Thread by @HaitamHbt

A thread about Asuka (NGE)

She can be described as arrogant, proud, egoistic. Who constantly efforts to prove herself for attention and acceptance.

But why does she behave like this? In order to answer this question we need to go her past.

To begin just like every child that successfully piloted an Eva she has a family complications primarily motherly issues. Every Eva pilot has in way or another their mother’s soul implemented into the Eva’s themself.

As part of the first contact experiment Asuka’s mother was stripped as part of her soul. She didn’t die but there was a vital part of herself missing and thus was left broken.

The partial removal of her soul left her in this insane fixation of thinking her daughter was a doll.

And to make it worse her father soon after began an affair with one of the doctors whom he later married.

Asuka was left abandoned by the two people who should protect her and be by her side. This left Asuka ‘starving’ for attention. This being Asuka’s sad desire for attention and isolation itself and independence.

As her mother drifts painfully in this spiral in insanity, Asuka is desperate for attention from her mother. She would do anything.

Asuka’s mother later than commits suicide. In the final moments Asuka was with her mother she asks her daughter if she would commit suicide with her. And at that time Asuka simply agreed to die with her mother ‘So please don’t quit being my mother’.

Asuka was once again left abandoned again after finding her mothers dead body hanging from the ceiling.

After this Asuka swore to not depend on anyone again because it only leads to pain for her.

This forced Asuka to grow up.
She’s often hurt to say ‘Look at me’ because her mother never did and her father never did either... No one ever has.

And now thinking she’s grown up she wants to prove her dominance. She wants to show that she’s the greatest Eva pilot but primarily she wants validation.

‘Why do I pilot the Eva?’ Is synonymous with ‘Why do I exist or what is my purpose?’.

The Eva plug-suit also plays a role.
At least visually. If you look at Asuka she’s is literally constantly wearing her ‘Pride’.

These Eva plug-suit ear things.

She wants to show the rest that she’s an Eva pilot. Asuka in a sense only wants to project the best of herself.

In this intimate scene where we see Asuka and Shinji there is a clear disconnect between these two. She says to Shinji ‘The sight of you makes me so irritated’.
Into what Shinji replies with ‘It’s because we’re so similar’.

Shinji at this point finally understands Asuka at this point and her words make sense to him. As before he was to dense to realize she was longing for him the whole time.

When Asuka came back at the end of the ‘Ending of Evangelion’.

She shows to caress Shinji’s face because throughout the entire Asuka’s hatred forwards Shinji can be viewed as misdirected hatred for herself.

She shows this calming sign of affection it can be seen as a sign of acceptance.

Her kindness towards Shinji means that she can finally accept him and subsequently accept herself.

Not to mention the ending cover of the Ending of Evangelion is the moment that takes place after the final impact. we see Asuka and Shinji side by side once again.

Asuka hated Shinji because he reminded her of herself. The moment she shows this calming sign of affection it can be seen as an act of acceptance, her kindness shows that she can finally accept him as herself.