Gendo and Shinji (Relationship)

Gendo and Shinji

Gendo and Shinji have one of the most complicated, and central relationships in all of Evangelion. The relationship is ostensibly one of mutual distance, but underlying feelings -- positive and negative -- remain.

Summary

Birth and Naming

Shinji is Gendo's only child with Yui. While Shinji is inside Eva 01, he hears a memory of Yui and Gendo discussing what their child will be named. Gendo chose the name "Shinji" for a boy, and "Rei" for a girl.

Abandonment

Abandonment

Gendo abandoned Shinji some time after Yui disapeared into Eva-01, sending him to live with his "sensei". A recurring visual associated with this an image of a young Shinji, crying next to a train line. During a dreamscape inside the angel Leliel, this image is expanded on with one of Gendo walking away from the platform, his back to Shinji, suggesting that this was the place where Gendo personally abandoned Shinji.

Additionally, in the Leliel dreamscape, Shinji is accused of running away from the relationship himself. It is suggested that the young Shinji's own reaction to Gendo's trial for Yui's murder was a factor in their poor relationship. During the his dreamscape inside Eva 01, Shinji openly accuses Gendo of having killed Yui.

Subsequent to this abandonment, Gendo and Shinji did appear to make yearly visits to Yui's grave on the anniversary of her "death". On the last of these -- three years before the series begins -- Shinji ran away from the graveside and did not meet Gendo again.

Reunion in Tokyo-3

Torn-up letter from Gendo.

Cage Encounter
Gendo: It's been a while. Shinji: Father... Gendo: Sortie. Shinji: Father, why did you send for me? Gendo: You know exactly why. Shinji: So, you're asking me to take this thing and fight that thing? Gendo: That's right. Shinji: No way! Why are you doing this now?! I thought you didn't need me! Gendo: I called you because I have a need for you. Shinji: Why me? Gendo: Because no one else can. Shinji: No, I can't... I've never even seen anything like this before! I can't do this! Gendo: You will be instructed. Shinji: But there's no way I can do this! I can't pilot it! Gendo: If you're going to pilot it, do it now and quickly. If not, leave!

Shortly after the Eva 00 Accident, with Rei incapacitated, Gendo summon's Shinji to Tokyo-3 to act as a backup pilot.

On his arrival at Nerv HQ, when Misato asks Shinji for his ID card, Shinji hands her the letter Gendo sent. All of the printed words on the letter have been erased with black highlighter, replaced with a handwritten message in the same from Gendo which reads "COME -- Gendo Ikari". Moreover, Shinji has scribbled over Gendo's words in red pen and torn up the paper out of frustration at his father, later taping the pieces back together(Perhaps after getting a load of Misato's picture!).

Later, while he is inside Eva 01, it is revealed that Shinji's original intention in coming to Tokyo-3 was to tell Gendo that he hated him.

Following Sachiel's attack, Shinji is brought to Eva-01's Cage to meet his father, who is standing above in the control room. Gendo orders Eva 01 to sortie. When it becomes clear that Shinji is the intended pilot, he still asks Gendo why he has been summoned, after his previous abandonment, and with no prior notice. Gendo explains that he has need of Shinji now, and that Shinji will be shown how to pilot, but when Shinji persists in declaring that he is unable, Gendo loudly issues an ultimatum: Pilot the Eva now -- or leave. Shinji is stunned by this, and afterwards cannot muster the courage to pilot.

Gendo ascertains the situation, then orders Rei to pilot Eva 01, as her "spare" Shinji is "unusable". Shinji, recalling his abandonment, concludes that he was not needed all along.

Shinji eventually does agree to pilot, after seeing Rei's sufferring, and after being saved from falling hanger lights by Eva 01 -- which drew a confident smirk from Gendo. However, Shinji later recalls this encounter, and Gendo's cold ultimatum to "leave", on several occasions.

"Natural to be Apart"

"Natural to be Apart"
Ritsuko: Are you sure? They don't want to live together? Fuyutsuki: I think that living apart is natural for Ikari and his son. Ritsuko: And being together is unnatural?

