[EVA] Rei's Origins (repost)

[Sean McCoy]

> It's obvious that all the Christian
> religion stuff is not really Anno's focus in the story because his
> resolution in 25 and 26 focused entirely on Shinji.

The cabalah can serve as a very spiritual "talking cure" for people trying
to reconcile duty and self in a very jungian way.  I believe Anno intended
the religious angle to be a common thread on which just about any
fantastical plot element could be strung without the normal constraints of
science fiction.  Super geeks like us take apart every nut and bolt, and
whatever we find, the arguement "its a matter of faith" can be used.  That
was a very smart idea and is common in scifi these days, such as the force
in star wars until that damned meticlourian crap.

>The robots were not
> important, the reason for Instrumentality was not important, what was
> important was their effects on Shinji and his development as a person.
While
> that is important, there seemed to be a point behind all the major
plotting
> betwen Seele and Gendo. To find out it's really not important is rather
> annoying. It would be like having a Return of the Jedi where the battle
> betwen the Rebel fleet and the Empire occurs off-screen and we only see
the
> Vader-Palpatine-Luke confrontation. "The story is about the redemption of
> Vader. None of the other stuff is important." Ok, so everything ends happy
> we guess but we don't see the resolution of the galactic civil war which
is
> what we thought the movies were also about. And the elaboration of the God
> Plot provided by the two EVA movies? It would be like Lucas remaking the
end
> of ROTJ with Luke regressing until he's worse than his whiny farmboy self
> and everyone dies because of his inaction.
>
> EVA still leaves behind a lot of questions, not good questions as a show
> should stimulate but bad questions that relate to the basics of the show
> that were not answered in the episodes or films. What force set all this
> into motion? Is it God? Is it a highly powerful godlike entity within this
> universe? Why does Yui feel the existence of EVA-01 floating in space
> proving that humanity existed have any bearing on anything? Does this mean
> that there are things out there that would actually see this and care? How
> did a bunch of Jewish rebels running from the Romans have time to figure
out
> all this stuff about the Technology of God? Did they have visions? If so,
> from what? And why do a bunch of powerful old men give a shit about people
> feeling lonely because of separation from each other? This is adolsecent
> angst motivation. Old powerful men really would not give a shit about
angst.
> Using EVA for temporal power, you betcha. Causing Third Impact and sucking
> everyone into Nirvana? Eh, I don't think so. I could see that as a secret
> motive of a Gendo and something Seele had no idea would occur. Oh, and
that
> gives the final question: what's the difference between controlled and
> uncontrolled Third Impact? What would Gendo do differently? I assume it
had
> something to do with Yui -- become godlike and resurrect her soul?

As stated long ago on this list, I have my own spin to answer these
questions.  Since its all a matter of faith, all I can do is share and hope
someone gets entertained.  I believe Gendo was a reflection of Shinji bent
on recreating the lost image of mother (symbolized by Rei and Lilith) and
Kaji was a reflection of Shinji bent on moving beyond mother and having sex
with a woman.  Remember one of the final segments in EoE, when Shinji's
mother sank into the depths of the red sea while he floated to the top.
There is a line in the caballah that basically says a man shall know his
mother as woman until he takes a wife, and then he shall know only his wife
as woman.  An important part of puberty for men is to reconcile the two
sides of woman, and a man bent on reclaiming his lost mother (especially
while hating his father so much) would have much psychological trouble with
the journey to 'self' as Jung defined.  I believe (faith) that SEELE wanted
a third impact that Kaji would enjoy, and Gendo wanted one that would
reclaim the mother figure by returning to the womb.

In general, I veiw Shinji's role as God meaning the god of his own domain in
his psyche.  The less external influence he allows to seep in, the more
control he seems to have over the world inside his head.  He would ressurect
his mother by making what he remembers of her the only definition of woman,
but you see that in the beginning of EoE his hormones dont agree.

I think it is worth reminding people (for the sake of discussion) that units
0 -2 had a female quality and unit 1 had both female and male (making closer
the the Adam before it was separated into male and female parts), and the
mass production ones had a dummy plug with Kaworu its source, and I would
venture to saw a masculine quality.  Toji's eva could be a reflection of the
inferior Adam that was unwilling to accept his duty as the progenator of
humanity, but I dunno.

> Anyway, enough ranting. Dammit! If EVA wasn't so damn good I wouldn't
care!

I find it to be an endless source of inspiration, and it speaks volumes of
the human condition.  I think many of us should stop argueing and
referencing the RCB and try to discover why it captivates us so absolutely.
For me, it practically provided a roadmap to shed the angst left from my
years around the age of 14.  I approach human relationship and personal duty
much differently since watching the series.  It is kind of like my 'talking
cure.'  Of course I am an [out of work] animator who loves visual metaphor,
so I guess I squeeze a little more juice out of animated programming than
the average joe.


antabaka?!?

Sean McCoy
"He is an opinionated jackass"  --[list truncated]