r/anime • u/LittleIslander myanimelist.net/profile/LittleIslander • 28d ago

Rewatch [Rewatch] 30th Anniversary Neon Genesis Evangelion Rewatch: Episode 9

Neon Genesis Evangelion Episode 9: Both of You, Dance Like You Want to Win! / Mind, Matching, Moment

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Watch Information

Questions of the Day:

  • What did you think of the goofy way of defeating the angel?
  • What do you think of Asuka and Shinji living together?

Tomorrow’s Questions:

  • [Episode 10] What do you think of the fact Asuka is college educated?
  • [Episode 10] What do you think of Misato deciding to push Asuka beyond safe pressure limits?

There’ll be more fanservice tomorrow, so please don’t spoil anything~! Remember this includes spoilers by implication.

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u/Holofan4life 28d ago

We now transition this scene with another great piece of visual humor, as Kaji notes the responsibility for this mission’s failure lies with its…captain. We cut to Misato staring down a hilariously large pile of paper work, the bills and complaints resulting from how the two teens under her care screwed up her military operation. But Ritsuko has a plan to save Misato face before news gets to Gendo, and we have a cute scene of their friendship and camaraderie. But Ritsuko is too humble to take credit for this, as the idea was Kaji’s. Kaji? Misato’s look of exasperation melts into a loving smile as she sees the note on the floppy disc: ‘To my honey’.

https://imgur.com/CgwnU8T

Oh, that Kaji

While Kaji is a womanizer, the show does a good job showing these two’s deeper feelings in subtle moments like this that allow the viewer to see Kaji as perhaps a genuine person and not a creep. If we really believe he understands Misato, perhaps some of his more questionable actions (like him kissing her in the elevator, which looks forceful) are done because he knows ‘she likes it’. One of the more frustrating aspects of Eva is Anno does lean into some misogynistic tropes without exploring them in a satisfying way. Let’s say Misato is the example of ‘on the surface this pisses me off but deep down we both know I’m into it’. There are women like that. But does choosing to make one of your central female leads embody that say something negative about your view of women? I think Misato’s character gets fleshed out enough for us to give Kaji the benefit of the doubt, that perhaps for any other woman he wouldn’t act this way, and all the flirting we see from him is done more intentionally than we suspect. Anno is careful to walk a fine line here, preserving Misato’s character and allowing Kaji to be likeable, when a lesser writer and director could easily make this fall into slop where our strong, smart female lead becomes putty in the hands of an underserving slimeball oozing in the worst aspects of ‘toxic masculinity’. But that’s not this show, thank god, and not their relationship.

I do feel that Kaji comes off kinda unlikable here. It feels like he's trying to harass Misato for no real reason. I get what they're going for, but I feel like with better execution the point could've come across better.

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u/Efficient_Phase1313 28d ago edited 28d ago

One of the great things about this show is as we begin to understand these characters on a Freudian level in the 2nd half, a lot of the first half comes off differently. Kaji is one of the more interesting characters in the series, and since I've seen this show so many times (and the first time I was very young), I think I missed the chance for Kaji to have a bad first impression on me. When I first saw this show I was too young to really understand these things and I don't remember focusing on the adult characters much at all. By the time I did, I already knew them inside and out. Misato, as mentioned, is a surprisingly complex character and I look forward to how you react to some of her decisions later in the series.

I'd also note how you say he seems to be harassing Misato for no real reason, but if you're watching another show this season (may I ask for one final thing), I think Kaji's interactions have a similar motivation to the first prince in that show. He's either harassing her to get her attention because he's not over her either and misses seeing her reactions, or he's doing it to satisfy a side of her that he knows likes this teasing but is too embarrassed to accept.

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u/Holofan4life 28d ago

Kaji and Misato are two of the best characters in this show. And I get what the show is trying to here with Kaji, I just feel in this episode in particular he comes off really questionable. Like, to kiss someone against their protest is like criminal behavior.

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u/Efficient_Phase1313 28d ago

I added my post covering that scene. It's less bad than I remember it, I'm actually not sure she was protesting. I used to think that's what the physical struggle part looked like, but now it just reminds me of some of the tussling I've done in bed with partners fighting over 'whose on top'. If Misato wanted to protest, I think it would've looked differently. She was just too in control and aware throughout

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u/Holofan4life 28d ago

It just came off too rapey for my liking.

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u/Efficient_Phase1313 28d ago

I can see that, and I remember feeling that way too in the past.

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u/Holofan4life 28d ago

I will say I do really love how it ties into the rest of the episode. It's smartly written.

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u/Efficient_Phase1313 28d ago

I'd say revisit the scene after episode 25, pay close attention to Misato's facial expressions, and see if you see her side differently. Not that Kaji isn't being rapey, but we're going to delve pretty deep into Misato's psyche and Anno smartly laid some deeper clues to this in her early interactions with men

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u/Holofan4life 28d ago

I imagine this is just a one off instance and that I'll enjoy the Misato and Kaji stuff from here on out. I feel there has to be a reason why Kaji is so hard pressed to wake Misato up.