Neon Genesis Evangelion is one of the most influential certainly one of the most successful and most important anime of the late 20th century. This is probably what led Netflix to obtain the rights to stream the anime internationally with a brand spanking new dub/subtitle translation. I imagine most people who read this blog are already aware that this new dub/translation has quite a few problems and there are some other related licenses Netflix didn't bother to obtain (notably the cover of "Fly Me to the Moon" that plays at the end of every episode). This essay is not about the new translation's problems those are well shared and known by this point, and while there are subtle nuances to the discussion that deserve a deeper dive, there is another Evangelion related topic that has been bothering me for far longer.
Whenever I introduce, or talk about, NGE the discussion inevitably distills down to the series' primary protagonist Shinji Ikari. This is not entirely surprising as one of the many things that makes NGE unique is it's intense focus on realistic characters and character development even to the point of completely abandoning the plot in the last two episodes to instead depict an abstract connected psychological space in which the characters communicate in philosophical concepts in order to clarify and wrap up the main characters' character arcs. This was done in response to budgetary limitations, but it is telling that when faced with a limited budget the creators elected to cut nearly everything about the show out except for the characters and their arcs. Shinji Ikari always becomes the focus of my discussions of Evangelion as it seems very few fans (at least of thoes I talk to) actually like him and rather find him whiny and annoying. I am very much in the opposing camp. Not only is Shinji endearing to me, but I also feel that his is one of the most well realized and realistic characters in popular fiction, and furthermore he also serves as a rather progressive representation of masculinity.
As I mentioned previously Evangelion stands out with its realistic characters and development, and unsurprisingly a lot of that is visible in Shinji Ikari being the series' primary protagonist. Probably the most common complaint about Shinji is that he's whiny. I will not dispute this fact. However, this strikes me as a very unexamined, surface level, impression. For context Shinji Ikari is a 14 year old boy who is recruited by his estranged father to pilot a cybernetic creature (Evangelion Unit 01) in a war against "Angels" (mysterious, and devastatingly powerful creatures) who seek the destruction of mankind. Much of Shinji's "whinyness" comes from his indecision regarding being Eva Unit 01's pilot. Shinji is torn between wanting to avoid the stress of fighting to save mankind, wanting to please his father, and wanting to pursue his own happiness. This isn't resolved by Shinji simply making a decision to pilot or not pilot Unit 01, because Shinji's dilemma is a false one. There is only one answer: he must pilot Unit 01 otherwise humanity faces extinction. The root of Shinji's struggle, as I see it, is far more interesting and complex. At the beginning of the series, Shinji derives motivation from the praise of others, notably his father and the rest of the NERV staff, and his "whining" demonstrates that this motivation is insufficient for him to commit fully to his role of Eva pilot. Shinji can only do what he needs to do (pilot Eva Unit 01) when he garners motivation from himself, but he doesn't respect himself enough to get that motivation. It is through the events of the series that he learns he can define himself for himself, be a person he can respect, and motivate himself. This is an incredibly nuanced and realistic reading of a 14 year old who is discovering himself and his place in the world.
While his character flaws and arc are the primary reason I appreciate Shinji Ikari it is a nice bonus that he is a mainstream representation of non-traditional masculinity. Shinji's defined by his emotional outbursts and his passive nature. Flying completely in the face of typical sci-fi action protagonists, which are typically either completely stoic or only allowed to be snarky or angry and always seem to revel in violence, or grimly accept it. Shinji on the other hand has an emotional depth that permits him to demonstrate that being male isn't just being angry, stoic or violent, and he also fears and dislikes violence never seeming to revel or accept it. This sort of representation is needed to encourage men to act with compassion and to feel their emotions and not suppress them which can lead to depression and other such psychological problems. While it is more common in Japan to have less violent and stoic male protagonists it is still refreshing to see such a character in a series so well appreciated in the United States.
Readers who know me well may have picked up on one of the less rational reasons I like and defend Shinji Ikari. He looks, acts, and generally is, a lot like me. This extends beyond his passivity and his emotionality. Shinji has 3 primary complex relationships with other characters his age. The first two are introduced early on and seem to create a rather rote, expected, love triangle setup. Two girls in the series show a romantic interest in Shinji: Rei Ayanami and Asuka Langly Soryu. An interest that Shinji reciprocates throughout the series. They are, of course, polar opposites, Rei being quiet, and gentle, and Asuka being loud and aggressive, and the show seems to suggest that Shinji must choose Rei or Asuka. That is until the third to last episode when a mysterious boy, Kaworu Nagisa, appears. He throws a wrench into this age-old predictable romance narrative by also showing a romantic interest in Shinji (despite what Netflix may have you believe), which Shinji also reciprocates. That's right; Shinji is canonically biromantic (and presumably bisexual but c'mon these are 14 year olds get your mind out of the gutter). Speaking for myself it is incredibly gratifying to see bi representation that doesn't fall into the traps of making the character aggressively promiscuous, and polygamous. Not that there is anything wrong with those character types just that they are too often co-morbid with bisexuality/biromanticism in fiction.
Hopefully some people turned off to Evangelion by "whiny Shinji" will be encouraged by this deeper understanding of the character and what he means to so many people who see themselves in him, and hopefully I have also given long time fans a new perspective on a character many people write off as annoying. Shinji Ikari is a very special character to me and Neon Genesis Evangelion is a very special show, and I hope this has given people some insight into what makes it so.
No comments:
Post a Comment