Do you like Shinji Ikari?
Yes
56.0%
107
No
44.0%
84
191 votes
| Disclaimer: My interpretations of certain character interactions are debatable & some seem to be rather obscure on the internet. So, read at your own peril! There are many reasons that people claim to dislike Shinji from Neon Genesis Evangelion; whether it be cowardice, whining, being a pushover, not wanting to accept his destiny, etc. NONE OF THESE REASONS ARE WHY I HATE SHINJI (even though I do not like pushovers)—in fact, when I first watched Shin Seiki Evangelion in middle school for the first time & continued to re-watch it into high school, I found Shinji relatable. But in my 20s, after experiencing more of adult life, I began to find Shinji deplorable. Mainly, because of what he does to Asuka & how easily manipulated he is. I now understand why in Misato’s last scene with Shinji in End of Evangelion—her feelings can be interpreted as part eroticism, part disgust. I created a timeline to make some of my points more easily digestible & coherent, so here we go: • (first point—Shinji & Asuka have sex) Shinji & Asuka have sex at the end of Episode 15: ‘Lies and Silence,’ after Asuka asks Shinji to kiss her & then writhes with jealousy at seeing Misato & Kaji together. This isn’t a completely fresh theory, I believe there’s a person on YouTube who made a common assertion. The nail in the coffin with this theory is that in the beginning of Episode 16: ‘The sickness unto death, and then...’ where it shows Asuka gushing over Shinji & lathering him with praises, when in the episode before she had done nothing but insult him. This isn’t an uncommon occurrence in Hideaki Anno’s shows, for example, in Nadia: Secret of Blue Water, The sex scene is exonerated again in Episode 22: Staying Human, in the Director’s Cut, when Asuka is curled in the fetal position, by the swing-set, in the midst of her mental breakdown, there is crying audio in the background, but if you listen carefully there’s audio of Asuka that clearly sounds like sexual moaning. My last addendum to this point is the scene in End of Evangelion when Asuka is on top of Shinji in bed, naked—obviously after/or during intercourse. • (second point—Asuka is pregnant) After the intercourse, there is an infamous scene with Asuka where she clutches her womb & says, “I don’t want to have a child.” Many interpreted that as Asuka being disgusted with female menstruation, but after my point above, I think it is due to her ACTUALLY being pregnant. This point is reinforced by Asuka protectively clutching her womb, during the fight with the Mass Produced EVA units, & the famous last line in End of Evangelion, “I feel sick (morning sickness).” There has been a squick theory that she got pregnant from the ‘hospital scene (rape)’ in End of Evangelion, but that theory can be jossed, seeing as Shinji & Asuka were already involved in an intimate relationship. • (third point—Shinji choking Asuka in the TV series caused her to have a miscarriage) It was established that in the beginning of Episode 24: The Last Cometh, in the Director’s Cut, that the choking scene from End of Evangelion actually happened. The scene is the same; Asuka & Shinji are seen wearing the same clothing that they were in the End of Evangelion. While Asuka is seen as manic in the scene where she’s arguing that Kaji isn’t actually dead, she’s still her fiery self but later, when she’s despondent in the bathtub, she has no life left in her eyes. Would someone who usually shows vigor & enthusiasm during that apocalypse break because of a case of domestic violence? One could argue that Shinji was the last person that Asuka relied on, but that isn’t true either, since childhood, Asuka has only relied on herself. Which leads me to believe that the ‘brown’ bathwater in in Episode 24 was not fecal matter, but perhaps, blood from a miscarriage (or both). This also explains why in the End of Evangelion, she is able to fully synchronize with her mother’s soul in EVA 02—not just because she was a mother, too; but because (like her mother’s soul had departed in the experimentation for Unit 02) she had quite literally lost a part of herself. My theory, when she grips her womb, in the last battle with the Mass Produced EVA units, is a sort of ‘phantom limb’ pregnancy; Asuka has already completely lost her mind—it isn’t completely ‘out there’ to believe that she might still think she’s pregnant. Another example, is the hospital masturbation scene, I believe that Shinji masturbated not just out of sexual arousal, but out of guilt & the want to ‘start again’ with her, but holding back at the last minute. He might have wanted to restart from what he had done & try to have a child again. Which may also explain why she’s brought back first after Instrumentality & it is implied that she is bearing a child again. • (fourth point—Shinji allowed himself to manipulated by Kaworu because he didn’t want to take responsibility for ‘ruining’ Asuka) This is another controversial point, but from an adult perspective, I think it’s quite