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Why is it that Rei Ayanami who is not only about 13 (right?) but also spoiler[not a human] became such a large sex idol?

I know this is a pretty broad question, but is it a japanese culture thing that allows younger people to be "looked at" more in a sexual way without being called a pervert/child molester/pedophile?

or is it just as unacceptable in western culture, but seems different because we tend to see japanese culture through a bit of a lens?

In Japan they get girls as young as 12 to become pop idols. Makes an excellent target for otakus and moe freaks.

I really never figured out what people liked in Rei. I just don't find her appealing. Actually I never really liked any of the characters in Eva. Asuka was ok, but she's the only one I considered to be somewhat appealing. I did like Eva though, I just hated the characters. Really hating Shinji and the other characters is part of the reason I liked Eva though. They were realistic hateable characters.

I've often wondered this myself...I always preferred Asuka otu of the younger girls, and Misato even more so. Yeah, Rei is kind of boring and not amazingly attractive, though these are legitimate traits of her character. I would say that it SEEMS (based on the questionable evidence of anime) more acceptable for older men to view high school girls in a sexual way, even if it's considered uncool to actually date a high school girl. Lower age of consent, perhaps? (It's 16, IIRC.) Maybe people get off on some fantasy of spoiler[a soulless doll-girl who is strangely vulnerable and pliant in spite of her cold exterior. Also the fact that she doesn't scream "Kyaaah" and throw stuff when Shinji accidentally feels her up.]

Another explanation could be just the age of the series...anime fans who were 15-16 when it aired are origins of the 25-26 y/o otaku of today who worshop Rei and similar characters. Since Rei was a "dream girl" for them as teenagers, that popularity has continued and made her into a sex icon.

Is this where I should get the old eBay image link I had to the life size Rei Ayanami blow-up doll?

The fact that she is so robotic and seemingly uncaring about her well-being (i.e. spoiler[When Shinji fell on her boob and instead of blowing a gasket was like "Will you get off."]) It's that lack of emotion and emptiness internally that make good sex slaves. Or so I've been told. Embarassed

Zalis116 wrote:

Maybe people get off on some fantasy of spoiler[a soulless doll-girl who is strangely vulnerable and pliant in spite of her cold exterior. Also the fact that she doesn't scream "Kyaaah" and throw stuff when Shinji accidentally feels her up.]

That pretty much sums up my stance on the whole thing. Rei's personality, despite her denial in the series, is empty and doll-like. I can understand how people could turn that image into their ideal sex toy. Well, that's a lie. I don't really understand it. But then again a number of sexual fetishes confuse and anger me, especially as a woman.

Please do relocate that link. Sounds funny.

It's always kind of weird to see so many young girls depicted as sex objects but it's really not that much different here. Brittany Spears, Lindsey Lohan, Hillary and Haley Duff, the Olsen Twins. They were all pretty young and below the legal age of consent in america yet people young and old were fantasizing or at least telling raunchy jokes about them when they were all coming up. It's not just a japanese thing to think sexually about a young girl. It's a basic psychological thing that every man has about women. Young usually= more fertile and more capable of raising our young longer.

Rei Ayanami though seems to be more of a fetish type deal than a basic psychological need. It kind of reminds me of that episode of Ghost in the Shell that reaired last week where this old guy wanted to make love to the Major's body while her ghost was elsewhere (honsetly though, who wouldn't want to). It just seems to me that the want for a cold, completely submissive, young girl appeals to the masses since her character has been depicted in other anime shows as well.

This is only an educated guess of mine but I think it has merit to be mentioned. I don't know what the marrying age was in the US several hundred years ago, but I remember learning that because the average lifespan back then was only 40-60 at most, Asians got married as young as age 12, right when their puberty would start. If so, then despite the disappearance of such tradition (which was more out of necessity due to a shorter lifespan), the idea might still be there, where someone young (as young as 12 even) is seen as "wife material" (in other words, in a sexual way). The otaku moreso may see them as sex idols, since it is true that popular idols in Japan are as young as they get.

And maybe the fact that anime characters don't exactly portray the correct age has something to do with this. Who knows, maybe if some 25 year old otaku was constantly reminded that Rei is only 12, he might find another anime character a little more mature.

