Throughout the entire Evangelion franchise, Shinji Ikari, the protagonist, is a securely flawed graphic symbol. He constantly makes bad decisions both for his own selfish reasons and besides because he genuinely feels he's doing the right thing. In the cease, Shinji is the key to making everything right again, and while he does get the ending that he deserves, the path to get at that place is a rough i.

From the beginning of the series, Shinji is inappreciably a likable protagonist. Even so, the audience sympathizes with him anyway, due to his father's negligence and the way he views Shinji more equally a tool to use to get what he wants, rather than his ain kid. Simply thanks to Shinji's knack for poor determination-making, he is a hard grapheme to root for sometimes.

x Shinji Refuses To Pilot The Evangelion

Wide Shot of Eva Unit-01 in LCL Liquid, While Shinji, Misato, and Ritsuko Look On NGE

In the opening scenes of both the original anime and the Rebuild films, Shinji is brought to NERV headquarters with the intention of him piloting Evangelion Unit-01. However, after hearing his father say he only summoned Shinji because he had a utilise for him, Shinji absolutely refuses to pilot.

Fifty-fifty with the fate of humanity in his hands, Shinji does not want to give in to his father. It is non until the severely injured Rei Ayanami enters that Shinji changes his mind. Upon realizing the alternative is to have this wounded teenage girl pilot, Shinji agrees to accept control of Unit-01.

9 Shinji Assaults Rei

Close-Up Shot of Rei Ayanami's Eyes From Evangelion

After Shinji joins NERV, he and Rei are issued new ID badges which requite them access to the organization'south headquarters. Misato gives Shinji Rei's badge, and he decides to head over to her apartment start matter in the morning to give it to her. But instead of knocking and waiting to be invited in, Shinji just goes in on his own.

Upon entering, he starts rummaging through her things and tries on a pair of cleaved glasses. A nude Rei comes from backside him and takes the glasses off his face up. In his stupor, Shinji falls on superlative of her, with i manus landing on her bare chest. Rei is completely unphased, merely that does not excuse the fact that now, Shinji has not only broken into her apartment but sexually assaulted her as well.

8 Shinji Hardly Ever Stands Up For Himself

Evangelion Toji Holds Shinji by His Collar, While an Injured Shinji Looks Down

Shinji is a pushover of a grapheme. Approaching the opening of the series from another angle, Shinji tries to stand up up to his father when he is first summoned to pilot Unit-01 simply gives in to his father's wishes when he sees the severely injured Rei.

This trend continues throughout both the anime and the Rebuild film series when Shinji allows himself to be bullied by Toji and Asuka. He also obeys his male parent unquestioningly in Evangelion three.0, despite warnings from his closest allies.

7 Shinji Nearly Causes The Death Of A Friend

Close-Up of Eva Unit-01's Head as It Crushes Unit-03's Plug in its Jaws, and LCL Liquid Spills Out NGE

In both the original anime and the Rebuild films, Unit-03 is an experimental Evangelion Unit. In the original series, Shinji's classmate, Toji Suzahara, is selected to airplane pilot the mecha. In Evangelion 2.0: You lot Can (Not) Advance, Asuka is chosen equally the pilot. Both versions of the series describe Unit-03 morphing into an Angel, while its airplane pilot is trapped inside.

To stop the Affections from causing farther mayhem, Shinji is dispatched in Unit-01 to fight Unit-03. Even so, Shinji is hesitant to assault, as he knows there is a human being trapped inside the robot. He refuses to engage, causing Gendo to remotely accept control of Unit-01 and obliterate the Affections.

Rather than take down the Eva on his own terms, Shinji is instead forced to lookout as his father brutally neutralizes the threat, nigh killing the pilot inside. If Shinji had but taken care of things himself, he could accept tried to finish the Angel without harming Toji/Asuka, simply he chose to practise naught and let Gendo to handle the state of affairs in his own cold, blah manner.

