Shinji Ikari

Template:Short description Template:Good article Template:Use American English Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox character Template:Nihongo is a fictional character and the main protagonist of the Neon Genesis Evangelion franchise, created by Gainax. In the original anime series, Shinji is a boy abandoned by his estranged father, Gendo, after the mysterious death of Shinji's mother, Yui. Years later, Gendo asks him to pilot a mecha called Evangelion Unit-01 to protect the city of Tokyo-3 from Angels, creatures that threaten to destroy humanity. Shinji appears in the franchise's feature films and related media, video games, the manga Petit Eva: Evangelion@School, the Rebuild of Evangelion films, and the manga adaptation by Yoshiyuki Sadamoto.

Director Hideaki Anno conceived Shinji as a representation of himself, reflecting his four-year depression after the airing of his previous work, Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water. Shinji's insecurity and torment are explored through streams of consciousness and inner monologues, with episodes focusing on his introspection. Anno used psychoanalytical theories for his characterization, including the Freudian psychosexual development model. His design was created by Sadamoto. Shinji is voiced by Megumi Ogata in Japanese and by Spike Spencer and Casey Mongillo in English.

Shinji has received mixed responses from anime and manga publications. Although his complexity and realism have been praised, he is criticized for his insecurity and weaknesses. However, Shinji's characterization in the spin-offs and the Rebuild of Evangelion films has been received more positively because of his courageous and self-confident personality, especially in the second installment, Evangelion: 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance. Shinji has ranked highly in popularity polls and has been the subject of scholarly studies. Merchandise based on the character, such as action figures and perfumes, has been marketed.

Conception

Design

Five sketches of Shinji in various poses

Original sketch of Shinji by Sadamoto, altered for the anime series

Neon Genesis Evangelion character designer Yoshiyuki Sadamoto drew Shinji in an ordinary summer school uniform with a white shirt, making him "an average character". He wanted a "realistic and ordinary" boy, a character "that'll be hard for others to make".<ref name=Renewal>From the interview contained in Genesis 0:0 as part of the Evangelion Renewal edition bonus extras.</ref> Since Shinji lacks the enthusiasm and courage of other robot-anime heroes, Sadamoto gives him a different interpretation of heroism: "Rather than a reflection of a hero, sort of a refraction of a hero".<ref name="Sada">Template:Cite book</ref> At first, he tried to create a character "that would tap into the consciousness of today's anime fans".<ref name="Sada"/>

In one of Sadamoto's original proposals, Shinji had long hair, which would have covered his face or fluttered in the wind during the dramatic scenes. However, Sadamoto changed his mind, finding his original design "too wild".<ref name="Sada"/> He tried for a look where one could see the forehead through the bangs, "the look of a boyish young girl", giving him girl's eyes. He modeled this version of Shinji on the titular Nadia from Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water, and his face was designed to be almost identical to Nadia's but with a different hairstyle.<ref name="Sada"/> Furthermore, writer Andrew C. McKevitt described Shinji's design, with his brown hair and blue eyes, as an example of Template:Nihongo, a deliberate lack of ethnic features included in the character design of Japanese fictional characters which "allowed Japanese creations to be simultaneously Western and transnational".<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

Development

I tried to include everything of myself in Neon Genesis Evangelion – myself, a broken man who could do nothing for four years. A man who ran away for four years, one who was simply not dead. Then one thought. "You can't run away", came to me, and I restarted this production ... I don't know what the result will be. That is because, within me, the story is not yet finished. I don't know what will happen to Shinji, Misato, or Rei. I don't know where life will take them. Because I don't know where life is taking the staff of the production.

– Hideaki Anno about Evangelion before its original airing on July 17, 1995<ref name=Annomanga1/>

Neon Genesis Evangelion director Hideaki Anno was depressed for four years before the series began production.<ref name="Annomanga1">Template:Cite book</ref> After the failure of Royal Space Force: The Wings of Honnêamise's sequel, Aoki Uru, Gainax started planning a new series. According to Gainax co-founder Yasuhiro Takeda, ideas from Aoki Uru were borrowed for the new project, including the concept of "not running away". For Takeda, the passage was "something more than just transposing one show's theme onto another... Anno inherited something from Aoki Uru — the determination not to run away from problems — and what we saw in Evangelion was maybe just a reflection of those feelings".<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

