Asuka Langley Sohryu/Shinji Ikari (Neon Genesis Evangelion)
Title: Psychological Codependence
Author:
ypaladinofchaos
Fandom: Neon Genesis Evangelion
Pairing: Asuka Langley Sohryu/Shinji Ikari
Warnings/Spoilers: Spoilers for the entire series, as well as The End of Evangelion movie. Also, be forewarned that The End of Evangelion portion contains discussions of a disturbing scene of sexual nature.
The History of "The Greatest Anime Series of All Time"
No, that’s not an idle boast or my own assumption. That is, without joking, literally what a sticker boldly proclaimed about Neon Genesis Evangelion when I first picked up the box set.
It made me curious, what can I say. My friends called it strange, weird, cool, and just downright freaky at times. So, I bought it.
My first impression- odd. Really odd. Giant robots and giant monsters and a cast of characters that kept making ambiguous comments that made no sense.
And so I kept going.
By the end, I didn’t think it was odd.
I was staring at my television screen like a catatonic schizophrenic.
I literally did not know what to make of it. In fact, most people who go past episode 24 or watch End of Evangelion barely know what to make of it. That, actually, is one of the most fascinating things of all- after so many years, still hardly anyone can make heads or tails of it. So much of the fandom today is guesswork and vague ideas only hinted at in the actual series.
Speaking of the fandom- I must say that while at the moment it is experiencing a bit of a growth from the Adult Swim series, I always find myself longing for the older, venerated stories of Evangelion. There are so many talented writers of old who graced the fandom with wonderful stories.
And, what’s more, many of the stories focused on a single pairing, one I happened to like- Asuka Langley Sohryu and Ikari Shinji.
But why these two characters? Exactly what about them makes them the prominent pairing of the fandom?
Let’s take a look, shall we?
The Original Whiny Pilot/A Therapist’s Dream Come True
Shinji Ikari. Possibly the weakest protagonist you will ever meet in terms of will, boldness, and mental stability. Often thought of by the fandom as a wimp in a way that few other protagonists have. Either that, or a future psychopath in training.
Either way, not exactly your usual hero for a story.
But his submissive personality can be explained, and, in fact, is created out of the circumstances of this series.
His mother, Yui Ikari, as revealed later in the series, is a scientist working in an organization called GEHIRN, under direction of a group known as Seele to create the Evangelions, the giant bio-mechanical robots Shinji would pilot in the future.
In a freak accident, Yui Ikari disappears right before Shinji’s eyes- a memory that he will bury deep into his psyche, which will only surface after almost a decade of repression.
In the aftermath of his mother’s death, a second blow is delivered when his father abandons him at a train station.
His father, Gendo Ikari, was the director of GEHIRN, the organization Yui worked for, and would later command NERV, the organization which Shinji would fight for. Because he is so influential in his son’s development, Gendo himself must be discussed.
Gendo Ikari is a man hard to describe. An enigma wrapped in a mystery locked in a puzzle and frozen in the Arctic to be released in a time when that puzzle has been forgotten. His personality is mercurial at best- downright frigid at worst.
He was in fact born Gendo Rokubungi- he took his wife’s name, something that noble Japanese families sometimes did when the heir was a daughter. It is unknown if Gendo ever loved his wife truly- however, he apparently went mad with grief when she died and disappeared for a week, only to return and promptly begin a decade long plan to revive his dead wife.
Whether that was truly his aim or not is debatable. However, when his wife died, Gendo promptly shipped Shinji off to live with another family- in the anime, a teacher, but in the manga, his aunt and uncle. They only saw each other probably less than three times over the next ten years, and it is only when Shinji is fourteen that he is summoned to Tokyo-3 by his father.
It is there that Shinji comes face to face with his father, and Gendo promptly tells Shinji that "I have a use for you".
Shinji, quite desperately, wants to tell his father "I hate you", or "You abandoned me", but no matter what, he is always cowed by his father.
Shinji’s "use" is to pilot Evangelion Unit-01, against the Third Angel, Sachiel, who arrives at the city nearly at the same time as Shinji. Shinji of course, is terrified and fiercely reluctant to do so, even refusing to pilot when he is told that they will all die.
It is only when the only other pilot in Tokyo-3, Rei Ayanami, is wheeled out, her arm and eye bandaged up that Shinji’s resolve weakens. Rei stands up slowly, but a blast from Sachiel nearly sends her crashing the ground. Shinji barely manages to catch her in time, and finally shouts out, "I’ll pilot it!"
It is here that Shinji’s gentler, kinder side shines through his fear for the first time. He is willingly putting himself in an impossible situation, not for himself, but for another.
Shinji, in Unit-01, can barely walk, and thus is soundly beaten back by Sachiel At the last moment, Unit-01 goes berserk, a common theme whenever Shinji is in over his head.
Afterwards, Shinji is taken in by the Operations Director (his commanding officer), Captain (later Major) Misato Katsuragi, and lives with her for the remainder of the series.
The series continues as thus, with Angels arriving and pilots being shipped out to deal with them. On the side, Shinji is at times making progress, making friends and being a bit more outgoing, and then later regressing back into himself, until his psychological health deteriorates to the point of catatonia.
More detail will be shown later, since much of it will deal directly with his relationship with Asuka.
A Girl Strong As Glass/Another Therapist’s Dream
Asuka Langley Sohryu, a German/Japanese girl born in America, raised in Germany. She graduated college at fourteen, trained in piloting the world’s most advanced bio-weapon. Tenacious, beautiful, and generally the sort of girl that guys are both intimidated and enthralled by.
And she knows it.
Asuka bursts into Shinji’s life in every manner possible- she becomes his comrade on the battlefield (though she acts like his superior officer), his classmate in school, and his roommate at home.
It’s quite obvious that Shinji is attracted to Asuka- he can’t help himself. To the world, Asuka appears to be a confident, self-assured young woman, which is what truly drives Shinji’s attraction to her, even more than her looks.
In reality, however, Asuka is perhaps even weaker than Shinji. She possesses a clear inferiority complex, stemming from a traumatic childhood that rivals Shinji’s.
At an extremely young age, her parents, after what looks to be a very shaky marriage, divorce in the worst possible manner, meaning a great deal of shouting and yelling and generally traumatic things for a child to see. What’s more, Asuka’s mother, Kyoko, loses her mind in another Evangelion related accident, much like Shinji’s mother.
Kyoko suffers from what looks to be a type of schizophrenia, a removal of the self from the world. She is lost, unable to recognize Asuka, and only talks to a doll which she believes to be Asuka.
The literally "mad" scientist begins to talk of death in front of the young Asuka, often asking Asuka to die with her.
In short- a very disturbing experience at an extremely young age.
To make matters worse, Asuka’s father neglects her in favor of his new wife, whom Asuka dislikes immensely. The two of them fight over her father’s attention, until at last, Asuka’s father sides with his new wife and all emotional connection between the two is cut off.
Asuka seems abandoned by all, until she gains an extraordinary chance, to become the pilot of an Evangelion. She rushes to tell her mother, certain that her mother could hear this news.
