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Cody MacArthur Fett: I think this scene makes it pretty obvious that Rei is not only a stoic to rival Spock, but that she is also asexual. Coincidently, this scene also cemented in my mind the idea that naked women are not "fanservicey" -- then again I'm asexual myself, so make of that what you will.
thewayneiac: Given the symbolism inherent in this scene, I doubt you are right about the asexual part. As I note in Cut 223, it's likely that she simply doesn't know how she's supposed to react. If you mean that naked women are never fanservice, I can't say that I agree. However, this scene is certainly not fan service. Fanservice includes gratuitous nudity; this is giving us important information on the characters.
Additional Commentary
Cody MacArthur Fett: Hmm, I didn't remember that scene, not surprising since I tend to filter out most of the symbolism in Eva. Still, that doesn't at all mean that Rei isn't asexual, since asexuality is, quite simply, the absence of sexual attraction. We can still gain pleasure from sex on some level, and we most certainly still seek out human companionship, but things like breast size or pectoral muscles and the like just don't factor into that equation. So for me (and other asexuals) no [half-]naked man or woman in anime is ever fanservice, it is only annoying, disturbing, or meh.
Make sense?
thewayneiac: Understood. It was your phrasing that confused me. You seemed to me to be making a blanket statement that in your opinion naked anime women are not fan service, while admiting that this opinion might be a product of your own lack of enthusiasm. You were actually simply stating your own lack of interest in naked women as fanservice.
However, I still don't understand your basis for declaring Rei asexual. I wouldn't expect her to show sexual attraction for someone who just inadvertantly pushed her down and groped her. Could you elaborate on how her behavior in this sene demonstrates that she would have no sexual attraction toward others under other circumstances?
Cody MacArthur Fett: Why certainly my good man, I'd be happy to explain my conclusion. Basically it boils down to Rei's total lack of reaction throughout the entire series to anything that could possibly considered sexual outside of the mind screw moments when the viewer has so much symbolism flying in their face that they'd be crazy to take anything seriously – or vise versa, depending on how confusing things are. This, combined with the fact that Rei is shown not to be above natual impulsive reactions (as evidenced by reactions while in pain and her being embarrassed by Shinji's elevator comments in episode 15) leads me to believe that she simply doesn't care about matters sexual or people touching her beyond, “You're in my way, sir.”
I'll admit though that this could also just as easily be a case of projection on my part, inconsistent character development on the dev team's part, or simply Rei never having been told about “the bird and the bees.”