According to Hiroki Satō, the head of Gainax's public relations office, the staff decided that the series would focus on "how Shinji deals with things going on inside himself".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> According to Max Covill, Noriko Takaya, the protagonist from Anno's directorial debut and one of Gainax's previous works, Gunbuster, would have her moments of self-doubt and anxiety influence those of Shinji.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Matthew Magnus Lundeen notes that Noriko could be seen as what would become Shinji based on how she behaves in the first four episodes of Gunbuster.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Anno reflected his depression in the series, conceiving a world "drenched in a vision of pessimism"; he also began production "with the wish that once the production complete, the world and the heroes would change".<ref name="Annomanga1"/> He originally proposed a character similar to Asuka Langley Soryu as the protagonist, following Gainax's tradition of a female protagonist like in Gunbuster and Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water. Sadamoto objected to a new female protagonist, saying that "a robot should be piloted by a trained person, and if that person just happens to be a girl, then that is fine". However, he did not understand why a young girl "would pilot a robot".<ref name=DerMond/> He eventually suggested a boy as the main character; his relationship with Asuka, who became another primary character, was modeled after Nadia's relationship with Jean.<ref name=DerMond>Interview with Yoshiyuki Sadamoto in Template:Cite book</ref> After accepting Sadamoto's proposals, Anno suggested a male protagonist after Ryū Murakami's works featured two fellow female pilots. He also gave Shinji two male friends, Tōji Suzuhara and Kensuke Aida, whose names were borrowed from Murakami's novel Ai to gensō no fascism.Template:Sfn Anno named Shinji after two of his friends,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> including Neon Genesis Evangelion animator Shinji Higuchi.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> For his last name, he chose the Japanese word Ikari ("anchor"), with the names of other characters in the series coming from nautical jargon or Japanese Imperial Navy warships.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Shinji was first conceived with slightly different features, which were changed over time. Originally, he was more mature, robust, and less introverted than in the final version; he was also portrayed as a studious boy, a "quiet A-student".<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> His scholastic conduct would not be seen positively but as a sign of passivity.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> According to Michael House, who was a former member of Gainax and a translator, Anno tried to find a way to end the series with a smiling Shinji and with more positive and communicative characters. However, he realized that "the characters he'd created weren't capable of whatever positive change" and reach the result he had initially imagined, adjusting his original plans.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Anno fixed the protagonist at "age fourteen" since he considered it the age when "independence of mind starts manifesting".<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> Shinji's character was conceived to reflect Anno's personality<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> "both in conscious and unconscious part".<ref name="Anno">Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> He was, therefore, represented as "a melancholic oral-dependent type" caught "in [an] oral stage", as Anno considered himself.Template:Sfn Seeing Shinji as a reflection of Anno, assistant director Kazuya Tsurumaki avoided depicting him as a brave character since "Anno isn't that much of a hero".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He stated that "Shinji was summoned by his father to ride a robot, Anno was summoned by Gainax to direct an animation".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Like other male protagonists in Gainax's series, Shinji was conceived with a weak and insecure personality. Gainax wanted to reflect the psychological state of animation fans and Japanese society, in which fathers are always at work and emotionally absent.<ref name=FLCL>Template:Cite web</ref>

Voice

Shinji is voiced by Megumi Ogata in the original Japanese version as well as in the films, spin-offs, video games,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and the Rebuild of Evangelion film series. Ogata's agent initially refused her participation in Evangelion, and she agreed due to her status as a newcomer, but Anno directly insisted on her.<ref name=":2" /><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> She also described Shinji as one of the "most memorable" roles of her career.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> His characterization required considerable physical and psychological effort.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> For example, in the eighteenth episode, Shinji cries and gasps during a fight; Ogata felt like her "whole body [was] aching".<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> She stated, "Every time a new script arrived, every time I turned a new page, I was torn apart by a new pain".<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> While dubbing the film The End of Evangelion (1997), she tried to achieve "a higher synchronization rate with the general director than the TV series".<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

The Rebuild of Evangelion dub also presented obstacles. On the last day of recording for the film Evangelion: 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance (2009), Ogata was forced to scream; she collapsed on the studio floor, and Anno sat with her. He praised her work and shook her hand, thanking her for "keeping the character's feelings unchanged" and for adding her thirteen years of experience "to the current Shinji".<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>

In the following film, Evangelion: 3.0 You Can (Not) Redo (2012), in which Shinji is treated coldly by the rest of the cast, Ogata stated that she felt like him and experienced emotional pain. She first saw the scene in which Kaworu Nagisa reveals to Shinji the conditions of planet Earth in her home when it was not yet animated. The recordings took place in March 2012, and she associated the destroyed landscape of the film with images of the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, imagining that the catastrophe was her fault. During the pre-score, the drawings for Kaworu's death scene were unclear in the animatic, and the staff animated the keyframes during the recording touch-ups. Ogata was shocked when she performed the scene and stated that her interpretation could reflect her emotional state, resulting "kind of traumatic".<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

For the final installment, Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Time (2021), Ogata was involved more heavily in the plot's development. Anno felt he could no longer understand Shinji since his current self was closer to Gendo, so he needed Ogata's input. He also thought that the only people who could recognize Shinji's feelings were Ogata herself and his assistant, Ikki Todoroki.<ref name=":2">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=":0">Template:Cite book</ref> Ogata also recounted that Anno had asked her what sort of ending she would prefer "as Shinji".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> His adult self in the film is voiced by Ryūnosuke Kamiki,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> while Spike Spencer and Casey Mongillo voiced him in the ADV and Netflix English dubs, respectively.<ref name=VA/>

Appearances

Neon Genesis Evangelion

Shinji is the only child of Gendo Rokubungi and Yui Ikari,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> a student at Kyoto University who became a researcher. When he was three, Yui brought Shinji to the Gehirn research center in Hakone to see Evangelion 01's first activation test. But in the ensuing accident, his mother disappeared before his eyes;<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> after the accident, Gendo left Shinji with a guardian for about ten years.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> After becoming commander of the Nerv special agency, he invites Shinji to Tokyo-3<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> to pilot Evangelion Unit-01 and protect the city from creatures called Angels. Shinji reluctantly agrees and fights against the Angel Sachiel. After the Angel attack, Shinji starts to live with Misato Katsuragi, a Nerv officer and his new guardian,<ref name=RCB>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> and attends school in Tokyo-3; after his arrival, he gradually changes<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> and meets and befriends Toji Suzuhara and Kensuke Aida.<ref name="SideA">Template:Cite book</ref> When the Angel Ramiel tries to destroy Nerv headquarters, Shinji and fellow pilot Rei Ayanami work together to kill him.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> After Ramiel's defeat, a nuclear-powered machine intended to fight the Angels called Jet Alone runs amok, and he and Misato stop it;<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> during this time, Shinji gradually changes his attitude, trying to be more open and spontaneous. He also meets Asuka Langley Soryu, an Eva pilot from Germany, and in the eighth episode, they defeat the Angel Gaghiel together.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