obvious that Kaworu’s ‘sacrifice’ was not saintly. I believe that he manipulated Shinji (got close to Shinji, knowing what had happened with Asuka, to completely decimate him by putting the blood of another person on his hands) & Rei (before Shinji kills him, Kaworu looks up & smiles to see that Rei is about to watch him be killed—he does this after instilling that they are ‘just alike’ to show her how disposable she is—proof of how this damages her: in Episode 25: The Ending World, she admits that she wouldn’t mind humanity ending because she is constantly used; Kaworu uses the word ‘freedom’ because he knows that true freedom is illusory & he wants to use that to manipulate them into creating a hive-minded ‘utopia’) into beginning Instrumentality (might write an essay purely on Kaworu, at another time). In The End of Evangelion, Shinji refuses to look at the harsh reality (which is Rei) & chooses only to see Kaworu (who represents escapism). • (fifth point—killing everyone in End of Evangelion because he thinks genocide & collective consciousness is ‘easier’ than having conflicting egos) This point is self-explanatory if you’ve seen the film. • (sixth point—masturbating on an unconscious woman in a hospital is literally sexual assault) RE: This point is self-explanatory if you’ve seen the film. Those are my points for why I hate Shinji (& also Kaworu, but that’s a topic for another day). As a woman who has experienced sexual & physical violence, even if Shinji is experiencing anxiety & depression, it doesn’t excuse his behavior; Asuka was going through similar issues & had to work twice as hard to receive validation because Shinji was more talented at piloting the EVA than her. Thank you for reading my essay, I just wanted to vent, since many see Shinji in a favorable light & if you say that you don’t like him, they rebuke the point with, ‘Oh, so you don’t think men can be weak?’ Which is far from the reason that I hate him. EDIT: I’ve decided to find a name to trademark this theory, so I have aptly called it the ‘Baby in the Bathwater’ theory. I hope that’s not too tactless... |
JuneNephthysAug 18, 2019 2:02 AM
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| Thanks for reminding me of everything I hate about Shinji and the entirety of Evangelion itself. |
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| well shit, as someone that's in the middle of nge, this has spoiled more than i expected. you weren't kidding about it being an essay either. |
AnimeFreak-San said: is this a male gender issure...human issue...mental illness perhaps? |
photophobic said: well shit, as someone that's in the middle of nge, this has spoiled more than i expected. you weren't kidding about it being an essay either. I apologize & I hope that this didn’t ruin the experience for youーfor other people reading, please don’t read this if you haven’t watched the series & movies. This was written by someone who has watched both dozens of times. |
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Ryuseishun said: Thanks for reminding me of everything I hate about Shinji and the entirety of Evangelion itself. I don’t hate Neon Genesis, but I do hate Shinji & hope that women like Asuka & Rei who are used/abused get some kind of retribution in the final Rebuild. |
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DateYutaka said: this is just a bad fanfic not based on anything in the actual text as written I provided episodic proof for my theory, prove me wrong. |
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| this is a very shallow interpretation of the series on a surface level |
DateYutaka said: iv watched read and played very piece of eva media, yes some of the video games legit add to the cannon Okay, so which parts of my theory are wrong & why? Also, AU setting pieces like Neon Genesis Evangelion: Girlfriend of Steel don’t count. |
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StorySoFar said: this is a very shallow interpretation of the series on a surface level Could you please explain how my interpretation is shallow? |
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| Really interesting theory, I will have to rewatch it someday to try to understand it better. I do think Shinji isn't a bad character and everything you said doesn't change my opinion on him, after all this is fiction and all his actions are done for the purpose of the anime. Actually this subplot theory kind of makes me like Shinji and Asuka even more, it gives more depth to NGE that I haven't seen. If you do not like Shinji and people automatically assume it is because you think he's a whiny bitch just explain your reasoning like you did right there, don't drop this though, try to compact it. |
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DateYutaka said: this is just a bad fanfic not based on anything in the actual text as written Maybe it really is, maybe it's not. The whole damn thing was open to interpretation :D . I rewatched the scenes mentioned. Nowhere am I even able to conclude that Shinji and Asuka had sex and that he managed to knock her up. However the OP manages to see it otherwise. So..nobody has the final say and thus, anything goes here. |
