Neon Genesis Evangelion is a mecha anime like no other, and this extends to its protagonist, Shinji Ikari. The fourteen-year-old pilot of Eva Unit-01 was a pioneer in many ways, though not always for the better.
Even to this day, Shinji remains one of the most polarizing mecha anime heroes and main characters ever seen in the medium. While some love him for subverting mecha norms, others hate him for the same reasons and more.
WARNING: Spoilers for all of Evangelion ahead.
10 Shinji Hated Piloting His Giant Robot
One of the biggest appeals of mecha anime is they let fans live out the fantasy of piloting a walking superweapon and showing how cool it would be. Since the mecha protagonist was a projection of the viewer, they were either shown enjoying their task of piloting a giant robot, or they were lionized for bearing such a burden.
Shiji's time as Unit-o1's pilot, though, was neither fun nor martyred. Not only was Shinji forced to fight horrifying Angels, but his time piloting Unit-01 was more torturous than heroic or even fun. Worse, Unit-01 was powered by his mother's tortured soul and his psyche, meaning his already troubled mental state only worsened the longer he piloted it.
9 Shinji Was Only The Hero Because He Was Manipulated Into The Role
Broadly speaking, mecha protagonists are either figuratively or literally born for their job. Sometimes destiny made sure that a certain teenager would stumble upon a legendary robot, while others were trained from birth to pilot it. Shinji, on the other hand, was basically gaslit and tricked into getting inside Eva Unit-01.
From the moment he set foot in Tokyo-3, Shinji's need for validation and his empathy towards others were used by his father Gendo to guilt him into piloting the Evangelion. This didn't just demystify the sense of duty that came with piloting a mecha, but it also intentionally robbed Shinji of any agency or heroism inherent to mecha heroes.
8 Shinji Was A Pawn In Everyone Else's Plans
Despite the complex wartime politics, mecha anime protagonists can end the war by themselves. Either they overcome these political hurdles or they single-handedly rewrite reality according to their desires. This is an extension of the mecha anime power fantasy: the ability to change the course of history for the better through sheer force of will.
Shinji is the complete opposite because he has no agency. At most, Shinji was given the illusion of free will, since everything he thought he did by his willpower, including triggering the Third Impact by saving Rei in Evangelion 2.0, was predetermined by either SEELE or Gendo. It was only in the final moments of Thrice Upon A Time that he actually made a choice for himself.
7 Shinji Ended The World More Than Once
Mecha anime are basically superhero stories, but with a giant robot instead of a superpowered person. In these stories, the heroes are tasked with saving the world and after going through intense trials and tribulations, they succeed. The apocalyptic Evangelion started out this way, but it ended with Shinji ending mankind in a fit of desperation and rage.
Specifically, Shinji chose to end human individuality in The End Of Evangelion and almost did it twice (by accident) in two out of four Rebuild Of Evangelion movies. This is an extension of Shinji's pained worldview since, unlike other mecha heroes who wanted to save people out of love, Shinji's apathy towards others devolved into hatred after everything he went through.
6 Shinji's Heroic Actions Did More Harm Than Good
Giant robots causing wanton collateral damage isn't anything new in the mecha genre, especially in grittier real robot shows. That said, such chaos is usually justified as a necessary evil for the greater good. Evangelion also delved into this, but it went a step further by showing how Shinji (un)intentionally inflicting such destruction took a toll.
Simply put, killing Angels when ordered to or being forced to watch while the Dummy Plug took over Unit-01 and almost killed Toji Suzuhara while he was in Unit-03 broke what little sanity Shinji had left. Worse, the more Shinji piloted Unit-01, the more he dragged the world closer to the Third Impact, since this was all part of SEELE's designs.
5 Shinji's Problems Weren't Solved By Piloting A Robot
While each mecha pilot has their unique personal reasons for getting in their respective robots, all their reasons can be boiled down to a simple but relatable search for meaning. By their anime's end, these pilots cast their doubts aside and embraced their destinies by either ending a brutal war or saving the world through their mechs and determination.
Similarly, Shinji only piloted Unit-01 in the hopes of finding his life's purpose or at least getting others' approval. Instead of filling a void in him, piloting the Evangelion brought Shinji more pain and strife. Even worse, it was a thankless job that only turned him into a doormat. At best, this was just another escape from confronting his emotional problems. At worst, it was a form of self-destruction.
4 Shinji Had Next To No Confidence To Speak Of
When it comes to the pantheon of anime archetypes, mecha pilots are some of the bravest. If these pilots weren't brash paragons of bravery or justice, they were naïve but genuinely heroic teenagers who just had a lot to learn about a harsh but not hopeless world. Shinji stands out because he lacks all of these ideal personality traits.
In contrast, Shinji was defined by his cowardice, self-loathing, and weak will. In fact, Shinji's most well-known quote is "I mustn't run away" and lots of screaming, not a badass battle cry. These were born from Shinji's personal problems and trauma but, unfortunately, neither Evangelion's characters nor viewers thought to sympathize with him.
3 Shinji Was As Angsty & Troubled As Any Real Teenager Would Be
One of the most enduring criticisms of Shinji is how unlikeable he is. When he wasn't bemoaning his fate, he was failing at literally every social interaction he had with love interests or friends. That said, this was all intentional on the creators' parts because they wanted Shinji to be a realistic depiction of a teenager, not an idealized one.
Normally, mecha heroes would be amazing avatars and glamorized self-inserts who viewers could project themselves into. Shinji, meanwhile, was made as a critical reflection and examination of the audience's worst aspects. Where some viewers appreciated this psychoanalysis, others were infuriated that they were denied of their mecha escapism.
2 Shinji's Character Arc Was About Self-Acceptance, Not Becoming A War Hero
Whether it was of the super or real variety, mecha anime are war stories at heart. Naturally, their heroes' arcs revolved around coming to terms with their duties, the horrors of war, and using their immense power to end the conflict. By Evangelion's end, Shinji's biggest challenge was himself, not Angels or the apocalypse.
In all three of Evangelion's endings, Shinji closed his story by realizing that he was worthy of love and of loving others, especially himself. Similarly, all three timelines basically forgot about the anime's inciting premise (namely stopping the Third Impact by defeating the Angels) because the anime prioritized Shinji's mental health above all else.
1 Shinji Literally Ended His Mecha Anime Franchise
From the very beginning, Evangelion creator Hideaki Anno made the anime as a criticism of escapism as viewed through an otaku's lens and interests. This unsubtle subtext became text in the series finale, Thrice Upon A Time, where Shinji used the powers of Human Instrumentality to rewrite his world into one without Evas.
Where other mecha heroes validated their respective franchise's nostalgia by simply existing, Shinji literally killed the very anime franchise that made him a household name - a feat no other mecha hero or anime character has accomplished. Not only that, but this was depicted as a good thing, since it helped Shinji put long-gestating issues to rest and move on from an otaku's dream world that held him back.