MovieChat Forums > Evangelion Shin Gekijôban: Ha (2009) Discussion > Am I the only one what would have liked ...

Am I the only one what would have liked it if Shinji complained more?

posted 11 years ago by macedoniall
8 replies | jump to latest

I don't know if I am in the minority but I love Shinji Ikari, I think he is the single best anime protagonist. I understand people dont like his "emo side" if thats what you call it? I personally understand his problems completely and it makes sense why he acts the way he does. What attracts me to his character is that he is not some macho Goku type of character and I know thats why people don't like him.

I think its because we all want to be like Goku or say Naruto, they are people to aspire to, we want to be like them. Shinji on the other hand is the person we already are, I know for a fact if you were a 14 year old kid and you were forced to go and polite a robot without any training at all and expect to fight a giant monster which could kill you and if you failed the entire world will be destroyed. I bet anyone would be whining and freaking out, it's a scary situation and way to much responsibility to put on a child.

I found that these Rebuild films are trying to make Shinji more appealing to the current audience, now while I still love Shinji in these movies and am rooting for him I sort of wish he was more of his old character. But this is not the original series and they cannot add in everything that the show had. I wish that Shinji's progression from an uncertain child to a more matured adult was more apparent than the sudden change we get in the second film.

I will not fear, fear is the mind killer

[–] OneFilmLover 11 years ago

You'll get you're wish in the third film. Personally I find the third film to be the best & most impressive of the Rebuild franchise so far.

... Which of course means a lot of traditional anime fans who want more "Cuteness" & "Heroes Kickass" flat out hate the new movie.

There. It's on the Internet. Thus it's official

[–] macedoniall 11 years ago

I actually just watched Q and I personally think it's the best Rebuild film so far. It was a nice return to what Eva usually is

I will not fear, fear is the mind killer

[–] ChibaCityBlues 11 years ago

In a sense, I did wish that Shinji complained a little more . . . about how others treated him. Take, for example, his relationship with Asuka; basically, all she does is treat him like horseplop, and he's a gutless doormat who sits down and takes it. In the original series, the two seemed like genuine foils to each other. Here, it seems more like a victim-bully relationship. From both a comedic and narrative standpoint, its ineffective and just plain annoying.

[–] GoodRed 11 years ago

Yeah, in the first half of the series Shinji was aggressive with Asuka and it isn't until things start breaking down severely (Kaji dying, Asuka's synch tests continually failing, her brewing jealousy of Shinji and hatred of Rei, growing tension at Misato's apartment, etc) that he kind of just stops talking to her, seeing how she starts to shun all of his efforts by that point. In Rebuild he's completely demure/quiet with her from the start, which is weird because, even though she introduces herself more harshly than in the series, overall this new Asuka is much less aggressive than she was in the series.

This is a side-note, but overall, I think it was a waste to have Asuka be attacked by Bardiel. She needed more time to develop, where Toji already had a friendship with Shinji.

Anywhoo, I'm also in the minority that appreciates Shinji's character. I guarantee every single 14 year-old boy in the world would act the same as his series incarnation if they were in his shoes.

[–] ChibaCityBlues 11 years ago

On the subject of Shinji, your description of his reaction to Asuka underlines why I dislike him so much in this movie: he's portrayed more than the butt of every lame joke than a struggling teenager.

As for his relationship with Asuka, it not only fails in regards to how silly its presented, but in how little light is shed on its more positive dynamics. It's apparent that Shinji eventually comes to view her as a friend... but we never see that develop! If he's grown to like her, how and why? It's never built up.

At least with him and Rei, we're clearly shown why the two like each other so much: they're shown interacting more, and in a far more positive light.

On that note, I never understood why people see this new Asuka as being more likable. Throughout about 90% of her screentime, all she does is scream, complain about almost everything/everyone, act needlessly violent, etc. She may have done things like this in the series, but it seemed to me to be toned down and balanced out with more amicable behavior. Here, I saw practically nothing to suggest she's much more than an obnoxious asshat.

And on top of that, she's just so ridiculously portrayed *cough* test-suit *cough* that it just increased my overall annoyance to her, even when she started to show signs of improvement near the end.

[–] kuribo4 11 years ago

Anno has said that he thinks that Shinji and himself haven't really changed since the series, and I'd say Q does it right.

[–] CountOroku01 10 years ago

People hate Goku, Naruto, Ichigo, Luffy, Kenshiro, Seiya and Ichigo because they are perfect.

People hate Shinji, Amuro and Eren because they are flawed.

Questions?

[–] Harrybalzak 10 years ago

Lies! No serious fan could like 3.0! Get out here hipster!