6 Shinji Feels Deplorable For Himself At The End Of Evangelion

Evangelion Close-Up of Shinji with Tears in Eyes as Misato's Hands Cup His Face

The End of Evangelion is a tragic pic, and Shinji does not assist with that tone. He spends much of the film feeling sad for himself and not doing anything to assistance avoid the impending Third Impact. Fifty-fifty subsequently being rescued by Misato and watching her bleed out in front of him, he even so just cries and makes the state of affairs about himself.

Later on her decease, Shinji finally gets his deed together and pilots Unit-01. However, while he was wallowing in cocky-pity, Asuka was killed and Rei had been busy bringing humanity to an end.

5 Shinji Doesn't Have Action For Most Of Evangelion 3.0+one.0

Shinji From Evangelion Sits With His Arms Crossed on His Knees, Looking at the Ground

Later on causing not only 1 but two cataclysmic events, and just mostly acting confronting the interests of humanity, Shinji falls into a low. He spends the majority of the film, Evangelion 3.0+1.0: Thrice Upon a Time, feeling sorry for himself.

He spends his days lying on the flooring of Kensuke's home, staring into space. Asuka somewhen becomes fed up with him and force-feeds him so that he doesn't starve himself to decease. When he does somewhen manage to leave the house, he starts spending his time at a broken-down building by the water, still feeling deplorable for himself and not helping anyone.

4 Shinji Initiates The 3rd Bear upon

Evangelion Close-Up of Shinji Embracing Rei As They Are Both Bathed in Light

At the end of Evangelion 2.0: You Can (Non) Advance, Shinji witnesses Rei existence absorbed by an Affections and decides to pilot Unit-01 to impale it and salvage her. He does this by reaching inside the Angel to grab her, which also causes the Affections and Unit-00 to merge with Unit-01.

As the Eva becomes a new divine existence, it initiates the Third Impact. Shinji'southward selfish desire to save Rei causes the first of the stop of the world.

iii Shinji Refuses To Listen To Asuka & Misato

Asuka from Evangelion With an Eyepatch Looking into Camera as Wind Blows Her Hair

Upon awakening in Evangelion 3.0: Yous Can (Not) Redo, Shinji discovers that xiv years have passed since the Third Impact. Shinji shows almost no remorse for this human activity and wants nothing more to spring back into the pilot's seat of Eva Unit-01.

However, Misato and Asuka inform him that if he pilots any Eva units once again, he will exist killed by the explosive collar they've put around his neck. Considering of what happened the concluding time he piloted, they cannot chance allowing him to brand things worse.

Instead, Shinji turns on them and flees with Rei to rejoin Gendo and NERV. This leads to a series of events in which Shinji is then responsible for the Fourth Impact.

ii Shinji Is Responsible For The Fourth Impact

Eva Unit-13 Glows White While Floating and Holding the Spears of Cassius & Longinus NGE

Despite plenty of warnings from not only Misato and Asuka but also Mari, and eventually Kaworu himself, Shinji pilots the newly constructed Unit-13 to retrieve the Spears of Cassius and Longinus. During the mission, Shinji and Kaworu are attacked by Asuka and Mari who are trying to stop them.

Even as Kaworu comes to the realization of what they are about to do, Shinji persists as he merely wants to please Rei and his father. Upon removal of the spears, the Fourth Impact is initiated, and Shinji once once again becomes responsible for a cataclysmic effect thanks to his selfish desires.

1 Shinji Is A Debauchee

Wide Shot of Shinji from Evangelion Standing at Asuka's Bedside in the Hospital While Asuka is in a Coma

The Cease of Evangelion opens with maybe one of the most notorious scenes in anime. Post-obit the events of the main series, Asuka is hospitalized and in a coma. Shinji, believing all to be lost, visits Asuka in the hospital and pleads with her to wake up and save the earth.

While shaking her unconscious body, her hospital gown breaks open, exposing her breasts. Shinji so uses this opportunity to pleasure himself. He admits to his icky actions moments afterward, but it does not alibi them in any way.

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