Nearly 30 years since its premiere,Neon Genesis Evangelionremains one of the most popular and successful franchises in anime. Its iconic characters are as recognizable as the giant mechs they pilot, and have been kept relevant bya series of theatrical filmsthat finally wrapped up in 2021. Each teenage pilot helped to popularize their own character archetype, from the dejected protagonist, to the aloof blue-haired girl and the tsundere.
However, for as influential and popular asEvangelion’s characters have been for the better part of three decades,the most important cast member is also the most divisive. Shinji’s reputation as the series' whiny protagonist precedes him, and time hasn’t helped much in cleaning up his image. Countless anime fans continue to label the pilot of Evangelion Unit-01 one of theart form’s worst protagonists ever, which has proven only one thing:Shinji is entirely misunderstood.
Shinji Is One of the Most Divisive Protagonists in Anime History
Evangelion’s Main Character Has Never Been Universally Liked
From the moment Shinji is introduced,Evangelionmakes it clear that he isn’t a typical hero. He’s quiet and reserved, and refuses to pilot the Evangelion upon arriving at NERV headquarters. Only when he seesan injured Rei, and tells himself repeatedly not to run away, does he agree to take part in the battle.Truth be told, Shinji isn’t much of a hero at all, and rather is a lost and broken teenager who’s been tasked with saving the entire human race from monstrous beings called Angels.
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While fans of the series like and can identify with Shinji, a large portion of the anime communitybelieves he’s just a whiny, ineffective protagonist, not taking into account that he’s a struggling child who has no choice but to risk both his life and the lives of others for a cause he isn’t sure he cares about. To dislike Shinji is to dislikeEvangelionas a whole, and to dismiss him as simply whiny is to misunderstand both the character and the series. He isn’t just another run-of-the-mill shōnen hero, and was never meant to be.
Evangelion Isn’t Shōnen, and Shinji Isn’t a Shōnen Hero
Shinji Has Been Mischaracterized for Decades
It’s likely thatEvangelion’s sudden and jarring tonal shift is to blame for much of the criticism hurled towards Shinji. In the series' opening portions, it doesn’t differ much from a typical, albeit visually pretty,mecha anime, and the series' iconic sixth episode offers no indication of that changing. In fact, Shinji’s last-minute heroics and smooth dialogue with Rei seem to suggest that he is on some sort of path towards becoming the hero everyone expects him to be.That all changes, along with the very nature ofEvangelion, when Asuka strikes.
The arrival of Evangelion Unit-02’s pilot begins the show’s shift from monster-of-the-week battles to deep dives into the characters' psyches and exploration into the philosophy of Arthur Schopenhauer. By the time Kaworu is introduced into the narrative, Shinji is so battered and traumatized that he clings desperately to the only person who shows him any affection. And when that person turns out to be an Angel,he loses what little reason for living he had left.
Evangelionisn’t a by-the-numbers shōnen action series, and Shinji isn’t a shōnen hero. By its end, the series resembles psychological horror more than it does mecha. Unlike other anime protagonists, there isn’t some goal Shinji is after. He doesn’t want to become the best pilot, and he doesn’t fight for some virtuous reason.Instead, he simply wants to understand and be understood by others. He wants to be cared for.
Despite how it may seem, given its stylish mechs and apocalyptic monsters,Evangelionisn’t about the fighting or the spectacle, it’s about the characters taking part in it. And though he’s often singled out,Shinji might just be the most normal ofEvangelion’s characters.
Shinji Might Be Evangelion’s Most Normal Character
The Pilot Isn’t the Only Troubled Cast Member
By the timeNeon Genesis Evangelionreaches its final act, Shinji has given up entirely on living, and the Human Instrumentality Project during episodes #25 and #26 commences.He isn’t the only one either, as Asuka and Misato are shown working through their own issues alongside him. Asuka is comatose, having also given up by the finale, while Misato deals with her grief over the loss of Kaji among other troubles. Rei, the last of the characters involved, deals with her identity as just another clone in a series of them.
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Evangelion has multiple endings, though 1997’s The End of Evangelion did it best, and it stands out for being the darkest even in a bleak franchise.
Of the four main characters, it’s arguable Shinji and Asuka are the most normal, having far more in common than they’d ever admit. However, it’s rare that Asuka receives criticism for acting the same way Shinji does throughout the show’s second half. As 14-year-olds attempting to save the world, who wind up central to an operation they had little idea about,they’re both completely justified in acting the way they do. It’s far more realistic for someone like Shinji to collapse under the weight of piloting an Evangelion than thrive and become a hero.
Evangelion Has Survived Because of How Human Its Characters Are
It’s easy for viewers to point at Shinji and call him whiny or a bad protagonist. In fact, it’s somewhat poetic given the character’s lack of desire to be where he is and need for reassurance that he’s allowed to exist.ButEvangeliononly works because of how deeply flawed and human its characters are. It isn’t a series about how the hero overcomes the villain and becomes the best version of himself. Shinji and the rest of the cast are on journeys of self-discovery, coming to understand how to live alongside others.
Neon Genesis Evangelionhassurvived as long as it hasbecause the viewer can identify with its struggling characters. Everyone has felt as though they haven’t belonged or understood their place in the world, and Shinji is the embodiment of those feelings. By the end, he learns the need for people to try to communicate and live with one another,even if doing so might result in pain. For the story the series tells and the character he’s supposed to be, Shinji has never been a bad character.
Neon Genesis Evangelion
Cast
Neon Genesis Evangelion is a Japanese animated television series created by Hideaki Anno. The show follows teenagers piloting giant mechs called Evangelions, tasked with defending Earth from mysterious beings known as Angels. As they confront these threats, they also grapple with personal and psychological issues.