Gendo's Burns
Shinji: Well, it's just that my father seems to have burned his hands. Misato: Burned? Shinji: I was just wondering how it happened. Misato: Burns? Do you know? Ritsuko: It was before you arrived at Nerv. Unit 00 went berserk during the activation experiments. You've heard about that, right? Shinji: Yes. Ritsuko: The pilot was trapped inside. Shinji: Pilot? You mean Ayanami, right? Ritsuko: It was Commander Ikari who rescued her. He opened the super-heated hatch with his bare hands. Shinji:: My father did that? Ritsuko: That's how he burned his hands.

Shinji and Gendo live separately in Tokyo-3 and rarely interact with one another. While leaving the hospital after his first sortie against Sachiel, Shinji encounters Gendo at an elevator. The pair silently stare, not speaking a word, with Shinji eventually turning away, refusing to enter the elevator with his father.

Shinji is initially assigned to live on his own, though he is instead taken in by Misato. When Ritsuko asks about this, Fuyutsuki explains to her that for Gendo and his son, it is more natural to live apart than together. When Shinji attempts to leave Tokyo-3, Gendo makes no effort to stop or dissuade him.

While touring Shamshel's remains, Shinji sees the burns on Gendo's hands, and learns from Ritsuko that they were the result of Gendo's rescue of Rei during the Eva 00 accident. Later in Eva Cages, to his amazement, Shinji witnesses Gendo and Rei speaking cordially together.

During Gaghiel's attack, Gendo tells Kaji that he has sent Shinji as a reserve pilot. During the mission to capture Sandaphlon, Shinji learns Gendo has ordered the UN Forces to bomb the area with N^2 weapons if the mission fails.

Phone Call

Phone Call
Telephone Operator: Yes, please hold for just a moment. Gendo: What? Shinji: Um, Father... Gendo: What is it? Spit it out! Shinji: Well... Actually today... We were told to tell our parents... ...that they're having a career discussion interview at school. Gendo: I've delegated all such things to Captain Katsuragi. Don't call me over such nonsense. Don't forward any more of these calls to...(Phone line cuts out)

Shortly before the blackout at Nerv and Matarael's attack, Shinji calls Gendo from a payphone somewhere in the city above. After being placed on hold by an operator -- and subjected to phone system chimes -- Shinji is connected to a curt and impatient Gendo. Shinji requires a few seconds to find his voice, then hesitantly tells Gendo that the children in school have been asked to tell their parents of an upcoming career discussion interview. While Shinji has taken this literally, Gendo contemptuously dismisses the notion, telling Shinji that he has delegated such matters to Misato, who is now Shinji's guardian. As Gendo tells Shinji not to call him again over such trivialities, the phone line is cut off as power fails.

Praise from Gendo...

Manual Preparations
Ritsuko: It was all done by hand. It was the Commander's idea. Shinji: My father's? Ritsuko: Commander Ikari had faith that you would come, and prepared everything.

During the blackout and Matarael's attack, Shinji witness Gendo manually preparing the Evangelions for launch. Ritsuko tell Shinji that Gendo had faith that the pilots would arrive.

Praise from Gendo...
Gendo: By the way, is the pilot of Unit 01 there? Shinji: Yes, Sir! Gendo: I've received the report. Good work, Shinji. Shinji: Yes, Sir. Gendo: Now, Major Katsuragi, I'll leave the rest in your hands. Shinji: When I heard my father's words earlier, I think I finally understood what it's like to feel happy when you're praised. And I also realized that maybe I pilot the Eva because I wanted to hear those words from him.

While Gendo is absent at the South Pole, Sahaquiel attacks. Following the angel's defeat, and Shinji's role in this, Gendo contacts Nerv HQ and praises Shinji personally, calling him by name for the first time since they met in Tokyo-3. Shinji later tells Misato that he pilots Eva 01 in order to hear such words of praise from his father. Gendo's praise and Shinji's need for it become a recurring topic in many of the psychological dreamscapes Shinji later experiences.

