Chapter 18

Evangelion. 2006/04/16 18:51 Well. Are you all familiar with Neon Genesis Evangelion? Even if you’ve never seen the show, you might have heard the name before. Even now, a decade after the show was originally aired, the two heroines, Rei Ayanami and Asuka Langley Soryu, are incredibly popular and well-known characters. Even in the comments section of this very blog, I receive very welcome messages recommending the show to me. But since I don’t have a lot of time to watch that stuff and I don’t have the courage to go and rent it in person, I must admit that I had never seen this thing we call Eva. Until now. Y-ko’s friend Yumi (age twenty-something, housewife and fujoshi), being in possession of the entire series on DVD, brought the show over to Y-ko’s for a viewing party, to which I was invited. In actuality, it was more like a “make sure I see Evangelion” party. My very first Eva. To be truthful, I was expecting to be blown away. Now, enjoy the tale of my first Eva viewing. Y-ko’s place. Today is the day of my very first Evangelion experience. I was conflicted. I didn’t know if I really wanted to take this major step, but everything in life is a character-building experience, so… I can’t deny the fact that I had an interest in seeing this series, which left an undeniable impact on our culture. Okay. I’m ready. I step into Y-ko’s apartment. … Why is it that all of Y-ko’s friends greet me with this? Are you describing me to all your friends using that term, dear? Once I had assured her that I was not a Sebas, and certainly not an uke, I took a seat next to Y-ko. … Excuse me? You sound like a mother griping about her son’s taste in food, Y-ko. I will not. I will never in my entire life say such a thing! I offered the cake I brought over in the hopes of diverting the topic. If there’s one thing women love, it’s sweets. You can’t hope for a better item to change the subject of a conversation. …… The conversation has taken an unfortunate turn. I suppose you might call this a major backfire. Dammit. I have a feeling that nothing I do will turn out right. Maybe it’s time to retreat and regain my footing. Then again, I have a feeling that steady footing will not be enough to win this fight. Just wait until you see, indeed. Besides, I don’t even know how to make tea the authentic way. I’ve never learned how to do it. I headed to the kitchen, half in retreat. I know my way around Y-ko’s house. I heated up some water in the pot. Sigh… As the sounds of women squeaking and giggling drifted through the door, I vaguely watched the rising steam puff out of the pot. Well, at least Yumi seems like a nice person. She brought those DVDs just so I could watch them. She’ll probably explain stuff about Evangelion so that I understand everything the first time. I guess I should just be gracious and accept their consideration. I put the tea bags into the tea server and poured the hot water in. After a few minutes, I poured the tea into the cups I had set aside. There we go. Perfectly normal, acceptable tea. Not particularly great, but not particularly awful, either. Suddenly, as I was pouring the second cup, I noticed something. The chattering had stopped. ……? Next, I realized that the TV was on, when it hadn’t been earlier. Wait a minute. They’re already watching the show!! They’re totally sucked in! They haven’t given a single thought to me!! Just wait, okay?! All it takes is ten minutes tops for me to get the tea ready!! Come on, I thought you two fujoshis cooked this little event up so that you could show ME Evangelion!! … Can I go cry just a bit?