Only to find her mother has hung herself from the ceiling, holding that doll in hand.
The event scars her so badly that it will, much like Shinji’s own memories, be repressed for many years, until forced out of her subconscious because of another trauma.
Because of the lack of parental support and guidance, Asuka becomes independent, willful, and extremely determined to be the best at everything she can with almost no regard for anyone else- which is the exact opposite of Shinji’s meek, subservient nature.
Asuka’s desire to be the best also makes her want to be seen as a young woman, not as a child or a teenager. To further this end and possibly for other reasons, Asuka develops a massive crush upon her suave, mysterious guardian, Ryoji Kaji. She continuously attempts to get him to date her, all of which fails.
Failure is, in essence, Asuka’s greatest fear- failure would mean being forgotten, alone, and no longer the strongest. She needs her victories, her successes, her genius- if not, then who is she but the little girl who was asked to die along with her mother?
In The Beginning There Was Light/But Darkness Soon Followed
The story begins on episode 6 "Asuka Strikes!", in which, true to its name, Asuka appears for the first time in. Shinji, along with two of his friends, is being taken by Misato Katsuragi to meet Asuka onboard a battleship.
They start off in classic anime fashion- Asuka slaps Shinji, along with his friends Touji and Kensuke, for seeing her panties, though that’s due more to the wind on the ocean sea than their looking.
An innocent start.
For now, anyway.
Asuka seems uninterested in Shinji, though it might be because he’s already defeated several Angels and she hasn’t seen combat yet. Her interest spikes, however, when Kaji mentions that Shinji has had no prior training, whereas she has been training since early childhood.
Her inferiority complex is set off and Asuka drags Shinji with her to her Eva, boasting about how it’s the final production model (Shinji’s Eva, Unit 01, and Rei’s, Unit 00, are the Test and Prototype models respectively). The boast is cut short with the arrival of the next Angel, and Asuka quickly drags Shinji into the entry plug with her, determined to show off her skills.
Things quickly go sour as Asuka is knocked off the boat. The standard Eva equipment isn’t suited for undersea combat, and the marine-type Angel clearly has the upper hand, even attempting to swallow Asuka and Shinji. Asuka, at one point, panics, but Shinji keeps a cool head and tries to take control- Asuka, naturally, tells him not to touch the controls. However, with Shinji’s help, Asuka manages to free them and, with the help of a few battleships, they destroy the Angel.
This is the first, but certainly not the last incident that Shinji and Asuka work together to defeat an enemy. Shinji, as he disembarks the ship, remarks that he hopes he’s seen the last of the German redhead- only to see her first thing in the morning, in his class.
The next Angel forces them to work even closer, and it is this incident that places Asuka in Misato’s care, along with Shinji. In the first skirmish, Asuka foolishly rushes in and cuts the Angel in two- only to discover that this Angel can split into two separate forms that attack in tandem.
The result is a humiliating defeat that earns both pilots a nasty scolding and the order to work together to bring the Angel down. They are forced to live together, eat, sleep, and even use the same bathroom together. They train using a Dance Dance Revolution style pad and music, in an effort to get them to synchronize movements.
In an amusing incident, both Shinji and Asuka’s friends arrive at their door, and are shocked to find them l together, or as Asuka’s friend, Hikari Horaki, puts it, "Living in sin!"
Naturally, both Shinji and Asuka clash immediately. They argue, they fight, and basically refuse to work together. This changes, however, when Rei is asked to try the training, and she and Shinji work in perfect tandem. This causes Asuka to run off in a fury, and Shinji is urged to go after her.
They agree to work together, and what follows is a montage of them doing their best to try and synchronize perfectly. However, the night before the battle, Asuka sleepwalks and ends up in Shinji’s bed. Shinji goes red as Asuka’s rather flimsy shirt shows her cleave nicely. Her lips are open, and Shinji reaches forward, about to steal a kiss-
And Asuka starts to cry in her sleep, mumbling about her mother- who, as mentioned earlier, committed suicide and was found by a young Asuka.
Shinji is then shown a good three feet away, sleeping on the floor, and commenting that Asuka is still just a child, like him.
The next morning, as the Angel arrives, Shinji and Asuka perform splendidly, delivering a stunning, synchronized assault to the sound of music- only to fall apart just after the Angel is defeated.
In a comic moment, Shinji and Asuka argue over the radio as to who’s fault it is that they tripped and fell, and Shinji accidentally reveals that he tried to kiss her the night before. What follows is a childish argument that leaves the commanders at NERV groaning.
Afterwards, Asuka continues to live with Shinji, though it’s clear the training is now over and the need has passed. Though it may be because Kaji can’t take her in, Asuka never mentions living with him from this point forward.
The next Angel is found before it attacks, sleeping inside a volcano. They decide that they will send an Eva, along with special equipment, to capture the unborn Angel. Comically, Shinji muses inwardly that they’ll pick him, since he always end up doing it. To his surprise, they pick Asuka to go.
In another light hearted moment, the Asuka’s Unit 02's equipment for magma diving looks reminiscent to an old diving suit, while Asuka’s new plug suit (the pilot uniform) makes her look like a red balloon. Despite this, Asuka presses on, eager to prove herself.
Naturally, the mission goes awry when the Angel awakes and promptly breaks free from Asuka’s hold, causing her to lose her weapon, the progressive knife. Shinji throws his own knife down, and Asuka manages to grasp it in time to stab the Angel.
However, the line connecting Asuka to the surface is broken in the midst of combat, and Asuka begins to sink to the heart of the volcano. At the last moment, however, Shinji’s Unit 01 appears, holding her hand.
As Shinji pulls her up, Asuka’s face becomes genuine and soft, for the first time. Her words of gratitude, while typically Asuka, are said in a much gentler tone than normal.
"Idiot... you showoff."
Asuka, before this, is nearly always closed off and hiding behind her anger and hostility (the main exception being when she cried in her sleep). However, this is her being sincere and even gentle, which she never shows around her crush, Ryoji Kaji.
The next Angel attack is focused more on all three pilots working together, rather than just Asuka and Shinji. It is of note, however, that Asuka, in this case, allows Shinji to shoot the Angel while she takes the brunt of its attack, as a thank you for saving her life. Her attitude seems softer, and her fights with Shinji are slacking off, furthering the idea that the two of them are growing closer.
The next Angel attack is another teamwork focused episode, and provides little more in the way of Asuka/Shinji moments. The only thing to note is that Asuka does work together with Rei and Shinji to bring down the Angel, just as she did before. This behavior will not last much longer, however.
The next Angel incident isn’t even about the pilots, so we’ll skip that.
In the interim between this Angel, the Eleventh, and the next, there is an introspective episode that creates one of the most written about moments in Evangelion. Asuka’s crush, Ryoji Kaji, is going to go out with Misato, his old flame. That same day, Asuka is asked by Hikari to go on a date, as a favor.
Shinji, on the other hand, has a less joyous outing planned. It is the anniversary of his mother’s death, and he and his father go to his mother’s empty grave to pay their respects. After a brief talk with his father, Shinji returns home to indulge in a surprising talent- the cello.
