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Original Title:
Sacrifice: The Struggle Between Duty and Willingness in Neon Genesis Evangelion and Puella Magi Madoka Magica
This is the essay I used in recommendation entrance to NCU. Though I do recognize that this essay seriously lacks of detailed Lacanian psychoanalysis theories or Zizekian media analysis, I do not rewrite nor revise since I only try to share this opinion of mine on NGE and Madoka since it should belong to my “Tri-Meta” series.
Since I am working on translation, you can find out Mandarin version in another note later.
Essay is in following text below.
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Introduction
In Neon Genesis Evangelion (NGE) and Puella Magi Madoka Magica (PMMM), both animation series focus on teenagers and their behaviors toward overwhelming problems. Especially both protagonists, Ikari Shinji and Kaname Madoka faced the problems which could only be solved by sacrificing themselves. However, when it comes to their attitude toward sacrifice, two protagonists have different thoughts. Does sacrifice matters? Is it necessary? For what reasons people sacrifice others or themselves? In this essay, several points will be compared to discuss why two protagonists have different perspectives on their sacrifices, and the meaning of their behaviors, which are also the symbols of the struggles of teenagers, will also be discussed.
Motivation
It is a common problem that teenagers struggle between their duties and willingness. For example, a teenager with passion in art cannot be well-educated in usual school, yet it is not that easy to enter an art academy since it may charge much higher tuition than other schools. Another example, which is common in Taiwan, is that teenagers can barely have others who would like to share their feelings, or their problems may be ignored by their teachers, parents or even their friends. Growing up with this such kind of pain, teenagers can only run away from reality in case of suffering from more problems, in other words, to sacrifice themselves to adapt into society. I have also been through this situation, so as to me, this kind of suffering is the most unforgettable and one of the most serious problems that adolescents will face. Thus, I would like to discuss this case with this essay.
Literature review
To try to describe the self and the other’s interaction, I referred several essays that introduced Lacanian psychoanalysis. Ju-Yu Cheng said, “Instead of identifying with the ego, the subject learns to desire as the Other and hence identifies with the Other.” (2007) Besides, Guan-hua Huang discussed about the idea “regarding/re-garding” from Susan Sontag to discuss if the readers of paper or the audience of media hope to learn lessons or just satisfy themselves through this kind of desire (2013). In his essay, what I agree most is the argument on regarding the pain of others was actually a barrier between us and the victims, or, in other words, to escape from the Real. (Žižek, 2000) However, in NGE and PMMM, two protagonists had no ways to run away their realities and had to sacrifice themselves. It became the biggest problem that the situations changed from regarding the Real to experiencing the Real, and it is the key concept in the following paragraphs.
Experience and Surroundings
Childhood experience and surroundings are important to psychological development of people, especially in these two animations. In NGE, Shinji was the Third Children, which means he was the third person who can drive Evangelion (EVA), yet it was not a coincidence but deeply related to his parents. Shinji’s parents were the leaders of the EVA project. His father, Ikari Gendou, eventually became the commander of the special institution NERV, and his mother, Ikari Yui, transferred her own soul into EVA Unit 01, yet Shinji saw the process of Yui’s transfer and believed she was dead. This event became the main reason of Shinji’s hatred toward his father because he believed his father was too addicted to EVA project and did not care his mother’s life. Since Yui’s soul was inside of EVA Unit 01, Shinji had much higher Synchronization Rate (Synch Rate) than other pilots because Yui’s soul would try to protect Shinji and made Shinji stronger while inside Unit 01. The evidences above were believed to be related to Shinji’s Oedipus Complex. According to Sigmund Freud, a boy would compete chasing his mother with his father, and it is an important symbol of the boy directing his libido to his mother. However, the boy would still be afraid of his father because his father is physically better and holds higher authority in his family. In 2006, the director of NGE, Anno Hideaki said he used robot (EVA) as the replacement of mother (Yui), and the relationship between Shinji and Gendou was strained. In the final episode of TV animation, Shinji was then reconciled with himself and Gendou, yet in the movie The End of Evangelion, Shinji first had the thought of killing all the others because he had no companies nor anyone who cared about him—especially his father, and then through having conversations with his mother’s soul, he eventually moved on.
Compared to Shinji’s miserable childhood, Madoka’s life in early days was much better. She grew up in a wealthy family. Her mother was an important officer in her company, and her father dealt with the household. Lived in a wealthy family and been protected well, her personality was tender yet vacillating, and she even considered herself impotent. Nonetheless, it changed because of her willingness of being stronger. In the fourth episode, Madoka showed both her tenderness and strength. She was involved into a ritual using explosive materials and controlled by a witch, creatures fed off themselves human beings’ misery and fear, yet she recalled her mother’s dialogue about the risk of these materials and tried to stop the ritual even she did not have magical power. Madoka’s friends also played important roles in the animation, especially Akemi Homura. Homura was always helped by Madoka in different parallel universes, so she made a wish to stop Madoka to become magical girl, and then she warped from several timelines yet failed to stop Madoka every time. Even so, she never gave up, and Madoka eventually understood Homura’s willingness then sacrificed herself—made the wish to accomplish Homura and other magical girls wishes—no more magical girls, and then she sacrificed herself due to her wish was too powerful. Two animations both ended with the sacrifices of protagonists, but we can see because of the difference of their experiences, two protagonists made different choices, and their sacrifice had different meanings. As Shinji’s sacrifice, it was more tragic and depressed and showed as his last choice, yet Madoka was more confident and not afraid of what would happen on her.
