Asuka Langley Soryu

Behold, the awesomeness that is Asuka Langley Soryu. One of the main characters in Neon Genesis Evangelion, my absolute favorite anime character ever, the inspiration behind my Twitter username, "@AsukaFan." This girl goes through Hell and back in Evangelion and does it, at first with an infuriatingly bad attitude, but then with vulnerability, and finally with unparalleled strength. I have two Asuka statues atop my television set.

Actually, let me rephrase that. She is not just my favorite anime character ever. She is quite possibly my favorite fictional character ever. She deals with a multitude of serious issues, such as being a young lady thrown into a deadly battle to save the world and abandonment issues and a tragic secret about her past that I won't reveal here for anyone who might someday have an interest in seeing Evangelion and has not already. But the way she battles through it is inspiring to me. I too have dealt with great loss and pain. I tried not to use it as an excuse to lash out but I'm sure that side of me has come out from time to time. I only hope that if and when I am called to truly exercise my strength, I will be able to do so.

In anime geek (or otaku) world, she is referred to as a tsundere, a female character who at first acts in a cold or harsh or arrogant or some other unfriendly manner and eventually evolves to show a softer, warmer side. Asuka is definitely in that category. She is quite beautiful, as most anime girls are, however she's also very young... too young for anyone but her also very young possible romantic interest in the show. I think many fans find their relationship fascinating, headache-inducing, complex, and ultimately very deep and even profound, if one watches the last scene of the movie End of Evangelion. A total revamp of the entire series is in progress, I believe the second of four planned movies for the revamp is either out already or out soon. When I have money again, I will get it. The second movie will be the one where the Asuka character is introduced. I've heard there are changes to her personality from the original series and movies, I'm extremely curious to see what those might be. But regardless, Neon Genesis Evangelion is a sometimes controversial among anime fans series that I find utterly engrossing and endlessly interesting. Asuka is the high point of the series for me and a high point in all of my life's searching for new and interesting things to watch or read. (Yes, you can read Asuka and Evangelion too, there's multiple mangas based on it.)

Well, this wasn't exactly the threatened Fraggle Rock post, but it was certainly a lot lighter than most of my recent posts have been, wouldn't you all say? Rock on, Asuka.

 My two Asuka statues, picture taken by a not very high quality camera phone that doesn't seem to get the fact that there was a very bright light on directly above these statues. The one on the left is Asuka in her plugsuit (watch Evangelion and you'll understand.) The one on the right is a goth-loli or gothic-lolita model, sitting on a ruined staircase. They're not on my TV in this picture because the lighting there was even worse. But these are two of my very highly prized possessions. Ahhhhhhhhh, Asuka.