Should We Hate Shinji Ikari?

Greetings, ladies and gents!  Welcome to my first official Talkative Thursday post of 2018!  I've been wanting to do this first post's topic for a while, so I'm just going to jump right in.  If you read my Character of the Year announcement, you probably know that Neon Genesis Evangelion was one of my first Starred Reviews of 2017-then again, if you knew this, then I don't see why I needed to repeat this information.  Anyway, since my review on it last year, I really got invested in it.  And I don't mean just watching the series all the way through.  I started watching videos discussing some of the deeper elements, and really, just any entertaining videos on it.  It's not hard to see why this little obsession got started; it's a great show that's not afraid to go to some dark places but also makes for some great mecha entertainment.  But in all of the videos and countdowns and what-not I found, one trend seemed to come up:  people hate Shinji Ikari.

Whether he's on the top ten list of wimpiest heroes, being made fun of for his submissive and moody behavior, or just being destroyed by some raging fan, it seems to be commonplace to hate on this poor fourteen-year-old protagonist.  Some people could go as far to say that Shinji is the worst character in anime.  This makes me think why exactly he's hated so much.  Ok, I know why he's hated.  Shinji is a wimpy character and a coward, and that can be irritating.  But the real question is whether or not that hate is warranted.  Looking back on the show now, I do feel in some regards a lot of the backlash for Shinji is unwarranted.  So should Shinji Ikari be hated?  No, not really.  Like I said earlier, Evangelion  is a dark show with a lot of depth and layers to it.  Amongst those layers are some legitimate arguments that make Shinji a far more likable character than you might think.  And that's what this week's Talkative Thursday discusses today, those little details in Evangelion that might make you wonder if Shinji Ikari should be hated.  (Note: Just so you know, there was a YouTuber name Zen Huxtable who made a similar video, but actually made a lot of similar points that I make and in fact were some inspiration for this post.)

First, I can't say for certain how many people really hate on Shinji, but some of the harsher and irrational insults I've seen tend to stand out.  Among one of the most shocking accusations came from Anime America's Top Ten Annoying Anime Characters, where Shinji was number five on the list.  Why?  Because he gripes about the relationship with his dad and his own insecurities.  Maybe it's me, but those moments weren't annoying.  They were boring, but not annoying.  In fact, and again it may just be me, Shinji wasn't an annoying character to me.  And believe it or not-and I'm sorry for to say this, Anime America-, this continual griping is justified and to call it out as annoying is crap.  Here's the thing, having abandonment issues with an estranged parent is a legit reason to be having mental issues! 

Think about it: the one adult that you've trusted your whole life suddenly abandons you with no explanation.  That can have a major impact on a person, young or old.  It wouldn't even surprise me if other people who have actually had this happen to them agreed.  Granted, I have never had this personally happen to me and I may very well be out of line by assuming the general consensus would agree, but there is no denying that the reality of Shinji's daddy issues is in fact very realistic and gives him the justification to act the way that he does in the series.  Speaking of daddy issues, could you imagine having that same father come back years later only to find he wants nothing more from you than to use you as a tool for his own agenda?  Well, that leads me to make next point.

When Gendo Ikari calls Shinji to pilot Eva Unit 01, it becomes pretty clear that Shinji is very distressed.  This not only comes from Gendo clearly stating that Shinji is now useful to him, but also from the situation that Shinji is in.  In almost a fraction of a second, Shinji has to make a life changing decision that could not only affect him, but the world.  For most people, that can be very overwhelming.  A major life-changing decision can take to time process and accept.  For example, when I was offered a huge promotion at work, I was so overwhelmed that it took me almost two days to actually accept the offer.  But in Evangelion, that time is not allowed, and therefore, Shinji not only makes the quick decision to get in the Eva, but often times regrets that decision afterwards.  It has nothing to do with his state of mind or physical capabilities, it has to do with the fact that he had no time to think at all.  That's another layer of Evangelion that people sometimes tend to overlook: the reality.  