Asuka arrives soon after, and compliments Shinji on his talent, which Shinji meekly brushes off as something he was asked to do, in memory of his mother.
They soon drift off to do their separate things, until Misato calls, mentioning that she’s going out with Kaji for some drinks.
Asuka stews on this for a while, and finally says, "Hey Shinji? You wanna kiss me?"
Shinji, having been listening to his music only a moment before, removes his earphones and cannot believe his ears. However, after some teasing from Asuka, they do in fact kiss. However, Asuka is holding Shinji’s nose, and he breaks away, gasping for air. We don’t get to see Shinji’s or Asuka’s face, but we do see Asuka’s back as she retreats to the bathroom, complaining that the kiss was terrible.
Before Shinji can say or do anything else, Kaji arrives on the scene, holding a passed out Misato. Asuka’s joyous greeting of Kaji is suddenly cut off when she realizes Kaji smells like Misato’s perfume.
This moment is critical for me. So much is hidden from the viewer. Asuka’s face might have told a different story than her words, as it did with the volcano incident. There are so many theories behind why Asuka says what she did, but in the end, it remains a mystery.
In the next episode, the Twelfth Angel arrives, changing the tone of the series and setting it apart from the usual mecha anime. Before the Angel arrives, Shinji surpasses Asuka’s synch scores, which determined how much of the pilot’s reaction is being transmitted to the Eva, which means that 100% would equal perfect synch, and anything above that would be an increase in the pilot’s ability.
Shinji is praised for this achievement, having only been with Eva for a short time. Asuka, on the other hand, is furious at being surpassed, which begins her path to self-destruction.
Shinji, unusually bolstered by this and the praise allocated from it, and when dared by Asuka to take point when the Twelfth Angel arrives, he accepts, even boasting that it’s a man’s job to fight. His confidence leads him to be completely swallowed up by the Twelfth Angel, which is mainly just a giant shadow.
Asuka is shocked and very reluctant to leave Shinji when ordered to, but they force her to pull back, and she is reprimanded for sticking around. Afterwards, she attempts to cover up her worry by mocking Shinji’s decision to take point, but her efforts are obviously forced.
When Shinji’s Unit 01 reappears, in an unholy rain of blood as he tears the Angel apart from the inside, everyone obviously shocked, because by that time, the Eva should have run out of power. Afterward, Shinji awakes in the hospital, with Rei sitting next to him. They talk for a bit, and as she leaves, Asuka is revealed to be just outside the door, listening in. When Rei tells her its her turn to go in, Asuka is tongue tied, and Shinji laughs.
This moment is particularly significant because Asuka is shown to be worried for Shinji’s safety, and even attempts to visit him in the hospital, showing a care for others that is unlikely for the rather selfish pilot of Unit 02.
The Thirteenth Angel leaves Shinji an emotional wreck after being forced to fight another Eva, which is possessed by an Angel and piloted by his friend, Touji Suzuhara. His father activates the dummy plug, a battle A.I. of sorts, that takes over and brutally defeats the Angel, while seriously harming Touji in the process.
Afterwards, Shinji is so enraged at his father that he tries to attack him using the Eva, resulting in him being knocked out and then quitting NERV. Things to note are that Shinji shows a panicked expression when Asuka’s communication is cut off, and Asuka’s quiet, withdrawn voice when she mentions that Shinji will undoubtedly be kicked out of NERV for his attempted mutiny. Both are subtle reminders that these two have grown closer.
However, as Shinji is leaving the city, the Fourteenth Angel arrives and begins its monstrous assault on the city. Asuka is quickly dispatched (to Shinji’s horror), and Rei attempts a suicide move using a nuclear weapon, but the Angel survives.
With his friends beaten, Shinji is forced to once again take up arms and proceeds, in a towering rage, to fight the Angel to a standstill without the use of weaponry. As he seems to have gained the upper hand, however, he runs out of power. Only a last minute intervention by his mother’s spirit allows Unit 01 to crush the Angel, but results in Shinji being absorbed into the Eva and lost for over a month.
Shinji experiences a stream of consciousness, much like he did while trapped in the Twelfth Angel. In a scene that confirms his attraction to Asuka (as well as Rei and Misato), a dream-Asuka asks "Do you want to become one with me?", meaning a sexual union. It also reveals Shinji’s inner need for the kindness of others, which is why he fights, to earn that kindness.
When Shinji returns at last, he’s placed under lockdown and restricted from combat. This becomes problematic when the Fifteenth Angel assaults Asuka’s mind, forcing her to relive her parent’s divorce and her mother’s loss of sanity and subsequent death. The damage wreaked destroys Asuka and, when Shinji tries to reach out to her, he is violently rebuffed as Asuka screams that she hates him.
Asuka disappears after that, becoming little more than a background character for the rest of the T.V. series. One thing of interest, however, is that during a dream sequence in the last episode, Shinji imagines a world where Asuka is his childhood friend, and it hints that Asuka does in fact have feelings for him, especially when she actually defends him in front of the entire class without reason to. Though this isn’t real, it is a part of Shinji’s psyche and reveals that perhaps that’s what he wishes his relationship with Asuka to be like.
On the other hand, End of Evangelion features a more dramatic return for Asuka. In the opening parts of the movie, Shinji, shellshocked after the events of episode 24, in which his new friend Kaworu Nagisa is revealed to be the Seventeenth Angel, and he is forced to crush Kaworu with his Eva, goes to Asuka’s room in the hospital. She had been previously found in a bathtub in the ruins of a city, naked and near death. Shinji begs Asuka to help him, to be his friend, to just be there for him, but she is unresponsive. He grows a bit rough, and suddenly Asuka’s flimsy shirt is open, revealing her breasts to him.
In one of the most controversial scenes in anime history, Shinji then proceeds to masturbate in front of Asuka’s unconscious body. Afterwards, he utters a fitting line.
"I’m so fucked up."
This is just about the last conscious thing Shinji does for most of the movie. For the rest of the time, he remains in a comatose state, not talking, just curled up in a ball. Even when a gun is pointed at his head, he has no response. Misato literally drags him through most of the base, in fact.
During all of this, a massive attack, orchestrated by Seele, the former backers of NERV, has begun. In order to protect Asuka, they place her in Unit 02 even while in a coma. She awakes to the sound of explosions, and curls in a ball, whispering that she doesn’t want to die.
At the last moment, much like Shinji against the Fourteenth Angel, Asuka sees a vision of her mother, whom she believes is actually within the Eva. When Asuka’s mother lost her sanity, it is possible that her mind had actually been transferred to Unit 02 during testing, like Yui Ikari did, but to a lesser extent.
Asuka proceeds to decimate the attacking forces, her vigor renewed. However, Seele dispatches its Mass Production Evas which far outnumber Asuka, and are piloted by the dummy plugs, the same kind that attacked Touji previously with such ferocity.
Meanwhile, Misato has sacrificed herself to save Shinji, sending him to his Eva while staying behind to be caught in an explosion. Her last words give Shinji a bit of strength and he tries to get to Unit 01... only to find that it has been sealed off, and trapped. He sinks into a deep depression even as Asuka’s words come over the comm, as she angrily mentions that Shinji is nowhere to be found.