In the second third of the series, Shinji, Rei, and Asuka face more Angels, and Shinji begins bonding with his peers, especially Asuka, becoming more confident and assertive. When they are sent to fight the Angel Leliel, Shinji, receiving praise from Gendo and improving his synchronization scores, accepts his role as an Evangelion pilot. He decides to attack on his own but is sucked into a parallel universe by Leliel called the Dirac Sea, and within it, he confronts the Angel and his inner self; he is freed from the Angel by Yui, whose soul is within the Eva.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

After Shinji is forced to fight Eva-03, controlled by the Angel Bardiel, with his classmate Toji Suzahara trapped inside, he decides to quit Nerv. Meanwhile, Angel Zeruel mutilates the other Evangelion units and defeats Rei and Asuka. After talking with his mentor and Misato's lover, Ryoji Kaji, Shinji returns to Nerv to protect the city.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> He merges with its unit and frees the Evangelion; however, he is trapped in its core for a month.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Rei sacrifices herself in the battle against the Angel Armisael to save Shinji, and she is later revived through one of her clones. Asuka runs away and falls into a coma, and Toji and Kensuke flee Tokyo-3. These events cause Shinji to fall into depression. In the twenty-fourth episode, he meets Kaworu Nagisa, Asuka's substitute pilot, and they bond.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Kaworu turns out to be the final Angel, and Shinji is forced to kill him.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> After Kaworu's death, Instrumentality begins, and the souls of humanity unite in a collective consciousness. Shinji confronts his traumas and why he acts the way he does.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> After talking with most of the Evangelion cast and seeing a version of himself in a world where he leads a normal life, Shinji becomes aware of his potential and realizes the importance of his thoughts. He is congratulated by the rest of the cast.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

The End of Evangelion

The 1997 film The End of Evangelion continues Shinji's story, portraying his downward spiral into depression and the loss of his will to live. Shinji visits a comatose Asuka in the hospital, and when his pleas for attention go unanswered, he masturbates over her body. He remains catatonic while all Nerv personnel, including Misato, are killed during an attack. He then decides to pilot the Eva to save those still alive while Asuka is on the surface fighting the Mass Production Evas. However, he cannot reach her in time, and when he learns about Asuka's defeat, the Evangelion moves on its own to let him reenter it. After seeing the mutilated corpse of Asuka's Unit-02, Shinji's intense emotions summon a spear called the Lance of Longinus to Earth,<ref name="Note">From the notes of the Red Cross Book.</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and the Eva becomes a tree of life.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Shinji then has long dreamlike exchanges with Misato, Rei, and Asuka about the pain of reality and his tensions with them. When he begs for Asuka's attention, and she refuses him, arguing he only wants to use her as a crutch, Shinji begins Instrumentality, and humanity's souls are united into one existence. After re-evaluating his position, he decides to live in a world where other people exist<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> and returns to Earth, allowing other humans to return. Shinji, having placed grave markers in memory of most of the other characters, awakens sometime later, with Asuka lying next to him.<ref name="B96">Template:Cite book</ref> He suddenly tries to strangle her but stops and breaks down when she regains consciousness and caresses his face.<ref>Template:Cite video</ref>

Rebuild of Evangelion

In Rebuild of Evangelion, Shinji returns as the central protagonist; in Evangelion: 1.0 You Are (Not) Alone (2007), the first installment of the saga, his role is similar to that of the anime series. He is assigned to pilot Unit-01 and works with Rei to defeat the Angel Ramiel.<ref>Template:Cite video</ref> In the second installment, Evangelion: 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance (2009), Shinji reluctantly continues his duties as the pilot of Unit-01. After the battle with the Angel Bardiel, when his father forces his Unit-01 to injure Asuka critically, Shinji retires from his duties and leaves Nerv. When the Angel Zeruel consumes Rei, Shinji returns and defeats the Angel; however, his decisions trigger the Third Impact. Shinji seemingly saves Rei by fusing with the Evangelion.<ref>Template:Cite video</ref>

In the third film, Evangelion: 3.0 You Can (Not) Redo (2012), set fourteen years later, Shinji awakens to a world completely changed by the Third Impact, and Misato and the others treat him with hostility. They place an explosive device named DSS Choker on his neck, which they will activate if he comes close to starting another Impact. After learning from Misato that they are part of Wille, a new organization fighting Nerv, Shinji leaves when Rei appears. At the remnants of Nerv, he is approached by Kaworu Nagisa, the pilot of Eva-13, who befriends him. He becomes despondent after Kaworu tells him that humanity holds him responsible for initiating the Third Impact. After Shinji realizes that he failed to save Rei and that the new Rei is a clone, Nagisa convinces him to pilot Eva-13 with him. While confronting Asuka and Mari, Shinji begins a Fourth Impact; Eva-13 eats the twelfth Angel and ascends to divinity. Kaworu is killed by the DSS Choker he took from Shinji to stop the Fourth Impact. Devastated by these events, Shinji loses his will to live. Asuka rescues him from his Entry Plug, berating him for acting "like a baby". The Rei clone appears and follows them as they head to the ruins of Tokyo-3 to be rescued by Wille.<ref>Template:Cite video</ref>

In Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Time (2021), the last installment of the saga, Shinji, still distraught over Kaworu's death, wanders without a will to live with Asuka and Rei. With the two companions, he reaches a protected citadel called Village-3, which is inhabited by survivors of the various Impacts and is isolated from the outside world. Shinji meets his old classmates, Toji, Kensuke, and Hikari Horaki, and, with help from Asuka and Rei, gradually regains the will to live. He then decides to leave with Asuka and the other members of Wille for Antarctica, where he boards Eva-01 to face his father, Gendo, and his Eva-13. As he cannot defeat him with brute force, he decides to talk to him instead. Gendo apologizes to Shinji and embraces him, and Shinji finds himself in a reborn world. On a beach, he meets Mari Illustrious Makinami, saying goodbye to all the Evangelions. Shortly after, a visibly grown Shinji can be seen in a station; Mari comes to meet him, and the two of them walk together into a new world, holding hands.<ref>Template:Cite AV media</ref>

Manga

In Yoshiyuki Sadamoto's Neon Genesis Evangelion manga adaptation, Shinji's characterization differs. Sadamoto tried to portray him as more of a misfit, a young teenager who is more stubborn, rebellious, juvenile, and apathetic than Hideaki Anno's insecure character.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In the anime's fourth episode, "Hedgehog's Dilemma", Shinji runs away from home because he is overwhelmed by responsibility; in the manga, he runs away because he realizes that Misato is spying on him and documenting his every move.<ref name="CBR">Template:Cite web</ref> After the battle against Bardiel, in which his friend Toji dies following an order from Commander Ikari, Shinji tries to punch his father.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> He has a close relationship with Rei in the manga,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> and Kaji is more of a mentor to him.<ref name=CBR/>

Shinji's relationship with Kaworu is troubled in the manga; he accuses Kaworu of being cynical and strange.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> His backstory is also modified, with an unnamed aunt,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> uncle, and cousins, and memories of his childhood away from Gendo are shown. A different Instrumentality is also depicted, with Shinji saving Asuka during her fight against the Mass Production Evangelions.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> In the end, he is seen leading a normal life in a reformed world and sees Asuka while waiting for a train, although they only have a faint recollection of one another.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Sadamoto decided to work on an Evangelion manga when he saw Shinji in the first episodes of the original series. He wondered "what the world looked like through Shinji's eyes". In the anime, Shinji's motto is "I must not run away", but Sadamoto chose "being honest with themselves" as the main theme for the manga.Template:Sfn This led Sadamoto to change Shinji's characterization and psychology. He wanted to reflect contemporary teenagers in the character and was influenced by the Gulf War, wondering how a 14-year-old would have behaved on a helicopter.<ref name="Milano">Template:Cite web</ref> Sadamoto also drew upon his experiences as an adolescent, saying that his characterization was "more like a flunk-out" than Anno's version.<ref name=Sada/><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> He conceived Shinji with a "clean image that a woman tends to project" in his mind, portraying him as a "cold, unambitious" character, "the type who would commit suicide but can't bring himself to do it" and trying to design a character from the more stoic part of himself. He stated, "It was my intention to create a wistful character who had given up on life".<ref name="Sada"/> According to Anno's thought process, a twisted person puts on a "cool face" to hide their insanity. Sadamoto perceived his approach as the opposite; Sadamoto described his characters as stoic and earnest but with a twisted outside, "just like a child". He also described his Shinji as a character who refuses to listen but "still makes the right decision".<ref name="Sada"/>