One thing about Evangelion that I've praised it for was the heavy dose of reality it gives the audience.  It's not a show that sugarcoats everything or tries to paint a positive picture, it's meant to be dark and depressing sometimes.  And part of that comes from what kind of show Evangelion is.  Evangelion is supposed to be a deconstruction of the mecha anime genre.  What do I mean by deconstruction?  In its simplest definition, deconstruction is taking a common troupe or core element of a show and either parodying it or questioning the logic of it.  The idea of deconstruction in anime is nothing new, and in fact, many well-known anime shows and films are deconstructions.  Puella Magi Madoka Magica takes the common troupe of the magical girl genre of accepting powers from a magical talking being and makes us question whether it's a good idea to accept that kind of offer or not.  One Punch Man takes the overdone shonen cliché of having the powerful main protagonist gain instant respect and praise from his peers and instead has Saitama be hated by civilians, implying he needs to earn that respect in spite of the authentic raw power that he has.  Using that logic, let's look at Evangelion.

Here, the common mecha troupe of having a teenager pilot a giant robot and be responsible for saving and/or protecting the world is called into question.  And if you watched the series and especially it's 1997 film The End of Evangelion, you know how that plays out.  Here's a hint: it's a really bad idea!  Imagine if you were in the same situation: you come to a secret government facility only to be ordered to pilot a giant robot all while a giant monster is destroying the city.  That's not including the mental instability you already have given that the man running said facility is your father who abandoned you as a toddler. Iif you're a reasonable and mentally stable human being, your response to this would be a resounding HELL NO!...or at least, "I need more time to think about it."  And even if you agreed to it, there's a likely possibility you would regret that decision later.  Again, that comes from the heavy dose of reality we're given, and although the situation requires immediate action, it sadly and realistically takes much longer to process that kind of information.  So really, watching Shinji refuse to get in the Eva is a pretty normal response.  But then that got me thinking of my next point.

If you've seen Evangelion, you know right away that Shinji is not the best Eva pilot.  In fact, he's probably the worst.  What's worse, even Shinji himself knows that!   Looking back on that moment, that got me thinking.  Shinji is a very realistic character in spite of how irritating he can be.  With that in mind, have you ever noticed that no one at Nerv seems to be rational?  Yeah, think about it.  Everyone at Nerv seems to be all for Evas despite the major consequences the pilots suffer from.  Even when Misato tells Shinji that he's free to leave at any time, I seriously doubt that anyone at Nerv would allow that to happen.  Espcially if Father of the Year Gendo had anything to say about it.  But I digress.  Giving that observation some thought, I drew the conclusion that none of the secondary characters who work at Nerv are being rational or realistic.  And part of that comes from that fact that some of them have some kind of issue or complex they're dealing with themselves.  Misato and Ritsuko have daddy and mommy issues respectively, Gendo obviously has problems getting over his dead wife and Shinji's mother, Yui, and even Rei has issues with identity and self-worth.  And that leads me to who I think is the most unrealistic and irrational character of the entire series:  Asuka.

Out of all the characters in Evangelion, my least favorite character, if not my least favorite character in all of anime, was Asuka.  She's cocky, hot-headed, and just a whiny little brat.  In fact, I found her more annoying than Shinji!  I can't tell you how many times I wanted to stick an ice pick in my ear even when I just heard her voice!  Plus, more often than not, Asuka came off to me as a bully, more than willing to pick a fight with anyone for something as simple as looking at her (and maybe for less!).  But in spite of my extreme dislike for Asuka, there was something that I realized with her character.  Looking at it a little closer,  Asuka actually has the traits that you'd typically find in the average mecha anime protagonist; she's arrogant and headstrong, but she's also a fantastic Eva pilot and believes that what she does is necessary for mankind's survival.  So really, you could almost argue that Asuka is an early example of the modern day mecha character.  Now granted, many people who have watched the Gundam franchise would argue this claim, but here's my defense for that:  not only does she have the personality and mindset of a mecha protagonist, she also has the mental issues and instability of one, too.  This was another common mecha troupe explored in Evangleion; not only do you have a teen piloting a giant robot, you have a teen with mental issues and/or a traumatic past piloting a giant robot.  in fact, the more I thought about it, Asuka is almost very similar to Shinji.  Why?  Abandonment issues!  When Asuka was a little girl, her mother suffered a mental breakdown as a result of experimentation in which she no longer recognized Asuka as her daughter.  To make things worse, Asuka also had the displeasure of finding her mother's dead body after committing suicide.  Having your mother emotionally neglect you is one thing, but finding her corpse?  She should be mentally scarred for life!  And yet, she's not...which is why she's so unrealistic and irrational.

