Toji:“Ikari, I'm sorry for hitting you twice. Please, hit me back!”
Reichu: Toji is so funny! ::D He's really quite nervous here, but desperately trying to keep up his "tough guy' façade.
While he's not my fave, I've always found him to be intensely charming and likable … in that uniquely Toji sort of way. Considering the rather ugly entrance he made last episode, it's amazing how quickly we get to see this lad's heart of gold.
HeWhoPostsStuff: It is easy to label Toji as a "stock" character at a glance, but I wouldn't say that he is one. While most of the time he's portrayed as the stereotypical "goofy tough guy," there are some insights into deeper aspects of his character out there, this scene among them. He apparently has a deep devotion to those who are able to crack his "shell," is willing to make sacrifices for those he cares about, prefers receiving just punishment for wrongs than feeling guilty about them, and, like many of the other characters in Eva, hasn't completely "found himself" yet. There are other aspects to him, as well, but unfortunately he doesn't get much screen time once he begins to really develop…
Incisivis: Everyone's going to hate me for saying this, but both of your descriptions of Toji remind me so very much of Katsuya Jounouchi from Yu-Gi-Oh!, a character I really like. Conversely, I'm not very interested in Toji, but I don't dislike him, anyway. And he deserves points for his quote in 223, though I doubt even he could take 'em all at once. :P
Gundampilotspaz: And on the deeper psychological end of things… Toji is a very physical character. Of the entire main cast, he must be in the best physical shape, and he shows his emotion openly though physical violence, like when he needed to hit Shinji in #03 to "feel satisfied". Here, he NEEDS to have Shinji hit him back because that is the only way he can achieve emotional consumation.
Also, when Hikari is interested in Toji later on, he doesn't notice until she offers to feed him. Hunger is a physical characteristic, and that's how he figures out that she likes him.
