>>4078122>>4078129I am neither a troll nor a shitposter. I am simply me, trying to develop my understanding of Rei, whom I have become probably too interested in for my own good. I admit I spoke too confidently, since I haven't watched the series in several years, and was probably projecting based on my mental state at the time.
>>4077811Very useful. Rei's affection for Shinji is personally irritating, to be perfectly honest, but is less unreasonable when considered relative to the events of the series. It also appears that she transferred the connection she had to Gendo to Shinji as the series progressed, though I'm still confused and disturbed by her seeing Gendo as she died in Ep. 23.
>>4078122Respectfully, I disagree. First, I would argue she is far more than "slightly unusual" before the end of the series, even ignoring her apparition in Ep. 01. Rei III was as I recall capable of acting unlike Rei II wished or could, such as disabling AT-Fields. Second, Rei's status as a deity is a critical element of the entire plot and the reason why Gendo expressed care for her, being the key to Instrumentality - but I should say I still don't fully understand the relationship between Rei and Lilith. Third, I don't think that her bringing about Apocalypse was vengeance - Rei doesn't seem to hold grudges, and from her dialogue with Shinji in EoE, Rei on the contrary seems to want to end mankind's suffering as individuals by bringing them into perpetual union with each other and herself. Fourth and further, Rei as Lilith is fundamentally and literally the progenitor of all life on Earth, making her and her actions during EoE inherently maternal.
There is always more I could say the more I think about this, but it'll have to wait.
