Before his transfer to Tokyo-3 and his involvement with NERV, Shinji Ikari simply drifted. Being abandoned when he was only 4 years old by his father after the death of his mother in an experiment left a scar on his psyche – he cut himself off from the world, quietly doing as he was told to get by. He himself would admit to “having no cherished dreams or ambitions. I don’t aspire to any career or profession in the future. In the first 14 years of my life, things always happen as they had to happen. And things will probably continue in the same way.”
To dismiss this as pessimism would be inaccurate. Shinji just absolved from responsibility, took no stand for himself, and accepted the decisions of his aunt and uncle – with whom he lived – without question. “It’s easier that way”. He avoided conflict by submitting to anyone’s authority. And, if not for his arrival at Tokyo-3, this is how he would have stayed.
That isn’t to say that immediately after defeating his first (though technically the third) Angel Shinji quiet character is replaced by a typical “hero” persona, beaming Misato confident smiles and thumbs-ups every time he strides into combat. Far from it. Shinji, at his core, is a quiet and introspective character. Dr. Ritsuko Akagi speculates once that he is the embodiment of “Hedgehogs Dilemma” syndrome – though a hedgehog may want to become friends with another hedgehog, they can’t become close because of their spines. Shinji wants to get closer to his classmates and colleagues at NERV though he can’t handle getting hurt by their emotional ‘spines’.
Over time, however, Shinji’s character opens up when he realises that not everyone is out there to hurt him. Touji Suzuhara and Kensuke Aida are two prime examples of this – despite getting off to a rocky start (no joke intended!) the three become fast friends. Out of this realisation stems self-confidence, and even though it grows slowly and never quite reaches Asuka’s level through the series Shinji takes on more and more tasks with acceptance instead of timid reluctance. The growth of Shinji’s character and his relationships with others is one of the focal points of the series.
In terms of piloting skills Shinji ranks in second place. He is, after all, a rookie, and constantly insists it’s not something that comes naturally to him. He also admits to having no particular reason to piloting Unit-01. Even though his synch-ratio secretly impresses the number one pilot, Asuka Sohryu, his skills in piloting realistically don’t come close. His solo successes in defeating the Angels he had can generally be attributed to his unique relationship to Unit-01, which we will cover at some other point, and whilst Asuka’s solo successes are fewer and less dramatic, her truly lethal skills are demonstrated in the “End of Evangelion” film. In standard battle, engaging Angels alongside one or both of Units-00 and -02, Shinji’s performance is as required, no more, no less, displaying no particular style or flair for combat.
The series Shin Seiki Evangelion – which roughly translates as “The Gospel of the New Century” – has often be heralded as one of the most captivating and in-depth characters in the history of Anime, and the main character in this masterpiece is undoubtedly Shinji Ikari. It is no surprise that, just as the series itself is not a typical ‘mecha’ Anime, the main character is not a typical ‘hero’. Shinji is just as human, or perhaps more so, than you and I.