BiDiGiN said: Really interesting theory, I will have to rewatch it someday to try to understand it better. I do think Shinji isn't a bad character and everything you said doesn't change my opinion on him, after all this is fiction and all his actions are done for the purpose of the anime. Actually this subplot theory kind of makes me like Shinji and Asuka even more, it gives more depth to NGE that I haven't seen. If you do not like Shinji and people automatically assume it is because you think he's a whiny bitch just explain your reasoning like you did right there, don't drop this though, try to compact it. Thank you, while I don’t personally like him, I do admit that he’s well-written. |
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LunaPrecure said: StorySoFar said: this is a very shallow interpretation of the series on a surface level Could you please explain how my interpretation is shallow? The real meaning behind this line was revealed in an interview with Yuko Miyamura Concerning the final line we adopted, I'm not sure whether I should say about it in fact. At last Anno asked me "Miyamura, just imagine you are sleeping in your bed and a stranger sneaks into your room. He can rape you anytime as you are asleep but he doesn't. Instead, he masturbates looking at you, when you wake up and know what he did to you. What do you think you would say?" I had been thinking he was a strange man, but at that moment I felt disgusting. So I told him that I thought "Disgusting". And then he sighed and said "...thought as much." He said. "I thought as much." thats why she said what she said to shinji at the end of evangelion also Shinji started to strangle Asuka because he wanted to confirm that rejection and denial exist once more. ... He has confessed that Asuka's and Rei's accusations in the earlier scene were true, that he locked people out too tightly because he feared abandonment. but it's all all how you interpret it. im not saying you're wrong just you need to look deeper in some areas |
| Very interesting take. I don’t nessecarily agree, but I appreciate the effort you put into writing this. Especially since many people consider Asuka abusive to Shinji, you kind of take the opposite opinion. Neat stuff. |
StorySoFar said: The real meaning behind this line was revealed in an interview with Yuko Miyamura Concerning the final line we adopted, I'm not sure whether I should say about it in fact. At last Anno asked me "Miyamura, just imagine you are sleeping in your bed and a stranger sneaks into your room. He can rape you anytime as you are asleep but he doesn't. Instead, he masturbates looking at you, when you wake up and know what he did to you. What do you think you would say?" I had been thinking he was a strange man, but at that moment I felt disgusting. So I told him that I thought "Disgusting". And then he sighed and said "...thought as much." He said. "I thought as much." thats why she said what she said to shinji at the end of evangelion also Shinji started to strangle Asuka because he wanted to confirm that rejection and denial exist once more. ... He has confessed that Asuka's and Rei's accusations in the earlier scene were true, that he locked people out too tightly because he feared abandonment. but it's all all how you interpret it. im not saying you're wrong just you need to look deeper in some areas Although, that is the case, Anno was known for being flippant with his meanings & there was mention from the production staff that he did mention once that it may have meant, ‘morning sickness,’ but he was very vague with the true meaning, even to staffers. As for the choking point, I didn’t mention Shinji’s motivation behind strangling Asukaーonly what interpretive repercussions it may have caused. Believe me, I’ve read every interview, even the one you mentioned & that didn’t come off as an interpretation as much as the kind of vocal reaction that he wanted her to have. |
JuneNephthysAug 17, 2019 11:32 AM
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| I...don't agree with this interpretation, but I like how you have your own interpretation of the events. Anyhow I am sympathetic to Shinji in his struggle against a world that is basically trying to force him forward. |
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Hey_Taka-tin_Hey said: KIMG said: Thank God I dropped the serie on the 16th episode. To be fair, I didn't drop it, and I never saw any of the things the OP mentions. Especially Asuka carrying Shinji's child. I am pretty sure we watched different versions of the same anime. None of my interpretations are explicit in the series, just weird implications that I caught onto that then formed a theory. |
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DateYutaka said: this just based on the death of author ideas ask the creators or read the other things connected the franchise Can you cite anything that contradicts my theory? The only theory that I’ve heard that Anno rebuked was the ‘Misato killing Kaji’ one. |
