hontou ni
27Feb/096

Decking the Bitchy One

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In response to the ransom note, here's a head-on shot of the Rei versus Asuka drawing. I bought it at the Otakon 2000 Artists' Gallery; can't remember who was the artist and certainly can't decipher the signature - if anyone knows, please let me know so I can credit the artist. Sorry I don't have time to scan it especially since it's A3-sized, the lamination is troublesome and my scanner ain't all that great either.

29Apr/0813

Evangelion 1.01: You are (not) alone FAP

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I was all MOOGAINAXCA$HCOWLOLZ at first but my curiosity was piqued, nay aroused, by Kurogane's view, so I took an itsy bitsy teeny peekaboo and fap

16Aug/0715

FMZ! The Second Raid on Akiba

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The Nanoha Mobile!!! Parked along the road on the right of the overhead rail when crossing from Gamers side.

31May/067

The Joy of Bread

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Technically it should be "toast" since untoasted pre-sliced factory-made bread won't stand up to a running mouth hold. But as (1) Stripey has been using this term to describe the alternative Evangelion universe in Ep 26 for almost a decade now and (2) I am an old dog and just like the sound of "bread universe" mucho more than "toast universe".

8Nov/057

Attack of the Rei Clones

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Three layers to this post. First, some Bakuretsu Tenshi (Burst Angel) screencaps and a plug for a yuri AMV site. Second, a call for Rei clone candidates and definitional questions. Third, an assertion that more yuri can save many a lousy anime series.

21May/050

Evangelion Iron Maiden 2nd Vol.2

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Continued from Vol.1, the Giant of Light appears so we can probably assume that there wasn't any Second Impact. Apparently in Fumino's happy happy interpretation of Eva, the rest of the world, like the characters, was spared a screwing over as well. Anyhow, the appearance of Adam, the first Angel, is hardly going to get in the way of the teenage classroom romances of the cast.

Hikari and Asuka exchange notes on getting their respective thickheaded objects of affection to realise their feelings and reciprocate (goddamit!), eventually wondering if they have to fess up first. In the meantime, Kaoru confronts Rei about her feelings for Shinji and makes it clear that he is not happy. When Rei demands to know he is friend or foe, he replies that he is a friend of Shinji's. Latterly Shinji's declaration of friendship to Kaoru after they make music (Shinji on cello and Kaoru on violin) also touches the latter.

There is a pretty big hint that Rei has been some kind of test subject from the time she was a toddler, lending credence to the canon depiction of her as a clone but there is no indication of what she is a clone of. Certainly not Yui I hope. She recalls the mother figure researcher who encourages her to be independent and to have the strength to pick herself up from a fall and not to need to rely on others. But back in the present, assistance is exactly what Shinji offers her and it comes with all his kindness and concern which invariably touches her heart and makes her realise how lonely she is.

Just before the Third Angel finally makes its appearance, there's a hilarous scene where Kaoru and Rei tustle over Shinji while they make their way to the Geofront. Kaoru puts with his hand on Shinji's right shoulder in a rather possessive way, provoking Rei to retaliate by pulling on Shinji's left arm. The Children are shown the Evangelion robots for the first time and they're shocked that this is what the plug tests have been preparing them for. There is considerable argument over who will pilot the first two robots. Rei readily volunteers as does Kaoru but the latter is rejected for some bs technical reason from Ritsuko, reflecting their suspicion that he might actually be the enemy. Shinji actually steps forward to help Rei who doesn't seem to value her own life, much to Asuka's anxiety as she worries for his safety.

In the course of the battle, Rei is hurt and giving the artist a chance to draw her with those sexy bandages. Shinji comes to the rescue and destroys the Angel, thus saving Rei but he's terribly upset that he had to kill. Well, it does make it a bit better that Asuka is there for him. Even though she doesn't really know what to say, at least she's not the spiteful competitive little twat in the original series.

The story progresses with more canon Evangelion elements entering but we see how the differently predicated characters react and behave considerably at variance with the original series. Circumstance and context really are everything. The main thrust of this manga, the romance angle, doesn't really progress much in this volume but hopefully the "new" elements of the Angels have been sufficiently developed to allow the romance to proceed in the next volume.

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11May/052

Evangelion Iron Maiden 2nd Vol.1

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Fumino Hayashi's Neon Genesis Evangelion the Iron Maiden 2nd (Tokyo: Asuka Comics, 2004-07-31, Jp language manga) is set in the alternative universe (which Stripey calls the "bread" universe in homage to the piece of toast that Rei is biting on as she collides into Shinji) imagined by Shinji in Ep 25 of the anime series and is completely different from Yoshiyuki Sadamoto's more nuanced re-telling of the original. A doujinshi carried by a major publisher, if you will.

