Shinji

• Name: Shinji Ikari (碇 シンジ)
• Date of birth: June 6th, 2001
• Relatives: Gendo Ikari, Yui Ikari (deceased)
• Nationality: Japanese
• Ethnicity: Japanese
• Language(s) spoken: Japanese
• Blood type: A
• Astrological sign: Gemini
• First appearance: episode 1

Personal history

Shinji lost his mother when he was still a kid and lived for 11 years with his sensei i because his father Gendo refused to take care of him. At fourteen years old he was summoned by Gendo, now chief commander of secret agency Nerv, just when the 3rd Angel came to attack and thus became an Evangelion pilot.

In Neo-Tokyo-3 he moves in with his guardian Katsuragi Misato, and they are later joined by Asuka. Shinji is terribly shy, introverted and has a very low self-esteem. Many times he is shown listening to his SDAT player, estranging himself from the outer world. He is so weak at self-expression and communication with others, that he frequently opts to avoid problems rather than face them.

NERV history

Shinji arrived in Tokyo-3 after receiving a letter from his father. Shinji is the 3rd Children, and he has been assigned to Evangelion Unit 01. Unlike other pilots who need to be trained in order to do their job, Shinji seems naturally gifted. Since the very first time he stepped into his Evangelion, he was immediately capable of reaching incredibly high levels of synchronization.

After a lively meeting with Misato, Shinji discovers the reason why his father told him to come to Neo-Tokyo 3. An Angel attacked the city and the only Evangelion pilot available, Rei Ayanami, was badly injured during the battle. At first he doesn’t want to obey his orders, his father contacted him after years just because he needed a replacement pilot. However, when he sees that Rei is in no condition to resume the fight he decides to put aside his hatred, pilot the Evangelion and battle the Angel.

Personality

As Ritsuko Akagi rightfully said, Shinji has the so-called hedgehog dilemma. He tries to avoid human contact at all cost because he is both scared to be hurt by others and scared to hurt others. Shinji is extremely shy, introverted and terribly insecure. He tends to do what he is ordered, and rarely disobeys to his superiors.

Shinji’s behaviour and way of living was certainly influenced by his childhood. His parents worked for Project E, but when Yui died Gendo refused to take his son with him and preferred to continue working on the project. Shinji was abandoned at four years old and left with his sensei. It shouldn’t come as a surprise that he prefers to live in his world, rather than establishing relationships. Being abandoned probably drove Shinji to think he is unworthy of people’s attention.