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| Really? They did an entire episode to show the viewers that Shinji is a total wimp and a coward. I knew that since episode 1 but I guess that isn't enough. They just had to put on an entire episode to show the wimpyness of Shinji, lol. I guess that'll make an impact in the future. Like everyone thinks he's a wimp and later on becomes a total badass or something. This episode was more like a drama/romance/emo episode. Shinji left in the beginning. He travelled miles and miles but then guess who he finds in the end, his classmate. Just wtf was that? He got caught and then he went back and left again. Then he decides to come back. I guess he's just confused. The only thing I liked was those two friends of Shinji. I'm seeing them becoming Shinji's loyal friends in the future. |
| I really liked this ep and I don't think that Shinji is whimp. For love of God, he is just fourteen. What do you expect? Do you want him to act all high and mighty or what? Or do you want "I don't care" attitude? he is reasonable character and this episode was not boring, it just concentrated on Shinji's point of view, which was great. I love psychological aspects of Neon Genesis Evangelion. |
| This was quite a slow episode, but I wouldn't call it boring. It was definitely necessary for Shinji's development, and I'm glad he's starting to come out of his shell. The last scene was pretty nice =) |
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| I actually like Shinji and found this episode to be quite entertaining. I did get the feeling this anime is trying a bit too hard to being deep. It's still just the fourth episode, so I can't conclude anything yet. |
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| I actually like Shinji and found this episode to be quite entertaining. I did get the feeling this anime is trying a bit too hard to being deep. It's still just the fourth episode, so I can't conclude anything yet. |
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Fuurinkazan said: At this point I was only waiting for the inevitable wrist cutting to happen. Really, I'd have been completely fine if shinji was forgotten and they'd let Rei control the robot, but that's just me. But that would be such a pathetic and lame way to tell a story. LolitaDecay said: Am I the only one who doesn't really mind Shinji? If anything there was some real Shinji character development in this episode. The end scene with Mikoto was sweet. Nope, your totally good to go. You understand that blood, guts, gore, sex, nudity, violence, bouncing breasts, constant action and explosions are not the most important thing in storytelling. In other words, you dun grown up. |
| Hrmm.. some character development I guess? Of him moping around. o_O |
Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated.~ |
| To all Shinji haters...i think this has been said before but..this AIN'T a shounen anime..so stop looking for a super-awesome-badass-angel killer character right of the bat..you may consider him a coward but i think this is a really emotional yet existentialist series, its not just battles (which i know are really good) but actually what matters is the character development the series give... you will found out soon enough if you stick around |
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| Some people may find Shinji to be a boring and annoying character, but as other people have said, I find him to be a believable young man...or child. It was a rather slow episode but I didn't mind it. Character development is an important part of a good anime series. |
| We get to know Shinji more in this episode, which is good, even if he's too annoying at moments. He really surprised me, when he decided to go all out determined to kill the angel - I was thinking he will always follow the orders he 's given. |
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| NGE isn't a shounen anime, BUT being emo in a situation like this will get any emoks dead - maybe later than those ppl who fight, but dead nonetheless. So, how is it actually logical, believable? You can find thousands of younger kids who have MORE GUTS that this sissy in real world. I can't... resist... must... ... THIS. IS. SPARTAAA!!!!! |
| I don't think some of you realize that Shinji's reaction to the whole ordeal was a perfectly natural way to deal with it and him being 14 years old. It made perfect sense to me, even though it wasn't the most exciting episode. Looking forward to the next! |
| For some reason Shinji remaind my past. I think that I understand him. I like this ep. :) |
 Sakoju! |
| I really dislike the debate of whether Shinji is a wimp or a badass. Shinji’s goal is pain minimization and that is why he stayed. He realized in his two day journey that it would be much easier to stay then it would be to go so he stayed. Shinji didn’t grow, but he did make an important decision. I would also like to disagree with the claim that Shinji is acting like any other 14 year old in that situation. It is true that he experiences the same emotion that another 14 year would experience, but he handles it differently. Most kids his age would either be adamant in piloting or not piloting the eva. Shinji is just floating along. He did decide to stay but he still has no resolve. |
