Her hair is usually in the way, okay?

After all these years, I somehow never noticed this obvious detail: Asuka has a giant God damn 2 on the back of her plug suit. Perhaps I did notice it before, and simply forgot until this latest Evangelion Re-Watching Project, but either way it's inexcusable.

Can I get my membership card back if I suggest the macabre satisfaction in Asuka's voice when she utters (mispronounces, really) ERSTE after dismantling the first Eva Series flunky in End of Evangelion is likely related to her intense loathing for Rei? (Recall that Asuka usually refers to Rei as "First," rather than by name.) Dag.

There's a third Love Eva manga, Neon Genesis Evangelion Gakuen Datenroku (Neon Genesis Evangelion Academy: Records of Heaven’s Descent). At least I think it's the third one; I may have lost track. Like the first Love Eva manga, known as Iron Maiden 2nd, Girlfriend of Steel 2, and Angelic Days (among other monikers), Evangelion Academy runs in Monthly Asuka.

Turtle Paradise Scanlations is up to chapter five as of this entry. They're using scans from Monthly Asuka itself, and meeting the same challenges I faced with its pulpy paper when I was scanning Iron Maiden 2nd for Studio ADTRW. Scanning-type issues aside, Turtle Paradise is doing a fine job so far, although I see they've found yet another spelling variant for "Soryu."

As far as the manga itself...it seems all right. I like how Rei totes around the Lance of Longinus. One thing I don't care for is how it—like just about every other Eva revision—tries to make Shinji less despicable and whiny. While that may make him less annoying, it kind of makes it Not Eva anymore—might as well just take the basic idea of the revision and turn it into an original title. Making Shinji less of cretin seem as unnatural to me as transforming Asuka into The Virgin Mary. Oh, wait...

Sacrilicious.

This is really a picture of Asuka.

I sort of hope Miyamura Yuko has been working on her German in preparation for the new Evangelion movies.

Shinji is aghast. Rei should be ashamed.
Asuka loves Kaji. And Mana is quite the sticker-whore.

Who is the best anime/manga character of all time? Of ALL TIME. This is a question frequently discussed (usually inadvertently) in many forums and channels (although the term "best" is usually taken to mean "hottest"). These discussions often arise in the form of binary comparisons of characters from popular contemporary shows such as "Teana > Subaru" or "Shamal > Signum" that ultimately lead to final decrees such as "FATE > *."

Nanoha and Fate.
Fate > Nanoha.

Whatever the cause, and regardless of form, one thing is certain: Anime fans are fickle. Inevitably, their favorite characters are quickly replaced season by season; demonstrations and pronouncements of current favorites (such as message board avatars) are ephemeral, soon replaced, and sooner forgotten.

Saber, Emiya, and Rin.
Rin > Saber.

I've mentioned this phenomenon among anime fans in the past, and the general consensus seems to be that this flightiness is entirely normal. After all, they are fully cognizant of the fact that their favorites cannot love them back; these fans are not delusional even as they compulsively download and hoard pictures of their favorite characters and collect figurines and paraphernalia emblazoned with their likenesses, only to begin the cycle anew next season when they develop a new favorite in a month or two.

Meyrin, Athrun, and Lunamaria.
Meyrin > Lunamaria.

I am not damning this behavior. I am merely setting the stage for the real object of my curiosity: Why is it so rare to find a fan with unshakable, indefatigable, incorruptible loyalty to a single character—one for whom there is no superior, no equal, no rival, no successor? To be honest, in the past seven or eight years during which anime emerged as my primary hobby, I can think of very few people who appear completely devoted to a single character. Bear in mind that this is a fandom in which nearly unimaginable perversions, grandiose neuroses, and unspeakable habits are not at all uncommon. And yet, I know of far more people who genuinely enjoy, for example, guro than I know people for whom there is adamantly only one best character. Are the latter the more perverse, since they are the more rare?

Souju and Sara.
Souju > Sara.

Perhaps this behavior is related to the aforementioned tendency to associate "best character" with "hottest character." Relying on the old standard, "familiarity breeds contempt," (or the more modern axiom, "show me a hot girl, and I'll show you a guy who's tired of fucking her"), it seems natural that people who are fully aware their 2-D love affairs will remain unrequited must quickly find and fixate on new characters as their fervor for their current favorite inevitably fades. So, do the rare Incorruptible Few not realize that their idols can't love them back, or is it that they just don't care?

Sara.
A Little Princess > The Secret Garden. Wait....

My optimism tells me it is the latter. For that reason, as far as I am concerned, for these few, their unique peculiarity is an attribute—their uncommon determined, dedicated devotion their defining characteristic. And so, so damning if I am wrong.

P.S. Asuka > *

She may be weary.

Young girls they do get weary

Wearing that same old shabby dress.

And when she gets weary

Try a little tenderness.

It's not just sentimental.

She has her grief and care.

And a word that's soft and gentle

Makes it easier to bear.

Evangelion Platimum Edition DVDs boxed set.

Holy crap, the Platinum Edition of the Neon Genesis Evangelion DVDs (ADV's version of the digitally remastered Renewal discs) is down to $33.87. I can vouch for the quality of these discs. As someone who owns both the Platinum Edition and the older so-called "Perfect Edition," the Platinum version is vastly superior in every respect.

I got the Nausicaa manga box set and an Eva DVD.

Just out of curiosity, I listened to the English language track on the DVD to see if the dubbing was any good. Holy Christ, it's freaking bad. No surprise. They shouldn't even have bothered - dubs are for people who can't read. Think of it this way: Listen to a dub with your eyes closed - if you can still tell that it's dubbed (or it sounds like total ass), then it's a typical dub - crap. The Spanish and French dubs on the disk, however, aren't quite as bad.

Sadly, the Japanese Asuka can't speak German for shit (and she's supposed to be fluent), but I already knew that.