Drinian <sailracer6@yahoo.com> wrote in message news:<bu2188$cjm1a$1@ID-210864.news.uni-berlin.de>...
> Richard Qunt wrote:
> 
> > Whether it's Misato, with her fine ass and jiggly E-cup breasts bursting out
> > over every top she wears, Ritsuko with her tight tops, short skirts, fishnet
> > tights and stilletto heels, Asuka with her tight plugsuit and underage
> > spunkiness, Maya with her cute boyishness or Rei just being Rei, you can't
> > deny that the chicks make a huge impression, especially on the men that
> > watch.
> 
> True, but I think the larger problem here is your choice of words. Most 
> of the content that you make up here is due to an obsession over the 
> characters, giving them fantasy personality traits that are barely 
> present, if at all, in the series itself. Cases in point are many of 
> discussions in this forum along the lines of "Would Rei/Asuka do ___?" 
> And I'm not talking about fanfiction here so much as one's view of the 
> characters reflects more on oneself than the actual content of the show.

Right. Since I'm female and heterosexual, this thread wasn't meant for
me, but I'd like to comment anyway.

You bring up a point that's always bothered me, Drinian. I can't
understand why fans want to characterize EVA's human female characters
as "perfect women". I don't think of "cute" or "spunky", or any other
words with frilly feminine connotations when I look at them. Instead,
I see tortured, screwed-up characters that are on many levels just as
bad as Shinji.

I guess you could say those who idolize EVA's females look at their
bodies rather than their personalities, but I'd like to believe it's
not that simplistic. There are plenty of anime and manga out there
which have attractive female characters without mental problems, so
I'm wondering why so many turn to Evangelion.

> And it's not like they're made so just for the viewer: look at how 
> Shinji responds when he's put into situations around Asuka, Rei, Misato. 
> These are essential plot devices.

Agreed. Not to mention that they are complex characters in their own
right, which to me should elevate them slightly above mere eye candy
that could be removed and only the sex appeal leaving.

> > I just have a feeling that NGE wouldn't have been such a cult favourite
> > without such sexual content to grab the viewer's attention.
> 
> One could argue the same thing about Baywatch, but I was never drawn 
> into that enough to watch more than five minutes.

I don't know *what* made EVA a cult hit. But there are plenty of anime
with more fanservice and pretty girls that hasn't reached cult status,
so I'm thinking it's not just that. Though Gainax has certainly
captialized on the popularity of most EVA females.
> 
> > What do you think?
> 
> I think I lost all respect for GAINAX as a company when they started 
> selling this:
> 
> http://www.gainax.co.jp/goods/cat_3.html
> 
> One wonders how much interaction the merchandisers have with the 
> creators of the series.

Argh. It may be sexy to some, but it's also out of character to me.