| This was a fairly boring episode. There were tons of repeated and looped frames. |
| Nothing happened, it seemed. |
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| Dat ending - dat feel man dat feel! Nice episode, stupid actions but well some kids require to take that path to clear their mind and make a decision, lets see what's next! |
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| This was really important episode. Thoughts from Episode 04. First of all seeing Shinji there was kind of sad while he was mentally sick and had "Hedgehog's Dilemma" like they already told episode 3. But Shinji's situation is really believable it describes really well despression and pain his going through. I think Anno really was having that dilemma also in that time when he was creating Evangelion. It's just impressive how he manage to make anime series in despression. Also it's like closed people like we call "Otaku" Seeing him in the subway just felt so sad. But that's like 14-years old kids would act not maybe all of them but many at least. Also when he was watching that movie in theaters and saw those lovers he really got angry because he had thoughts like this world is trash nothing is good about it. Like the movie was titled. I wonder why NERV tried so much to take Shinji back. I guess it's something he just couldn't decide himself. Those red and black visions where really nicely done like it really told something is not right with Shinji's mind here. It reminded me a little bit of Naruto series like Sharingan world. And when he didn't obey in that last battle it was like he was under some kind of hypnotizing like he only answered yes to every question it was scary. Also we got pretty critic info that only 14-years old chosen children can pilot EVA and they have not yet located "Fourth Child" Which mean there is probably more Evangelion than we are seeing right now. Nice how those guys apologized for Shinji I mean Tojo not that sunglasses guy so Shinji could finally open to them about his Hedgehog's Dilemma. And Misato, Ritsuko, Tojo, Aida was also persons who could understand Shinji more that's why he returned back because there wasn't anything for him if he would had go. He wanted to not be Coward for he whole life and wanted to face his fears. This was decision that he may regret or won't regret however it also character development for him. And that peacefulness in the end. loved it! Misato is also showing her love for Shinji that's why she yell for him. |
MixxuJan 20, 2013 9:12 AM
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| Good episode. |
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| Still one of my favorite episodes in anime, the series up to this point has been absolutely brilliant but this is the episode that stands out to me. The use of minimal music, shadows, and facial expressions really made for a well directed episode. Shinji is a coward, yeah, and I think that he ended up staying, as someone else said, because it would be "easier" for him to take orders and fight the angels instead of living a life for himself. That and, going by his reaction to Toji and Kensuke, he does in fact feel guilt for being a "coward" and decides to stay back and help. Contradictory? Perhaps, but I think this is what makes Shinji a very human character. In short, they absolutely nailed the isolated feeling Shinji has. Also, I love the moments between him and Misato here. It's true his lack of motivation is actually very dangerous to him and Nerv, as well as pretty much everyone in Tokyo. But, you also get the feeling of a sort of bond between these two and that Misato really does care about Shinji. Btw, I just cannot say enough good things about Misato...she is just a very genuine character. I love pretty much every scene she is involved with. Oh, and if some of the posters here didn't watch the series in Japanese....you are missing out. Ogata Megumi's performance as Shinji is powerful stuff. |
| "Yes, I have been deprived of emotion. But not completely. Whoever did it, botched the job." - Geralt of Rivia |
| I agree that it was important to focus on shinji and misato's relationship, i still feel they could have told the same story in half the time. |
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| LOL staring competition. That's so awkward. |
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| Yay, good character development. Shinji is a little wimpy, but if the character development is good he might be able to turn into a likable character. |
| People seem to forget that Shinji is FOURTEEN years old, and he has to save mankind (with a huge chance of being killed.) Of course he'd be wimpy and whiny and "emo". It's realistic. Get over it. |
| The giant dick was too much for Shinji so he ran away. Not blaming him though. Anyone would run away after seeing a roughly 100m long penis. |
 "Your sight, my delight. Will you marry me?" |
| Shinji there was pretty quiet.. |