Yui's Graveside

Yui's Graveside
Gendo: It's been three years since the last time we came here together. Shinji: I ran away then, and haven't been back since. It just hasn't sunk in that Mother is resting here. I don't even remember her face. Gendo: Man survives by forgetting his memories, but there are some things a man should never forget. Yui taught me about the irreplaceable things. I come here to confirm that. Shinji: You have no pictures of her? Gendo: There are none left. This grave is just a decoration too. There's no corpse. Shinji: So, the teacher was right. You threw them all away. Gendo: I keep everything in my heart. That is enough for now. Gendo: It's time. I'm leaving now. Shinji: (Catching glipse of Rei) Father! Shinji: Um, I'm glad I got to talk to you today. Gendo: I see.

Shinji is scheduled to visit Yui's Grave along with Gendo. It will be the first time the two have been there in three years. On the day beforehand, Ritsuko notices that Shinji is downcast over the prospect. Shinji attempts to ask Rei for advice on what to say, and asks her what Gendo is like, but Rei claims not to know. At home, Shinji reflects on his encounters with Gendo: at the Cage, the elevator, during his manual preparations, and on Gendo's words of praise.

The next day, Gendo and Shinji visit Yui's grave, which lies in a huge Second Impact Graveyard. Shinji lays a wreath of flowers, and Gendo comments that it has been three years since they visited the grave together, Shinji admitting that he ran away at that time. Evidently this was the last time the pair met before Shinji came to Tokyo-3.

Shinji says that he cannot remember what Yui looked like. Gendo tells him that people survive by forgetting their memories, but that some things should not be forgotten. Gendo says that Yui taught him about what is irreplaceable, and that he comes to her grave to confirm this. Shinji asks Gendo about pictures of Yui, but Gendo tells him that they have all been destroyed, and that the Grave is decorative as Yui left no corpse. Gendo says that he keeps everything in his heart.

As VTOL arrives, Gendo announces he is leaving. The pair regard each other for a moment before Gendo starts to walks off. Shinji, catching a glimpse of Rei aboard the VTOL, suddenly calls out to Gendo, causing him to stop and turn. Shinji tells Gendo that he is glad to have had the chance to talk. Gendo gives a brief acknowledgement and departs, with Shinji leaving separately. When he arrives home, Shinji plays on his cello.

This encounter is Gendo and Shinji's practically only real face-to-face conversation.

Shinji inside Leliel

Shinji inside Leliel
Rei: Don't you have faith in your father? Shinji: I think I hate him, but now I'm not sure. Gendo Good work, Shinji. Shinji: My father called me by my name. I was praised by my father! Younger Shinji: You're going to spend the rest of your life ruminating on that happiness? Shinji: If I believe in those words, I can keep on living. Shinji: Father, am I unwanted? Father! Young Shinji: You're the one who ran away. Man: That's right! He may be guilty of killing his own wife! Man: He killed his own wife! Shinji: No! Mother was... Smiling... Misato: You did a very praiseworthy thing today. Gendo: Shinji, you must not run away. Misato: 'Do your best.

When Eva 01 and Shinji are trapped inside Leliel, after several hours, Shinji begins to panic, desperately banging on the entry plug to be let out and calling out for help. As he calls, the last name he invokes is his father's.

After falling unconscious Shinji find himself in a dreamscape, faced by a younger boy in a dusk-lit train carraige. Here Shinji is forced to confront his relationships with others and in particular with his father.

Shinji's fear of others hating him is discussed, and Gendo's abandonment is pointed to as the source of this fear. Shinji states that while he thinks he still hates Gendo, he is no longer so sure; Gendo's praising of him by name has changed things. The young boy accuses him of chewing the cud of Gendo's praise, but Shinji says that by believing in them he can keep on living. The boy rejects this notion.

As the dreamscape continues, Shinji is forced to view what appears to be a memory of Gendo's abandonment of him. The recurring image of a crying young Shinji is shown, along with images of Gendo slowly walking away, as Shinji asks Gendo whether he is an unwanted child. The present day Shinji is then shown, in his plug suit, standing at the train platform and angrily screaming after Gendo as he walks away.

