happy go lucky

I told you I was going to be self-indulgent today.

SO!

A classic, and for good reason. The pose is sweet, and their expressions are soft enough that the almost-but-not-quite hand-holding, which should be annoying, actually manages to be cute in context. 8/10

The origin story for endless fanworks and cosplay photoshoots that show them in this same pose. The only thing I don’t like is Shinji’s slightly nervous expression, which makes me sad. 7/10

I’m weak, I’m sorry, I’m weak and I love this. The casual intimacy, the hand-holding, the faux-watercolor style! It’s everything. I can even look past Kaworu’s weird face.  9/10

One of the artworks produced for Studio Khara’s 10th Anniversary, and a stark contrast to its counterpart with the female pilots. The girls are all action heroes; this is Yearning.jpeg. A worthy addition to the “Shinji-Staring-Into-The-Distance-While-Kaworu-LOOMS” subgenre of EVA official art. 9/10

An alternate poster for 3.0. There are some interesting symbolism things going on in the background (which I’ll talk about more in the next bit), but let’s be real, we’re actually here for the insanely cheesy pose. I, personally, love the implication that Kaworu uses his powers to float in circles around Shinji like a lazy gay satellite. 10/10

How do I love this image? Let me count the ways.

I love the fact that they are sharing Shinji’s headphones, which Shinji states in-canon that he wears as a means of closing off his heart. I love that the earbuds are red (instead of their usual black), seemingly as a subtle nod to the red string of fate. I love that, after idealizing the fuck out of each other and all the hell that followed, they are comfortably together on a broken pedestal.

I love that, as the main poster for 3.0, they decided the most pertinent imagery would be the boys sitting beneath the stars Altair and Vega, the constellation which represents star-crossed lovers.

(Shinji is directly beneath Altair, and Kaworu is directly underneath Vega. In the previous image, the constellation is in the background, and their heads are situated over their respective stars).

… Which also appears in the movie. You know, just in case you missed it those other two times.

This is the apex, the alpha and omega, the official art by which all other official art are measured. The fact that this was, for many years, not just the image for 3.0 but for Evangelion in its entirety makes my heart unbelievably soft. 100/10