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| I really like the reference the title makes to The Hedgehog's Dilemma concept. Even though Shinji is quite weak minded, it is important to verbally say that from time to time because if you admit your issues, it can turn into a turning point. I feel like the first couple episodes were more or less delving into how Shinji thinks and feels which, I think, might be vital to further developments. |
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| Sneaky Shinji? I dislike that they will randomly play background music. e.g., when he's saying his goodbyes at the train station. |
| Poor Shinji, I feel for the kid :( His dad's a jerk and who knows where is mom is. It's only fair that he is acting this way. I know he'll become stronger though, he has to. |
| I hope Shinji gets more likeable later on, cause right now he's not a very impressive main character. I do feel sorry for the kid though, but at least he's making friends now. |
| slowly sortin his shit out |
"Urushibara Ruka. The mannerisms and voice of a woman... No... More feminine than any woman. But he's a guy. Taller than Mayuri, but so very thin... But he's a guy. Looks great in a miko outfit... But he's a guy. It's already twilight And yet, it's so hot. The cicadas are crying. But... He's a guy." |
| I don't think Shinji's annoying or cowardly at all. If anything, he's acting like a normal person would given his circumstances. He's no "this is justice I'll save the world yarrr" type nor is he "I'll save everyone because you told me to, no reasons needed" kind of guy. He's 14. His dad is a giant ass who, after three years of of absence, just makes him come to town aka alien battlefield. Then suddenly everyone expects him to go pilot a robot and risk his life to fight the giant Angel thing running amok in town because apparently he's the only one who can do it -- without telling him anything. Nobody could or should blame him for running away. Sure he can choose not to do it but we've all been shown that consequences of not doing it weigh heavily on his mind. He's stuck between a rock and a hard place. |
"May those who accept their fate be granted happiness." "May those who defy their fate be granted glory." |
-Kurisuta- said: I hope Shinji gets more likeable later on, cause right now he's not a very impressive main character. I do feel sorry for the kid though, but at least he's making friends now. Yeah, he's wimpy, it makes sense that he would be, but he's still not very entertaining to watch. I feel sorry for him as well. He represents a pretty good deconstruction of the concept of teenaged mech pilots which seems pretty common. I wonder why they have to be so young in this series... I'm giving this show another chance, but I don't know if this high artsy drama is for me. anyway, boring episode. |
| Love and Peace!!! |
| This series continues to intrigue me, showing who the characters are rather than telling. That long silence at the end being interrupted by "I'm home" was perfect. |
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| According to the book that came with the R2 Ultimate Edition boxset, this episode was an afterthought. It wasn't originally scripted and Anno wasn't involved in it. I can see why they wanted to put this episode in, but it's frustrating given what happened with them running out of steam by the ending of the series. |
| What an amazing episode. The long silence at the end is what made it fantastic. A great atmosphere in this episode. I think Shinji is a great character. I really don't understand why people hate him, he's really not all that bad. Anywho, onto the next episode! |
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| I'm glad in the end at least they were reunited. |
My Candies:     |
| The ending scene between Shinji's classmates and the MIsato train scene was probably my favorite part of this episode. This anime is very cerebral and highly nuanced and it doesn't need to rely on a "monster of the week" or "new angel attack" ploy which I very much appreciate. Shinji is a much deeper character than people seem to be giving him credit for, but I don't want to delve into that issue once again. So far NGE does a great job of creating character depth without it being too obvious. The viewer is left to piece some aspects of the characters' psyche together which I think is quite cool. However, it does assume that the viewer will be intuitive enough to figure it out. So that could be off putting for some people. So far, I really enjoy the use of silence/music/noise in this anime. The cicadas don't bother me, and I found it interesting that the cicadas were even pulled into the story a little bit. |
| Weird. But the silence made it atmospheric and enjoyable. |
| Direction is real. It's an absolute pleasure experiencing thoughtful cinematography in anime, it's a rarity for me. Funny how they pile the weight of the world on his shoulders and force him to come back then they moan about his attitude and say he can go if he doesn't want to pilot. Fuck Nerv. His classmates are real bros. Shinji is a pretty great character so far, they've expressed a lot with him in four episodes. If he's supposed to be annoying at the moment as he's apparently known for, then I'm not getting those vibes. |
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