u/Legitimate-Relief-95

Just manga Asuka showing some thugs who's boss.

"Thank you, Ms. Misato."

Can we seriously appreciate how cute Shinji looks in this outfit? He just looks so innocent and vulnerable and huggable. (Meant wholesomely, for those of you with dirty minds)

Minus the crocs...

That medical gown/DSS Choker look he has in the first 30 minutes of Evangelion 3.0 is such an underrated look.

I just find it makes him look so cute and vulnerable. Especially the overall bagginess of the gown.

It really makes you feel bad for everything he goes through at the start of the movie.

Like always, Shinji really needs a hug.

Anyone else feel that way? Just me? Okay.

A little appreciation for Evangelion's Shonen battle series AU manga, Campus Apocalypse.

Set in an a universe where the Evas are magic weapons and the are humanoid entities whose cores have to be collected by the heroes.

It's an underrated series that features interesting twists on familiar characters.

Some bits I really enjoyed:

Kaji raising Shinji for 3 years prior to the series. Fatherly Kaji is always great and it provides a pretty good Watsonian explanation for why the Shinji here is more stable.

Misato still having her conflict between genuinely caring about the kids and having a mission to accomplish.

Shinji and the others having more of a genuine sense of companionship than usual. They really have more of a true companions vibe here.

Asuka's backstory (having to kill BOTH of her parents when she was little and the Angels possessed them) and her growing to respect Shinji (and maybe more).

The sense of humor. Seriously, the horse head bit is gold.

If you've finished the series and movies, but still have a hankering for Evangelion, I recommend it.

Misato's reaction and Shinji's obliviousness are my favorite parts.

We also have Asuka reacting with bug-eyed shock. I like to think it's because, even for Asuka, there are some things you just DON'T say in public.

And lastly, Rei, giving not one single f*ck. 😆

One of the best parts of the manga. Not only do we get backstory on Pen-Pen, but we see Misato understanding that Shinji is really just a lonely kid who wants to be loved.

Telling him that he's her family, hugging him like he's her own son while he clings to her sleeve like a small child... 🥲

Don't get me wrong. I love the long look they share at the train station in the anime, but it means so much that she hugged him and actually told him that he's more than just a pilot to her.

I can't help but feel so much would have been better if anime Misato had been able to tell Shinji these words.

An aspect of the Rebuild movies I don't see discussed much is Sakura's role on the Wunder, with her being assigned to oversee Shinji's care.

For all intents and purposes, she's meant to occupy the role Misato did for Shinji at NERV. A kind stranger Shinji can be foisted off onto so Misato can maintain emotional distance.

This is important because (aside from highlighting the passage of time) it lets us see that Misato isn't completely heartless, that she made sure Shinji would be in the hands of someone kind and sympathetic. This is highlighted when Ritsuko tells her to introduce herself to Shinji in an attempt to calm him when he's panicking about the DSS Choker.

This isn't to say it's an ideal or good tactic, as Misato is still passing her responsibility for Shinji onto someone even younger than she was when she met him. This puts Sakura in the awkward position of wanting to support Shinji, but not knowing what to say to really make him feel better about his situation.

In short, it's another parallel to Gendo and how Misato had become like him during the timeskip.

Just thought that was interesting.

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A lovely commission by the great u/Hot_Cauliflower_299

Basically, Shinji and Asuka have been living in an abandoned house for awhile after EoE. They go to the beach everyday to see if anyone else has come back, until one day they find Misato on the shoreline. They take her to the house where she wakes up and they have a well-earned tearful reunion. At least, that's my preferred headcanon🤞