Asehpe said:Talon184 said:
You're making an assumption that most people know deep down that they are like Shinji. I really disagree with that statement. Is this based on actual research or are you just stating your opinion as a fact? I think people are far more likely to simply be
annoyed by whiny people who always complain about things.
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You say "no one in a real situation would because u'd get hurt and u'd be shitting ur pants when fighting" but I disagree. Many people would see this as an opportunity to do something great with their lives and would jump at the chance to make a difference by combating the evil forces abundant in the show. Not everyone would be shitting themselves in fear. Some people would, of course, but hopefully those people would stay home and curl up in a ball and cry themselves to sleep while someone else does the fighting for them rather then constantly getting in the way and making bad situations worse. She's annoying and 2-dimensional and she bores me. Maybe she'll evolve as the series progresses. I hope so. But, for now, she sucks.
I have to disagree, both on NGE and on MM. I do think that most people would run away screaming if they were in Shinji's situation -- I think you're not imagining it correctly if you think it only involves getting inside the robot and fighting the angels. Add also "you feel every physical pain the EVA goes through", "you have to breathe through LCL", to say nothing of the usual tropes of war: you see your friends die, etc. I'd say Shinji's situation is worse than that of a soldier in WWII; and we all know that not all people are cut to be soldiers, much the opposite actually, to say nothing of those who are but still come back home with serious PTSD.
So I think you're underestimating what Shinji goes through. Plus, you think he's complaining all the time -- the impression I have is that he's silent most of the time, and does as he's told. When he complains, he is usually alone, and is talking to himself. More often than not, he just lies in bad speechless, or then says nothing. Others (Asuka) criticize him all the time, or even try to get him to speak (Misato, sometimes); but I don't think he does that most of the time. He's more the silent type than the whiny type. I think most viewers get this impression because we get to see his inner monologues, while the other characters in NGE don't.
Do I have stats? No. It's just my personal experience: just as most people who love astronauts don't really have what it takes to become one, most people who complain about Shinji probably don't have what it takes to do what he does -- even if they had his synchronization level. Those who think they would be "doing something wonderful with their lives" just don't realize how shitty the work actually is, how uninspiring, albeit necessary. I may be wrong... but I don't think so. I would be really surprised if most people, even most people who complain, could have defeated even half of the angels Shinji defeated without running away screaming -- and that, even if they somehow manage to start out thinking they're "doing something special with their lives". I'm sure there are some -- heroes do exist -- but most? Naah... Most would give up.
As for Madoka... I think you're leaving out the kind of courage she has. She's the one muggle who doesn't shy away from running into danger when it appears, despite having no powers, led only by the hope of somehow helping her friends. Just as she immediately went after Hitomi to that suicide party and ended up chucking the bucket with poison through the window, or as she decided to accompany Sayaka just to keep an eye on her and to help her if need be -- whereas most people who have Madoka's persnality type would be very much afraid, Madoka wasn't. I think that people don't realize that she is actually courageous, as courageous as someone without magical powers could be in her situation. She is not arrogant, nor does she think that she has to be the focal point of the scene -- but courage is not something she lacks.