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Hey_Taka-tin_Hey said: LunaPrecure said: None of my interpretations are explicit in the series, just weird implications that I caught onto that then formed a theory. Oh, I know, and I appreciate the effort you put into it. We don't get many interesting threads here, and this is definitely one. But I like Shinji. Because if I were put in that (impossible) situation, I wouldn't crack over time. I would lose it immediately. True, I admit that I have no idea of how I would react to that situation either. I’m looking forward to the fourth Rebuild, hopefully it will provide redemption for everyone (including Shinji)ーif you’ve seen the Evangelion short ‘until you come to me,’ it implies that there may be more character growth to come for him. |
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| I stopped at Shinji Asuka sex. They don't have sex. Shinji would be devastated and we would have had an introspection. If they would've banged 3rd impact would not have happened. Did you actually watch the show or just watch that yt video of a guy saying that Shinji had sex with Asuka. |
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| I have several problems with this "essay". Not least the use of the phrase sexual assault. It's trendy nowadays to use phrases like racism / sexual assault and other extreme vocabulary to exagerrate things, but this is outright stupid. Sexual assault has a very serious implications and shouldn't be used so flippantly. What Shinji did was gross and wrong, but it wasn't sexual assault other than in a purely technical way. What I mean is that it's is both sexual and assault, sure, but 'sexual assault' carries character judgments which are completely unfair on Shinji. Like for God's sake I can't stand this high-horse moral shame culture. Have some humanity, some sympathy. He is a very confused, horny, depressed little boy. And according to OP he already had sex with her. I had a girlfriend when I was much younger who would probably have been turned on by me doing such a thing to her. Though, again, I'm not saying it's right. It's non-consensual sexual interaction, even if not physical. Worse, she isn't even asleep but actually in a coma (right? memory a little hazy). My point is that using loaded phrases like 'sexual assult' is not only misleading and unfair on Shinji, but actually downplays the seriousness of real cases of sexual assault, much like how the word racism being used so flippantly nowadays has reduced the severity of that word also. And I want to touch on that bit about being unfair on Shinj again, because that is exactly what OP is doing througout his essay (btw, very short for an essay). Shinji isn't meant to be a morally righteous superhero type of chracter. He is supposed to be a real person. He acts like one could conceive of a real human acting in his situation. We aren't supposed morally judge him just like we aren't meant to hold him up as some kind of symbol of good. I think Anno meant for us to feel sympathy for him, to relate to him, and to appreciate a real deep character - something OP completely failed to do here. |
| “In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule.” -Friedrich Nietzsche Aggregate scoring is bad for the anime fandom |
| Shinji is 14 with no one that loves him or takes care of him. His dad is abusive, and he has no friends. He has deep depression and anxiety. He's dealing with the end of the world scenario everyday. The literal pressure of all humanity is on his shoulders to carry. If he fails everything is gone. That's a lot for a kid to handle when one day ago he was living a somewhat normal life, on top of all the emotional abuse he has dealt with up to now. I think it's wrong as to think of these as excuses and throw them away as to why he acts the way he does. That's enough to make anyone break mentally. Everyday could be your last and everyone needs you to save them. I have sympathy for him if nothing else and I can see why things played out the way they did. He is not a hero he never was. I think he is a character written with a lot of depth even if anno was trolling or on a drug induced binge, the fact that evangelion has so many theories and interpretations is an achievement |