In this universe, Asuka is Shinji's childhood friend who comes to wake him every morning. Shinji's mom, Yui, is still alive as are Asuka's parents. On a typical morning, Shinji literally runs into Rei who then turns out to be a new transfer student in Shinji and Asuka's class with Misato as their homeroom teacher and Ritsuko as the school doctor. Touji, Kensuke and Hikari reprise their familiar supporting roles. Kaoru Nagisa is also a classmate and is rather interested in Shinji, to the point that Asuka, who fancies Shinji, feels a tad threatened.

Rei quickly puts the initial bad blood with Shinji behind her and attempts to befriend him. It's quite clear that she doesn't have parents and is lonely. And the six Children go off to do their Eva plug testing together. So yes, there are still giant robots but no tragic backstory and no Angels in this volume. Gendou is still an arsehole and creates angst for Shinji by hardly acknowledging his presence. Well, it's nice to know some things don't change.

In his honest, sincere and bumbling way, Shinji does small, kind things for Rei which touches her heart. This is how otherwise useless guys (like Bakayuki of Kiminozo) get cute (but seriously disturbed) girls. Asuka gets jealous and so hilarity ensues. But she also shows her righteous side. When some faceless female classmates covertly bully the blue-haired, red-eyed new comer who won't try to fit in (e.g. she continues to wear the uniform from her previous school) by stealing her bad and trying to burn her stuff in the school incinerator, Asuka intervenes and goes through much trouble (and soot) to recover Rei's possessions. A strange sort of friendship is thus formed (which the cover depicts well) but is immediately tested when Rei confides in Asuka that she is growing very fond of Shinji.

On the whole, this depiction of Evangelion did not disconcert me as much as I thought it would given how an angsty, pseudo-Christian, big robot and whiny protagonist anime was effortlessly converted into a rather happy, school-based boy-girl relationship manga (which also makes the Jp lang text easier to cope with). Having the bread universe in the original anime helped somewhat but I suspect it pandered well to my own desire for wish fulfillment - I grew to love the characters of the series and was quite appalled at how they were treated in the end. Out of unsatisfying endings comes fan fiction - ugh, that last thought just brought out the terror in me that this happy manga might warp into something akin to Jim Lazar's The Garden of EVA.

I liked the art which was very expressive and enjoyed the light, fluffy story. Given what we know of the characters in the anime and given the new assumptions and parameters (mom still alive, everyone is less screwed up), it's almost plausible. The antics of the Children, particularly the Shinji-Asuka-Rei threesome trio, persuaded me to get the other three volumes. Notes on Vol.2 soon!

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7May/054

GAINAX Has Two Cows

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Asuka n Rei in plugsuit streetwearWith the first cow, it sets off the Third Impact as the culmination of the Bovine Instrumentality Project. The milk produced cause the drinkers to have strange hallucinations and spout pseudo-Christian ramblings and bastardised Jungian pop psychology. Eventually drinkers see cows surrounding them, clapping their hooves and saying "Congratulations! Congratulations!"

After a tonne of complaints, it uses the second cow to do the same thing. Every cow in the world turns into milk when touched by a ghostly blue-furred, red-eyed cow. Except at the final stage, the cow rejects Instrumentality and the giant blue-furred, red-eyed cow breaks apart, spilling milk all over the devastated fields. The cow wakes up later, finds the red-furred cow is its only other companion, tries to strangle her before breaking down. The red-furred cow says, "I feel sick." GAINAX continues to milk them.

And so, after a good 10 years from its release, Neon Genesis Evangelion (website, website) continues to yield plenty of milk revenue and profits for its creators. I gather that the latest DVD re-release called The Renewal of Evangelion contains nothing really new so at least the title is accurate but doubtless, many otaku will lap it all up. While it is nice to see the series that really sucked me into anime fandom still having such great appeal, all this smacks of exploitation of the original work and of suckers consumers.

Speaking of which, I actually bought this cute set of figurines of Asuka and Rei in streetwear versions of their plugsuits. Complete with accessories! It was second-hand and much cheaper at JPY 2,600 (SGD 40) compared to the usual price of JPY 4,280 (SGD 66). And I'm actually rather disturbed that I still can't bring myself to take them out of the packaging. (-_-;) Zyl

Filed under: Anime Vices 4 Comments