Personality
Being through different experiences, two protagonists have quite dissimilar personalities. Shinji, due to his Oedipus Complex, had low self-esteem and did not like to communicate with others. Once he knew that it was his duty to pilot EVA Unit 01, he fought against it and tried to run away. Nevertheless, Shinji was powerful inside EVA Unit 01, so he eventually carried on this duty only because he had nowhere to run. This situation did not change until Shinji saw the Ayanami Rei heavily injured because of piloting EVA. Shinji then realized that he was not the only one oppressed by overload duty or his father’s commands, so he chose to face the fact that he was one of the EVA pilots. In this scene, Shinji’s tenderness was showed, yet it was only his sympathy. In the opposite, Madoka was tender from the beginning of the story, yet she was vacillating due to her impotence. In the third episode of PMMM, she saw the first magical girl, Tomoe Mami, killed by a witch, and it moved her mind strongly about becoming a magical girl or not, and she doubted herself that she had no such strength to protect others. Even though, she had strong willingness to help others with or without magic, for example, the plot of the fourth episode mentioned before, it was obvious that Madoka actually had a tough mind to protect others. Indeed, Madoka only showed her sympathy like Shinji did, yet what Shinji’s story try to express was the weakness impotence of Shinji, and, on the other hand, Madoka’s story showed another aspect of impotence—strong people were built with strong mind.
The Attitude Toward Sympathy
However, the difference between two protagonists’ personalities lead to the difference of their sympathy. Shinji’s sympathy was actually constructed by his experience of regarding others who needed help just like him, but he could not save them, or, in other words, he could not even save himself. This kind of sympathy, like Susan Sontag said, was the sympathy of innocence (Regarding the Pain of Others, 2001). Though Shinji did carry the duty of piloting EVA Unit 01, he was helpless. His miserable childhood experience became the biggest scar inside his heart and made him a weak individual and hard to believe others, yet he nonetheless helped Rei due to his sympathy—to understand Rei’s impotence, to show his impotence and to shout for help. Madoka, in contrast, was the sympathy of ignorance. She originally only thought about enhancing her strength through helping others and did not know the duty of being a magical girl, yet after being through the scene of Mami’s death, she then realized the true fear what she was facing. After that, her friends became magical girls one by one and kept protecting her, and it was also why her sympathy enhanced. She found out all of them were impotent and could not run away from these duties. Thus, she then became magical girl and changed her sympathy into willingness and became powerful to protect everyone else, and it caused why Shinji and Madoka were so different. Shinji showed his impotent and could not help himself nor strengthen himself, no need to say to help others, but Madoka did not consider her impotence in the end of her story and even carried others’ weakness and pain, even it was clear that if she did so, she would be sacrificed.
The Attitude Toward Sacrifice
Besides the sympathy problem, the biggest difference between Shinji and Madoka is the attitude toward their own sacrifices. As for Shinji’s situation, he thought no one cared about him. Others ignored his suffering and forced him to pilot EVA. This situation was especially obvious in the relation between he and Soryu Asuka Langley. He usually asked Asuka for help, yet Asuka was a person just like Shinji—escaping away from herself and had no one treated her well. Since Shinji could not have comfort from Asuka, his sympathy on others became hatred because he always carried this such heavy duty, but no one would like to share his pain, this kind of sympathy was only nothing but claiming his impotence. In the movie The End of Evangelion, Shinji sacrificed himself because he felt all alone and strongly rejected to others, or, in other words, Shinji did not actually sacrifice for others but only run away from himself and others through his death. In the end, all human beings were melted into LCL ocean, which was the ocean concluded all people’s consciousnesses and had no barriers between each other. It was indeed the ultimate goal that human beings pursed, yet it was the conclusion of Shinji’s escaping from reality.
In contrast, Madoka sacrificed herself for everyone, including herself. She regarded how other magical girls fought with witches and how impotent they actually were, yet they still carried on. Their actions then moved Madoka, so she realized if only she became much stronger than others, or they could not be saved nor end the tragedy of adding more victims who made wishes and became magical girls. Her sympathy then became her willingness of helping others. She faced her weakness and made the strongest wish ever, which is to wish “no more magical girls.” This wish, also Madoka’s duty she would carry, was so devastating that it changed the physics principles and wiped out her existence just like she had never been in this universe. Even though, she still chose this path for not only others’ future and her wish of being stronger. The biggest difference between Shinji and Madoka’s sacrifice was others’ attitudes toward them.