YossaRedMage said: I have several problems with this "essay". Not least the use of the phrase sexual assault. It's trendy nowadays to use phrases like racism / sexual assault and other extreme vocabulary to exagerrate things, but this is outright stupid. Sexual assault has a very serious implications and shouldn't be used so flippantly. What Shinji did was gross and wrong, but it wasn't sexual assault other than in a purely technical way. What I mean is that it's is both sexual and assault, sure, but 'sexual assault' carries character judgments which are completely unfair on Shinji. Like for God's sake I can't stand this high-horse moral shame culture. Have some humanity, some sympathy. He is a very confused, horny, depressed little boy. And according to OP he already had sex with her. I had a girlfriend when I was much younger who would probably have been turned on by me doing such a thing to her. Though, again, I'm not saying it's right. It's non-consensual sexual interaction, even if not physical. Worse, she isn't even asleep but actually in a coma (right? memory a little hazy). My point is that using loaded phrases like 'sexual assult' is not only misleading and unfair on Shinji, but actually downplays the seriousness of real cases of sexual assault, much like how the word racism being used so flippantly nowadays has reduced the severity of that word also. And I want to touch on that bit about being unfair on Shinj again, because that is exactly what OP is doing througout his essay (btw, very short for an essay). Shinji isn't meant to be a morally righteous superhero type of chracter. He is supposed to be a real person. He acts like one could conceive of a real human acting in his situation. We aren't supposed morally judge him just like we aren't meant to hold him up as some kind of symbol of good. I think Anno meant for us to feel sympathy for him, to relate to him, and to appreciate a real deep character - something OP completely failed to do here. I said unconscious, that doesn’t mean asleep, just not conscious... of course I know she was in a coma. There is a law that includes ‘sexual assault with bodily fluids,’ how would you feel if someone ripped open your hospital gown & jacked off over you, while you were comatose? You would feel violated, disgusted, distrusting. There’s no way you can justify that scene & say that he did ‘the right thing.’ |
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Catalano said: I stopped at Shinji Asuka sex. They don't have sex. Shinji would be devastated and we would have had an introspection. If they would've banged 3rd impact would not have happened. Did you actually watch the show or just watch that yt video of a guy saying that Shinji had sex with Asuka. In my interpretation, what Shinji was lacking was not sexual, but emotional intimacy (see Episode 24 for proof of this). |
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StorySoFar said: Shinji is 14 with no one that loves him or takes care of him. His dad is abusive, and he has no friends. He has deep depression and anxiety. He's dealing with the end of the world scenario everyday. The literal pressure of all humanity is on his shoulders to carry. If he fails everything is gone. That's a lot for a kid to handle when one day ago he was living a somewhat normal life, on top of all the emotional abuse he has dealt with up to now. I think it's wrong as to think of these as excuses and throw them away as to why he acts the way he does. That's enough to make anyone break mentally. Everyday could be your last and everyone needs you to save them. I have sympathy for him if nothing else and I can see why things played out the way they did. He is not a hero he never was. I think he is a character written with a lot of depth even if anno was trolling or on a drug induced binge, the fact that evangelion has so many theories and interpretations is an achievement I agree; I hope that Shinji owns up his mistakes & is able to grow into a well-adjusted man. |
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YossaRedMage said: What I mean is that it's is both sexual and assault, sure, but 'sexual assault' carries character judgments which are completely unfair on Shinji. Like for God's sake I can't stand this high-horse moral shame culture. Have some humanity, some sympathy. He is a very confused, horny, depressed little boy. And according to OP he already had sex with her. I had a girlfriend when I was much younger who would probably have been turned on by me doing such a thing to her. Though, again, I'm not saying it's right. It's non-consensual sexual interaction, even if not physical. Worse, she isn't even asleep but actually in a coma (right? memory a little hazy). My point is that using loaded phrases like 'sexual assult' is not only misleading and unfair on Shinji, but actually downplays the seriousness of real cases of sexual assault, much like how the word racism being used so flippantly nowadays has reduced the severity of that word also. I don't think Shinji and Asuka were a thing in the series :P And yes, Asuka was in coma. As good as 'sleeping' because she is unconscious. Definitely didn't see it as 'sexual assault' though, since it's a horny 14 year old who is stressed to the max and he didn't sexually touch her either, and was aware of what he did. What he did was disgusting, that's all. I would have been psyched out otherwise. haha |
KreatorXAug 17, 2019 11:53 AM
DateYutaka said: LunaPrecure said: Can you cite anything that contradicts my theory? The only theory that I’ve heard that Anno rebuked was the ‘Misato killing Kaji’ one. none of it seems Logical with the cannon of the show or any of supplementary materials Okay, so can you provide some of that source material to counteract my theory? |
