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Neon Genesis Evangelion/WMG: Difference between revisions
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== [[Real Life]] is an [[Anime]] in the world of [[Neon Genesis Evangelion]] ==
In 1999, when the second impact occured, Earth became an interresting place to live, in the sense of the classic Chinese curse: "May you have an interesting life." Climactic extremes, finding out that mythology was true, conspiracies in every bush, etc. When something is interesting, it is most likely plagued by war and chaos (See [[Warhammer
* This [[A Date with Rosie Palms|wanker]] is [[End of Evangelion|so fucked up]]. Hee hee hee.......
* The alternative theory (far less likely, by the way) is that [[Neon Genesis Evangelion]] is an [[Anime]] in [[Real Life]], but that's too much of a stretch even for a WMG page.
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* In the Adam and Lilith mythology, Lilith is the first feminist, refusing to bow down to Adam. She is cast out of Eden, births the daemonic Lilim (the demons could symbolize how our society sees feminism as "daemonic", in [[Abuse Is Okay When Its Female On Male|one]] or [[Horny Devils|another]] sense), and becomes the Serpent of the Tree of Knowledge.
* As some fans have already proposed, Rei-Lilith is a manifestation of the [http://wiki.evageeks.org/The_Geektionary_N-S#Shekinah divine feminine].
* The Ikaris can also represent patriarchal rule. Gendo is the archetypal Patriarch. Yui and Shinji are the underlying weaknesses of this Patriarch's seemingly absolute totalitarian rule, with Yui being the dependence onto the opposite sex to maintain the basis for the Patriarch's power and Shinji as the agitating instability and [[Oedipus Complex|Oedipal rage]] that is waiting to collapse the entire power structure anytime (Gendo has Yui as his messiah and only reason to live which is why he does all this screwing-with-the-order-of-creation in the first place, and in ''End of Evangelion'' he even admits that he's afraid of his own son, making his true self behind his magnificent facade something very ''pathetic''). Not to mention that in many real life ancient empires that seem to be strictly Patriarchal from the outside, women usually assumed the role of [[The Man Behind the Man]].
Rei is the idealized woman, the Galatea that patriarchal regimes constructed: [[Extreme Doormat|silent, obedient, willing to do whatever the Patriarch says even at her own expense, and]] [[Moe Moe|exotically cute]] (see also: the [[wikipedia:Stereotypes of East Asians in the Western world#.22China doll.22 stereotype|"China doll"]] stereotype). Hideaki Anno tried to portray Rei as a unnatural mass-production clone straight out of the [[Uncanny Valley]] to parody objectification, but it fails in this area, since she ends up as the object of industrial-scale mass [[Perverse Sexual Lust]] of the otakus everywhere. And even then, what we see as this perfect Galatea is actually ''imperfect'', Rei herself gets [[Character Development]] where she grows from an [[Extreme Doormat]] into something capable of one's own volition, which (as EOE has shown) frightens Patriarch!Gendo indeed.....
** Perhaps the mass-production perversity is Anno's point all along: instead of facing reality with all its pain and sexual anxiety like how Shinji rejects the false reality of Instrumentality and chooses to be with Asuka despite fully knowing how much of a [[Jerkass]] she is, the otakus and male chauvinists choose to replace the real female with something artificial instead. They are who will get tanged first when the real-life Instrumentality comes.
* This is barely even a guess. The series is positively awash with feminist themes, and [[Hideaki Anno]] is a friend of another feminist filmmaker, [[Hayao Miyazaki]]. NGE is also one of the most influential works in the ''Superflat'' genre, which openly mocks otaku sexism (along with other aspects of Japanese modern culture), particularly about the popularity of the ''[[Moe]]'' genre (which is associated with objectification) among otakus and misogynists alike.
During the time NGE was made, Japan in particular is still obsessed with the ''[[Yamato Nadeshiko]]'' ideal, which produces conflicts with women's liberation. NGE shows this to a degree with the Rei and Asuka contrast (with Asuka being the extreme foreign element). Nowadays, one of the consequences of growing gender equality in Japan is, instead of mutual respect it happened to be growing misunderstanding. Young women are revolting against the traditional role of obedient housewife. Just like how Rei gets [[Character Development]] from an [[Extreme Doormat]] into someone capable of free will. Startled men are retreating into solitary ways. Just like how Gendo fell from a relatively normal and sociable person into someone very callous and antisocial. Of course, this conflict contributes to growing [[hikikomori]]sm and the decline of marriages/birth rate/population, making gender issues even more relevant to Japanese society-at-large.
