Misato/Dr Katsuragi/kaji

monolith · 29-09-2001, 04:12 PM

In the last genesis of eva, where Misato is 'interviewed' in instrumentality, is there references to the Oedipus complex somewhere where she says she finds her father in Kaji?
I'm not understanding how she can relate her father to Kaji's personality. Also, about childhood repression, how Misato and her mother was ignored by Dr Katsuragi in favour of his work; how can this be related to her relationship with Kaji and her feeling dirty while being sexually gratified?
I'm confused.

**ATh** · 29-09-2001, 08:46 PM

I think she meant that both Kaji and her father were peopel that liekd to remain distant from others, even if they cared deeply for them.

This would give the impression that they are being ignored ect... but that isnt exactly true.

ATh

MDWigs · 29-09-2001, 09:31 PM

Lets go over the Case of Misato Katsuragi step by step shall we. From the ADV script (becuase this last bit in the literal translation sounds a bit off). I did this for Asuka a while ago, though I have lost my copy of that unfortunately. It is about time I do it for Misato. I'll interspace my comments with "//"

CASE 1

MISATO: Where am I?

The Case of Misato Katsuragi, Part 1

SHINJI: This is the 'me' that exists in your mind, Misato.

MISATO: And yet at the same time, this is also the 'me' which exists in your mind, isn't it Shinji?

SHINJI: In order to establish my identity, I have to communicate with the minds of many people. I have to examine that which is at my core. I have to stare at Misato, who resides on the inside of my mind. What is it that you wish for, Misato?

// Ok this is pretty straight forward. Bascially just explaining a step in Instrumentality. This is Misato in Shinji's mind, and Shinji in Misato's mind. This is thier thoughts intermingling.

Do you want to be good?

Y.MISATO: I have to be a good child.

Why?

Y.MISATO: Because I have no Daddy; because I have to be good and not bother my Mommy. But I don't want to become like my mom; when my father's not here, she always cries. I can't cry, I can't depend on anyone else. So I have to be good! That way, maybe my father won't hate me so much. I hope. Maybe my father won't hate me if I be good.

MISATO: But I hated my father... and I hated being a good child. I hated it... I'm tired of it, I'm tired of wiping myself clean. I'm tired of pretending to be pure and noble. I'm so tired of it all! I want to disgrace myself, to get so dirty that no one can stand it! I want to see my life and my reputation ruined!

// She wants to be good, she wants her fathers praise, she wants to be loved by him, yet at the same time she hates him, she hates what he did to her mother, and she hates maintaining this "good" charade.

RITSUKO: Is that why you slept with him? With Kaji?

MISATO: No! I slept with him because I loved him!

Y.MISATO: You did?

Y.MISATO: Did you really love him?

MISATO: Yes I did! He accepted me as myself, for the real me!

Are you sure?

// She isn't sure. He may have accepted her, but in part her actions were based on her wanting to disgrace herself. She believed she loved him, yet she ending up running away from him.

MISATO: That's why I let him make love to me!
(Misato and Kaji having sex, while Shinji watches)

MISATO: No! Don't show Shinji this! I don't want him to see that side of me--!

KAJI: Why are you still embarrassed after all that's happened?

MISATO: Because I'm ashamed of it!

MISATO: Why is this embarrassing? You weren't ashamed then; you were glad to show your true nature to the man you loved. In fact, you took great pleasure in it...

MISATO: No! Don't do this!

MISATO: You wanted to dirty yourself. You should be happy to show this side of yourself to Shinji, shouldn't you?

MISATO: No! No, no!

MISATO: Are you sure? Or is it perhaps your father that you'd like to show this to?

MISATO: NO!

MISATO: Wasn't it really peace of mind that you were seeking in Kaji's bed?

MISATO: NO!!

MISATO: You wanted peace of mind and warmth from Kaji, then?

MISATO: NO!!

MISATO: You wanted to find your father in Kaji's embrace, didn't you!

MISATO: IT'S NOT TRUE!!!

MISATO: But it is true. In Kaji, I'd found my father reborn. And so I fled from him; I was so afraid. He was so much like my father. But at the same time, I was also very happy. I was never happier! That was such a wonderful time... That's why I hated it. That's why I left. ...That's why I ran away.

