[EVA] Japanese Culture and Evangelion

[Peter Schelenz]

I posted this earlier, on Animeboards.com.  But, as there are some people
on this list who have been or live in Japan, I'd be interested in your
views on the subject.  Thanks.


Does anyone on this board have a bit of trouble understanding some parts of
Evangelion due to the cultural differences? Most of Evangelion is universal
but there are some things that could, I think, be deepened by further
knowledge of the Japanese culture. For instance, the role of the Japanese
man in the family. Only after reading a book on Japan did I realize that
males in Japan, when children, customarily receive excessive amounts of
attention, or husbands "sometimes seem to be the wife's big grown-up
child". (Reischauer) Or, for instance, it was pointed out that "childhood
friends" (Touji/Hikari, or Shinji's alternate reality) generally end up
married. Is this a trend in anime or in the actual culture? The makers of
Eva were supervised that so many nationalities could sympathize with
Shinji's plight-obviously they think there are some cultural hurdles. 

Michael Wignall replied about the childhood friends like so:

"Regarding the school/college relationship you described. I think it is
very different in Japan. It is a small country, far smaller than American
(or Australia, we have the same thing here, people leave school and then go
all over for University). In Japan childhood friends can go to different
universities after school, however these places are usually relatively
close to each other. Going to different Uni's doesn't mean the friendship
breaks up. Also I get the impression that childhood friendships in Japan
are very strong, children form bonds that never break, they go to the same
school as their best friend, and then they go off to uni together, they
eventually end up going into the same profession, this is especially true
with girls, but I think it applies to boys as well. "



Any additional perspectives about Japanese society would be appreciated
(thanks already to Michael).  My source for the part about Japanese men is
a book from the 1970s, so it may be outdated.

-RN