Throughout the entire Evangelion franchise, Shinji Ikari, the protagonist, is a deeply flawed character. He constantly makes bad decisions both for his own selfish reasons and also because he genuinely feels he's doing the right thing. In the end, Shinji is the key to making everything right again, and while he does get the ending that he deserves, the path to get there is a rough one.
From the beginning of the series, Shinji is hardly a likable protagonist. However, the audience sympathizes with him anyway, due to his father's negligence and the way he views Shinji more as a tool to use to get what he wants, rather than his own child. But thanks to Shinji's knack for poor decision-making, he is a hard character to root for sometimes.
10 Shinji Refuses To Pilot The Evangelion
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 use for him, Shinji absolutely refuses to pilot.
Even with the fate of humanity in his hands, Shinji does not want to give in to his father. It is not 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 take control of Unit-01.
9 Shinji Assaults Rei
After Shinji joins NERV, he and Rei are issued new ID badges which give them access to the organization's headquarters. Misato gives Shinji Rei's badge, and he decides to head over to her apartment first thing 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 broken glasses. A nude Rei comes from behind him and takes the glasses off his face. In his shock, Shinji falls on top of her, with one hand landing on her bare breast. Rei is completely unphased, but 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
Shinji is a pushover of a character. Approaching the opening of the series from another angle, Shinji tries to stand up to his father when he is first summoned to pilot Unit-01 but 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 father unquestioningly in Evangelion 3.0, despite warnings from his closest allies.
7 Shinji Nearly Causes The Death Of A Friend
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 pilot the mecha. In Evangelion 2.0: You Can (Not) Advance, Asuka is chosen as the pilot. Both versions of the series depict Unit-03 morphing into an Angel, while its pilot is trapped inside.
To stop the Angel from causing further mayhem, Shinji is dispatched in Unit-01 to fight Unit-03. However, Shinji is hesitant to attack, as he knows there is a human being trapped inside the robot. He refuses to engage, causing Gendo to remotely take control of Unit-01 and obliterate the Angel.
Rather than take down the Eva on his own terms, Shinji is instead forced to watch as his father brutally neutralizes the threat, nearly killing the pilot inside. If Shinji had just taken care of things himself, he could have tried to stop the Angel without harming Toji/Asuka, but he chose to do nothing and allow Gendo to handle the situation in his own cold, apathetic manner.
6 Shinji Feels Sorry For Himself At The End Of Evangelion
The End of Evangelion is a tragic film, and Shinji does not help with that tone. He spends much of the film feeling sorry for himself and not doing anything to help avoid the impending Third Impact. Even after being rescued by Misato and watching her bleed out in front of him, he still just cries and makes the situation about himself.
After her death, Shinji finally gets his act together and pilots Unit-01. However, while he was wallowing in self-pity, Asuka was killed and Rei had been busy bringing humanity to an end.
5 Shinji Doesn't Take Action For Most Of Evangelion 3.0+1.0
After causing not only one but two cataclysmic events, and just generally acting against the interests of humanity, Shinji falls into a depression. 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 floor of Kensuke's home, staring into space. Asuka eventually becomes fed up with him and force-feeds him so that he doesn't starve himself to death. When he does eventually manage to leave the house, he starts spending his time at a broken-down building by the water, still feeling sorry for himself and not helping anyone.
4 Shinji Initiates The Third Impact
At the end of Evangelion 2.0: You Can (Not) Advance, Shinji witnesses Rei being absorbed by an Angel and decides to pilot Unit-01 to kill it and save her. He does this by reaching inside the Angel to grab her, which also causes the Angel and Unit-00 to merge with Unit-01.
As the Eva becomes a new divine being, it initiates the Third Impact. Shinji's selfish desire to save Rei causes the beginning of the end of the world.
3 Shinji Refuses To Listen To Asuka & Misato
Upon awakening in Evangelion 3.0: You Can (Not) Redo, Shinji discovers that 14 years have passed since the Third Impact. Shinji shows almost no remorse for this act and wants nothing more than to jump back into the pilot's seat of Eva Unit-01.
However, Misato and Asuka inform him that if he pilots any Eva units again, he will be killed by the explosive collar they've put around his neck. Because of what happened the last time he piloted, they cannot risk allowing him to make 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.
2 Shinji Is Responsible For The Fourth Impact
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 only wants to please Rei and his father. Upon removal of the spears, the Fourth Impact is initiated, and Shinji once again becomes responsible for a cataclysmic event thanks to his selfish desires.
1 Shinji Is A Pervert
The End of Evangelion opens with possibly one of the most notorious scenes in anime. Following 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 world.
While shaking her unconscious body, her hospital gown breaks open, exposing her breasts. Shinji then uses this opportunity to pleasure himself. He admits to his disgusting actions moments later, but it does not excuse them in any way.