In other media

In a scene from the last episode of the series, an alternate universe is presented, which has a different story from the previous episodes; in this parallel reality, Shinji lives with both his parents and is a normal middle-school student.Template:Sfn<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> He is also a protagonist in Shinji Ikari Raising Project and Neon Genesis Evangelion: Angelic Days, where he is portrayed as happier and more stable than his anime counterpart. This characterization is also found in Neon Genesis Evangelion: Girlfriend of Steel 2nd.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Some spin-offs and video games have the option of pairing Shinji romantically with Asuka Langley Soryu, Rei Ayanami, Kaworu,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and other characters, including his classmate Hikari Horaki<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> and original characters such as Mana Kirishima, an extrovert transfer student first introduced in the video game Neon Genesis Evangelion: Girlfriend of Steel,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and Mayumi Yamagishi, an introverted girl in the video game Neon Genesis Evangelion: 2nd Impression.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In Neon Genesis Evangelion: Shinji Ikari Raising Project, he is presented as a childhood friend of Asuka and a distant cousin of Rei Ayanami.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In Petit Eva: Evangelion@School, Shinji is portrayed as a boy "frightened by the idea of growing up" but popular among the students of Tokyo-3's Municipal Nerv High School.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> In Evangelion: Detective Shinji Ikari, Kaji and Kaworu are portrayed as private investigators whom Shinji asks for help and investigates a mysterious case.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In Neon Genesis Evangelion: Anima, set three years after The End of Evangelion with a different Instrumentality scenario, Shinji is 17 years old;<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> he lets his hair grow and is a good friend of Rei and Asuka. He first pilots the Evangelion Unit-01 Type-F and, after the attack of Eva0.0 (Quatre) and the unification of his soul with Eva-01, pilots the mecha Super Evangelion and its upgrades.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> In addition to video games based on the original animated series, Shinji appears in media outside the Evangelion franchise, such as Monster Strike,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Tales of Zestiria,<ref name="crunchyroll.com">Template:Cite web</ref> Puzzle & Dragons,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The Battle Cats,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and a crossover episode of Shinkansen Henkei Robo Shinkalion, in which he is voiced by Ogata and pilots a 500 Type Eva transformable train.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> For Shinkalion, Ogata voiced him as a more "level-headed" character.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He is a playable character in the Super Robot Wars crossover video-game franchise,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> where he and other Evangelion characters work with characters from other mecha series. Shinji has crushes on different characters, such as Lynn Minmay, sparking jealousy in Asuka, who tries to recapture his attention.<ref>Template:Cite video game</ref> In other games, Eva Unit-01 goes berserk after fighting the fourth Angel, and he fights Koji Kabuto and Mazinger Z. He later rejoins the battle against the Angels with Rei Ayanami.<ref>Template:Cite video game</ref>

Characterization and themes

Shinji is a dependent and introverted boy with few friends,<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> reluctant and unable to communicate with others.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> He tends to be apologetic and passive in his relationships<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>Template:Sfn and is frightened by human contact.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> He also avoids choosing his clothes and instead wears clothes provided by others.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Unlike a stereotypical hero, particularly of the mecha genre, Shinji is more apathetic and reluctant than courageous.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> According to his voice actress, Megumi Ogata, "he didn't act like an anime character, but typically talked very quietly and sparingly, and it was like he was suddenly thrust into an anime world".<ref name=Mahjong>Template:Cite web</ref> Character designer Sadamoto conceived him as "the kind of character who would encase himself in a shell of his own making".<ref name=Sada/> Director Hideaki Anno described him as a "cowardly young man" who has convinced himself that "he is a completely unnecessary person" after his father, Gendo, abandoned him.<ref name="Annomanga1"/><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

According to writer Gerald Alva Miller, Shinji craves acceptance and is concerned about how others perceive him, but "he also remains incapable of accepting love from others".<ref name="Miller">Template:Cite book</ref> His childhood trauma leads him to doubt the value of his existence, to be disheartened, and to seek a raison d'être;<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> he also insistently wonders about why he pilots Eva-01 in the latter part of the series.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> In a stream of consciousness from the last two episodes, which focus on his path and psyche,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> he admits being afraid of himself and his father.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>Template:Sfn<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Despite the tension between him and his father, however, Shinji yearns to trust him.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He also pilots Eva-01 for the approval of others,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=booklet1>Template:Cite book</ref> particularly Gendo, rather than out of heroism or idealism.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Card H-2, Neon Genesis Evangelion: The Card Game, Bandai (1998).</ref> Despite this, assistant director Kazuya Tsurumaki noted that Shinji acts in opposition to the conventional impression of him: "He is not cowardly and indecisive; he is obstinate and doesn't pay any mind to other people."<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Anno described him as "both an introvert and righteous" boy who tends to categorize things, a character who tends to hide something "like a way to escape from that closure".<ref name = Renewal/> Furthermore, according to Sadamoto, he is not as dark as perceived by fans; except for The End of Evangelion, in which he is portrayed as "pretty dark and introspective", he never got the impression of a dark character in the original series.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> According to Ogata, at the film's end, Shinji grows up, naturally closing his path from childhood to adulthood.<ref name=Mahjong/>

Writer Paul M. Malone compared him to the German jurist and writer Daniel Paul Schreber,Template:Sfn noting "a surprising degree of intertextuality" with his Memoirs of My Nervous Illness. However, he did not consider Evangelion to be based directly on his Memoirs.Template:Sfn Malone, following Japanese critic and writer Kotani Mari, described Shinji as an effeminate and androgynous character.Template:Sfn According to Mari, Shinji becomes effeminate throughout the story, and she characterized him as a "female savior".<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Other critics described him as a messianic figure<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref name="Thouny">Template:Cite journal</ref> and likened him to Jesus Christ, who in Japanese is known by the epithet of Template:Nihongo, "God-man".<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> He has also been likened to Oedipus.Template:Sfn Writer and animation critic Patrick Drazen similarly compared the dilemma faced by Shinji in the twenty-fourth episode against the Angel Tabris to Hamlet, the protagonist of Shakespeare's tragedy of the same name.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

For the Japanese sociologist Tsutomu Hashimoto, Shinji could be seen as an heir of the Japanese society of the seventies and eighties, engaged in the search for freedom from social constraints and the figures of authoritarian family fathers; the sociologist cited the musician Yutaka Ozaki as a symbol of this search for freedom since he tried to escape from the impositions of the school system and he eventually "returned" to the mother figure.<ref name=Hashimoto/> Hashimoto compared Shinji's final choice, in which he rejects the Instrumentality Project desired by the authoritarian father Gendo, to the concept of liberalism, which prescribes respect for any individual identity.<ref name=Hashimoto>Template:Cite news</ref> Other critics associated the character with the youth and climate of 1990s Japan, shaken by the Tokyo subway sarin attack operated by the Japanese sect Aum Shinrikyō, the Great Hanshin earthquake, and the bursting of the Japanese asset price bubble.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

