History HoYay / NeonGenesisEvangelion

--->'''Kaji:''' How about it? Wanna go out for tea?\\
'''Shinji:''' You know, I'm a boy.

* The scene is [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cmHv2-fIwiM recreated]] in Rebuild 2.0 and spiced up a bit as Kaji asks Shinji if he wants to go on a date with him. Shinji reminds him that he's a boy and in response Kaji says "No problem. Gender shouldn't get in the way of love," places his hand on Shinji's, gets close to his face, and tries (or pretends to) to kiss him and Shinji blushes, letting out an almighty squeal.

* There's also some LesYay[=/=]FoeYay played with in regards to Asuka and Rei in the official art. Their interactions in "The Day Tokyo-3 Stood Still" actually bordered on a bizarre case of BelligerentSexualTension, especially since they made temporary peace with each other in the end.

** In episode 18, Kensuke sounds genuinely dejected at the mere idea of Touji being the pilot of Unit-03, seemingly out of concern rather than jealousy. For a character so steadfast in his obsession with the Evangelions that even his own life nearly coming to an end doesn't shift it, knowing that Touji might be in danger changing his perspective speaks volumes about how much he matters to him.

** In episode 18, Kensuke sounds genuinely dejected at the idea of Touji being the pilot of Unit-03, seemingly out of concern rather than jealousy. For a character so steadfast in his obsession with the Evangelions that even his own life nearly coming to an end doesn't shift it, knowing that Touji might be in danger changing his perspective speaks volumes about how much he matters to him.