Asuka, despite being outnumbered, seems to have won the battle. However, she is blindsided and an enemy spear pierces her Eva’s eye. The pain is transmitted to her own eye, and she screams in agony. Soon, the other Mass Production Evas stand up, and then hurl their spears down and impale Asuka’s Eva brutally.
In a horrific moment, they proceed to open up their jaws and actually devour Unit 02, with Asuka feeling every bite.
Shinji, upon hearing that Asuka is most likely dead, looks up and Unit 01 erupts out of its confinement. The base explodes after that in a storm of dust and debris, and Unit 01 and Shinji rise out of it, complete with multiple sets of glowing wings.
When Shinji sees the torn, ravaged pieces of Unit 02 in the hands of the enemy Evangelions, he screams, triggering Instrumentality, which is the forced merging of all of humanity into one consciousness.
The remainder of the movie is a stream of bizarre images and sounds, but parts of it are particularly clear. In one sequence, Shinji and Asuka are in the kitchen. Shinji begs Asuka to help him, much like he did earlier. However, Asuka rebuffs him, saying that he’s only going to her because he’s afraid of Rei and Misato.
As she continues to verbally lambaste him, Shinji snaps and strangles Asuka, eventually killing her.
Shinji’s lonely rage is clear at this point. He wants to be understood, and reaches out for Asuka, trying to obtain the kindness he so desperately wants. But Asuka can’t help him- only he can help himself.
After another barrage of images and sounds, Shinji eventually agrees to leave Instrumentality, deciding that humanity should live on as it is. He awakens on the shores of a beach besides a blood red ocean filled with the crucified remains of the Mass Production Evas.
He finds himself next to what appears to be Asuka, though whether or not it is the true Asuka or a Rei/Misato/Asuka amalgamation is still under debate. I myself think it is Asuka as herself, returned to the world because Shinji wanted her with him.
However, the first thing Shinji does upon seeing Asuka is to strangle her. He only stops after Asuka gently caresses his cheek, and he begins to cry.
Asuka finishes the movie with an ambiguous line that means something along the lines of "How disgusting" or "I feel sick" What she’s talking about is another subject of debate.
However, Yuko Miyamaru, Asuka’s seiyu, stated that she came up with the line after Anno asked her how she would feel if placed in Asuka’s situation after Shinji had masturbated while she slept.
She answered that she would say it was disgusting, which is probably the best idea for what was really meant with that last line.
That’s Really Messed Up/So Why Ship Them Then?
I think the greatest reason Asuka and Shinji work for me as a couple is that they are uniquely suited to understanding one another. They lost their parents to Eva, they were alone most of their lives and dealt with it in opposite manners; Asuka using aggression, Shinji withdrawing from reality. What’s more, they do care for one another, in their own messed up and strange manner.
They borrow from each other’s strength as well. Shinji greatly admires Asuka’s strength of will, believing she is much stronger than him, while Asuka herself knows that Shinji is probably stronger than her. While it’s a point of frustration for her, she indirectly shows she depends on him while fighting the Mass Production Evas, commenting that Shinji is nowhere in sight- implying that she is waiting for him to save the day, as always.
In the end, I suppose it’s a matter of the two of them being able to potentially help each other out, to make things better, and, most importantly for Shinji and even Asuka, to be able to understand one another. Understanding, after all, is a key theme in Evangelion, something both pilots desperately crave, and can give to one another.
Links
SA - A ShinjiAsuka C2 community.
Blue Wavelength- Another ShinjiAsuka C2 Community, though this one's archive is much smaller.
Asuka's Notebook- Though no longer updated, it was the home to Axel Terizaki, the author credited with starting the popularity of the Asuka/Shinji pairing with his fic Child of Love. Be warned though, it is in script format.
Darkscribes- A formerly Evangelion focused archive that houses some of the best fics on the net. What's more, they have a collection of many of the best fanfics in the Evangelion fandom in downloadble PDF and Microsoft Reader format.
Evafics.org- An Evangelion focused archive that screens the quality of its fics. Rest assured the quality will be high. Yours truly even has a few works on the site. Also contains a forum.
Evamade- Another Evangelion archive and forum.
Specific Fanfics and Authors
The Best Laid Plans by Ryoma. I'll tell you this straight. This is my favorite fanfic of all time. It's delightful, with so many subtle layers of humor that I still find new things to laugh at while poking through.
Anything by Strike Fiss. His works include the massive epic Higher Learning, which still stands today as a testament to what a romance epic should look like, and Shinji the Casanova, a hilarious work with numerous cultural references that will have you grinning all the way through.
Also, even though his fics tend to be either only hint at Asuka/Shinji or lack it at all, Ranma1337 is still one of my all time favorite Eva authors and needs mention.
The works of Andrew Huang also tend to be considered some of the first, and best Asuka/Shinji pieces out there. Check 'em out.
Wake by Hotwire. A post End of Evangelion one shot so good, people have actually stopped reading Asuka/Shinji because nothing measures up to it.
Eva-R. This not only has a writer, it has multiple editors, artists, music tech, etc. This is meant to literally be a continuation of the original series, ignoring episodes 25-26 and End of Evangelion. Its in script format, but if you're looking for a multimedia experience that goes beyond the word fanfic, this is it.
The One I Love Is... by Rakna. The love triangle to end all love triangles. While it is a Rei/Shinji/Asuka triangle, not Asuka/Shinji, its just too good not to add in.
Children of an Elder God by John Biles and Rod M. This is an epic, macabre piece that perfectly blends the work of H.P. Lovecraft and Evangelion into one. The result is a masterpiece of the darkest kind. Not for young readers, especially not as the story goes on. While incomplete, I must mention it. It's just that good.
Japanese Ramen by Rion. Imagine taking American Pie, and then smashing it into Evangelion. This the result. And trust me, even incomplete, its still worth reading.
Red Rose, White Day by jino turtlegod. A massive one shot that I find hilarious every time I read it. Give it a try. You won't be disappointed.
Little Sister by DigiFruit. An interesting, not to mention sweet, alternate series of events leading up to the Fourteenth Angel. Also, many other of DigiFruit's stories are also very good and Asuka/Shinji focused.
A Beautiful Day For Piggyback Rides and On Growing Roses, both fics by Karina Kineshi. Entertaining, sweet little fics. Piggyback Rides lies within the alternate world imagined in Episode 26, while On Growing Roses is set in the original canon.
Panty Raider by Garasu. Just as it sounds, its a hilarious little fic that's just too good to pass up.
Christmas Cards or Riding Through Tokyo 3 by Kalus. A sweet, funny Christmas tale that's good anytime.
In A Perfect World by Hououza. Another story set in the imagined alternate world, this one is wonderfully written, told from multiple POVs. While incomplete, I love rereading this story.
Ascension of the Lamb by Dante Abbey. A dark continuation post-End of Evangelion. Another mature fic.
There are many more, but I don't really have time to name them all. Check out the C2s for many of the ones that are on fanfiction.net, but there are other fics that were created even before ff.net that I can't remember at the moment. Searching for venerated , however, is usually a good idea.
