Tarikul said:ScaredSilent said:probably because he's one of the best written anime character of all time, in terms of explicit depth alone i can say Shinji clears 80%-90% anime characters.
and the other reason is probably, because half of the community are mentally unstable and they can relate to Shinji, and it's only normal to symphasize if you see someone that has a similarity to yourself.
i dunno what i'm sayin, anyway ya'll probably understand what i'm talking about.
jerking on a girl who is admitted on ICU fighting for her life, you're saying he's one of the best well written character!?!? my friend it's your pathetic mentality, which makes you relate to him
Context is important. It wasn’t just some random scene for shock value, in my opinion. Shinji is characterised by escapism/inaction. Shinji viewed his abandonment as a child as proof of being unloved, and chalked it down to him being useless and inadequate. It is due to this that he fears his own personhood, as him being left to take care of himself would result in disaster (which is why he shouts “don’t kill me” when Asuka rejects him in EoE). As a defence mechanism he projects his self-loathing onto the world. He crafts this belief that the reason behind his unhappiness is that everybody hates him, and if he were to be loved by them then it would make him happy. As Shinji feels that his parents didn’t love him due to him being useless, he tries to make himself useful. Shinji believes that if he’s useful to others, and is not an inconvenience to them, then the world will change and people will love him (especially his father), making him happy. This is why he endures piloting the Eva even though it hurts him physically and mentally. He thinks he can’t be of any value to others besides being useful to them. This is a very destructive mindset. Shinji is torturing himself by sabotaging his own mental health. That’s his character. He’s ruled by destructive urges. We only don’t notice it because the majority of the time his destruction is focused inwards, and is done through neglecting his own internal desires.
Fast forward to EoE and Shinji has been through a lot. Forcing himself to remain dedicated to piloting the Eva despite having no internal motivation to do so (or at least no identified motivation) is stressful in its own right, let alone for a 14 year old child. He has endured multiple distressing events from episodes 16-24, most of which he probably has not processed, his music player is broken, and all of those that he cared for are distant in one way or another (which he likely views as being rejected/abandoned, considering how he thought that doing what they wanted would ensure their company), leaving him to wallow in his own thoughts, which likely heightens his anxiety and stress. Combine that with the fact that Shinji craves and is dependent on others for affection, attention, approval, acceptance and overall relief from loneliness and an escape from his own personhood, it means that Shinji’s overall sense of security and stability is gone. When people are that anxious and insecure with themselves, their conscience is destabilised and subconscious feelings such as anger and resentment (which can be focused inwards or outwards, or both) manifest, as do impulsive urges to relieve/satisfy those feelings. As a result, people who are as distressed as Shinji is may not act in accordance to their morals or values but rather in accordance to their feelings, leading some to act in risky, destructive and impulsive ways. It can be self-destructive (i.e. drug abuse, alcohol abuse, gambling, all of which lead to addictions) or outwardly destructive (i.e. vitriol, assault, thievery, pandemonium, sexual abuse or other criminal acts) or both (i.e. excessive unprotected sex). The way in which these impulses take form depends on the person themselves. In the case of Shinji, he is desperately seeking a way of escape from his self-responsibility (which to him is life-threatening), or more importantly the fear of it. His emotions are superseding his morals. His irrationality should be evident in the fact that he’s shaking an unconscious girl in an attempt to wake her up, which obviously does not work. He’s desperate for some sort of stimulation. When he reveals her breasts, this desperation for communication morphs into one of sexual stimulation (which is not too farfetched considering the fact that he’s a mentally ill child going through puberty) and he gives in to his impulses. The hands are a motif through the series. We often see characters use their hands as a means of reaching out to others, helping others, hurting others. They’re an essential part of forming bonds with others. By ejaculating on his hand, he has desecrated a means of reaching out to others. This sets the tone of the film, where Shinji is closing himself off from others in favour of escape. Which is literally what he does when he triggers instrumentality. His actions are immoral extreme, but I would not say that it’s bad writing. The emotions that drive his actions are very human. |
