Why Asuka hates Shinji [Evangelion]

Do I get bonus points for not even mentioning the hospital scene?

P.S. I'm not sure if anybody can understand my English, so I added captions.

[madamada]

"why Asuka hates Shinji"
*So, back then in Madagascar...*

[NitroDubzzz]

I had no idea Madagascar was the 4th rebuild of evangelion.

[foxbyte]

I've been watching 20 minute long EVA analyses all day, and yet this 2 minute video with a reference to Dreamwork's Madagascar may just be the best out of all of them. It's honestly amazing that you were able to conceptualize and explain such major aspects of both Shinji and Asuka's characters in such a concise yet articulate manner. Props to you!

[fish]

>serious af evangelion theory
>madagascar

[mulattobby]

You compared Evangelion to Madagascar...




you compared evangelion to madagascar.

[JoshRushingartist]

The Madagascar comparison was hilarious and surprisingly apt. Great analysis, keep it up!

[ANGELILYworks]

You're right. Shinji only sees Asuka as a coping mechanism from seeing the real world's problems. If not Asuka, anyone else would do. That's why Asuka hates him.

[DopeioThePhoneBoi]

I don't think she ever really hated him actually. Her self-hatred made her lash out, refusing to be seen as weak by anybody, and because of this, she pushes him away with angry insults. At the same time, Asuka herself was starved for love and attention just as much as he was. She kisses him, out of a desire to see if he truly loved her, but in her words "he wouldn't even hold her", so she plays off the kiss and pretends to be disgusted by it, even though she's actually more hurt than disgusted. She wanted Shinji to express some sort of affection, but when he mostly only offers apathy, it tears her to pieces. It doesn't help that there's a possibility that he sees Asuka as a coping mechanism, someone to punish him for being a failure and killing the only person who had ever shown him love. Kaworu.

[albertbokor]

"...newborn does to its mother." Shows choke.

[solitariopsider]

Despite that she used an example as crude and easy as Madagascar, some of you in the comments stay with that and do not understand the video. No, she didn't compare evangelion to madagascar, she used it to explain something. and what if she had done so, what's wrong with it? if it were a crime to compare things of high level with things that do not have it, go and arrest Anno himself

hey, nice video. as an another comment said, there are 20-minute videos that can't explain this as good as you did

[samperry]

Both of them are toxic af, but they’re also both 14 year olds who have suffered great tragedy and have experienced incredible neglect. They were both starved of unconditional love for the entirety of their lives. And they both are horrible at communicating how they feel, especially towards one another; they’re two different sides of the same coin in that way imo. Plenty of wrong done towards each other and towards others because (and I know this is a massive cliche) hurt people hurt other people. I think the last scene in EoE captures their dynamic perfectly, because I do think they finally show each other how they feel at the end, both in their love and resentment for each other. Shinji chokes her, Asuka caresses his face to show genuine sympathy, Shinji breaks down in front of her and lets his guard down (even though part of that is him breaking down in self-deprecation) and then, in classic Asuka fashion, she calls Shinji, his incessant self-deprecation, and the messed up stuff he did to her (*cough cough hospital scene/choke cough cough*) “Disgusting”. That’s how I would interpret it. And I honestly feel that every character in NGE deserves both immense criticism for their toxicity and compassion for their individual trauma. Even Gendo, in the colossal dickhead that he is. These characters are all portrayals of the human condition. Even in the awful things that Shinji and Asuka do, there also so much understanding to be had with them (as well between them in their relationship within the series, though they fail to understand one another).

[annastaysathome]

I left this cringe-worthy video for like a year and now it has 25k+ views, kind and meaningful comments, engaging conversations.. what the hell you guys

[purplefidelity]

I don’t think she hates Shinji. I think she loves him a lot and it’s revealed in End of Evangelion imo. In instrumentality Asuka acknowledges that if Shinji wants her, he’s hers and only hers. Plus her whole problem is that she pushes people away because she has a deep fear of abandonment. That’s why she’s the meanest to Shinji. She loves him the most and is afraid of allowing herself to fall for him because theirs a chance he’ll reject her. At the end of the movie she touches his face and he cries. The two loneliest people in the world are the last people in the world and they finally learned to accept each other.

[laylover]

Using Madagascar as an example in a philosophical and psychoanalytical video essay is amazing. This video really was super good though. And short enough for my monkey brain.

[Shanemvm]

I think this is the main roadblock in their relationship and Shinji's biggest flaw as a character. However I don't think it's as simple as Asuka being a "cookie cutter" filler for Shinji's need to feel loved. He could've imagined anyone in his subconscious during instrumentality, he could've chosen someone who shows more affection like Misato or Rei, instead he demands love the most from Asuka. While this does make Asuka resent Shinji it proves in my opinion Shinji loves Asuka the most. Also we have to remember that Shinji is a 14 year old who is going through puberty. He's trying to make sense of things like Love and Romance and typically most boys struggle to comprehend something like that on a deep level in addition with Shinji's lack of unconditional love growing up. He wants to love Asuka but because of the way she treats him and a lack of understanding he can't. Asuka recognizes that he likes her but is frustrated he can't show his feelings.

[lofibutterfly]

God Damn.
Also, love how you used Madagascar as an example.

[uomi]

idk what you all are talking about, the madagascar comparision was on point

[ASOtheprO]

Fuck that’s sad. I actually understand what the light of the soul is, it’s the deepest reflection of one’s self. So for Asuka to say “my soul has been raped” God that’s so fucked up. Me personally, having put all my faith in my soul, I could handle the degrading of my body, my soul is all I have left to rely on. But if someone destroys my very consciousness and existence, I personally can’t imagine recovering from that. For me, there is no deeper reflection of myself than my soul.

[MrInuhanyou]

Asuka doesn't hate shinji, and shinji doesn't hate asuka, its the exact opposite. Their relationship is complicated because their mental roadblocks each stop them from being able to understand one another, as you would expect of two broken people. It would be the same for them individually with everyone else on some degree. Asuka clinging onto kaji to feel older and more mature or Shinji clinging onto rei to feel love he can't get from his father. His sexual attraction to her also feeds Shinji's loathing in particular for himself.

THis is all what makes EOE so great. By choosing Asuka to return from LCL, he accepted his flaws and his own weaknesses and moved forward. Earlier in the movie he has a vision of strangling and rejecting an Asuka who tells him what he is scared of hearing from her mouth, this is a portion of his brain we dont usually see

[gestaltengine]

Asuka, however, is never willing to show her true self, always putting up a brave, confident facade. A facade that shinji buys into. Only in the very end of EoE that facade is brought down and the two reach mutual understanding.