Author:
ypaladinofchaos
Fandom: Neon Genesis Evangelion
Pairing: Asuka Langley Sohryu/Shinji Ikari
Warnings/Spoilers: Spoilers for the entire series, as well as The End of Evangelion movie. Also, be forewarned that The End of Evangelion portion contains discussions of a disturbing scene of sexual nature.
The History of "The Greatest Anime Series of All Time"
No, that’s not an idle boast or my own assumption. That is, without joking, literally what a sticker boldly proclaimed about Neon Genesis Evangelion when I first picked up the box set.
It made me curious, what can I say. My friends called it strange, weird, cool, and just downright freaky at times. So, I bought it.
My first impression- odd. Really odd. Giant robots and giant monsters and a cast of characters that kept making ambiguous comments that made no sense.
And so I kept going.
By the end, I didn’t think it was odd.
I was staring at my television screen like a catatonic schizophrenic.
I literally did not know what to make of it. In fact, most people who go past episode 24 or watch End of Evangelion barely know what to make of it. That, actually, is one of the most fascinating things of all- after so many years, still hardly anyone can make heads or tails of it. So much of the fandom today is guesswork and vague ideas only hinted at in the actual series.
Speaking of the fandom- I must say that while at the moment it is experiencing a bit of a growth from the Adult Swim series, I always find myself longing for the older, venerated stories of Evangelion. There are so many talented writers of old who graced the fandom with wonderful stories.
And, what’s more, many of the stories focused on a single pairing, one I happened to like- Asuka Langley Sohryu and Ikari Shinji.
But why these two characters? Exactly what about them makes them the prominent pairing of the fandom?
Let’s take a look, shall we?
The Original Whiny Pilot/A Therapist’s Dream Come True
Shinji Ikari. Possibly the weakest protagonist you will ever meet in terms of will, boldness, and mental stability. Often thought of by the fandom as a wimp in a way that few other protagonists have. Either that, or a future psychopath in training.
Either way, not exactly your usual hero for a story.
But his submissive personality can be explained, and, in fact, is created out of the circumstances of this series.
His mother, Yui Ikari, as revealed later in the series, is a scientist working in an organization called GEHIRN, under direction of a group known as Seele to create the Evangelions, the giant bio-mechanical robots Shinji would pilot in the future.
In a freak accident, Yui Ikari disappears right before Shinji’s eyes- a memory that he will bury deep into his psyche, which will only surface after almost a decade of repression.
In the aftermath of his mother’s death, a second blow is delivered when his father abandons him at a train station.
His father, Gendo Ikari, was the director of GEHIRN, the organization Yui worked for, and would later command NERV, the organization which Shinji would fight for. Because he is so influential in his son’s development, Gendo himself must be discussed.
Gendo Ikari is a man hard to describe. An enigma wrapped in a mystery locked in a puzzle and frozen in the Arctic to be released in a time when that puzzle has been forgotten. His personality is mercurial at best- downright frigid at worst.
He was in fact born Gendo Rokubungi- he took his wife’s name, something that noble Japanese families sometimes did when the heir was a daughter. It is unknown if Gendo ever loved his wife truly- however, he apparently went mad with grief when she died and disappeared for a week, only to return and promptly begin a decade long plan to revive his dead wife.
Whether that was truly his aim or not is debatable. However, when his wife died, Gendo promptly shipped Shinji off to live with another family- in the anime, a teacher, but in the manga, his aunt and uncle. They only saw each other probably less than three times over the next ten years, and it is only when Shinji is fourteen that he is summoned to Tokyo-3 by his father.
It is there that Shinji comes face to face with his father, and Gendo promptly tells Shinji that "I have a use for you".
Shinji, quite desperately, wants to tell his father "I hate you", or "You abandoned me", but no matter what, he is always cowed by his father.
Shinji’s "use" is to pilot Evangelion Unit-01, against the Third Angel, Sachiel, who arrives at the city nearly at the same time as Shinji. Shinji of course, is terrified and fiercely reluctant to do so, even refusing to pilot when he is told that they will all die.
It is only when the only other pilot in Tokyo-3, Rei Ayanami, is wheeled out, her arm and eye bandaged up that Shinji’s resolve weakens. Rei stands up slowly, but a blast from Sachiel nearly sends her crashing the ground. Shinji barely manages to catch her in time, and finally shouts out, "I’ll pilot it!"
It is here that Shinji’s gentler, kinder side shines through his fear for the first time. He is willingly putting himself in an impossible situation, not for himself, but for another.
Shinji, in Unit-01, can barely walk, and thus is soundly beaten back by Sachiel At the last moment, Unit-01 goes berserk, a common theme whenever Shinji is in over his head.
Afterwards, Shinji is taken in by the Operations Director (his commanding officer), Captain (later Major) Misato Katsuragi, and lives with her for the remainder of the series.
The series continues as thus, with Angels arriving and pilots being shipped out to deal with them. On the side, Shinji is at times making progress, making friends and being a bit more outgoing, and then later regressing back into himself, until his psychological health deteriorates to the point of catatonia.
More detail will be shown later, since much of it will deal directly with his relationship with Asuka.
A Girl Strong As Glass/Another Therapist’s Dream
Asuka Langley Sohryu, a German/Japanese girl born in America, raised in Germany. She graduated college at fourteen, trained in piloting the world’s most advanced bio-weapon. Tenacious, beautiful, and generally the sort of girl that guys are both intimidated and enthralled by.
And she knows it.
Asuka bursts into Shinji’s life in every manner possible- she becomes his comrade on the battlefield (though she acts like his superior officer), his classmate in school, and his roommate at home.
It’s quite obvious that Shinji is attracted to Asuka- he can’t help himself. To the world, Asuka appears to be a confident, self-assured young woman, which is what truly drives Shinji’s attraction to her, even more than her looks.
In reality, however, Asuka is perhaps even weaker than Shinji. She possesses a clear inferiority complex, stemming from a traumatic childhood that rivals Shinji’s.
At an extremely young age, her parents, after what looks to be a very shaky marriage, divorce in the worst possible manner, meaning a great deal of shouting and yelling and generally traumatic things for a child to see. What’s more, Asuka’s mother, Kyoko, loses her mind in another Evangelion related accident, much like Shinji’s mother.
Kyoko suffers from what looks to be a type of schizophrenia, a removal of the self from the world. She is lost, unable to recognize Asuka, and only talks to a doll which she believes to be Asuka.
The literally "mad" scientist begins to talk of death in front of the young Asuka, often asking Asuka to die with her.
In short- a very disturbing experience at an extremely young age.
To make matters worse, Asuka’s father neglects her in favor of his new wife, whom Asuka dislikes immensely. The two of them fight over her father’s attention, until at last, Asuka’s father sides with his new wife and all emotional connection between the two is cut off.
Asuka seems abandoned by all, until she gains an extraordinary chance, to become the pilot of an Evangelion. She rushes to tell her mother, certain that her mother could hear this news.
Only to find her mother has hung herself from the ceiling, holding that doll in hand.