// Misato pretty much answers her own question, which is one of the things I loved about the original ending. It asked questions but it gave answers. It allowed us to look directly into what Misato was thinking and to get definate reasons behind her actions. She wanted to find her father in Kaji's embrace. She was happy, Kaji accepted her for who she was, yet at the same time he was very much like her father. She had already seen the result her father had on her mother, and she was afraid, he and abandoned her, and she thought Kaji would do the same, so in the end she ran away.

KAJI: So. No reason was required to begin our love, but you needed a reason for ending it.

MISATO: Yes. You were so kind, Kaji... You were so kind to disgrace me... To dirty me... to deflower me...

KAJI: Just because you hate yourself is no reason to injure yourself further. Punishing yourself is simply a cheat, to make you feel better for a little while. Don't do this to yourself.

MISATO: And now you'll tell me to take care of myself?!

MISATO: Men always do that. They'll escape to their jobs... their own world... and leave me behind. They always leave me behind!

Y.MISATO: Always. Just like our father did.

// She was hurt by her father. She saw her father in Kaji. She liked that about him, but at the same time was afraid. Like all the characters she had a fundamental fear of being alone.

MISATO: They always escape from the harsh reality. Harsh reality... I am his harsh reality. ...Of course, I have a problem.

// "I am his harsh reality", love that line. It rings so true ^_^

SHINJI: Stop this! Misato...

MISATO: Why should anyone else love me, anyway?! I hate myself!!

// Here actually if you watch the footage it alludes to when Misato goes into Shinji's bedroom in Episode 23. In that scene it seems (according to a couple of different sources) that Misato really was trying to sleep with Shinji. She didn't want to be alone and thus turned to Shinji for companionship (Kaji was dead by this point).

MAYA: You're vulgar, and impure.

RITSUKO: You're pathetic.

ASUKA: You're gross and disgusting! I've never seen anyone in such a disgusting relationship!

HYUGA: Congratulations, on your promotion, Major Katsuragi.

MISATO: The 'me' who is recognized is the 'me' who is performing a role in order to be appreciated, but she's not the real 'me'.

Y.MISATO: Your true self is always crying, isn't she?

MISATO: Yes... But I am happy.

Am I happy?

MISATO: I am happy.

Am I happy?

MISATO: It's true, I am happy.

Am I happy?

MISATO: I'm not! This isn't the happiness I wanted!

What is happiness?

MISATO: This isn't me, it is not the true 'myself'! I just don't want to face the harsh reality!!

SHINJI: But we have to. We cannot live otherwise.

SHINJI: You know you'd be alone and afraid...

REI: Unstable...

RITSUKO: If nobody was sleeping next to you.

ASUKA: Are you afraid of sleeping alone?

MAYA: Or does sleeping by yourself remind you of how empty your life is?

KAJI: She can't stand not having other souls around her.

HYUGA: So, you'll sleep with anyone, won't you, Major?

MISATO: No!

MISATO: Yes, you just want to be infatuated with primal ecstasy. You want to fill the hole in your heart with temporary escape. You take advantage of men, to soothe the pain in your soul.

// Again a question is posed and Misato answers it herself. She trys to find ways to keep her life from being empty. She loved Kaji, she spent a whole week sleeping with him. This is her way of escaping. It is another form of running away, Shinji shy's from human contact, Asuka imposes herself on everyone, Misato both wants to be a "good child" and yet as Ritsuko commented at the end of Episode 20, she runs off to Kaji the night after Shinji is "returned".

MISATO: No, no, no!!

What does she really wish?

// So what does Misato really wish? She wants what we all want, not to be alone. She doesn't want to be ignored. She wants to be happy. I think if you read through what is actually said it is quite clear what Misato's problems are. Of course they mirror Anno's problems, in fact that mirror problems we probably all have had at some point in our lives. I think that is one thing that makes Eva so good. It is real.

Foxxe · 30-09-2001, 01:17 AM

OMG. You actually took the time to write out that long drawn out scene.

James · 30-09-2001, 01:31 AM

...very impressive professor...