After he arrives in Tokyo-3, Shinji repeats, "I mustn't run away" to face his responsibilities, and the sentence becomes a typical mantra of the character.<ref name="PEB1">Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> In the twentieth episode, he remembers escaping from the experimental site where his mother died. This event generated in him the idea of "not running away", which an official pamphlet describes as "compulsive".<ref name="booklet5" /> In an interview, Anno said that contrary to the interpretation by fans, the theme of the series is not about "not having to run away", but "It's ok to run away";<ref name=":1" /> according to him, "it's perfectly fine" to run away sometimes and that "There are things that you gain and things that you lose running away, after all. Although, if you don't pick something, then there are times when you get neither. That's the same as with dying".<ref name=":1" /> Hiroki Azuma, a Japanese philosopher and cultural critic, speaking of his motto, "I mustn't run away", described Evangelion as a story that depicts "anxiety without a cause", linking this feeling to the repercussions after the Aum Shinrikyō attack.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Azuma also described Shinji and other characters in the series as "stereotypical characters" through which Anno succeeded in portraying the nineties.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> Psychiatrist Kōji Mizobe indicated him as a dependent boy unable to communicate<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> but also argued that the fundamental characteristic of Shinji is sociability, describing him as a "sympathetic person" who accepts and imitates others. Mizobe interpreted a scene from the ninth episode, in which he synchronizes with Asuka's movements during a train, as proof of this ability.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He also interpreted Evangelion as a story in which the main characters try to build their stable identity, saying that Shinji and Asuka's communication problems are why, even years after the first airing, younger Japanese viewers identify themselves with the characters.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Critics interpreted Shinji as an alter ego of the series director, Hideaki Anno,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> and as an otaku.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref name=Oguro49/> IGN's Ramsey Isler interpreted his feelings as a reflection of Anno's mood; according to him, Anno "went through a serious bout of depression while making the show and, like a true artist, he poured all of that emotion and despair into his work".<ref name=IGN/> Isler also interpreted his characterization and battles against the Angels as a metaphor for Anno's attempts "to defeat his own personal demons".<ref name=IGN/> Assistant director Tsurumaki gave a similar interpretation, working on the series with the idea that Shinji's emotions are a reflection of Anno's feelings: "That's why in the scenario planning sessions, I was always saying something like, 'Isn't that a little too hero-like for Shinji to say? Hideaki Anno isn't that much of a hero'".<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Tsurumaki also thought that Shinji could only be understood by "Japanese fans of this generation".<ref name=FLCL/>

Critics analyzed the conflictual relationship between him and his father, comparing him with the protagonists of the works by director Yoshiyuki Tomino, especially Amuro Ray, the main character in Mobile Suit Gundam.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Artist Takashi Murakami interpreted Shinji's interior drama as "the endpoint of the postwar lineage of otaku favorites", such as Godzilla, the series of the Ultra franchise, Space Battleship Yamato or Gundam, in which hero-figures increasingly question and agonize over their missions to defend Earth and humanity.Template:Sfn According to Toshio Okada, former president of Gainax and an acquaintance of Hideaki Anno, Evangelion and Gundam are completely different; for Okada, one thrust of the story of Gundam is "the main character's desire to be recognized by others" since in mecha anime, the characters generally try to change the world. At the same time, Evangelion "complicated the whole thing, raising issues" since no one can save the world.Template:Sfn According to Italian researcher Fabio Bartoli, Shinji is a "perfect representative" of the otaku generation. He described him as "a young man with relationship difficulties, accustomed to spending a lot of time at home".<ref name=Bartoli/> Bartoli wrote that the last scene of the anime, in which the boy's glass prison shatters, ending his psychoanalytic session, may allude to the Template:Nihongo, the Japanese generation born in the 1970s, which is also known as Template:Nihongo.<ref name=Bartoli>Template:Cite journal</ref> Writer Andrea Fontana agreed, seeing him as a representation of otaku and their inability to relate to others. Fontana also saw in Shinji's character "an exhortation" by Anno to otaku, Japanese society, and young people "to break the crystal cage in which they locked themselves up, looking confidently at their neighbor".<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Psychoanalysis

"[Shinji] shrinks from human contact. And he tries to live in a closed world where his behavior dooms him, and he has abandoned the attempt to understand himself. ... Both [Shinji and Misato] are extremely afraid of being hurt. Both are unsuitable-lacking the positive attitude-for what people call heroes of an adventure".