[[folder: Shinji and Kaworu]]
* Over the years, there have been plenty of things these two have had going for them in terms of HoYay, but for some examples.
* The blushing, the showering together, the hand-holding, the sleepover, and the declaration of love, all in one episode.
* And during the bathing scene, Kaworu places his hand on Shinji's, and rather than hesitate or pull back (as he did in a previous episode, when Misato attempted to touch him), Shinji allows Kaworu's hand to linger on his own. And shortly afterwards Kaworu tells Shinji that he loves him. At the end of the bathing scene, Shinji tells Kaworu that they need to go to bed, to which Kaworu is confused and asks, "Together?" Shinji is quick to decline Kaworu's offer, but he does spend the night at Kaworu's apartment, sleeping on the floor beside Kaworu's bed. Shinji finds it quite easy to talk to Kaworu about his conflicted feelings and Kaworu is shown smiling at Shinji in a fond manner, causing Shinji to blush, and Kaworu tells him "I think I was born just to meet you, Shinji Ikari." Later, Shinji is devastated by [[spoiler:his killing Kaworu]], and remarks that Kaworu was the only person in his life to tell him that he was loved. The original Japanese [[LostInTranslation also encompasses]] a more friendly "like" (though the term “Suki” can also be translated to “love” depending on the context), however, which is present in the new Khara translation Kaworu, as well as the first ADV one, adding a bit more ambiguity to the nature of their relationship... something that the adaptations tend to ignore.
** Look where Shinji's staring when he blushes in the shower.
* In the movie Death and Rebirth, Kaworu is brought up as a prominent link between the TV series and End of Evangelion. The [[spoiler:death scene at the end echos the first scene of End of Evangelion, showing the sheer impact Kaworu's death had on Shinji.]]
* In ''End of Evangelion'', Shinji meets Giant-Naked Rei and has a screaming fit of insanity (to be fair, [[NightmareFuel so did many fans]]) but a second later, she transforms into Giant Naked Kaworu and asks, "Is this better?" Shinji ''smiles'' for the first time since meeting Kaworu and is shown to be ''fully accepting'' of his situation as Kaworu goes to grab his Eva. Yep.
* In the manga, meanwhile, the Ho Yay is much more sexualized but one-sided, with Kaworu as the aggressor. Shinji outright tells [[FanNickname "Evil Manga Kaworu"]] he doesn't even ''like'' him, and rebuffs anything resembling an advance he makes. That still doesn't stop him from kissing a feverish, hyperventilating Shinji in bed--covering it up as mouth-to-mouth resuscitation--then rather aggressively interrogating him on the nature of love. Throughout their scenes together, Shinji is unnerved by Kaworu's "weird" behavior, but acts as a classic tsundere archetype. Only later after [[spoiler:killing Kaworu at his request]] does Shinji admit he was attracted to Kaworu in a conversation with Misato. As well, Shinji reassures Kaworu that he never hated him when Kaworu tells him to prove his feelings for him by killing him.
* In the ''Campus Apocalypse'' manga, Kaworu says that he's only helping NERV for Shinji's sake and that otherwise he'd be out there enjoying life [[spoiler:until all reality fell apart without him as a CosmicKeystone.]] [[BecauseYouWereNiceToMe Because Shinji was nice to him]], true, but...
** ''Campus Apocalypse'' Kaworu falls in love with Shinji because [[spoiler:they met as children and Shinji patted Kaworu on the head. Kaworu sacrifices himself for Shinji in the end.]]
** After Kaworu reveals to Shinji that he [[spoiler: is the final angel]] he expects Shinji to reject him... only for Shinji to say that he doesn't care. Kaworu turns his head away and bursts into tears of joy.
* The Shinji/Kaworu HoYay is often used by Khara to sell merchandise, much like LesYay and pretty much everything even remotely marketable.
* In ''Rebuild 1.0'', Kaworu awakens shirtless on the moon to promptly say "I'm looking forward to knowing you, Shinji Ikari." As lampshaded with many lulz by the fansubbing group, the Japanese word used can mean "to know in the biblical sense."
** And in ''Rebuild 2.0'', after [[spoiler:knocking out Eva-01 and putting Third Impact on ice]], a very annoyed-looking Kaworu says, "This time, only you will find happiness". The creators even jokingly (or maybe not) suggested that Kaworu was annoyed that Shinji had a thing for Rei in this movie. This seems to have translated over to Evangelion Battlefields where he is shown to be jealous of Rei’s relationship with Shinji.
*** When Gendo and Fukutsuki were at the moon and saw Kaworu seat on Mark.06 without a suit or [[ShirtlessScene even a shirt]], Kaworu turns around to see Gendo. What does he say? "Nice to meet you, Father" as in "Father-in-law".
** In the Manga/NeonGenesisEvangelionAngelicDays manga, Kaworu obviously has [[{{Yandere}} a crush of some sort]] on Shinji. He wants to play a concert with Shinji, but Shinji refuses to take care of a sick Asuka. After this, Kaworu dissapears only to return years later and seems happy to see Shinji dating Asuka.
** In Manga/ShinjiIkariRaisingProject, Kaworu has the hots for Shinji ''so much'' that Asuka and Rei team up to push Kaworu away from him, especially since Shinji is shown to reciprocate. Before long, Kaworu completely dissappears for the rest of the story.
** In [[https://wiki.evageeks.org/Resources:Episode_24_Draft_1_(Translation) the early drafts]] of Episode 24, the episode writer wanted to insert much more HoYay. In those drafts, they were going to go skinny dipping in the ocean together, and Shinji was actually going to confess his feelings for Kaworu. Anno confirmed in an interview that he rewrote the scene to keep the original script writers ideas (described as homoeroticism) in mind.
* Kaworu is available as a romantic option in some games, notably in Scenario 17 out of 19 in ''VideoGame/NeonGenesisEvangelion2'', and ''VideoGame/ShinjiIkariRaisingProject'', the latter in which also has an entire bonus path in which the player plays as Kaworu, to compensate for the *seven* other romantic options. In ''Girlfriend of Steel 2'', he has a route that ends abruptly (but still heavily teases a mutual attraction between him and Shinji) and the player is instead forced to choose between Asuka or Rei anyway.
* In general, ''Girlfriend of Steel 2'' pulls no punches about confirming that Kaworu is in fact not into women, despite his apparent claim that he tried to be interested in them his whole life. His whole focus appears to be on Shinji alone. In fact, he comes off as obsessed with Shinji, almost to the point of being possessive of him.
* In ''VideoGame/ShinjiIkariRaisingProject'', one of the non-Kaworu route endings has Shinji and Kaworu enter a domestic relationship after they run away together. Misato seems to be supportive of it as long as they love each other.
* In the 4koma gag comic strip (not confused with the anime adaptation), Puchi Eva or Petit Eva, Kaworu's blatantly in love with Shinji (he desires to be his wife in his profile and calls Gendo his father in law). There are a number of teases in several strips, including one with Kaworu moving in with his family (the angels) to live with the Ikaris. Yui's supportive of their relationship and teases Shinji about it. For an online Valentine's Day Special campaign in a mobile phone, Shinji and Kaworu were drawn sharing the RedStringOfFate tied to their pinky, both bashful with a multiple heart patterned background.