The event scars her so badly that it will, much like Shinji’s own memories, be repressed for many years, until forced out of her subconscious because of another trauma.
Because of the lack of parental support and guidance, Asuka becomes independent, willful, and extremely determined to be the best at everything she can with almost no regard for anyone else- which is the exact opposite of Shinji’s meek, subservient nature.
Asuka’s desire to be the best also makes her want to be seen as a young woman, not as a child or a teenager. To further this end and possibly for other reasons, Asuka develops a massive crush upon her suave, mysterious guardian, Ryoji Kaji. She continuously attempts to get him to date her, all of which fails.
Failure is, in essence, Asuka’s greatest fear- failure would mean being forgotten, alone, and no longer the strongest. She needs her victories, her successes, her genius- if not, then who is she but the little girl who was asked to die along with her mother?
In The Beginning There Was Light/But Darkness Soon Followed
The story begins on episode 6 "Asuka Strikes!", in which, true to its name, Asuka appears for the first time in. Shinji, along with two of his friends, is being taken by Misato Katsuragi to meet Asuka onboard a battleship.
They start off in classic anime fashion- Asuka slaps Shinji, along with his friends Touji and Kensuke, for seeing her panties, though that’s due more to the wind on the ocean sea than their looking.
An innocent start.
For now, anyway.
Asuka seems uninterested in Shinji, though it might be because he’s already defeated several Angels and she hasn’t seen combat yet. Her interest spikes, however, when Kaji mentions that Shinji has had no prior training, whereas she has been training since early childhood.
Her inferiority complex is set off and Asuka drags Shinji with her to her Eva, boasting about how it’s the final production model (Shinji’s Eva, Unit 01, and Rei’s, Unit 00, are the Test and Prototype models respectively). The boast is cut short with the arrival of the next Angel, and Asuka quickly drags Shinji into the entry plug with her, determined to show off her skills.
Things quickly go sour as Asuka is knocked off the boat. The standard Eva equipment isn’t suited for undersea combat, and the marine-type Angel clearly has the upper hand, even attempting to swallow Asuka and Shinji. Asuka, at one point, panics, but Shinji keeps a cool head and tries to take control- Asuka, naturally, tells him not to touch the controls. However, with Shinji’s help, Asuka manages to free them and, with the help of a few battleships, they destroy the Angel.
This is the first, but certainly not the last incident that Shinji and Asuka work together to defeat an enemy. Shinji, as he disembarks the ship, remarks that he hopes he’s seen the last of the German redhead- only to see her first thing in the morning, in his class.
The next Angel forces them to work even closer, and it is this incident that places Asuka in Misato’s care, along with Shinji. In the first skirmish, Asuka foolishly rushes in and cuts the Angel in two- only to discover that this Angel can split into two separate forms that attack in tandem.
The result is a humiliating defeat that earns both pilots a nasty scolding and the order to work together to bring the Angel down. They are forced to live together, eat, sleep, and even use the same bathroom together. They train using a Dance Dance Revolution style pad and music, in an effort to get them to synchronize movements.
In an amusing incident, both Shinji and Asuka’s friends arrive at their door, and are shocked to find them l together, or as Asuka’s friend, Hikari Horaki, puts it, "Living in sin!"
Naturally, both Shinji and Asuka clash immediately. They argue, they fight, and basically refuse to work together. This changes, however, when Rei is asked to try the training, and she and Shinji work in perfect tandem. This causes Asuka to run off in a fury, and Shinji is urged to go after her.
They agree to work together, and what follows is a montage of them doing their best to try and synchronize perfectly. However, the night before the battle, Asuka sleepwalks and ends up in Shinji’s bed. Shinji goes red as Asuka’s rather flimsy shirt shows her cleave nicely. Her lips are open, and Shinji reaches forward, about to steal a kiss-
And Asuka starts to cry in her sleep, mumbling about her mother- who, as mentioned earlier, committed suicide and was found by a young Asuka.
Shinji is then shown a good three feet away, sleeping on the floor, and commenting that Asuka is still just a child, like him.
The next morning, as the Angel arrives, Shinji and Asuka perform splendidly, delivering a stunning, synchronized assault to the sound of music- only to fall apart just after the Angel is defeated.
In a comic moment, Shinji and Asuka argue over the radio as to who’s fault it is that they tripped and fell, and Shinji accidentally reveals that he tried to kiss her the night before. What follows is a childish argument that leaves the commanders at NERV groaning.
Afterwards, Asuka continues to live with Shinji, though it’s clear the training is now over and the need has passed. Though it may be because Kaji can’t take her in, Asuka never mentions living with him from this point forward.
The next Angel is found before it attacks, sleeping inside a volcano. They decide that they will send an Eva, along with special equipment, to capture the unborn Angel. Comically, Shinji muses inwardly that they’ll pick him, since he always end up doing it. To his surprise, they pick Asuka to go.
In another light hearted moment, the Asuka’s Unit 02's equipment for magma diving looks reminiscent to an old diving suit, while Asuka’s new plug suit (the pilot uniform) makes her look like a red balloon. Despite this, Asuka presses on, eager to prove herself.
Naturally, the mission goes awry when the Angel awakes and promptly breaks free from Asuka’s hold, causing her to lose her weapon, the progressive knife. Shinji throws his own knife down, and Asuka manages to grasp it in time to stab the Angel.
However, the line connecting Asuka to the surface is broken in the midst of combat, and Asuka begins to sink to the heart of the volcano. At the last moment, however, Shinji’s Unit 01 appears, holding her hand.
As Shinji pulls her up, Asuka’s face becomes genuine and soft, for the first time. Her words of gratitude, while typically Asuka, are said in a much gentler tone than normal.
"Idiot... you showoff."
Asuka, before this, is nearly always closed off and hiding behind her anger and hostility (the main exception being when she cried in her sleep). However, this is her being sincere and even gentle, which she never shows around her crush, Ryoji Kaji.
The next Angel attack is focused more on all three pilots working together, rather than just Asuka and Shinji. It is of note, however, that Asuka, in this case, allows Shinji to shoot the Angel while she takes the brunt of its attack, as a thank you for saving her life. Her attitude seems softer, and her fights with Shinji are slacking off, furthering the idea that the two of them are growing closer.
The next Angel attack is another teamwork focused episode, and provides little more in the way of Asuka/Shinji moments. The only thing to note is that Asuka does work together with Rei and Shinji to bring down the Angel, just as she did before. This behavior will not last much longer, however.
The next Angel incident isn’t even about the pilots, so we’ll skip that.
In the interim between this Angel, the Eleventh, and the next, there is an introspective episode that creates one of the most written about moments in Evangelion. Asuka’s crush, Ryoji Kaji, is going to go out with Misato, his old flame. That same day, Asuka is asked by Hikari to go on a date, as a favor.
Shinji, on the other hand, has a less joyous outing planned. It is the anniversary of his mother’s death, and he and his father go to his mother’s empty grave to pay their respects. After a brief talk with his father, Shinji returns home to indulge in a surprising talent- the cello.
Asuka arrives soon after, and compliments Shinji on his talent, which Shinji meekly brushes off as something he was asked to do, in memory of his mother.
