>>3540299Lads, I had never really sat down and watched and anime, but I finished NGE + EoE last night and (to be honest, up until ep. 24) it absolutely blew me away. My only gripe is the thematic and developmental inconsistencies in the endings. Enough about that, though. I just wanted to provide context for my next statement(s)
It was clear as the moon on a cloudless night that Rei is best girl. For me, this charming stoic stole the show, but I can't help but feel as if everyone let her down. After I saw this scene,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wBLYAzEqRnoI kept waiting for other instances of individuals attempting to reach out to her and show her how much she means to them, to show her that she's more than just a means to an end, but the scenes never came. Despite the fact that she was always there for everyone when it counted, despite the fact that she was the only one the other two could always count on in the field, despite the fact that she showed more emotion in her silence and tears than words could every convey, no one did anything. I kept waiting for Shinji to, simply platonically, tell her how he felt, to comfort her when she was isolated, to simply hug her. The perfect pitch was consistently thrown yet the characters simply stood there and watched as the ball flew past them.
Two scenes, in my opinion, epitomized this missed opportunity: after Rei II sacrifices herself and Shinji meets Rei III and one that I can't recall but implies that she's a tool that is, "no longer needed." Despite being so overwhelmed with grief at Rei II's sacrifice, there is no embrace and no "please don't ever do that again," when they're reunited. What's more, at no point in time was it ever made known that it doesn't matter if you're still needed here when you're wanted here.
In retrospect, I just feel like everyone let her down. She literally gave her life for them and received not even a hug in return