It's an odd claim, but think about it.  Asuka's personality alone makes her stick out like a sore thumb.  But then you add her abandonment issues and traumatic past in the mix, and her pressence in the series starts to make no sense.  One great example of how this doesn't work is in the last episode.  We get a glimpse of what life would have been like for Shinji if none of the previous events hadn't happened (particularly his father abadoning him after his mother's death, who is alive in this scene).  Shinji surprisingly acts like any other teenage boy , but Asuka's personality never seemed to change.  Though it's unclear what happened to her in this alternate universe, it still makes no sense.  It's a stretch to say that, but given that Evangelion is meant to be dark and depressing, Asuka just doesn't fit; her actions are uncalled for and her behavior is unrealistic.  And even when we learn that Asuka is just as damaged as-if not more than-Shinji, her mental downward spiral is poorly done and, for lack of a better word, goofy.  So whenever I compare Asuka and Shinji, at the end of the day, Shinji will always be the better, more realistic, and more relatable character.  And that leads me to my finally point:  Shinji is a very relatable character.

Everyone, whether you'd like to admit it or not, has been in the exact same position as Shinji at some point in your life.  We have all been in that position where we questioned our self-worth and value to others.  And more often than not, this comes from very sad moments in our lives and these feelings  come out when we're at our worst emotionally.  I'll even admit that I've felt the same way; following my broken engagement, I felt that no one, not even my extended family, wanted anything to do with me because I was single again.  For a while, I felt that the only way to get attention and praise was to have a man love me.  Shinji goes through almost the same thought process; he feels that he's not worth any value to anyone unless he's piloting the Eva.  That's why he constantly pilots it even though it distresses and tortures him to no end, it makes him feel needed.  And although the ending to Evangelion is infamously bad and confusing, there's a powerful message in it.  In those final moments, Shinji realizes that he doesn't need to be in the Eva to be considered worth praise or attention, and ends up receiving praise for that realization (in a way).  That, in and of itself, is a very triumphant moment.  Going back to my own personal experiences, it took me almost a year to realize that having husband, or even a boyfriend, was not necessary to make you valuable or worth attention to anyone. Being happy and grateful for what you had in your life and being proud of that was all that mattered.  And that got me more attention and praise than a lousy fiancé ever did.  So even though sitting through all of the introspective moments where we constantly hear Shinji go on about his problems gets pretty tedious and boring, you can't deny that you've been in Shinji's shoes at least once in your life.

Even though Shinji tends to be on the receiving end of some hate, it's because of these points that I've never been able to bring myself to follow the rest of the crowd.  In fact, I really like Shinji for these reasons.  Like I said before, Shinji is a realistic and relatable character, and it fascinates me to see that because there's very few characters with that much depth.  And while he can be annoying and tedious sometimes, I think there are other characters in the series that are worthier of that kind of hate (looking at you Asuka).  So for all the times I can shout "Congratulations, Shinji, you grew a pair! " or "Get in the robot, Shinji!", deep down I still love and empathize with Shinji Ikari.  And it makes me question why we should even hate him at all.

And that wraps up my first Talkative Thursday of 2018!  I know that this was incredibly long but there was a lot to talk about.  Still, do you think Shinji should be hated?  Are there any other points I missed?  And is there anyone else who thinks Asuka is an annoying little brat?  Like I always say, I want to hear your thoughts!  Just be civil, please.  Stay tuned this Sunday for another new review!

-Hanime on Anime