Yup. I hated Shinji when I first saw NGE in the early 2000s but after revisiting it as an adult, I completely understand him and feel bad for the kid.
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What are people's feelings on Shinji (Neon Genesis Evangelion?)
- Thread starter Ocarina_117
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Yup. I hated Shinji when I first saw NGE in the early 2000s but after revisiting it as an adult, I completely understand him and feel bad for the kid.
Yeah, he resonated a lot with me too. Not because I am like him, but I understand the depths that depression make you reach.
A fucked up kid. You can't put pressure like that on a young person and expect them to keep it together. Especially with the screwed up parents he had.
I think he is a good character for all of his flaws, the vast majority of kids put in his situation would likely be equally messed up in various ways.
A messed up kid that unfortunately is thrown into an even more fucked up situation. His reactions are pretty much what you would expect if you were in his shoes.
A very flawed and interesting character. Also very relatable to me personally. I think people are far too hard on him, especially as he's portrayed in the series. He's often very kind, he does heroic stuff and he tries hard. Going by the internet reaction though you'd think he only gives up, mopes and creeps on people. He gets far too much hate, all of the characters in NGE are flawed.
Not someone I would leave the fate of the world to. Also jerk off into a sock or napkin and not your hand you messy bastard.
I recommend listen to Folding Idea's video essay on EoE
but basically, Shinji is our surrogate/avatar. Anno's view on the toxic fandom changed between the end of the anime and EoE
And I don't think he is supposed to be likable. We can feel sorry about his situation but that doesn't mean he was a good person.
but basically, Shinji is our surrogate/avatar. Anno's view on the toxic fandom changed between the end of the anime and EoE
And I don't think he is supposed to be likable. We can feel sorry about his situation but that doesn't mean he was a good person.
The director wrote Evangelion as an expression of his own battles with depression.
He's a messed-up kid put into a traumatic situation, who doesn't have the maturity or tools to process or comprehend, and is surrounded by people who only see him as a tool to be used; a means to end. Nearly everyone around him only cares about what he can do for them, not about him personally. It's a pretty interesting character portrayal, especially for an anime.
(Also, the three main "kids" in the series are all fucked up in their own way, especially Asuka, who works as a thematic opposite of Shinji by being a child soldier who's really into this shit, but still a teenage girl who wants people to like her for who she is, instead of what she can do for them.)
(Also, the three main "kids" in the series are all fucked up in their own way, especially Asuka, who works as a thematic opposite of Shinji by being a child soldier who's really into this shit, but still a teenage girl who wants people to like her for who she is, instead of what she can do for them.)
Most people forget or don't realize that the vast majority of mecha anime are power fantasies for little boys, primarily developed to sell a line of toys. Evangelion was a massive swerve.
I don't get this. He's still a kid that is still thrown into anime tropes of being in accidental situations. Someone mentioned that the one scene in EoE was to show that even in the middle of everything he tries to feel SOMETHING and even with... Asuka, he feels nothing, because he is so detached. He never really went after, nor had the desire to go after any of the girls, so the 'incel' comments are weird. If anything, most of the girls advanced on HIM and he would shy away anyways.
Yeah this was my take on it. Watching it when I was young, I hated Shinji and saw him as super annoying. Re-watched over 10 years later, and my views did indeed change. As annoying as he was, I could empathize a lot more. The kids are all 14, what would you do in his shoes? Be a good boy and pilot the Eva and then have NO problems when you see your friends get horribly injured when they are also piloting? Not everyone are the brave hero protags that will just hop in and be all OP and take down the bad guys. It was more grounded in reality with showing that characters GET HURT while fighting, and that can traumatize people.
There's a lot to the show to unpack... I noticed with Rebuild that it felt like his character was already tolerable. In those, he seemed to have a little more confidence in compared to the show. I wonder if this is also to reflect that Anno is no longer in the dark place that he used to be?
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OP
OP
Definitely watch the Rebuild movies and get ready for the fuckery and beautiful production values.
I feel bad for Shinji because he is an emotionally abused child put in a terrible situation. It's frustrating to watch him because you want him to rise up above his circumstances and succeed, but his insecurities (and giant alien lifeforms and shadowy conspiracies) keep getting in the way.
I feel bad for Shinji because he is an emotionally abused child put in a terrible situation. It's frustrating to watch him because you want him to rise up above his circumstances and succeed, but his insecurities (and giant alien lifeforms and shadowy conspiracies) keep getting in the way.
