@article{ART003303891},
author={PARK SOOJUNG},
title={Reconsidering Neon Genesis Evangelion from the Perspectives of Postfeminism and Posthumanism},
journal={日本硏究},
issn={1229-6309},
year={2026},
number={64},
pages={277-299}
TY - JOUR
AU - PARK SOOJUNG
TI - Reconsidering Neon Genesis Evangelion from the Perspectives of Postfeminism and Posthumanism
JO - 日本硏究
PY - 2026
VL - null
IS - 64
PB - The Center for Japanese Studies
SP - 277
EP - 299
SN - 1229-6309
AB - This article reexamines the TV animation Neon Genesis Evangelion (1995) through the theoretical frameworks of postfeminism and posthumanism, focusing on the notion of the body, which has received relatively limited attention in previous studies. The 1990s in Japan were marked by the expansion of postfeminist discourse alongside the rapid sexualization of culture, exemplified by phenomena such as the Burusera Boom and the growth of the Love Doll industry. Against this background, this study examines how the bodily representations of Misato, Ritsuko, Asuka, and Rei reflect the cultural sensibilities of the period. In particular, the bodies of Misato and Ritsuko, portrayed as “working women,” reveal how the postfeminist notion of subjectivity functioned to obscure gender inequality while imposing excessive and conflicting demands on women. The analysis of Asuka and Rei further demonstrates how the sexualization of culture objectified and commodified the bodies of girls and minors under the name of “sexual subjectivity.” By contrast, the body of Evangelion as an artificial human challenges this gendered order of embodiment, rendering visible the fact that sex is not a biological given but is a construct shaped by social imagination and power relations. Through this analysis, the article positions Neon Genesis Evangelion not merely as a giant robot anime or a coming-of- age narrative, but as a site of posthuman imagination that destabilizes both binary gender norms and modern conceptions of the human. As the series continues to be reinterpreted and consumed across generations and national contexts more than thirty years after its original broadcast, this study seeks to reassess its cultural-historical significance by foregrounding the body as a critical analytical lens.
KW - Neon Genesis Evangelion;Postfeminism;Sexualization of Culture;Posthuman;Gender studies
DO -
UR -
ER -
PARK SOOJUNG. (2026). Reconsidering Neon Genesis Evangelion from the Perspectives of Postfeminism and Posthumanism. 日本硏究, 64, 277-299.
PARK SOOJUNG. 2026, "Reconsidering Neon Genesis Evangelion from the Perspectives of Postfeminism and Posthumanism", 日本硏究, no.64, pp.277-299.
PARK SOOJUNG "Reconsidering Neon Genesis Evangelion from the Perspectives of Postfeminism and Posthumanism" 日本硏究 64 pp.277-299 (2026) : 277.
PARK SOOJUNG. Reconsidering Neon Genesis Evangelion from the Perspectives of Postfeminism and Posthumanism. 2026; 64 : 277-299.
PARK SOOJUNG. "Reconsidering Neon Genesis Evangelion from the Perspectives of Postfeminism and Posthumanism" 日本硏究 no.64(2026) : 277-299.
PARK SOOJUNG. Reconsidering Neon Genesis Evangelion from the Perspectives of Postfeminism and Posthumanism. 日本硏究, 64, 277-299.
PARK SOOJUNG. Reconsidering Neon Genesis Evangelion from the Perspectives of Postfeminism and Posthumanism. 日本硏究. 2026; 64 277-299.
PARK SOOJUNG. Reconsidering Neon Genesis Evangelion from the Perspectives of Postfeminism and Posthumanism. 2026; 64 : 277-299.
PARK SOOJUNG. "Reconsidering Neon Genesis Evangelion from the Perspectives of Postfeminism and Posthumanism" 日本硏究 no.64(2026) : 277-299.
