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. After his mother's apparent death, he was abandoned by his father and lived for 11 years with his "sensei" (a general term used to describe various types of authority figures. In Shinji's case, the most likely translation could be "teacher", and this is the official one used by ADV Films), until he was summoned to Tokyo 3 to pilot Eva-01 against the Angels. He lives initially just with Misato Katsuragi; they are later joined by Asuka Langley Soryu.

Profile

At the age of four, Shinji lost his mother to the Eva-01 Contact Experiment, which he was present to witness, a trauma that may have had some lingering effect on him.

Shinji Ikari initially appears somewhat passive, most content when he was living with his ‘‘sensei’’ and not feeling like he had to do anything but exist. And at first, when put to Eva piloting, he does it because the others tell him to.

But Shinji is far from indifferent to the people around him. He yearns for the praise of others and that is his primary motivation for Eva piloting: to be noticed, to be treated well. And despite the cynicism he sometimes expresses about his father, Shinji wants Gendo's love as well. But because Shinji cannot find a motivation for piloting that relates only to himself, he subsumes his entire identity in the act, possibly a metaphor for being unable to "escape" his mother and find his own identity, instead remaining emotionally unborn.

Shinji is also afraid of pain, and of being hated or left behind. This might stem from being "abandoned" at a young age by both of his parental figures (though his mother, in truth, hadn’t gone far), and Shinji blaming himself for not being good enough to make them stick around, being unable to see far beyond his own world yet.

Three-year-old Shinji, from Episode 21

Perhaps because he has had little deep contact with others, Shinji has difficulty controlling his emotions and seeing nuance in them. In Episode 18 he fixates on saving the life of a single pilot when Bardiel could destroy many more people, and at certain points in End of Evangelion he shows a considerable anger and indifference, even wishing that everyone in the world would die.

Yet Shinji is also aware of his own faults, and can appear gentle and compassionate. He is the only one who tries to find a reason to fight the Angels, and sometimes his justification for fleeing from piloting is to avoid hurting others. Shinji is also usually very polite.

Shinji is attracted to Asuka, though the reasoning is not explicitly stated. It might be that her bullying sometimes causes Shinji to bite back at her, and he views Asuka, in a strange fashion, as a source of strength, one that he misses when Asuka is laid low by her encounter with Arael. However, the only two times Shinji directly expresses his feelings for Asuka are when she's asleep: In Episode 09, when he tried to kiss her as she slept, and in Episode 25', when he masturbated at the accidental exposure of the then-comatose girl's breasts.

The two other main women in Shinji’s life are Rei Ayanami and Misato Katsuragi. He seems to care about them both dearly, but with them it is more difficult to determine the exact nature of his feelings. Shinji appears frightened by Misato’s attraction to him, and though he is kind to Rei, grows to fear her after finding out that she has a connection to his mother.

Shinji is friends with Toji Suzuhara and Kensuke Aida. He is sometimes confused by their more typical teenage male behavior, and especially by Kensuke’s burning desire to be an Evangelion pilot.

Though fans have speculated on what kind of relationship Shinji Ikari had with Kaworu Nagisa it is at least clear that Kaworu presented a sort of idealized friend-figure to Shinji, granting his wish for someone to understand him, treat him well. Shinji also found himself confessing his own emotions to Kaworu, talking about things he hadn’t had with anyone else.

This, paired with the fact that Shinji had killed what he saw as a human being, was part of what drove Shinji into his state of absolute despair in Episode 25', in which he later declared that felt unworthy even of the piloting which had let consume his identity, thinking that if all he did was hurt and kill others, it was better to do nothing. By that, though, he may have condemned Asuka, who was fighting against the Mass Production Evangelions, to death.

A rather "Kaji-like" Shinji from the Proposal.

Episode 25 and Episode 26 have Shinji feeling lost and begging for others to help him. Much of the TV ending is devoted to Shinji being taught by the other characters about the ability of the individual to make their own destiny by reshaping their viewpoint.

In Episode 26', Shinji chooses to reject Instrumentality for individual existence, even though it will be painful. He learned that he wanted real feelings even if he would be betrayed and hurt again, because fleeing from that reality brought him no happiness. This might suggest that, buried deep in Shinji, is the capacity for redemption and change.

Shinji has a nervous tic in which he often twitches or flexes his right hand when being thoughtful, nervous, or anticipating something. In early episodes he can often be seen plugged into his SDAT music player to shut out the world, though in Episode 25' he ignores its dead battery, a sign of his increased apathy. In Episode 15, Shinji mentions that he's been playing the cello since he was 5 years old, because "his teacher told [him] to". Despite his lack of enthusiasm, he apparently has some talent at it, according to Asuka.

