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Okay, I know - I hear it all the time - she's annoying.  There.  I've said it. But wait!  There IS
more...  Asuka is also very misunderstood.  I'm sure some of you are probably wondering: "what
gives?"  The American VA for Asuka is writing about herself?  Not at all - this is about HER.  Now I
realize that many of you may already be Asuka fans, so I may be "preaching to the choir" as they
say, but I feel it's worth being said.  In the 13 or 14 months it took me to voice all of Asuka's
episodes, I really feel like I got to know her intimately - she became a part of me.  She's kinda like
my kid sister, which is why I feel the need to stick up for her, so here goes...  (And for those of you
who are not aware of it, I even have a plug suit!   Talk about someone taking her job too
seriously....)

The only Eva pilot who actually likes her job, Asuka is a breed apart.  A mother who left her, a
father and stepmother who didn't care...  How'd you expect her to be "normal"?  As if there is
such a thing a "normal" in this series...  And now I will admit a terrible secret - I LIKE Asuka.  No,
I mean it!  I really do!  With the odds stacked insurmountably against her, she triumphed (for a
time anyway) over her own fears and inadequacies and against humanity's worst enemies - the
angels.  She didn't let anyone hold her down.  She took pride (some might say TOO much pride) in
her accomplishments and steadfastly refused to take no for an answer.  Okay, she IS also beautiful
AND intelligent (a COLLEGE degree by age 14!), but those are not the only reasons to admire this
Evangelion firecracker.  Let's face it - the gal's got balls.

My favorite description of Asuka to date appeared in the Dec. 1997 issue of Animerica magazine
(referring to my portrayal of the character): "...shrill and unpleasant enough to make the
character properly unlikable but not so over the top as to make her completely unsympathetic." -
Mark Simmons. That pretty much wraps up my feelings for her in a nutshell.

She is, of course, the polar opposite of Rei with Shinji sitting somewhere in the middle.  It's almost
like the old Flintstones episodes with Fred talking to his "conscience" - the devil saying what he'd
really like to do & the angel (coincidence?) telling him what he was supposed to do.  I know my
philosophizing probably won't persuade the more vehement Asuka detractors, but I wish people
wouldn't be so hasty to judge her - let those among you without sin cast the first stone.

If you know someone who hasn't been watching Neon Genesis Evangelion, it is your mission to get
them to do so - be it subtitled, raw, or however you can find it.  Any way you can get it, EVA's
definitely a show worth watching.  I know.  I've already seen it   :) .