Shinji and Asuka's Relationship
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This article has been protected for editing by wiki administrators due to blatant bad faith attempts at altering the content of this article to support an obsessive, "shipping" related point of view. It has been reverted to an older version pending significant revision and rewriting to an acceptable standard of quality. Protection may remain indefinite depending on conditions.
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The relationship between Asuka Langley Soryu and Shinji Ikari takes up a great deal of space in Evangelion's narrative after Asuka's introduction in Episode 08. Asuka herself is a pivotal figure in the narrative, despite not being introduced until almost a third of the way through, and her interactions with Shinji change both of them and lead on the path to End of Evangelion's apocalyptic conclusion and its own controversial ending.
This Theory and Analysis article focuses purely on first-tier canon, that of the Neon Genesis Evangelion TV show and End of Evangelion. Shinji's interactions with Asuka Langley Shikinami are an entirely different matter, since Shikinami is a different character with a different backstory (made explicit by Evangelion: 3.0 + 1.0) and the Rebuild of Evangelion tetralogy explicitly takes place in a different universe.
Although Asuka is "shipped" with Shinji in third-tier or lower canon (such as the Cardass card game), there is no first-tier canon confirmation that Asuka is, in fact, Shinji's canonical "shipmate" and any attempts at romanticizing their relationship are purely a matter of personal preference. Attempts at "proving" the canonicity of "Asushin" or out of context quotes of creator statements that Asuka and Shinji "are made for one another" are, therefore, pointless. The primary text, the Neon Genesis Evangelion TV show. is extremely ambivalent about the nature of their relationship. That being said, Shinji and Asuka do demonstrate a strong degree of mutual attraction and an unhealthy dependency on each other for affection and validation.
Any attempts by the two to communicate with each other are unsuccessful, reinforcing Evangelion's core theme of the difficulty in human beings to understand one another and reach out to each other. A great deal of their desires are left unspoken or hinted at, leaving what they really want from each other, or whether they would ultimately want each other at all, given other possible options, an open question.
Their relationship embodies a key element of the Hedgehog's Dilemma: both of them are horribly traumatized and lonely individuals with deep issues who are left with nobody but each other for attention and support at the end of the series, but their attempts at even friendship result in both of them hurting each other. Asuka covers her deep-seated desires for affection and attention by aggressively and constantly trying to prove herself and seeking validation from those whom she considers her equals or superiors, while Shinji, who feels the same desires for affection and attention, tends to be afraid to act on them and avoids anything that is even the least painful, except that he lashes out violently when cornered emotionally.
It is often up to the viewer to piece together their motivations, from the unspoken or implied aspects of their actions, and that in turn depends on the viewer's own interpretation of a scene. Evangelion also tends to transmit information visually rather than through dialog, through the deliberate visual paralleling of scenes or through shot composition. However, the interpretation of such scenes lends itself to a great deal of ambiguity, and the notion that Shinji and Asuka are "meant for each other romantically" need not apply itself any better than "Shinji and Asuka are not meant for one another", given that Evangelion deconstructs a great deal of tropes. Shinji and Asuka's relationship is introduced using the conventional framing of a romantic comedy, but as the series goes on, the relationship between the two degrades and deteriorates to the point that the show deconstructs all notions of romance between the two characters, with the violent breakdown of their relationship by the time of End of Evangelion being a very strong argument against their relationship being truly romantic as opposed to mere mutual sexual attraction and/or a desire for mutual attention. Whether or not Shinji and Asuka can truly be called a "couple" depends entirely on one's point of view, much like Darth Vader murdered Anakin Skywalker "from a certain point of view".
Asuka herself, when introduced in Episode 08, appears visually evocative of the tsundere character archetype, and her introduction to Shinji seems to follow the conventions of romantic comedy. She lands up slapping Shinji (and Toji and Kensuke), getting off on the wrong foot spectacularly. She is dismissive of him the moment she knows who he is, and tends to act in a manner typical of a tsundere romantic heroine repeatedly in the episode, dragging Shinji around, bossing him, and physically pummeling him and pulling his hair more than once. However, working together against a powerful enemy (Gaghiel), they eventually succeed in working together, which in a traditional romantic comedy would indicate the possibility of a harmonious future relationship. However, several points are set against a strictly romantic interpretation of their relationship. Asuka is initially demonstrated having a major crush on Kaji, with her initial reaction to Shinji being boredom, followed by hostility when Kaji praises him. Asuka does not seem to consider seeking Shinji's approval in the slightest until Kaji tells her of his incredibly high initial synchronization rate with his Eva, which immediately prompts Asuka to impress Shinji and seek his validation. Asuka's entire motivation for dragging Shinji into Eva-02 and engaging Gaghiel are an attempt at proving herself to her fellow pilot, her superiors (Misato and especially Kaji) and the rest of the world, and is more concerned about the appearance of her combat debut than actually fighting the monster sinking ships all around. At the end of the battle, she is quite unconcerned about Shinji but is eager to find Kaji.
See: Theory_and_Analysis:Final_Scene_in_End_of_Evangelion
Also see: https://forum.evageeks.org/thread/17500/EoE-Final-scene-explained-and-connected-to-EoTV-GWF-Hegel/
For more information, less accepted alternatives and objections, see http://forum.evageeks.org/viewtopic.php?t=3758
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