They soon drift off to do their separate things, until Misato calls, mentioning that she’s going out with Kaji for some drinks.
Asuka stews on this for a while, and finally says, "Hey Shinji? You wanna kiss me?"
Shinji, having been listening to his music only a moment before, removes his earphones and cannot believe his ears. However, after some teasing from Asuka, they do in fact kiss. However, Asuka is holding Shinji’s nose, and he breaks away, gasping for air. We don’t get to see Shinji’s or Asuka’s face, but we do see Asuka’s back as she retreats to the bathroom, complaining that the kiss was terrible.
Before Shinji can say or do anything else, Kaji arrives on the scene, holding a passed out Misato. Asuka’s joyous greeting of Kaji is suddenly cut off when she realizes Kaji smells like Misato’s perfume.
This moment is critical for me. So much is hidden from the viewer. Asuka’s face might have told a different story than her words, as it did with the volcano incident. There are so many theories behind why Asuka says what she did, but in the end, it remains a mystery.
In the next episode, the Twelfth Angel arrives, changing the tone of the series and setting it apart from the usual mecha anime. Before the Angel arrives, Shinji surpasses Asuka’s synch scores, which determined how much of the pilot’s reaction is being transmitted to the Eva, which means that 100% would equal perfect synch, and anything above that would be an increase in the pilot’s ability.
Shinji is praised for this achievement, having only been with Eva for a short time. Asuka, on the other hand, is furious at being surpassed, which begins her path to self-destruction.
Shinji, unusually bolstered by this and the praise allocated from it, and when dared by Asuka to take point when the Twelfth Angel arrives, he accepts, even boasting that it’s a man’s job to fight. His confidence leads him to be completely swallowed up by the Twelfth Angel, which is mainly just a giant shadow.
Asuka is shocked and very reluctant to leave Shinji when ordered to, but they force her to pull back, and she is reprimanded for sticking around. Afterwards, she attempts to cover up her worry by mocking Shinji’s decision to take point, but her efforts are obviously forced.
When Shinji’s Unit 01 reappears, in an unholy rain of blood as he tears the Angel apart from the inside, everyone obviously shocked, because by that time, the Eva should have run out of power. Afterward, Shinji awakes in the hospital, with Rei sitting next to him. They talk for a bit, and as she leaves, Asuka is revealed to be just outside the door, listening in. When Rei tells her its her turn to go in, Asuka is tongue tied, and Shinji laughs.
This moment is particularly significant because Asuka is shown to be worried for Shinji’s safety, and even attempts to visit him in the hospital, showing a care for others that is unlikely for the rather selfish pilot of Unit 02.
The Thirteenth Angel leaves Shinji an emotional wreck after being forced to fight another Eva, which is possessed by an Angel and piloted by his friend, Touji Suzuhara. His father activates the dummy plug, a battle A.I. of sorts, that takes over and brutally defeats the Angel, while seriously harming Touji in the process.
Afterwards, Shinji is so enraged at his father that he tries to attack him using the Eva, resulting in him being knocked out and then quitting NERV. Things to note are that Shinji shows a panicked expression when Asuka’s communication is cut off, and Asuka’s quiet, withdrawn voice when she mentions that Shinji will undoubtedly be kicked out of NERV for his attempted mutiny. Both are subtle reminders that these two have grown closer.
However, as Shinji is leaving the city, the Fourteenth Angel arrives and begins its monstrous assault on the city. Asuka is quickly dispatched (to Shinji’s horror), and Rei attempts a suicide move using a nuclear weapon, but the Angel survives.
With his friends beaten, Shinji is forced to once again take up arms and proceeds, in a towering rage, to fight the Angel to a standstill without the use of weaponry. As he seems to have gained the upper hand, however, he runs out of power. Only a last minute intervention by his mother’s spirit allows Unit 01 to crush the Angel, but results in Shinji being absorbed into the Eva and lost for over a month.
Shinji experiences a stream of consciousness, much like he did while trapped in the Twelfth Angel. In a scene that confirms his attraction to Asuka (as well as Rei and Misato), a dream-Asuka asks "Do you want to become one with me?", meaning a sexual union. It also reveals Shinji’s inner need for the kindness of others, which is why he fights, to earn that kindness.
When Shinji returns at last, he’s placed under lockdown and restricted from combat. This becomes problematic when the Fifteenth Angel assaults Asuka’s mind, forcing her to relive her parent’s divorce and her mother’s loss of sanity and subsequent death. The damage wreaked destroys Asuka and, when Shinji tries to reach out to her, he is violently rebuffed as Asuka screams that she hates him.
Asuka disappears after that, becoming little more than a background character for the rest of the T.V. series. One thing of interest, however, is that during a dream sequence in the last episode, Shinji imagines a world where Asuka is his childhood friend, and it hints that Asuka does in fact have feelings for him, especially when she actually defends him in front of the entire class without reason to. Though this isn’t real, it is a part of Shinji’s psyche and reveals that perhaps that’s what he wishes his relationship with Asuka to be like.
On the other hand, End of Evangelion features a more dramatic return for Asuka. In the opening parts of the movie, Shinji, shellshocked after the events of episode 24, in which his new friend Kaworu Nagisa is revealed to be the Seventeenth Angel, and he is forced to crush Kaworu with his Eva, goes to Asuka’s room in the hospital. She had been previously found in a bathtub in the ruins of a city, naked and near death. Shinji begs Asuka to help him, to be his friend, to just be there for him, but she is unresponsive. He grows a bit rough, and suddenly Asuka’s flimsy shirt is open, revealing her breasts to him.
In one of the most controversial scenes in anime history, Shinji then proceeds to masturbate in front of Asuka’s unconscious body. Afterwards, he utters a fitting line.
"I’m so fucked up."
This is just about the last conscious thing Shinji does for most of the movie. For the rest of the time, he remains in a comatose state, not talking, just curled up in a ball. Even when a gun is pointed at his head, he has no response. Misato literally drags him through most of the base, in fact.
During all of this, a massive attack, orchestrated by Seele, the former backers of NERV, has begun. In order to protect Asuka, they place her in Unit 02 even while in a coma. She awakes to the sound of explosions, and curls in a ball, whispering that she doesn’t want to die.
At the last moment, much like Shinji against the Fourteenth Angel, Asuka sees a vision of her mother, whom she believes is actually within the Eva. When Asuka’s mother lost her sanity, it is possible that her mind had actually been transferred to Unit 02 during testing, like Yui Ikari did, but to a lesser extent.
Asuka proceeds to decimate the attacking forces, her vigor renewed. However, Seele dispatches its Mass Production Evas which far outnumber Asuka, and are piloted by the dummy plugs, the same kind that attacked Touji previously with such ferocity.
Meanwhile, Misato has sacrificed herself to save Shinji, sending him to his Eva while staying behind to be caught in an explosion. Her last words give Shinji a bit of strength and he tries to get to Unit 01... only to find that it has been sealed off, and trapped. He sinks into a deep depression even as Asuka’s words come over the comm, as she angrily mentions that Shinji is nowhere to be found.
