In so far as the discussion about “canon” (yuck) goes, it’s good and healthy to make a distinction between the Asuka that we all share, and the Asuka that only some dream of. When fans fail to make this sort of distinction, for Asuka or otherwise, we run into a lot of problems.

But on the other hand, Asuka reminds us all that her truest source of reality is not in our fantasies. What defines her as the character we love *is* Neon Genesis Evangelion. It’s the original, it’s not going to change, and that’s a good thing.

Asuka conceding that some of these are fun or tempting is Anno showing grace to his fans. He's actually agreeing, "yeah, it *is* fun to think about sometimes!" (And good for him. I know he's a VERY ambivalent dude, and likely always will be, but I'm glad he can feel good about things for now.)

"I want the real Asuka in the new movies, not this Shikinami!" "I think Asuka and Mari would be cute together!" "I want Asuka and Shinji to just enjoy a normal life together and get married and have babies!" And so forth.

I think it’s really about, in effect, the difference between what Asuka is within the unchanging "text" of NGE — the 26 episodes and a movie that fans will continue to watch again and again — and the hopes and dreams that fans impart upon her.

Ultimately, the short has absolutely no in-story repercussions for Asuka's character. It has nothing to say about that at all, and believing it does will only lead you astray.

To me, the whole thing actually felt pretty straightforward, as Eva goes.

Also contrast the short's Soryu declaring how she will keep fighting Angels as Eva-02's pilot for as long as she's needed, to NGE!Asuka's outcome: all Angels are dead, so is her mother/Eva, and she must now figure out another reason to exist.

The two Asukas we see are not, in any way, logical in-universe progressions of the Asukas from NGE and NTE. They exist fully outside the "space-times" of their own stories. Shikinami, for example, bares little resemblance to NTE!Shikinami at ANY point in the films.

That is to say, the short and its very threadbare narrative is simply a device for self-referential commentary directed at the fans. (You. Yes, you! The characters are talking to you! Isn't that fun? Stop worrying about what universe you're in and just have fun, okay? 😉)

This is, as some predicted it would be, fan service in the vein of the radio play "After the End". The characters exist in the realm of the purely metafictional. You are meant to take this about as seriously as if the characters decided to give the MST3K treatment to their own material.

I have seen the Eva 30+; Asuka short! (Don't tell our friends in Japan...) There is a lot of "discourse" surrounding this thing, most of it predictable in the worst way. "Canon", shipping wars, multiverse/timeline nonsense, you name it. Le sigh. #evangelion #asuka

A mock evangelion poster with rei in her final form holding that one red spear. A bunch of other reis are holding hands around an exploding iris

end of evangelion

I'm not sure if it means anything that Mark.09 used its feet to generate its blue core tendrils in Q, while in Shin, it uses its hands -- much more in line with Asuka's style...

Curious how the 10th Angel's core, which contains Eva-00's/Lilith's core (where Rei is), is contrasted directly against Mark.09, which does not seem to be a core where Asuka "is" in quite the same way, but the fact that she has a connection to it at all makes the parallel more intriguing.

But anyway, to wrap these musings up, I have to think about these two similar shots. Given what I've laid out here for Mari's attack on Mark.09, the "trying to get back someone lost" point of resemblance to Shinji's moment should be much starker.

There's less of a clear-cut relationship in Q, though, beyond the fact that Mark.09 does not activate until Eva-13 has. And as far as I know (right now), no attempt is made by Shin to pair the other Vessels to their respective Adams, even though reasonably they should all have one.

The Vessels are a tough nut to crack overall. Mark.09 and Eva-13 show a clear relationship in Q, where the former's Seele program can remotely control 13, and 13's Awakening affects 09 (giving it a similar halo, the ability to levitate, devastating energy attacks, etc.).

That Mari begins her plan to save Asuka by ingesting an Eva made from what appears to have been Asuka's core from back when she was a god certainly is interesting. Did Mari hope to gain something in particular by eating that one first, or was it pure opportunism? A bit of both, perhaps?

Mari's motivations are, as always, mysterious, but the part she states out loud? An interest in recovering Asuka's soul from Eva-13's interior -- in other words, saving the Princess.

In the latter, Mari begins the process of assimilating the Adams' Vessels into Eva-08, making 08 capable of following Eva-13 and Eva-01 through the Door of Guf, traversing the anti-universe, and ultimately getting Shinji back into Eva-01's cockpit.

In the former, Mari ejects Shinji from 13 while telling him to "help/save the Princess", something that to this day doesn't make much sense in context (Asuka doesn't really need any help, and in fact she's the one who saves HIM).

Eva-08 Goomba-stomping Eva-13 and Mark.09 in Q and Shin respectively. There's the common thread of the "Asuka-Adams" (or "Urizen" as I say) here -- Eva-13's base = its body, Mark.09 = its original core -- though, as always, further analysis is possible. -->

#evangelion #エヴァンゲリオン #ヱヴァンゲリヲン新劇場版

@arqaapocrypha.bsky.social Re: the issue of Wille's knowledge and how it's never properly established, one idea I've been working on is that is that the films are fucking with us by pitting the beliefs and knowledge of Wille (or at least certain people within it) against those of the audience. -->

And (along with Shinji) "left behind".

What could she have been hoping from him? Hmmmmmm.

And then that she is both betrayed by him... -->

For me, the most instructive scene has been this one. We get callbacks to EoE where Gendo plays the role of Rei and Misato plays the role of Gendo, where the implication is first that Misato is expecting something from Gendo... -->

What if Wille (or, at least, Misato and possibly Ritsuko) have been operating under the flawed belief that Gendo is some kind of ally on the inside -- a common enemy against Seele and what they think is Kaworu's Nerv? Could this start to explain some of the seemingly inexplicable? -->

In fact, Kaworu was! (And in Q, Kaworu says he's been meaning to put on the choker which Misato has had lying around, which he says was made for him by "Lilin who feared him"... Hmm.)

Gendo also says he "lent" Eva-01 to Misato and in Q mentions she's fulfilled certain expectations he had. -->

E.g., when we hear that Wille is fighting against "Nerv", we assume that means they are fighting against GENDO, but... ever notice how Gendo couldn't have been the commander in charge when Wille launched its big EoE-style attack? (Due to the time constraints for this:)

@arqaapocrypha.bsky.social Re: the issue of Wille's knowledge and how it's never properly established, one idea I've been working on is that is that the films are fucking with us by pitting the beliefs and knowledge of Wille (or at least certain people within it) against those of the audience. -->