A kid doing his best given the circumstances he's in. Doesn't help that every adult around him is a straight psychopath.
I like Dan Olson's videos and back before I actually watched EoE I liked this one too. Then I saw the movie for myself and realized how much he omits in order to convey a specific message. Anno wasn't lashing out at toxic fans - he was an otaku shut-in and in EoE he's still trying to reach out to otaku shut-ins. It's just now he's doing it more forcefully.
Yeah, I only had a passing familiarity with it when it aired and afterward, but I never actually watched it until it aired on Netflix, and I was impressed by how much effort was put into it. It's fairly mature storytelling.
Like when the final Angel appears and instead of being some weird monster being, it's just a guy who shows empathy toward Shinji, and Shinji immediately clings to him like a drowning man to a life ring. Throughout the show, the Angels were trying different tacks to break into the HQ, and finally figured out at the end that all you need to do is extend some common humanity to the most emotionally vulnerable kid. But even then, does the Angel actually care about Shinji, or is he yet another person using Shinji as a means to an end?
I have always seen Kaworu as someone who legitimately had human-like feelings for Shinji, but still knew he had a destiny to fulfill. If he was say, born as a human, I think he would still be drawn to Shinji. Always debatable if it is more romantic feelings or platonic, though (not that it will ever stop shippers :p)
OP
OP
it's the flaws that make him a good character. even back in the early 00's we used to say that people disliked shinji so much because they saw too much of themselves in him and that still holds true.
I love Shinji. Bless his soul. By the end I wanted to just hug him and tell him he can be whatever the fuck he wants and live a life he's happy with and in control. Then I would pat him on the back and give him the day off with his boyfriend. I would then proceed to roll up my sleeves and lay waste to NERV , Seele, and specially his parents....
Shinji's cool, End of Evangelion sucks and is pointlessly nihilistic with multiple characters being overdramatic caricatures of themselves (Shinji being one of the worst).
Ep. 25/26 are the better ending.
That's the resolution you're looking for, OP.
Ep. 25/26 are the better ending.
That's the resolution you're looking for, OP.
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One thing I never really picked-up on when I was younger that I now understand as an adult was a specific element of Misato's relationship with Shinji. Over the years she'd managed to compartmentalize all the apocalyptic 2nd Impact bullshit she went through when she was Shinji's age, largely via unhealthy coping mechanisms in her disastrous private life, and now she's the surrogate parent of this train wreck of a kid having to fend off the 3rd Impact. She's forced to dig up the bones of her own lost youth and what she's become. Even moreso when that slimeball Kaji shows up.
He's the lowest of the low.
In all seriousness, I found him sympathetic. He's a kid with unrealistic expectations thrust upon him and he's constantly forced to endure tons of fucked up shit with barely anyone around to support or guide him. It's honestly amazing he's able to find the resolve to reject Instrumentality in the end considering what he goes through.
In all seriousness, I found him sympathetic. He's a kid with unrealistic expectations thrust upon him and he's constantly forced to endure tons of fucked up shit with barely anyone around to support or guide him. It's honestly amazing he's able to find the resolve to reject Instrumentality in the end considering what he goes through.
Hope the next rebuild movie has shinji get a good ending finally, or shinji killing his father.
The kid needs something good in his life.
The kid needs something good in his life.
The fact that he's so fucked up and unlikable, and yet we're pulled in enough to empathize with him is a testament to how nuanced and multilayered the character and the story are. In the end, I think most people are an uncomfortable mix of both proud AND ashamed of Shinji. I guess that makes him a realistic character, since I think most people feel that way about themselves to an extent. Which is no small feat in a cartoon show/movie about giant robots fighting angel aliens.
I thought he was a whiny little bitch when I was younger
But watching NGE again after 10 years made me feel sorry for him, like what happened with Toji would fuck me up baaaaad
I fucking hated Asuka though
But watching NGE again after 10 years made me feel sorry for him, like what happened with Toji would fuck me up baaaaad
I fucking hated Asuka though
100% this. Born into a post-apocalyptic world, dead mother, abandoned by his father at 4 years old, sent to live with a reclusive and uncaring teacher for ten years, brought back into his father's life only for his use as a tool to facilitate Gendo's needs, put through fucking traumatic events and almost tortured psychologically at various times in the series. Misato, as good of a person as she is, is more of a roommate than a parent/guardian for most of the series and his fellow pilots and NERV staff offer very little in the way of emotional support. Between what happens with Toji/Asuka with Unit 03 and Kaworu, it's a wonder that Shinji didn't end up in the coma ward as well.