Last edited by Arkard on Sat Apr 01, 2006 6:55 pm; edited 1 time in total

1. Her age is quite normal for an "idol". In Japan the whole process of creating one of them starts usually at the age of 12. They are quickly exploited in various ways, many of them of the sexual nature of course. The age doesn`t really matter then. If she looks "hot", she will sell, and the promoters are willing to take full advantage of that. Besides, Rei doesn`t really look all that young. I would give her a 15, which while in America may be boarderline pedo (for the majortiy I am sure) in Japan it is quite normal. My gf`s brother has a HUGE stash of magazines featuring amateur girls, usually 15 or 16 posing in swimsuits, cosplays and generally sexy attire. It`s normal.
2. She is a sort of emotionless doll wouldn`t you say? So why does she attract so much attentions? And why did Leonard Nimoy, AKA Spock, receive the biggest ammount of erotic fan mail, out of all the cast of Star Trek? I guess those 2 questions have the same answer. There is something in that type of person. Cold, calculative, not evil of course, just... god like you would say? Maybe some people get a kick out of imagening bringing this high and mighty shell down to earth with a little of the old "in-out-in-out". I guess the answer could be different, but still connected to the Rei-Spock issue Razz

PS 10 points to the person who will guess what movie I get this line: a little of the old "in-out-in-out"

edit: the contest i s over Razz

outlawwolf gets the prize.

I believe it was a Clockwork Orange?

Like I said before, it's not just in Japan where young girls get exploited for their youthful looks. The younger you look, the more staying power you have in the eye of the masses. Beides, Rei isn't 12. That's too young, I'd give her a 14, 15 max.

BoygetsfireD wrote:

Why is it that Rei Ayanami who is not only about 13 (right?) but also spoiler[not a human] became such a large sex idol?

Hmm. I never understood this either. However, I never really thought much about the age angle because of the point mentioned inside your spoiler text.

PantsGoblin wrote:

I just don't find her appealing.

Then I suppose we can rule out her age as the most likely attraction?

Cloe wrote:

Well, that's a lie. I don't really understand it. But then again a number of sexual fetishes confuse and anger me, especially as a woman.

When you have over 6,000,000,000 people on the planet you know you're going to come across some strange fetishes once in a while. Even as a guy I don't understand every supposedly male-oriented fetish. Some of them are simply of no interest while others are just plain disgusting.

Arkard wrote:

And why did Leonard Nimoy, AKA Spock, receive the biggest ammount of erotic fan mail, out of all the cast of Star Trek?

So Rei Ayanami has 'Spockappeal'? Although that sounds absurd at first, I can almost see it if I really try. Still, it's quite a stretch for me to make the mental leap from emotionless automaton to appealing sex symbol. I guess my brain just isn't wired for it.

I feel dirty just even thinking of responding to this topic, sort of.

When my state, Oregon was only a territory, in other words before 1859, the average age of a man getting married was 50, that of a woman 12. Oik!

My mother saw something on TV, or read in a national news magazine, that Joseph Smith, the founder of the Mormon church would be considered a pedophile by today's standards, so she just calls him a pedophile because she doesn't like Mormons.

No one mentioned Bar and Bat Mitzvahs? The coming of age celebration of Jewish men and women at age 13?

Very good my fine young droogies on the answer to the question, now treat yourself to a glass of moloko plus, and some ludwig van.

Should mention the hamburger chain of that name in California. In-n-Out Burger. Or as you see most bumper stickers, In-n-Out urge.

Zalis116 wrote:

I always preferred Asuka otu of the younger girls, and Misato even more so.

I agree with Zaklis on that one.

I’m not entirely sure why she is seen as such an idol, like people said her age is normal of any Japanese idol. I think the way she is portrayed on the TV series is done in such a way that everyone is suppose to find her attractive, and her personality isn’t a problem because she doesn’t have one. So really she has a hot body and our imaginations are supposed to fill in the rest.

space

BoygetsfireD wrote:

Why is it that Rei Ayanami who is not only about 13 (right?) but also spoiler[not a human] became such a large sex idol?

I know this is a pretty broad question, but is it a japanese culture thing that allows younger people to be "looked at" more in a sexual way without being called a pervert/child molester/pedophile?

or is it just as unacceptable in western culture, but seems different because we tend to see japanese culture through a bit of a lens?

hmm...good question. The boys that I knew at my old school found her "attractive" for her "spoiler[lifelessness]" (not sure if spoiler, but oh well), so like many of you said, with the part where spoiler[Shinji touched her you-know-what], that would be a dream-come-true for one of them. I also believe that Lain is a fairly large female sex idol around here as well as the lead female role in GiTs (forgot her name...dammit)--so I guess stoic charcters are considered "sexy".

Gotta say I never understood the whole Rei thing either. I like eva as much as the next guy, but Asuka always seemed like the sexually appealing one (allthough the whole psycho bitch thing damn nears cancells it out.) Also, Rei is just so cold that she would not even fit for Moe appeal AND her character design is rather poorly made (too curvy for loli, too disproportionate to be sexy.)

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