The image shifts the younger boy, who accuses the Shinji of having been the who "ran away". A series of newsprint and media images flashes is shown, concerning the public scandal surrounding Yui's death, the subsequent investigation, and Gendo's apparent trial and aquittal, Voices accuse Gendo of killing Yui, but Shinji refutes them, saying that his mother was smiling;a photograph of Yui and an infant Shinji is show, though Yui's face is mostly obscured.

As the dreamscape ends, Shinji again sees and image Gendo walking away, but hears Gendo's voice telling him not to run away.

Eva 03

Eva 03
Fuyutsuki: Not good! Cut the synch rate to 60%! Gendo: Wait! Fuyutsuki: But Ikari, at this rate, the pilot will die. Gendo: Shinji, why don't you fight? Shinji: But there's a person in there, Father! Gendo: Irrelevant! It is an Angel! Our enemy! Shinji: But... but I can't! I've got to save them! I can't just kill somebody! Gendo: You'll die. Shinji: I don't care! It's better than killing someone! Gendo: Never mind! Cut all synchronization between the pilot and Eva 01. Ibuki: Cut it? Gendo: Correct. Switch the control circuit to the dummy plug. Ibuki: But the dummy system still has a lot of problems, and without Dr. Akagi's approval... Gendo: It'll be of more use than the pilot. Do it! Shinji: Stop it! Father, stop! Stop doing this! Damn! Stop! Stop it! Stop it! Stop it! Stop it! Stop it! Stop! STOP!

When Bardiel tales over Eva 03, Shinji is forced to confront the angel alone, but will not fight back, even as the Angel begins throttling Eva 01 and himself. Gendo, interrupting a cut to the synch rate, call Shinji by name and asks why he will not fight. Shinji protests that there is still a person inside Eva 03, who should be saved, and he cannot simply kill them. Gendo dismisses this concern, telling Shinji that Eva 03 is now an Angel, and that if he does not fight then Shinji himself will die.

Shinji refuses, saying that dying would be better than killing another person. At this, Gendo angrily stand up and orders that the synchronisation between Eva 01 and Shinji be cut, and control switched over to the Dummy System. When Ibuki states that the system is experimental, Gendo says that it will still be of more use than the pilot. Shinji's synchronisation is cut, and as he hears the Dummy System spinning up, he asks what Gendo has done.

Once the dummy system activates, Eva 01 proceeds -- to Gendo's satisfaction and the horror of everyone else -- to dismember Eva 03 in a brutally visceral manner. As this proceeds, Shinji repeatedly begs Gendo to stop, but can only pull uselessly at the controls while the Dummy System continues to control the Eva. Eventually, Eva 01 reaches Eva 03's Entry Plug containing the pilot, and proceeds to crush the plug in its hand over Shinji's final screams to stop.

Later, Shinji learns that the pilot was Toji.

Fallout and Crisis

Fallout
Shinji: My father... That bastard tried to kill Toji! With my hands... Father, you're there, aren't you? Say something! Answer me! Gendo: Increase the pressure of the LCL to maximum. We have no time to waste on a childish tantrum. Shinji: I've still got a direct control circuit... Damn! Damn! Damn... Gendo: Disobeying orders, private appropriation of an Eva, blatant intimidation...These are all criminal offenses. Shinji: ...... Gendo: Do you have anything to say? Shinji: Yes, I don't want to pilot an Eva anymore. I don't want to stay here either. Gendo: Then leave. Shinji: Yes. I'll go back to my teacher's place. Gendo: So you're running away again? Shinji: ...... Gendo: You disappoint me. I doubt we'll ever meet again. Shinji: Yes, that's my intent. Ibuki: Eva 01 is rejecting the neural connections! Ritsuko: No, that can't be possible! Fuyutsuki: Ikari? Gendo Yes, it's rejecting me.

On his return to Nerv HQ, Shinji seals himself inside Eva 01 and threatens to use the Eva to destroy Headquarters. Ignoring the protests of the Bridge Crew, an enraged Shinji accuses Gendo of trying to kill Toji with Shinji's "own hands" -- his Evangelion. Shinji demands that Gendo explain himself, but Gendo does no respond, instead ordering that the entry plugs LCL pressure be raised to the maximium, saying that Nerv has no time for a child's tantrum. Shinji is knocked unconscious by the change in pressure, his hands floating off the controls.