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KreatorX said: YossaRedMage said: What I mean is that it's is both sexual and assault, sure, but 'sexual assault' carries character judgments which are completely unfair on Shinji. Like for God's sake I can't stand this high-horse moral shame culture. Have some humanity, some sympathy. He is a very confused, horny, depressed little boy. And according to OP he already had sex with her. I had a girlfriend when I was much younger who would probably have been turned on by me doing such a thing to her. Though, again, I'm not saying it's right. It's non-consensual sexual interaction, even if not physical. Worse, she isn't even asleep but actually in a coma (right? memory a little hazy). My point is that using loaded phrases like 'sexual assult' is not only misleading and unfair on Shinji, but actually downplays the seriousness of real cases of sexual assault, much like how the word racism being used so flippantly nowadays has reduced the severity of that word also. I don't think Shinji and Asuka were a thing in the series :P And yes, Asuka was in coma. As good as 'sleeping' because she is unconscious. The sleeping part frustrates me because I didn’t even write that in the essay. |
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| Voted on not liking him, yes. I don't hate Shinji, but find everything about his thought process and actions extremely annoying and unrelatable on a fundamental level. What's more, the critics of this point of view from within Eva fandom usually respond with a bunch of strawman arguments about how you or the average person would be terrified to pilot a mech too as a 14 year-old boy. That isn't the point. That isn't what I and probably many others dislike about him at all and furthermore, a character in no way has to be a mirror of my own beliefs, actions, or experiences,so his bravery or lack thereof or my own is completely beside the point. Would never dislike a character (as far as the writing/portrayal of said character) for something so trivial. What I dislike is his self-loathing complex to the point where the last third of the show has to seemingly revolve around it entirely. I dislike what it did for the development of other characters and other plot threads in the show, and I can never understand this crippling and pervasive guilt, self-loathing, and anxiety to the point of feeling unworthy to even live your life without permission and fear of judgment from others bordering on paralysis. Like, I understand it theoretically, but I don't think it itself is worthy to occupy hours of screentime in Eva or anything else outside a DSM booklet. It's easy to say it brought down my enjoyment of the show from what could have been an 8 or more to no more than a 6. On the masturbating to an unconscious body question though, I don't know. When you think about it, it's like charging someone with a legal offense for masturbating in their home to a picture of someone (fully clothed in a non-sexual position or otherwise) who doesn't know and didn't give their consent/permission to being masturbated to. That happens probably every second of every day all around the world and probably always will, and it's not really dissimilar. |
WatchTillTandavaAug 17, 2019 11:57 AM
LunaPrecure said: YossaRedMage said: I have several problems with this "essay". Not least the use of the phrase sexual assault. It's trendy nowadays to use phrases like racism / sexual assault and other extreme vocabulary to exagerrate things, but this is outright stupid. Sexual assault has a very serious implications and shouldn't be used so flippantly. What Shinji did was gross and wrong, but it wasn't sexual assault other than in a purely technical way. What I mean is that it's is both sexual and assault, sure, but 'sexual assault' carries character judgments which are completely unfair on Shinji. Like for God's sake I can't stand this high-horse moral shame culture. Have some humanity, some sympathy. He is a very confused, horny, depressed little boy. And according to OP he already had sex with her. I had a girlfriend when I was much younger who would probably have been turned on by me doing such a thing to her. Though, again, I'm not saying it's right. It's non-consensual sexual interaction, even if not physical. Worse, she isn't even asleep but actually in a coma (right? memory a little hazy). My point is that using loaded phrases like 'sexual assult' is not only misleading and unfair on Shinji, but actually downplays the seriousness of real cases of sexual assault, much like how the word racism being used so flippantly nowadays has reduced the severity of that word also. And I want to touch on that bit about being unfair on Shinj again, because that is exactly what OP is doing througout his essay (btw, very short for an essay). Shinji isn't meant to be a morally righteous superhero type of chracter. He is supposed to be a real person. He acts like one could conceive of a real human acting in his situation. We aren't supposed morally judge him just like we aren't meant to hold him up as some kind of symbol of good. I think Anno meant for us to feel sympathy for him, to relate to him, and to appreciate a real deep character - something OP completely failed to do here. I said unconscious, that doesn’t mean asleep, just not conscious... of course I know she was in a coma. There is a law that includes ‘sexual assault with bodily fluids,’ how would you feel if someone ripped open your hospital gown & jacked off over you, while you were comatose? You would feel violated, disgusted, distrusting. There’s no way you can justify that scene & say that he did ‘the right thing.’ Are you dense? At what point did I say he did the right thing? And how would I feel? If it was my girlfriend? Wouldn't care. If I was gay and it was my boyfriend? Well, I don't know because I'm not gay, but I'm willing to bet I wouldn't care. If you actually read what I posted in full and paid attention and actually used your brain to think about it, you'd see I said very blatantly that what he did was wrong, but not on the level that the phrase 'sexual assault' indicates. |
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WatchTillTandava said: Voted on not liking him, yes. I don't hate Shinji, but find everything about his thought process and actions extremely annoying and unrelatable on a fundamental level. What's more, the critics of this point of view from within Eva fandom usually respond with a bunch of strawman arguments about how you or the average person would be terrified to pilot a mech too as a 14 year-old boy. That isn't the point. That isn't what I and probably many others dislike about him at all and furthermore, a character in no way has to be a mirror of my own beliefs, actions, or experiences,so his bravery or lack thereof or my own is completely beside the point. Would never dislike a character (as far as the writing/portrayal of said character) for something so trivial. What I dislike is his self-loathing complex to the point where the last third of the show has to seemingly revolve around it entirely. I dislike what it did for the development of other characters and other plot threads in the show, and I can never understand this crippling and pervasive guilt, self-loathing, and anxiety to the point of feeling unworthy to even live your life without permission and fear of judgment from others bordering on paralysis. Like, I understand it theoretically, but I don't think it itself is worthy to occupy hours of screentime in Eva or anything else outside a DSM booklet. It's easy to say it brought down my enjoyment of the show from what could have been an 8 or more to no more than a 6. I think it does, it what makes Shinji unique in a sea of the same MC reskinned in every other anime |
WatchTillTandava said: Voted on not liking him, yes. I don't hate Shinji, but find everything about his thought process and actions extremely annoying and unrelatable on a fundamental level. What's more, the critics of this point of view from within Eva fandom usually respond with a bunch of strawman arguments about how you or the average person would be terrified to pilot a mech too as a 14 year-old boy. That isn't the point. That isn't what I and probably many others dislike about him at all and furthermore, a character in no way has to be a mirror of my own beliefs, actions, or experiences,so his bravery or lack thereof or my own is completely beside the point. Would never dislike a character (as far as the writing/portrayal of said character) for something so trivial. What I dislike is his self-loathing complex to the point where the last third of the show has to seemingly revolve around it entirely. I dislike what it did for the development of other characters and other plot threads in the show, and I can never understand this crippling and pervasive guilt, self-loathing, and anxiety to the point of feeling unworthy to even live your life without permission and fear of judgment from others bordering on paralysis. Like, I understand it theoretically, but I don't think it itself is worthy to occupy hours of screentime in Eva or anything else outside a DSM booklet. It's easy to say it brought down my enjoyment of the show from what could have been an 8 or more to no more than a 6. Well said, there was part that irked me in the series (don’t remember which episode particularly), but Shinji’s playing his cello & he’s asked, “Why do you practice everyday? Do you enjoy playing cello?” & he’s like, “Not really, but no one ever told me to stop playing.” He even needs validation to stop doing something that he doesn’t enjoy. |
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KIMG said: Thank God I dropped the serie on the 16th episode. 16th episode is where the anime finally becoming good, one by one after that you will (or at least I did) find great episodes, first 15 episodes are ordinary mecha anime. I stopped reading the essay when it said that Shinji and Asuka having sex in tv series and Asuka was pregnant and all scenes in EoE were real. |