– Hideaki Anno<ref name=Annomanga1/>

Shinji's personality traits have been linked to psychiatric conditions, such as depressive disorder, anxiety,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> social phobia,<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> and borderline personality disorder.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Walter Veit of Psychology Today linked his passive attitude in the first episodes to Jean-Paul Sartre's existentialist concept of bad faith and Albert Camus's "philosophical suicide".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Gualtiero Cannarsi, editor of the Italian adaptation of the series, noticed that Shinji struggles to make friends and has a cold, reserved attitude in the third episode, "A Transfer". Like the porcupines of Arthur Schopenhauer's Parerga and Paralipomena, Shinji is afraid to be hurt and withdraws from human contact; he suffers, in fact, from the porcupine's dilemma.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Shinji's relationship with Misato Katsuragi follows Schopenhauer's concept; Cannarsi also noticed that in the fourth episode, "Hedgehog's Dilemma", the characters get closer without hurting each other.<ref name=PEB1/><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Schopenhauer originally named his concept after the porcupine, or Hystricidae (Stachelschweine in German). Still, staff chose an alternative translation for the installment's title since they wanted to portray Shinji as a hedgehog,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> an animal with smaller, blunter spines than a porcupine, suggesting more delicacy for the character.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Critics noticed that, since he lost his mother traumatically, Shinji seeks a substitute in the women around him<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> and in Eva-01, which contains her soul.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Academic Susan J. Napier also interpreted the Angels as "father figures, whom Shinji must annihilate".<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Anime News Network reviewer Mike Crandol noticed that Shinji depends on Unit-01 in the first part of the series, becoming negatively affected by the symbiotic relationship. Crandol described his entry into Eva-01 as a Freudian "return to the womb" and his struggle to be free of the Eva as his "rite of passage" into manhood.<ref name="Understanding">Template:Cite news</ref> Anno also described Shinji as a boy with a strong Oedipus complex for his father, Gendo. The Oedipal triangle is completed by their common interest in Rei Ayanami, a genetic clone of Yui Ikari.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="legacy">Template:Cite web</ref> According to him, Shinji symbolically "kills" his father "and steals his mother from him".Template:Sfn

Yūichirō Oguro, the editor of supplemental materials included in the Japanese edition of the series, interpreted Neon Genesis Evangelion's plot as an Oedipal story. Eva-01 can be seen as a motherly breast and a source of ambivalence for the character. To manage this ambivalence, Shinji "split the breast" into a good and a bad breast.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Oguro described berserk Unit-01 as a "bad breast"; conversely, he interpreted Yui as a "good breast" that eventually saves Shinji during the battles with the Angels, like in the fights against Leliel in the sixteenth episode, named "Splitting of the Breast" in reference to psychoanalytic theory.<ref name=Oguro49>Template:Cite web</ref>

In the twentieth episode, "Weaving a Story 2: oral stage", Shinji is trapped in Eva-01, dissolving into its cockpit; in a stream of consciousness, he has visions linked with the Freudian oral stage, which include breastfeeding by Yui.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> With his mother's help, Shinji is symbolically reborn, finding the will to live and regaining his body.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> He also displays features linked with oralism,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> a personality of dependent, weak individuals<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> who see other people as tools to satisfy them.Template:Sfn<ref name=booklet5>Template:Cite book</ref> According to Freudian theory, oral personalities were not adequately fed during weaning. For Oguro, Shinji resolves his oral fixation with the vision of his mother's breast, becoming a more self-conscious individual.<ref name="style.fm">Template:Cite web</ref> In the last two episodes, he also sees the good and bad sides of other people; Anno himself compared him to a child and his ambivalent relationship with the mother during the oral stage.<ref name=":1">Template:Cite book</ref> Shinji's Oedipus complex then resolves in the final episode, which ends with the captions "To my father, thank you" and "To my mother, goodbye", indicating his entry into adulthood.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> In The End of Evangelion, he also chooses to live with other human beings, rejecting Human Instrumentality and accepting others.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Card H-11, in Neon Genesis Evangelion: The Card Game, Bandai, 1998.</ref>

Template:Anchor Cultural impact

Popularity

Shinji's character has been popular in Japan. The character's appreciation was also reflected in popularity polls, even years after the anime's first airing.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> After the series' first run, Shinji ranked second among the "most popular male characters of the moment" in an Animage magazine Grand Prix poll.<ref name="eighteen">Template:Cite web</ref> In the following two years' rankings, he rose to first place. In the 1997 Anime Grand Prix, Shinji received around 1,200 votes, more than double those of the second character. Megumi Ogata finished second in the voice-actor rankings for three years.<ref name="nineteen">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="twenty">Template:Cite web</ref> Shinji also appeared in the magazine's monthly surveys, remaining in the top 20 in 1996,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 1997,<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> and 1998.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 1998, Animage ranked him 21st among the 100 most popular anime characters and 55th in 1999.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>

In 1998, Shinji emerged in first place among the best "dark characters" in a survey by Animedia magazine, and the magazine itself praised its complexity.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> For several years, he also appeared in the periodical's annual popularity rankings, usually among the top ten.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> He placed 77th in a 2002 TV Asahi poll ranking the most popular anime characters of all time and 25th in a 2007 list of most popular male heroes.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Shinji also topped Newtype magazine's popularity charts,<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> finishing third and first in August and September 2009.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> He finished third in October, becoming the most popular Evangelion male character on the list.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> In March 2010, a new Newtype survey decreed him the most popular male character of the nineties.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>

In 2014, foreigners living in Japan were asked: "Which character do you aspire to look like?". Amid a wide variety of answers, Shinji finished seventh.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 2012, Fuji TV asked about 14,000 fans to name the "best anime hero", and Shinji finished twentieth.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 2016, he finished thirteenth in an Anime News Network poll of the "strongest pilots" in Japanese animation.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In April 2021, after the release of the final Rebuild film, he finished as the second most popular male character in a Newtype poll,<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> taking fifth place in May and first place in June.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>

