Toji Suzuhara

Toji Suzuhara
鈴原 トウジ
Age	14
Birthday	2001/09/08
Seiyū	Tomokazu Seki

Toji Suzuhara is Shinji Ikari's classmate and later friend; their mutual friend is Kensuke Aida. Like all potential Children, Toji is kept with the others for his own protection, in the same school classroom. In relation to this fact, his mother is deceased; he is said to live with his sister, father and grandfather.

Profile

Toji's sister was crushed under a pile of debris during Eva-01’s battle with Sachiel. Angry over what he saw as the pilot's clumsiness, Toji punched Shinji Ikari after discovering who he was, saying, "I won't feel right until I've smacked you." But after seeing Shinji’s reaction to the fight with Shamshel, Toji grew sympathetic towards Shinji and befriended him.

Toji appears strongly concerned with appearing "manly" and chivalrous. He insists on Shinji accompanying him to Rei’s apartment in Episode 17 because he can’t go to a girl’s place alone, and refuses to help Shinji pick up Rei’s trash because it’s "not a man’s job". This same attitude might be why he had difficulty admitting he was worried about the absent Shinji, or phoning him in Episode 03.

Toji, Shinji and Kensuke. From the Proposal.

Like his best friend Kensuke Aida Toji has a crush on Misato Katsuragi, but his infatuation is usually more overt, especially in Episode 08. He also seems to be aware of Hikari Horaki’s crush on him as well.

Tojji likes sports and food. Instead of a standard school uniform, Toji usually wears a track suit (except in Episode 09), and is seen shooting basketball in Episode 17. He declared lunchtime "the single best thing 'bout school" in the same episode, and it’s probably no surprise that Hikari used her cooking to express her interest in him.

After being chosen as the Fourth Children and the pilot of Eva-03, Toji accepted only on the condition that his sister be transferred to the hospital at Nerv headquarters, and became listless and remote before his test.

After Eva-03 was infected by Bardiel and destroyed by Eva-01, her Entry Plug was crushed. Toji survived that incident, but lost his leg. (The loss of his leg is not explicitly stated, but when he is lying in the hospital in Episode 19, the covers are sunk in where his left leg should be)

Toji left with the rest of Tokyo-3’s remaining citizens after the city was destroyed by Eva 00’s detonation in Episode 23. His only other after appearances after this were as part of Instrumentality in Episode 25 and Episode 26.

Notes

• In the original Japanese dub, Toji speaks with an Osakan accent, and his ID information displayed in Episode 03 states that he is originally from the Osaka region. English dubs of anime often try to translate an Osakan accent by having a character speak with a different accent than the other characters but familiar to American viewers, usually a "Southern" or "Brooklyn" type. ADV Films chose not to portray Toji this way, but used an informal tone in his subtitles, including words like "ain't" and "'bout". The English dubbing didn't have this.
• The name "Toji Suzuhara" was taken from Ryu Murakami’s novel Ai to Gensou no Fascism (The Fascism of Love and Fantasy)
• Toji's usual attire has a striking resemblance to Eva Unit-03, perhaps foreshadowing (along with just about every other hint) that he was the pilot.

Characters

Main characters: Shinji Ikari | Rei Ayanami | Asuka Langley Soryu

Nerv staff: Misato Katsuragi | Gendo Ikari | Ritsuko Akagi | Kozo Fuyutsuki | Ryoji Kaji | Maya Ibuki | Makoto Hyuga | Shigeru Aoba

Classmates: Toji Suzuhara | Kensuke Aida | Hikari Horaki

Other characters: Kaworu Nagisa | Yui Ikari | Naoko Akagi | Kyoko Zeppelin Soryu | Dr. Katsuragi | Mr. Langley | Keel Lorenz | Pen Pen

Rebuild of Evangelion: Asuka Shikinami Langley | Mari Makinami Illustrious | Sakura Suzuhara | Ryoji Kaji (Jr)

Miscellaneous: Minor Characters | Minor Characters (Rebuild) | Extracanonical Characters

Theory and Analysis: Name Origins (Warships) | Designs | Relationships | Profiles

Resources: 2015: The Last Year of Ryohji Kaji