"The Slave is the have-not, the oppressed one with nothing to spare. But because the Slave is in that despairing situation, having nothing, it can kill the Emperor !" |
YossaRedMage said: LunaPrecure said: I said unconscious, that doesn’t mean asleep, just not conscious... of course I know she was in a coma. There is a law that includes ‘sexual assault with bodily fluids,’ how would you feel if someone ripped open your hospital gown & jacked off over you, while you were comatose? You would feel violated, disgusted, distrusting. There’s no way you can justify that scene & say that he did ‘the right thing.’ Are you dense? At what point did I say he did the right thing? And how would I feel? If it was my girlfriend? Wouldn't care. If I was gay and it was my boyfriend? Well, I don't know because I'm not gay, but I'm willing to bet I wouldn't care. If you actually read what I posted in full and paid attention and actually used your brain to think about it, you'd see I said very blatantly that what he did was wrong, but not on the level that the phrase 'sexual assault' indicates. If I were her & he had just strangled me & jacked off to my body while I was practically dead, I would feel like he only valued me for my looks. |
JuneNephthysAug 17, 2019 12:21 PM
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LunaPrecure said: WatchTillTandava said: Voted on not liking him, yes. I don't hate Shinji, but find everything about his thought process and actions extremely annoying and unrelatable on a fundamental level. What's more, the critics of this point of view from within Eva fandom usually respond with a bunch of strawman arguments about how you or the average person would be terrified to pilot a mech too as a 14 year-old boy. That isn't the point. That isn't what I and probably many others dislike about him at all and furthermore, a character in no way has to be a mirror of my own beliefs, actions, or experiences,so his bravery or lack thereof or my own is completely beside the point. Would never dislike a character (as far as the writing/portrayal of said character) for something so trivial. What I dislike is his self-loathing complex to the point where the last third of the show has to seemingly revolve around it entirely. I dislike what it did for the development of other characters and other plot threads in the show, and I can never understand this crippling and pervasive guilt, self-loathing, and anxiety to the point of feeling unworthy to even live your life without permission and fear of judgment from others bordering on paralysis. Like, I understand it theoretically, but I don't think it itself is worthy to occupy hours of screentime in Eva or anything else outside a DSM booklet. It's easy to say it brought down my enjoyment of the show from what could have been an 8 or more to no more than a 6. Well said, there was part that irked me in the series (don’t remember which episode particularly), but Shinji’s playing his cello & he’s asked, “Why do you practice everyday? Do you enjoy playing cello?” & he’s like, “Not really, but no one ever told me to stop playing.” He even needs validation to stop doing something that he doesn’t enjoy. Because he is mentally ill. His whole character is revolved around that. He needs help and never receives it. |
Jim_Heart said: KIMG said: Thank God I dropped the serie on the 16th episode. 16th episode is where the anime finally becoming good, one by one after that you will (or at least I) find great episodes, first 15 episodes are ordinary mecha anime. I stopped reading the essay when it said that Shinji and Asuka having sex in tv series and Asuka was pregnant and all scenes in EoE were real. Why is that so egregious when similar scenes were mirrored in the Director’s Cut? |
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StorySoFar said: LunaPrecure said: Well said, there was part that irked me in the series (don’t remember which episode particularly), but Shinji’s playing his cello & he’s asked, “Why do you practice everyday? Do you enjoy playing cello?” & he’s like, “Not really, but no one ever told me to stop playing.” He even needs validation to stop doing something that he doesn’t enjoy. Because he is mentally ill. His whole character is revolved around that. He needs hep and never receives it. I think that scene was very well-written, hence me remembering it, & I do agree that Shinji is mentally ill, he has severe PTSD at the very least. |
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Irishchatter said: Loved the essay, I have him as one of my hated characters list https://www.anime-planet.com/users/Irishchatter/hates/characters Thank you, I worked hard to compile my thoughts on it. |
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I’m honestly really shocked that someone hasn’t torn me a new one for saying that Kaworu had bad intentions (˶‾᷄ ⁻̫ ‾᷅˵) |
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