.

His gloves are burnt for some reason though.

No, his gloves are ripped up, and the burnt surfaces of his hands are showing through. The skin on his left palm is tattered, and bones of his hand and arm are visible in places.

When he opens the hatch with his left hand isn't he holding his daughter with his right hand/arm? (I wouldn't use my weaker hand to hold something as important as that. )

Who knows. They do make a point of drawing attention to his left hand, though, which digresses heavily from the show's dexter favoritism. There's the close-up, natch, along with the lingering shot of his left-hand glove (or part of it, anyway) caught on a piece of metal (see beginning of #21'); and the Doc seems to stare at his left hand briefly before croaking.

[master0rolando]

something else i noticed...EVERYONE in the show has hands...Rei used her HANDS to eat teh ramen...what coudl it mean???

...honestly though ill further your fanwaking...

noticed which hand Shinji squeezes Rei gazonkos...(same with Gendo)...

[brainDamage]

It was long believed in Christian (and other societies) that the right hand is the hand that does good, or is "right." Left is associated with devil, wiping your ass, underhanded 'nare do wells and that sort of thing.

A simple wikipedia look up would provide enough ammunition for quite a discussion on the symbolism of the right hand in Evangelion. The entry is quite thorough.

[url]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Left-handed[/url]

[NAveryW]

something else i noticed...EVERYONE in the show has hands...

PEN^2 DOESN'T HAVE HANDS!

[BobBQ]

I profoundly resent the implication that I am inherently evil.

...

...

...

Okay, so I am evil, but being left-handed has nothing to do with it!