Shinji Ikari

Shinji Ikari
碇 シンジ
Age	14
Birthday	06/06/2001
Seiyū	Megumi Ogata

Shinji Ikari is the Third Children, designated pilot of Evangelion Unit-01. He is the son of deceased Gehirn bioengineer Yui Ikari and Nerv Commander (formerly Chief of Gehirn) Gendo Ikari.

Past

At the age of four, Shinji lost his mother to the Eva-01 Contact Experiment, which he was present to witness. He was subsequently abandoned by Gendo: forcibly dragged to a train station and left alone to be collected by a new guardian. Gendo's parting words to the distraught Shinji were, somewhat paradoxically, "You mustn't run away".

For the next ~11 years, Shinji lived with a person known only as "sensei" - a term used to describe people like teachers, professionals, and other authority figures ahead of oneself. In Shinji's case, the most likely translation would mean "teacher". Shinji has been playing the Cello since he was 5.

Tokyo-3

Shinji has been summoned to Tokyo 3 by Gendo to pilot Eva-01 against the Angels. He lives initially with Misato Katsuragi; they are later joined by Asuka Langley Soryu.

Initially, he is assigned a room of his own, saying that he is fine living alone, but Misato takes him in to stay with her and Pen Pen. After the unpleasant surprise of discovering how messy and sloppy Misato is (And an extremely embarrassing encounter with Pen Pen in the bathroom), Shinji settles in, having been assigned most of the chores in the house. He shows that he is actually very independent and fully capable of taking care of himself, and can cook as well.

When Asuka arrives, the personality clashes between the three of them cause a healthy amount of tension. Asuka bullies Shinji and bosses him around quite often, even yelling at him in school when he fails to cook lunch due to his studies Episode 17.

Shinji tends to act kind to others, although he still keeps people at a distance, due to a fear of getting hurt. This goes along with the Hedgehog's Dilemma.

Psychology

Shinji seems to suffer from both Major Depression as well as some type of Social Anxiety Disorder; evidenced in his constantly being sad or worried about something, and his "not being used to being around so many people" (Episode 12).

Although he has an "inability to commit suicide", Shinji contemplated it in Episode 04 (he was sitting on the ledge of a spot "famous for suicides") and actually attempted it by drowning at the beginning of The End of Evangelion, as his head is dripping wet.

In other Media

Manga adaptation

The manga version of Shinji Ikari is significantly different from his Anime depiction. In the manga, Shinji has the same issues with his abandonment, but is a much more violent and troubled youth, sometimes even turning physically violent.(He even attempts to strike Gendo, something his Anime counterpart would never have done). He is also something of a smart-aleck who voices his opinion more often, even mentally thinking of Asuka as a "bitch", depicting an intensity of hatred towards her unseen in the anime. The Shinji in the anime is a much more submissive individual who "does what he is told".

Fan opinion of Shinji in the manga is mixed, with some preferring this version because he has more of a "backbone", or in other words, is more like a typical hero. However, other fans feel that removing Shinji's "neurotic anti-hero" aspect makes him less human and harder to relate to.

In other Eva-based Manga

The Shinji Ikari Raising Project manga portrays Shinji as acting more like his manga counterpart since he's more confident about himself. Shinji here also is something of a pervert, which goes along with Shinji's personality in the possible world sequence of Episode 26 as well as Girlfriend of Steel 2 video game Shinji.

In the Girlfriend of Steel 2 manga, however, Shinji acts mostly like his anime self, to the point where he doesn't have the perverted side of his personality that the Girlfriend of Steel 2 video game Shinji has. He also still acts shy and introverted around others.

Notes

• Although Shinji's last name Ikari means "Anchor" in Japanese, written in different Kanji, it can also mean "Anger". This goes along with not only the rage Evangelion Unit-01 can have during battle, but also the hidden anger Shinji displays several times throughout the anime (and manga as well).

• "I mustn't run away" ("Nigecha dameda!" in Japanese) becomes a trademark line delivered by Shinji starting in Episode 1. According to Hideaki Anno, this was the phrase that came to him that inspired him to keep working on and finish Evangelion.

• Despite Shinji claiming he has no talent with playing Cello in Episode 15, he can play Bach's Suite No. 1 in G major, BWV 1007, which is supposedly a difficult piece to play.

• • Shinji is also seen playing the aforementioned piece in Evangelion Death, albeit it's an alternate version of Shinji playing this piece, not the same Shinji of the anime.

• In Episode 16, it's revealed that Shinji doesn't know how to swim.

• Shinji's Birthday, June 06, is the same day as his seiyu Megumi Ogata. This is a trait that can be found in several of the Evangelion characters, Rei Ayanami being an exception.

• Shinji is named for Shinji Higuchi, Gainax Art Director and close friend of Hideaki Anno.

• Though having dark brown hair and blue eyes in the anime, Yoshiyuki Sadamoto’s artwork frequently represents Shinji with black hair and brown eyes, a trend that is also seen in some merchandise for the series.

This article bears the unpleasant designation of "Stub." This is a Bad Thing. Provide a great service to NGE fan-geeks everywhere by making it awesomer!

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