Critical reception

The character evoked mixed opinions, dividing anime critics.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Some criticized Shinji's insecurities,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> vulnerability,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and lack of temper and resoluteness.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Pete Harcoff, a reviewer for the Anime Critic website, praised Neon Genesis Evangelion but criticized Shinji as ineffective and disappointing.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> THEM Anime Reviews noticed the character's constant angst in the television series as a negative trait.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Raphael See found Evangelion "a little cliche, or just plain irritating at times" and criticized Shinji's pessimism.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Japanator listed him among "characters with no chance in reality", saying that "he really sucks as an Eva pilot, and he has the spine of a jellyfish".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Comic Book Resources also criticized Shinji as a stereotypical talented male protagonist with a harem.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Other critics praised the character's realism.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> For Anime News Network's Nick Creamer, "every element of Shinji's emotional journey is conveyed with clear sympathy and brutal specificity".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> According to Susan J. Napier, Shinji "still wins the championship for most psychologically complex (or just plain neurotic) male character ever created".<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Critics also described him as one of the most relatable male anime characters.<ref name="90sflashback"/><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> IGN editor Chris Mackenzie ranked him the twenty-fifth best anime character ever.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Similarly, Anime Invasion magazine's Jen Contino praised Shinji's characterization and rated him the ninth-best anime character ever.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>

In 2013, Anime News Network editor Lynzee Lam ranked him first among seven "crybaby heroes" in Japanese animation but praised his motivation and psychological realism.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> IGNTemplate:'s Ramsey Isler called him the "greatest anime character" of all time, praising his originality and realistic characterization. Isler concluded, "He's a character that challenges the audience by not giving them a superficial, vicarious power fantasy like you'd get from so many other anime. He is pathetic, but that is what makes him great. That is what makes him a genuine work of art".<ref name=IGN>Template:Cite web</ref>

Shinji's role in the Rebuild of Evangelion films was better received, with reviewers praising its more open character.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Martin Theron of Anime News Network, reviewing Evangelion 1.0: You Are (Not) Alone, praised Shinji's realism.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Theron called the scene in Evangelion: 2.22 You Can (Not) Advance where Shinji saves Rei the "Best Scene" in the website's "Best (and Most Notable) of 2011": "This is the first time in the entire franchise that he whole-heartedly goes after something because he wants it, rather than because he's expected to or has no choice."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Despite criticizing the third film, several reviewers praised Shinji's interactions with Kaworu.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Nicole MacLean of THEM Anime Reviews criticized their relationship, finding it "rushed", artificial, and unclear.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Comic Book Resources writer Daniel Kurland also praised his role in the final installment, Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Time, writing: "Shinji deserves happiness, and it makes Thrice Upon A Time the more powerful conclusion that it finally allows Shinji to reach this point and not leave him in existential dread".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Legacy

Shinji-decorated taxi in Sapporo

Shinji-themed merchandise has been released, including clothing,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> action figures, collectible models,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> perfumes,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and drinks.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The character has been used for Japan Racing Association advertising campaigns<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and for a culinary company specializing in miso soups; the "Shijimi from Lake Shinji" campaign also proved successful.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Movic has also released a cassette drama featuring him as part of its Animate series featuring other popular works.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

With Shinji Ikari, according to Comic Book Resources, Neon Genesis Evangelion had a significant influence on Japanese animation, showing a more realistic, insecure, and fragile protagonist than other past mecha series.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Guilty Crown staff member Ryo Ōyama compared Shū Ōma, the series' main character, to Shinji because: "They're both in their own world, and they don't come out from that world".<ref name=Ohyama/> According to Ōyama, Shū is "a 2011 version of Shinji", but Shinji has a "more passive", pessimistic attitude.<ref name=Ohyama>Template:Cite web</ref> Similarly, Asa Butterfield compared Shinji to Ender Wiggin in Ender's Game, whom he played. According to Butterfield, both characters "withdraw from the world", face new experiences, and fight against unknown enemies.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> His Japanese voice actress Ogata likened Makoto Naegi from the Danganronpa franchise, which she played, to Shinji because they are both ordinary boys "put in terrible situations".<ref name="firstogata">Template:Cite web</ref>

Lain Iwakura from Serial Experiments Lain,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Simon from Gurren Lagann,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Daisuke Dojima from Revisions,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Kōji Aiba from Infinite Ryvius,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Cloud Strife from Final Fantasy VII,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and the main character of Cyborg She<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> were also compared with him by anime critics. In the fourth episode of the dorama Nigeru wa Haji da ga Yaku ni Tatsu, a character named Shinji after him appears.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Shinji is also referenced by Steven Universe in the show of the same name, which parodies the series' final scene.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The British group Fightstar included a track named "Shinji Ikari" on the deluxe-edition bonus disc of their album, One Day Son, This Will All Be Yours.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Open Mike Eagle called a song from his album Anime, Trauma and Divorce, "Headass (Idiot Shinji)".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Kong: Skull Island director Jordan Vogt-Roberts also named the character Gunpei Ikari after him.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

References

• Text was copied/adapted from Shinji Ikari at Evageeks wiki, which is released under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 (Unported) (CC-BY-SA 3.0) license.

Bibliography

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External links

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