Also, one of the most major interpretations of [[A Date with Rosie Palms|that]] [[Dude, She's Like, in a Coma|scene]] in End of Evangelion is being Anno's way of [[Flipping the Bird]] to both the antisocials and the merchandising that serves them. Someone needs to write an essay on this, like, now.
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* It helps your argument that, from a language standpoint, there is no qualitative difference between rebuilding something and reconstructing something. In fact, the two words have the exact same definition. Coincidence? I think not.
== The Angels are [[Warhammer Fantasy Battle|Greater Daemons]] [[Warhammer
Massive, otherworldly monsters inextricably linked to the human psyche, with forms and abilities in blatant defiance of physics, are at best mildly inconvenienced by standard weaponry, can only be truly damaged or defeated by weapons of a similar nature to them, inspire fear and foreboding by their very presence and seek to destroy everything. The AT-Fields represent either their daemonic nature, shielding them from anything not of the Immaterium, or as the link allowing them to exist in the Materium, which when breached allows them to be "killed". What is referred to as Adam and Lilith are merely the remains of two Greater Daemons from before human civilisation and the storyline is the result of humans attempting to use their powers, which obviously goes balls up for everyone involved (as is the nature of Chaos).
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== [[Neon Genesis Evangelion]] takes place before [[Norse Mythology]] ==
The fusion of Adam and Lilith (Muspelheim and Niflheim) basically killed off all life on the planet, allowing to bring forth a new creation story and a new myth altogether, while at the same time it brought forth the {{spoiler|Giant Naked Rei}}, who was retconned as the first living thing, Ymir (who later became the building material for the [[World Tree|Yggdrasil]]), while Eva-01 became the cow Audumbla. The cow Audhumbla licked on a salt stone. On the first day after this a man's hair appeared on the stone, on the second day a head and on the third day an entire man emerged from the stone. The man is Shinji Ikari, who emerged from the Instrumentality. Shinji [[Took a Level
== [[Neon Genesis Evangelion]] takes place ''after'' [[Norse Mythology]] ==
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* I can name, right off the back of my hand, at least 10 anime series that are far more crossoverable.
== Shinji is the [[Warhammer
No, not just [[Shinji and Warhammer40K|Shinji and Warhammer 40 K]]. Why did Yui plan to grant Shinji a bright future, when it actually turns out to be one of the biggest [[Grimdark]] [[Nightmare Fuel]] he ever experienced? Answer: it was to make him the God-Emperor of Mankind. The Sea of LCL / Instrumentalized Humanity evolves into the Warp. Shinji, being able to draw powers from LCL / Warp, became an immortal powerful psyker, and being the only surviving man, decides he can finally strip off his [[Butt Monkey]] tendencies and unify humanity (his descendants) as more of a Ubermensch this time, molding history form millenia and finally leading to the creation of the Imperium of Man. This of course would also make a good [[Freudian Excuse]] for the Imperium's actions. Alternatively, both Shinji And Warhammer 40k and Warhammer 40000 canon are Alternate Universes Shinji created during Instrumentality with him placing himself into the role of the possible God-Emperor.
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== SEELE is Satan, Gendo is the Antichrist, Yui is Jesus, the series is an allegory, and the rest follows. Also, the message of the series is that you can't cheat your way to Utopia. ==
The idea is that Satan is always vying for the throne of God, and as such, [[A God Am I|attempts to make himself a god]]. Humanity are pawns in this cosmic game, and the Angels are the attempt at stopping SEELE (Satan's) attack. SEELE attempts to obtain unholy power through screwing with the order of creation, triggering the Apocalypse (Second Impact) and Tribulation (the following years.) This brings the wrath of god in the form of the Angels to earth—they didn't bother us until we forced second impact. Not in line with biblical chronology, after this Jesus (Yui) is [[And I Must Scream|crucified to the Evangelion]] for the sins of man, collectively represented by Shinji Ikari, who's being continually tempted to succumb to [[Despair Event Horizon]] and join SEELE in destroying the world. She returns on Judgment Day (As incarnated in ''EoE''), helps with how Shinji questions whether it is really worth it to kill off human life just to be a god, gives him hope in humanity thus allowing him to reject Instrumentality, and in the end spends the rest of eternity in space as an individual symbol to humanity's existence. Granted, this is more of a heavy borrowing of concepts from christianity than an allegorical fulfillment of them; the series is not allegorical event-wise, but in a general, thematic sense: Those who attempt to become God both destroy the world and [[Lonely
Also, the theme seems to be more or less a dystopian staple: true Utopia is earned organically, not imposed synthetically. Though Shinji's fantasy-world is great, it cannot be had in reality, and thus he rejects it. Like many Utopias' failures, the cause of failure is the imperfection of humans and how they cannot tolerate boredom; before evolution such as Instrumentality would bring can take place, we must actually change by ourselves to the point where it is natural to reach that state. Shinji's realization that human's can't truly co-exist in harmony for real—and thus, a free, intelligent and interesting life must include the painful chaos of individuality—is the reason that Lilith/Rei dies and Instrumentality goes kablooie. For other examples of collectivistic transhumanist utopias which get deconstructed because human nature isn't ready for it, see "The Matrix", "Brave New World", and "The Giver." If we were able to live in peace, [[Bread and Circuses]] forever, there would be no more plot, our souls suffer death-by-boredom (which we may not notice superficially) and it would not be much different from an [[And I Must Scream]] state (hence why in dystopian literature fandom, the fates of the people living in "Brave New World" are compared with of all things those that live in the absolute [[Despair Event Horizon]] of all Dystopias, "[[Nineteen Eighty-Four]]"). The idea that we can't cheat our way to peace is actually one that would be very important to remember in real life.