Shinji has to be cut out of the entry plug, and is taken to recover in hospital next to Toji. Toji sees a strange vision of Shinji talking with Rei in a dusk-lit train. Rei ask Shinji why he acted in such a way. Shinji says that Gendo has betrayed him, even after their conversation together by Yui's grave. Rei presses Shinji on whether he has really tried to understand Gendo, but Shinji withdraws.

When Shinji wakes, he is taken to Gendo's office and brought before his father in handcuffs. Gendo list Shinji's offences, and asks if Shinji has anything to say. Shinji says that he no longer wishes to be an Eva pilot, or stay in Tokyo-3 anymore. Gendo bluntly tells him leave, and Shinji declares he will return to live with his teacher.

As Shinji turns to leave, Gendo accuse him of running away again, presumably referring to when Shinji ran away from Yui's grave three years before. Gendo says that Shinji has disappointed him, and that they are unlikely to ever meet again. Shinji agrees, saying that is want he wants.

Return to the Eva Cage
MAN: It's rejecting the dummy plug. MAN: It failed! No response detected! Gendo: Keep trying. Repeat the process from step 108. Shinji: Let me pilot it! I... I... Let me pilot Unit 01, please! Shinji: Father... Gendo: Why are you here? Shinji: I... I... I am the pilot of Evangelion Unit 01! Shinji Ikari!

After Shinji leaves the Geofront, Gendo places a call ordering that the Third Child be deleted, and Rei made the pilot of Eva 01. However, following Shinji's departure, during Zeruel's attack Eva 01 refuses to synch with either Rei or the Dummy Plug. When this occurs, Gendo states that the Eva is rejecting him personally; Shinji's anger and rejection have bled over to the Eva.

After wrestling with his conscience, speaking with Kaji, and seeing the sacrifices of both Asuka and Rei, Shinji resolves to pilot again, and runs down to the Eva Cage. In the meantime, Gendo has gone to the cage control room in a futile effort to get the Dummy plug to work, and is startled to hear Shinji calling to be allow to pilot Eva 01.

Upon seeing Gendo in the control room, Shinji hesitates. In an inversion of their first encounter, it is now Gendo who asks Shinji why he is here. After some hesitation, Shinji loudly proclaims that he, Shinji Ikari, is the pilot of Eva 01. Gendo regards him silently.

Shinji subsequently sorties, arriving just in time to stopp Zeruel destroying the Command Center, and wrestles the angel out to the Eva cages, where Gendo stands on a platform observing the fight. When Zeruel blasts off Eva 01's arm, Gendo is half soaked in a spray of blood, but continues to look on in silence. After a berserk Eva 01 defeats Zeruel, and begins Eva bellowing in the Geofront, Gendo is shown to be watching with Fuyutsuki from his office.

Shinji inside Eva 01

Shinji inside Eva 01
Shinji: Enemy! Enemy! Enemy! Enemy! My enemy! My enemy! Damn! Damn! Damn! How dare you hurt Toji and kill my mother! Father! Rei: Why do you hate your father? Shinji: Of course! Anyone would. Rei: You can't understand your father? Shinji: Of course not. I've hardly ever seen him. Rei: Is that why you hate him? Shinji: Yes, my father doesn't need me! My father deserted me! Rei: And am I the substitute? Shinji: That's right! That's got to be it! He abandoned me because he had you! Rei: As if you didn't run away all by yourself. Shinji: Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! It's all his fault!! That time, I was actually going to tell him I hate him! Shinji: Are you telling me to get on that thing and put myself in danger, Father? Gendo: Correct. Shinji: What's with that?! I don't want to! Why are you saying this now?! I thought you didn't need me, Father! Gendo: I merely called you because I needed you. Shinji: Why me? Gendo: Because it's impossible for anyone else. Shinji: But that's impossible. I've never even seen or heard of it. There's no way I could do it! Shinji: No, I knew. That's right! I knew the Eva. And that time, I ran away! Away from Mother and Father!

