[EVA] (no subject)

[RJN]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Carl Gustav Horn" <once at ix.netcom.com>
To: "The english-language evangelion mailing list." 
<evangelion at shinobu.onegeek.org>
Sent: Monday, August 20, 2007 3:12 AM
Subject: Re: [EVA] (no subject)


>>>
>> Misato is not a professional soldier.  She is a fighter definitely,  & 
>> the NERV cops are paramilitary I guess, but more like armed police.
>
>
> NERV has literally less than a handful of frontline combat soldiers,  per 
> se, since instead of an M16A2, their primary weapon is the  Evangelion. 
> Her missions don't require her to physically accompany  the Children into 
> the field, nor would it be desirable or advisable.  But since NERV's HQ is 
> the focal point of combat, to say that she's a  staff officer doesn't mean 
> she's far away and safe (it's as if she's  in the Pentagon, but the Iraq 
> War was being fought in Virginia), and  as we see from the very first 
> episode, she's not afraid to go outside  into the combat zone if a mission 
> requires it.
>
> What the 1995-97 story never explained is how Misato acquired not  only 
> combat training, but training sufficient to take out three  assault-rifle 
> packing JSSDF troops armed with only a pistol, a pistol  she had never 
> been seen before to use, except for pointing it at  people's backs. (It 
> would be one of my special otaku requests to have  such a special 
> flashback scene in the new films explaining this). It  might make some 
> sense for Misato to receive such training, if part of  her job was 
> conceived as protecting the pilots, the key asset of  NERV. But while 
> Hyuga and Aoba were at least willing to defend their  position, Misato 
> alone, at the end (just as at the beginning) was  willing to go out and 
> face the danger head-on. And she's 29 years  old; why, that's 87 in anime 
> years.

IN the first art book by Sadamoto, in the Misato spread pages, there are 1 
or 2 pictures of her in combat gear, with a submachine gun.  We don't know 
what Misato did (apart from sleeping with Kaji & chatting with Ritsuko) for 
her college extra-curricular activities, or if she had to.

My guess is that she did action-centered activities, perhaps spurred by her 
past memories & pent-up anger (as she was a sweet child before 2I).  Perhaps 
being who she was, & her aptitude for combat (to the level needed) got her 
picked to work for Gehrin, & then xfer to Japan as DoO at NERV - where she 
wanted to be.
RJN