In the final scene of The End of Evangelion, Shinji is surprised at seeing both Rei and Asuka alive before trying to strangle the latter. He had apparently been alone for some time before Asuka's return, apparently insane from isolation. The fact that he stopped strangling Asuka (and began sobbing at her caress), however, suggests that he's capable of returning to his true self.

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). He is also something of a smart-alec and slightly more forward and cynical when it comes to dealing with others, for instance mentally thinking of Asuka as a "bitch" and displaying an intense hatred towards her unseen in the anime.

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

In the manga, Shinji lived with an aunt and uncle instead of with his sensei before going to Nerv. It is unstated which side of the family these relatives are from.

Throughout the majority of the manga, Shinji appears to be attracted to Rei Ayanami, and their relationship is far more developed than in the anime. However, after the death of Kaworu, Shinji visits Asuka in the hospital, similar to in End of Evangelion. He confesses his love to her in a way, claiming, "The Asuka I want to protect isn't this empty shell!" However, instead of shaking her and revealing her body, Asuka wakes up, and chokes Shinji, until she is subdued by the nurses. This suggests that Shinji's manga adaptation has feelings for Asuka as well.

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 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.

Shinji in Rebuild of Evangelion

Shinji in Rebuild while mostly the same as his anime counterpart, comes across as somewhat more angry about his situation (although he isn't outwardly angry like his manga counterpart with Sadamoto's take on the series). For instance, he calls Misato and other members of Nerv as being selfish that he's "left feeling scared" when he and Rei have to pilot during the Operation Yashima battle. Somewhat similar to his feelings in The End of Evangelion, Shinji realizes that he "has no freedom" and "has no choice but to pilot Eva" when he attempts to run away from Nerv after the Shamshel battle. Although he decides to stay in Tokyo-3 instead of leaving like in episode 04 of the series, Shinji can't help but feel that he's only needed for piloting Eva and that nobody truly cares for him.

File:Eva1-01 Shinjibrightened.jpg

Shinji is glad that Rei is alright after their battle.

These feelings are dissolved to an extent when Misato shows Shinji the Angel identified as Lilith in Terminal Dogma, explaining to him why he and the rest of Nerv have to do what they can to prevent Third Impact from happening. He agrees to pilot Evangelion Unit-01 once more, and together with Rei Ayanami in Evangelion Unit-00, the Angel Ramiel is eventually defeated during the Operation Yashima battle.

Shinji's relationships with the other characters in Rebuild are similar to those in the series. A difference with his relationships towards Misato Katsuragi and Rei Ayanami, however, is that he is somewhat physically close to them as the film progresses. When Misato shows Shinji Lilith, Shinji lets Misato hold his hand. Also, when Shinji checks on Rei in her Entry Plug after Ramiel's defeat, the two hold hands as Rei smiles at him.

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. (http://www.evamonkey.com/writings_anno01.php)

• 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. "They represent an enormous body of work, taking over three hours to play in one sitting. They also represent a huge and never ending challenge for any cellist. Like so much of Bach's solo works for any instrument, the easier movements can be begun at an early stage, but some movements will be a source of stress for the rest of your life." and "Anyway, all this makes Bach's venture quite an audacious one: I can only assume that there was a specific virtuoso for whom Bach wrote this set of suites. Either that, or he had the good fortune to have a pool of talented cellists, in spite of the humble nature of his station." {http://everything2.com/index.pl?node_id=1372154}

• Shinji is also seen playing the aforementioned piece in Evangelion Death, though it is 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 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. (http://www.evamonkey.com/writings_anno01.php) and (http://evacommentary.org/appendix/character-names.html) "By the way, Shinji's name came from a friend of mine." ~Anno's Confession Letter Manga Volume 1 quote.

• 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.

• The two songs usually played on Shinji's SDAT are: Track 25 for "You are the only one" and Track 26 for "Blue Legend", respectively. The songs are from "Lilia from Ys", an image album for the "Ys" RPG series. The Vocalist is Kotono Mitsuishi, Misato's seiyu. However, Episode 02 has two Eva BGM pieces playing, while Episode 23 has a different vocal song for Track 25 instead.

• According to an interview with Yoshiyuki Sadamoto featured in volume 2 of the manga, Shinji’s design is a male version of Sadamoto’s design for Nadia, the title character from Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water, which Hideaki Anno also directed.

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 | 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