While Shinji is trapped inside Eva 01, he experiences an extended dreamscape in which Gendo features prominently. While Shinji reflects on his reasons for fighting, images of the Angels along with the word "enemy" rapidly appear. As Shinji chants "Enemy" over and over, gradually these images are replaced with images of Gendo. As the sequence reaches a crescendo, an apparition of Gendo suddenly appears, towering over Shinji with glowing eyes, and set against a red backdrop.

At this, Shinji becomes enraged, denouncing Gendo for both hurting Toji, and for killing his mother Yui. Following this, in images which recall his final attack on Shamshel in Episode 03, Shinji is seen bathed in red light, screaming as his images morphs into that of Eva 01, which stabs upwards with the Prog knife, presumably towards Gendo.

This is interrupted by an image of Rei, her back turned to Shinji. Rei asks Shinji why he hates his father. Shinji replies that Gendo abandoned him, and doesn't need him. Rei asks if she is Shinji's substitute, and Shinji agrees, saying Rei was the reason he was abandoned. But Rei says that Shinji "ran away" himself. Shinji rejects this loudly, repeating that Gendo is to blame for everything. As images flash by of Shinji's arrival in Tokyo-3, Shinji reveals that his intention on coming to the city "that time", was to tell Gendo that he hated hated him.

The dreamscape then shifts to revisiting of Shinji's first meeting with Gendo in the Eva Cage. This time, Shinji asks if Gendo is saying that he must put himself in danger. Gendo replies much as before, saying that he needs Shinji, and that no-one else can pilot Eva. Shinji again says that he has never seen Eva 01 before, and could not possibly pilot, but this is denied by Shinji himself, who appears dressed in his plug suit. Shinji then says that he did know the Eva, and realises that in the Eva Cage he was running away from both his father and his mother.

Whilst Shinji is trapped inside Eva 01, Gendo is ostensibly unconcerned; Kaji has to raise the point that Gendo's son is trapped inside during a meeting. However, after Shinji's rescue, Ritsuko comments that's she is in no position to criticise Misato going to sleep with Kaji as soon as Shinji is safe.

Lockdown

Lockdown
Shinji: I'll go out there in Unit 01! Fuyutsuki: No! The target corrodes the pilot's psyche. Gendo: Right now, we must avoid the corrosion of Eva 01. Shinji: Then I just have to keep from getting hit, right?! Gendo: Your success is not guaranteed. Shinji: But at this rate, Asuka will... Gendo: I don't care. Rei, go down into Dogma and use the Lance.

Following the Zeruel incident, Gendo places Eva 01 under Eva 01's lockdown. When Arael attacks Eva 02, and begins to probe Asuka's mind, Shinji declares that he will rescue her in Eva 01. However both Fuyutsuki and Gendo overrule this, with Gendo saying that he will not risk any corrosion of Eva 01. When Shinji protests that Asuka is in danger, Gendo bluntly states that he does not care, and orders Rei to use the Lance of Longinus. This is the last conversation that Shinji and Gendo have.

Later, when Armisael infects Eva 00 and Rei is in danger, Gendo lifts the lockdown, and orders that Eva 01 sortie.

Following Ritsuko's tour, Shinji reflects on what he has seen in tank of floating Rei's and on the connection between Rei and his mother Yui. Shinji holds Gendo to be behind everything, asking what it is that his father is up to.

Gendo's Confession

Gendo's Confession
Gendo: I've been waiting for this moment for so long... To finally be with you again, Yui. When I'm with Shinji, I only hurt him. So, it's better that I do nothing. Yui: So, you were afraid of Shinji. Gendo: I don't believe that I can be loved by others... I'm not worthy of love. Kaworu: You're just running away. You simply reject the world before you get hurt. Yui: Afraid of the shapeless, invisible barriers that separate people... Rei: You just closed your heart to others. Gendo: So, this is my retribution. Forgive me... Shinji.

Assessments and Interpretations

Shinji still longs for words of praise from Gendo, despite the times his father has abandoned him. It is a very vicious cycle; Shinji will yearn for praise and be continually disappointed until it is given, which lulls him into a false sense of security only for Gendo to swoop down and ruin it.