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The Force is a connection, binding everything in the galaxy / universe together. But if it existed on its own or if it became too powerful, the minds of every living thing would bleed together through that connection, and rapidly become a single, homogenized consciousness trapped in a state of nirvana, in other words, Human Instrumentality. There would have to be a counterbalancing existence to prevent that from happening. Conversely, if The Force didn't exist, if there were no connection between living things, then Human Instrumentality wouldn't have worked. The souls of mankind would not have been drawn together into a singular collective consciousness, but instead would have floated away individually into the void.
* The Force is the real name of the Anti-AT Field and [[Star Wars|midichlorians]] are actually S2 Engines.
* It can also be said that the AT Fields are the manifestation of the Dark Side of the Force. Think about it. While Jedi try to keep using the Force for peaceful purposes and the Light side of the Force is based on calm, meditation and universal harmony, on the other hand the Dark Side is based on passion, hatred and powerful emotions, those things that determine the strength and isolation of AT Fields, which in turn are of course simply a metaphor for the individual personality.
To understand the effect of the Dark Side on AT Fields, we must fundamentally know the Dark Side causality: Fear is the path to the Dark Side. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering. Suffering leads to the dark side. (It also helps to know the [[DC Universe|Anti-Life Equation]]: loneliness + alienation + fear + despair + self-worth ÷ mockery ÷ condemnation ÷ misunderstanding x guilt x shame x failure x judgment n=y where y=hope and n=folly, love=lies, life=death, self=dark side) Now what powers AT Fields? What are the dominant emotions that control the world of Evangelion? What are the major factor in our personality and [[Character Development]]? Fear. Intense, raw or negative emotions. Suffering, which influences behaviour. Self, the dark side.
Such powerful emotions are how the AT Field manifests itself onto the world, why Shinji is nearly omnipotent in his AT Field abilities, etc. It is also accepted that one has to be fearful and/or mentally deranged enough to manifest powerful emotions and AT Fields if he or she is to become an Evangelion pilot. One of the more obvious of these is the hedgehog's dilemma, the fear of becoming mutual enemies with oneself and others. The stronger the fear is, the stronger one wants to protect and isolate oneself from the rest of humanity, and thus the person is more and more seduced by the Dark Side to acquire more energy for his AT Field. For example, the stronger Shinji's wrath is, the more he manifests the Dark Side energy, which he uses to convert into AT Field energy. What if Shinji did not fear or is a normal person? Besides suffering from lack of character development, he is ignored by mother and gets defeated by the Angels. It was his dark side which allowed him to become an [[Eldritch Abomination]] altogether in End Of Evangelion. Not to mention AT is known as "Absolute Terror", which the Dark Side is supposed to bring upon the world when it manifests.
But why do our personalities have to be an extension of the Dark Side, rather than the Light Side? Even though The Light Side is as effective in manipulating the universe as the Dark Side could, the reason why the Light Side is not effective for powering AT Fields is because the Light Side is based on living in harmony with the universe, which of course results in the AT Field being neutralized rather than strengthened. This also meann that the Light Side is the Anti-AT Field used to bring about Instrumentality, or should we say Nirvana.
Heck, Psychoanalytical, Jungian or even Hindu and Buddhist metaphors can even be shoved into this: The Force represents the collective unconscious of Brahman, the Light Side represents the path to Nirvana, the AT Field represents the Ego or Individual, while the Dark Side of the Force represents the Id, the personal subconscious desires on which the Ego draws power.
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