UrsusArctos: Had Shinji met Gendo in a more mundane manner, would he have been able to tell him how much he hated him to his face? I doubt it. Shinji does seem to have the drive to start something once prodded into it, but he's no good at finishing what he's started out to do (not until the end of EoE, when he chooses to end the biggest mess a human could possibly have started)