Although Shinji could feel others’ weakness, such as injured Rei, he could not help them because he was too weak. What’s more, people around Shinji did not help him and even ignore his impotence; thus, Shinji could only run away from his and others’ tragedies. Madoka, on the other hand, had always been helped by others because other magical girls knew what duty would Madoka carry if she became another magical girl. Madoka then received their feelings and chose to carry all tragedies all by herself. To explain what actually happened to two protagonists, Lacan’s Mirror stage theory may be one of the explanations. Lacan thought that babies constructed their identifications through observing others and meeting others’ needs. To move on, a kind of original drive is inside babies, which is pain, and as for Shinji and Madoka, this kind of pain was actually their impotence. However, Shinji’s “mirrors” showed him more painful scenes such as others’ carelessness and Gendou’s irrational commands. As for Madoka, her friends always showed her care, protection and courage. Based on two protagonists’ situations, it is obvious that sacrifice is nothing but the last choice, and the true problems remain inside tragedies, impotence and weakness of human beings. Like A.T. (Absolute Terror) Field described in NGE, it is always a problem that an invisible barrier between each other, yet it is the key to keep each individual in a complete shape. To cross this barrier, human should try hard on sharing each other’s feeling, experience, intelligence and many different things but not destroying A.T. Field without hesitating because individuals still need their solid bodies to live on. Another example is why Madoka could be brave was deeply related to others’ tenderness and help to her, or, in other words, to share each other’s sadness.
Common Problems in Two Animations
Although two animations ended in different ways, they shared several same problems. The first problem is Hedgehog’s dilemma This dilemma, first mentioned by Arthur Schopenhauer, is to describe two people may hurt each other during making up a relationship. As the situation between Shinji and Asuka mentioned in previous paragraph, it clearly illustrated one who asked for help might hurt another person. Another example of Shinji, he tried to fix the relation between him and Gendou, yet Gendou was strict and forced him to pilot EVA. However, in The End of Evangelion, Gendou regretted and spoke out honestly to Yui’s soul that he considered himself a failure father, and even he tried, he could still not treat Shinji well. It showed both of them were hurt in their relationship. We can also find this issue in PMMM, for example, the relationship between Madoka and Homura. Since Homura tried to keep Madoka away from magical girls and witches, she treated Madoka cold, yet she actually cared Madoka the most. After failing to save Madoka too many times, she thought it would not succeed if she treated Madoka well. She had to be cruel and to keep Madoka as far away as possible. In short, two animations showed the weakest part in a relationship— one tries to protect another one may hurt him.
Another problem is their duties and willingness. Shinji was miserably chosen and carried the overload duty. What’s worse, he was the only one who could make it. No matter how Shinji hated to pilot EVA, or, in other words, he had no willingness on it, others still forced him to accept this fate. Eventually, Shinji ended his and all the others’ lives. In the opposite, Madoka actually did not have to carry any duty, yet she chose to do so. As mentioned in previous paragraph, Madoka was treated well and realized she could return others’ kindness with actions and had strong willingness, so she became a magical girl. This problem is also common to teenagers in real life. Facing different pressure such as academic pressure, the pressure in families make teenagers helpless. They may have willingness to accomplish their own goals, yet they are chased by pressure and duties, and many of them eventually surrender. Madoka may be a special case because she had a wealthy, happy family and friends who cared her and kept away from danger. However, many teenagers are just like Shinji, they carry on overload duties such as parents’ expectations or competitions between others then lose their passions and willingness. Many people say that one without sacrifice cannot succeed, but it is nothing but a fallacy. Sacrifice is only the last choice or even the way of escape, yet to succeed depends on many factors such as one’s abilities in different criteria, intelligence, knowledge or even willingness. Sacrifice is nothing but the final word to stop more tragedies, but if we can share our thoughts or others’ pain, we may escape from the worst choice.
Conclusion
In conclusion, sacrifice is not an ideal way to deal with problems, and it may make things worse. Through two animations, we can tell no matter Shinji’s tragedy or Madoka’s happy ending, they still sacrificed themselves to accomplish others’ wishes. As for Shinji, it was obvious how painful he was; As for Madoka, though she was glad to do so, she did not help herself at last. Sacrifice only leads to another tragedy. What we should learn is to understand our own and others’ weakness or impotence and share with each other, and although the process could be painful, this is how we live.
Acknowledgements
I would especially like to thank my professor, Ju-yu Cheng. She inspired me with basis of Lacanian psychoanalysis and encouraged me to use my interest in animations to write this essay, and the methods to read different essays on journals. Without her, I could not have motivation to finish this essay.
I would also like to thank my buddy, an undergraduate student from Feng Chia University, Jhih-yun Yang. He did much contribution to this essay. He explained Freud’s theories to me, revised my outline and helped me correct my essay, and he also lent me Freud’s books. I could not understand Freud’s theories without his help.
References
黃冠華(Guan-Hua Huang)「幻想與旁觀他人之痛苦：媒體感官消費的精神分析考察」。新聞學研究 ； 116期 (2013 / 07 / 01) ， P91 - 126
Strachey, James, trans. The Interpretation of Dreams. By Sigmund Freud. 1953. Basic Books. 2010
(Original: 2020/7/9)
創作內容
Meta-Meta-Metaphysics on Animation SP: Sacrifice
ACG (2)