Babies Grow Up Real Fast

Babies grow up real fast. This frame really shows how great of a director Anno is. Despite the fact that Rei fills half the screen, we cannot see her face. This is of course a metaphor for Rei's shallow personality. Rei is wearing a dark suit which makes the audience focus on the baby, along with the absence of Rei's head in the screen, represents what is missing from Rei's life. She is not a real human and did not experience the luxury of being a baby and she did not get to learn about the world through experience and build a personality with time, while having no responsibilities and without facing any judgement from others. This is why the next part of the movie is so heart-warming as we see Rei finally get to learn about the world and experience human warmth thanks to the farmers. With just one frame, one which most wouldn't even pay attention to, Anno paints Rei's existential crisis and the whole character arc of Rei beautifully.

A cropped anime scene shows Rei Ayanami holding a crying baby, with the subtitle “Babies grow up real fast.” The attached commentary humorously overanalyzes the composition as a metaphor for Rei’s lack of childhood, personality, and humanity, turning an ordinary frame into an absurdly deep analysis of her character arc. EN: A cropped anime scene shows Rei Ayanami holding a crying baby, with the subtitle “Babies grow up real fast.” The attached commentary humorously overanalyzes the composition as a metaphor for Rei’s lack of childhood, personality, and humanity, turning an ordinary frame into an absurdly deep analysis of her character arc.

• @pokupkabitka / 16759 2022-10-25