Shinji's a good kid who just needs some love and support. Hopefully Anno finally does him some justice in 4.0.
I watched the show at 33 and found him relatable to my past self (and a little bit of my current self).
I want to first quote a post I wrote before.
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Now let me give a specific example.
I've heard so many "GET IN THE FUCKING ROBOT!" memes over the years that I had a pretty specific idea in my mind of Shinji. He'd be like a scared cowardly crybaby who really doesn't want to get hurt and has to be convinced over and over again that they need him and he needs to do it to save people's lives and blah blah blah.
And that would be totally reasonable for a kid to feel. But that's not what happens.
On both occasions Shinji won't "get in the robot" (particularly the second time), it's a deliberate and purposeful statement by him. NERV is shitty and treats him like shit so he's leaving. It's a protest. Refusing to pilot is the only leverage he has, and the only way that he can meaningfully stand up for himself. And yet, like always, Shinji is in a horrible situation. Because standing up for himself like this means that people will die, and that would make him feel too guilty to actually let happen.
And Gendo knows this. Importantly, nobody ever tells him to "get in the robot". When Shinji says he's quitting, nobody stops him. "So long! Be sure to close the door on your way out." Then the next Angel attack arrives, and Shinji comes back with his tail between his legs. And Gendo, the shitty abusive asshole that he is, smirks, comments stuff like "I thought you quit", and forces Shinji to ask him "Please let me get in the robot".
The whole thing is a crazy power trip where Shinji is deliberately made to feel that he has no power or autonomy, and any hint of rebellion is ruthlessly squashed.
I imagined this situation:
But no. The Shinji I had in my head before I watched the series compared to the actual character could not be more different at times.
Admittedly, EoE Shinji is much closer to the meme version of Shinji, but... I don't really count that. EoE feels so meta, so obviously influenced by the perception and real-world impacts of Evangelion on Anno and the studio that I don't really count it. The original series, EoE, and the Rebuilds are three different canons to me.
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Having heard about Eva and Shinji for decades yet only finally watching it for the Netflix release, I was really surprised to discover how much Shinji... doesn't suck.
Like, I've heard for so many years how pathetic he is, how angsty, how much of a crybaby, how insufferable it is to watch this kid. Yet I was really struck by how, by the last episodes of Eva, pretty much the entire cast was gone for one reason or another. Either evacuated, or dead, or had a mental breakdown/suicide attempt, or whatever. Except for Shinji. He was utterly miserable, but he kept on trucking along... at least until End of Eva.
I dunno. Like you said, I've heard that Shinji represents how a real kid would react to being thrown into a war, but he was way more heroic than that. Have you ever met a 14-year-old?
--Now let me give a specific example.
I've heard so many "GET IN THE FUCKING ROBOT!" memes over the years that I had a pretty specific idea in my mind of Shinji. He'd be like a scared cowardly crybaby who really doesn't want to get hurt and has to be convinced over and over again that they need him and he needs to do it to save people's lives and blah blah blah.
And that would be totally reasonable for a kid to feel. But that's not what happens.
On both occasions Shinji won't "get in the robot" (particularly the second time), it's a deliberate and purposeful statement by him. NERV is shitty and treats him like shit so he's leaving. It's a protest. Refusing to pilot is the only leverage he has, and the only way that he can meaningfully stand up for himself. And yet, like always, Shinji is in a horrible situation. Because standing up for himself like this means that people will die, and that would make him feel too guilty to actually let happen.
And Gendo knows this. Importantly, nobody ever tells him to "get in the robot". When Shinji says he's quitting, nobody stops him. "So long! Be sure to close the door on your way out." Then the next Angel attack arrives, and Shinji comes back with his tail between his legs. And Gendo, the shitty abusive asshole that he is, smirks, comments stuff like "I thought you quit", and forces Shinji to ask him "Please let me get in the robot".
The whole thing is a crazy power trip where Shinji is deliberately made to feel that he has no power or autonomy, and any hint of rebellion is ruthlessly squashed.
I imagined this situation:
But no. The Shinji I had in my head before I watched the series compared to the actual character could not be more different at times.
Admittedly, EoE Shinji is much closer to the meme version of Shinji, but... I don't really count that. EoE feels so meta, so obviously influenced by the perception and real-world impacts of Evangelion on Anno and the studio that I don't really count it. The original series, EoE, and the Rebuilds are three different canons to me.