Asuka, despite being outnumbered, seems to have won the battle. However, she is blindsided and an enemy spear pierces her Eva’s eye. The pain is transmitted to her own eye, and she screams in agony. Soon, the other Mass Production Evas stand up, and then hurl their spears down and impale Asuka’s Eva brutally.
In a horrific moment, they proceed to open up their jaws and actually devour Unit 02, with Asuka feeling every bite.
Shinji, upon hearing that Asuka is most likely dead, looks up and Unit 01 erupts out of its confinement. The base explodes after that in a storm of dust and debris, and Unit 01 and Shinji rise out of it, complete with multiple sets of glowing wings.
When Shinji sees the torn, ravaged pieces of Unit 02 in the hands of the enemy Evangelions, he screams, triggering Instrumentality, which is the forced merging of all of humanity into one consciousness.
The remainder of the movie is a stream of bizarre images and sounds, but parts of it are particularly clear. In one sequence, Shinji and Asuka are in the kitchen. Shinji begs Asuka to help him, much like he did earlier. However, Asuka rebuffs him, saying that he’s only going to her because he’s afraid of Rei and Misato.
As she continues to verbally lambaste him, Shinji snaps and strangles Asuka, eventually killing her.
Shinji’s lonely rage is clear at this point. He wants to be understood, and reaches out for Asuka, trying to obtain the kindness he so desperately wants. But Asuka can’t help him- only he can help himself.
After another barrage of images and sounds, Shinji eventually agrees to leave Instrumentality, deciding that humanity should live on as it is. He awakens on the shores of a beach besides a blood red ocean filled with the crucified remains of the Mass Production Evas.
He finds himself next to what appears to be Asuka, though whether or not it is the true Asuka or a Rei/Misato/Asuka amalgamation is still under debate. I myself think it is Asuka as herself, returned to the world because Shinji wanted her with him.
However, the first thing Shinji does upon seeing Asuka is to strangle her. He only stops after Asuka gently caresses his cheek, and he begins to cry.
Asuka finishes the movie with an ambiguous line that means something along the lines of "How disgusting" or "I feel sick" What she’s talking about is another subject of debate.
However, Yuko Miyamaru, Asuka’s seiyu, stated that she came up with the line after Anno asked her how she would feel if placed in Asuka’s situation after Shinji had masturbated while she slept.
She answered that she would say it was disgusting, which is probably the best idea for what was really meant with that last line.
That’s Really Messed Up/So Why Ship Them Then?
I think the greatest reason Asuka and Shinji work for me as a couple is that they are uniquely suited to understanding one another. They lost their parents to Eva, they were alone most of their lives and dealt with it in opposite manners; Asuka using aggression, Shinji withdrawing from reality. What’s more, they do care for one another, in their own messed up and strange manner.
They borrow from each other’s strength as well. Shinji greatly admires Asuka’s strength of will, believing she is much stronger than him, while Asuka herself knows that Shinji is probably stronger than her. While it’s a point of frustration for her, she indirectly shows she depends on him while fighting the Mass Production Evas, commenting that Shinji is nowhere in sight- implying that she is waiting for him to save the day, as always.
In the end, I suppose it’s a matter of the two of them being able to potentially help each other out, to make things better, and, most importantly for Shinji and even Asuka, to be able to understand one another. Understanding, after all, is a key theme in Evangelion, something both pilots desperately crave, and can give to one another.
Links
SA - A ShinjiAsuka C2 community.
Blue Wavelength- Another ShinjiAsuka C2 Community, though this one's archive is much smaller.
Asuka's Notebook- Though no longer updated, it was the home to Axel Terizaki, the author credited with starting the popularity of the Asuka/Shinji pairing with his fic Child of Love. Be warned though, it is in script format.
Darkscribes- A formerly Evangelion focused archive that houses some of the best fics on the net. What's more, they have a collection of many of the best fanfics in the Evangelion fandom in downloadble PDF and Microsoft Reader format.
Evafics.org- An Evangelion focused archive that screens the quality of its fics. Rest assured the quality will be high. Yours truly even has a few works on the site. Also contains a forum.
Evamade- Another Evangelion archive and forum.
Specific Fanfics and Authors
The Best Laid Plans by Ryoma. I'll tell you this straight. This is my favorite fanfic of all time. It's delightful, with so many subtle layers of humor that I still find new things to laugh at while poking through.
Anything by Strike Fiss. His works include the massive epic Higher Learning, which still stands today as a testament to what a romance epic should look like, and Shinji the Casanova, a hilarious work with numerous cultural references that will have you grinning all the way through.
Also, even though his fics tend to be either only hint at Asuka/Shinji or lack it at all, Ranma1337 is still one of my all time favorite Eva authors and needs mention.
The works of Andrew Huang also tend to be considered some of the first, and best Asuka/Shinji pieces out there. Check 'em out.
Wake by Hotwire. A post End of Evangelion one shot so good, people have actually stopped reading Asuka/Shinji because nothing measures up to it.
Eva-R. This not only has a writer, it has multiple editors, artists, music tech, etc. This is meant to literally be a continuation of the original series, ignoring episodes 25-26 and End of Evangelion. Its in script format, but if you're looking for a multimedia experience that goes beyond the word fanfic, this is it.
The One I Love Is... by Rakna. The love triangle to end all love triangles. While it is a Rei/Shinji/Asuka triangle, not Asuka/Shinji, its just too good not to add in.
Children of an Elder God by John Biles and Rod M. This is an epic, macabre piece that perfectly blends the work of H.P. Lovecraft and Evangelion into one. The result is a masterpiece of the darkest kind. Not for young readers, especially not as the story goes on. While incomplete, I must mention it. It's just that good.
Japanese Ramen by Rion. Imagine taking American Pie, and then smashing it into Evangelion. This the result. And trust me, even incomplete, its still worth reading.
Red Rose, White Day by jino turtlegod. A massive one shot that I find hilarious every time I read it. Give it a try. You won't be disappointed.
Little Sister by DigiFruit. An interesting, not to mention sweet, alternate series of events leading up to the Fourteenth Angel. Also, many other of DigiFruit's stories are also very good and Asuka/Shinji focused.
A Beautiful Day For Piggyback Rides and On Growing Roses, both fics by Karina Kineshi. Entertaining, sweet little fics. Piggyback Rides lies within the alternate world imagined in Episode 26, while On Growing Roses is set in the original canon.
Panty Raider by Garasu. Just as it sounds, its a hilarious little fic that's just too good to pass up.
Christmas Cards or Riding Through Tokyo 3 by Kalus. A sweet, funny Christmas tale that's good anytime.
In A Perfect World by Hououza. Another story set in the imagined alternate world, this one is wonderfully written, told from multiple POVs. While incomplete, I love rereading this story.
Ascension of the Lamb by Dante Abbey. A dark continuation post-End of Evangelion. Another mature fic.
There are many more, but I don't really have time to name them all. Check out the C2s for many of the ones that are on fanfiction.net, but there are other fics that were created even before ff.net that I can't remember at the moment. Searching for venerated , however, is usually a good idea.