>>3622874>>3622898>>3622949>ready to die (bushido)>composes poetry (bunbu ryodo)>vegetarian (buddhism)>named after an imperial destroyer (ayanami)>named after an imperial fighter plane, and one of the virtues of bushido (rei)When will you see that Rei is a samurai? Rei is known as a Yamato nadeshiko in Japan.
Anno despairs about the decline of Japan after WWII into a "nation of children". As an otaku that hates otaku, Anno also struggles to reconcile himself with the fact that he's part of that process. When you understand this it makes sense why are so many naval allusions in Eva and why Japan and Germany are leading the world, and why Rei self-immolates with a nuclear bomb. Rei represents the dying spirit of what Japan once was.