Seventh Child · 30-09-2001, 01:41 AM

MDWigs, did you actually memorize the entire thing?!

MDWigs · 30-09-2001, 10:54 AM

Memorise it?!! I'm not that crazy. ^^

I just pulled it from the script I have of the ADV last two episodes. Then added some comments and did some text formatting.

The scene speaks for itself I think, which is why I felt the need to post a transcript of all of it.

Seventh Child · 30-09-2001, 08:17 PM

ok, thats good Wigs, cos if you had memorized it, I would have seriously feared for you.

20eva · 02-10-2001, 08:39 AM

Wow, excellent writeup MDWigs! Your knowlege is impressive-I know I would appreciate hearing your thoughts on Asuka's episode Instrumentality if you can find that or have free time to write it again. Or her apparent cruelty in the movie-which isn't exactly something she can be blamed for, after discovering Shinji masturbated over her while in a coma.

The part about Misato wanting to sleep with Shinji in episode 23 was both new to me and kind of funny. Because, after she tries to comfort Shinji, she goes to Pen-Pen...

I hope her intentions in that instance were not the same...

Seventh Child · 02-10-2001, 11:30 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by 20eva

The part about Misato wanting to sleep with Shinji in episode 23 was both new to me and kind of funny. Because, after she tries to comfort Shinji, she goes to Pen-Pen... I hope her intentions in that instance were not the same...

lol, but I hadn't really seen Misato approaching Shinji in ep23 as a time when she wanted to sleep with him. I just thought she was trying to comfort him after Rei's apparent death.

20eva · 02-10-2001, 11:56 AM

Yeah, I didn't originally see Misato's attempt at comforting Shinji in ep.23 as sexual...although you could interpret it that way, and perhaps some nook of her mind was fancying that idea. Maybe it has to do with the extension of her hand. Or maybe MDWigs will clear this up for us!

Black_Knight · 02-10-2001, 12:03 PM

Do not depend on one person for the answers…-This is how most releigions got started up…

Gundammi! · 02-10-2001, 02:32 PM

Goddd...here you go again Black_Knight....

That's a pretty good summary MDWigs. You can kind of see parallels between Kaji and Misato's father. They both had a job that require(s/d) a lot of time away from loved ones (super-spy/field researcher) but deep inside they both love Misato very much (in different ways). While apparently Kaji is much better at showing it, Misato saw too much of her father in him and bailed out. Of course Misato's father sacrificed himself so Misato could live, which in turn is an equal way of showing his care for her. But unfortuneatly for Misato, just when she begins to realize how much she cares for people, they are harshly taken away from her (Father- Second Impact, Kaji- Got shot).

MDWigs · 02-10-2001, 05:51 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by 20eva
Yeah, I didn't originally see Misato's attempt at comforting Shinji in ep.23 as sexual...although you could interpret it that way, and perhaps some nook of her mind was fancying that idea. Maybe it has to do with the extension of her hand. Or maybe MDWigs will clear this up for us!

It is discussed in the Neon Genesis Evangelion Film Book 9 if you can get a hold of it ^^ Basically it looks like Misato was doing more than just reaching out to Shinji, she wanted "conforting" from him. So yeah, there isn't really anything more to it than that. Shinji pulled away from her, nothing happened in the end.

After that Misato goes outside and says:

Quote:

Misato: Although he must be lonely, maybe he fears a woman. No, he fears communication with people.

Misato: PenPen come here.

Misato: I see, anybody will do. It's me who is lonely.

She at first thinks he rejected her becuase she was a woman, again linking into the fact that she came to him as a women. When she turns to Pen-Pen here I think she was just looking for compainionship, although anything is possible, Misato was pretty messed up, feeling very alone, and the creators of Eva are wacky guys ^^

20eva · 02-10-2001, 08:24 PM

Mm...I doubt I'll be able to get my hands on Filmbook 9, but I see your point about Misato's encounter with Shinji being more about sex than one would think. I'll watch it again. And of course, my PenPen comment was just a joke, because I don't think the Eva team would go THAT far. And Black_Knight, what is wrong with asking one person to clarify the point that had previously made?