* In 3.0 Kaworu and Shinji both play the piano under a heart-shaped tree, with Shinji learning how to play the piano instantly with some help from Kaworu. Later on he blushes when Kaworu tells Shinji he can just call him by his first name.
* ''Rebuild's'' theme songs ''Beautiful World'' and ''Sakura Nagashi'' are both very much to do with Kaworu and Shinji's relationship.
** ''Beautiful World'' can be interpreted as being about Shinji from Kaworu's perspective, as supported by the male pronoun "boku", and distinctly similar speech patterns. And as for the content... hoo, boy. Who else would profess so selflessly that their only wish is to sleep by Shinji's side? Who sleeps with him in both the original and the films? The singer doesn't care where it is, as "anywhere would do", and in 3.0, Kaworu and Shinji watch the stars together - lying on the cold hard ground. Yet again, the singer's single-minded fixation on Shinji is typical of Kaworu ("I don't need newspapers; they don't have anything important in them/but how are you doing?/if you're alright, then that's good") and also that selfless curiosity and general love of humanity cannot be attributed to anyone other than him - who else would call the world "beautiful"?
** ''Sakura Nagashi'' is a song about coping with grief, and mourning for a lover deceased. Guess who dies in that film... If the song is read in that light, then the lyrics are very revealing of Shinji's feelings towards Kaworu. ("...You were so beautiful. What would you think of me, living without you?") ("I can't believe we'll never meet again/I haven't told you anything yet.")
** ''One Last Kiss'', the theme song for the forthcoming ''3.0 + 1.0 Thrice Upon a Time'', is about making the most of the time you have with your lover, from the perspective of what seems to be Shinji. The translated lyrics go "On the first day I laid eyes on you / The gears that began to turn / A feeling of unstoppable loss". Kaworu's death was very much inevitable, and Shinji pretty much fell in love with Kaworu the moment he first saw him. In the movie trailer, the camera focuses on Kaworu specifically when the song says "Can you give me one last kiss?", and then to Shinji. The final lyrics to the song say "I love you more than you'll ever know". Kaworu is the only person who Shinji truly loved throughout the franchise, and he didn't even get to confess his love to him, meaning that Kaworu died without knowing how much Shinji loved him. It seems that the movie is setting up a BigDamnKiss between them.
* KHARA released engraved Kaworu and Shinji wedding bands and necklaces from wedding company KISS that read "Good things happen when we play together". What about any of that is 'ambiguous'?
* Then there’s both sets of the official nendoroids for Shinji and Kaworu (Uniform and Plugsuit) [[https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/08763689_2f16_40f2_a512_ff1499251eae.jpeg which has Shinji and Kaworu are displayed together in the example photos]], being treated as a set despite them being sold separately. The same courtesy is not extended to either of Shinji’s female potential love interests as they are displayed as the sole models. [[https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/6ea64700_5d27_4033_852b_7c3d8db73fda.jpeg The Plugsuit official photo which has the two together is rather interesting as well.]] Someone at Good Smile must be supportive of their relationship.
* [[https://darkslover.tumblr.com/post/56047679779/most-probably-this-is-already-well-known-but According to this excerpt]], Kaworu is described as a same-sex love interest for Shinji.
* [[https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/9fa18a1e_8f22_42ee_bdb9_9a5abe730c43.jpeg There’s also this official art]].
* Evangelion Battlefields, a smartphone game story which takes place during the Rebuild movie continuity, has Kaworu act as slightly less of a satellite character to Shinji, as he interacts with characters outside of him and seemingly has his own motivations. That said, even so, a lot of his dialogue in the seasons involve Shinji in some way as he attempts to gather intel on Shinji in what’s heavily implied to be a new time loop that only he, Gendo and his superiors seem to be aware of. As per tradition, he still gets plenty of Hoyay with Shinji, as Shinji is shown to turn to him for comfort and is depicted as incredibly insecure about his relationship with Kaworu, even fearing that Kaworu may abandon him if he starts to see him as a nuisance. Kaworu reassures him that he has nothing to fear.
** In several of their conversations, Shinji is depicted with a blushing sprite when speaking to Kaworu. This isn’t often seen in his interactions with the other characters, with the implication there being that he’s jealous.
** Shinji finding out that Kaworu speaks with and is naturally nice to other characters besides him is what spurs his insecurity toward their friendship.
** According to Kotone, Shinji and Kaworu spend a lot of time with each other and asks how they interact with each other since they’re both boys. Kaworu is also shown frequently going to Shinji’s room.
* Kaworu’s official photo book also pushes Kaworu and Shinji’s relationship, with several pages being dedicated to Shinji’s internal monologue about him, [[https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/642e3f2c_38e4_4c1b_9d04_f0fe28fe2991.jpeg as well as a lot of official art.]]
* The longer promotional videos for the final Rebuild movies often show Kaworu during the “Can you give me one last kiss” sequence before showing Shinji.
* In ''Girlfriend of Steel 2'', the manga adaptation of the original anime, and ''Evangelion Battlefields'', Kaworu is implied to be jealous of Shinji’s affections for Rei. In Evangelion Battlefields in particular, he’s interrogates Rei Ayanami (Tentative Name) on her feelings for Shinji in quite a few of their interactions.
* Similarly to the rings, Kaworu and Shinji have a dress and skirt themed after [[https://soranews24.com/2015/02/25/more-shinjikaworu-love-with-new-dress-and-skirt-inspired-by-the-unofficial-evangelion-couple/ their appearance together in the movie.]] [[https://otakuusamagazine.com/shinji-x-kaworu-evangelion-lingerie-born-to-be-worn/ There’s even a lingerie set for the characters with Kaworu’s line]], now modified from “ I think I may have been born just to meet you, Shinji Ikari” to “I think I may have been born just to wear this”, as a tag line for the set.
[[/folder]]

* In general, ''Girlfriend of Steel 2'' pulls no punches about confirming that Kaworu is in fact not into women, despite his apparent claim that he tried to be interested in them his whole life. His whole focus appears to be on Shinji alone.

* Similarly to the rings, Kaworu and Shinji have a dress and skirt themed after [[https://soranews24.com/2015/02/25/more-shinjikaworu-love-with-new-dress-and-skirt-inspired-by-the-unofficial-evangelion-couple/ their appearance together in the movie.]]

** Kaworu also similarly appears to be jealous of Rei and her clones due to the connections she formed with Shinji. He prods the third Rei about how she feels about Shinji in several of their conversations.

* In ''Girlfriend of Steel 2'', the manga adaptation of the original anime, and ''Evangelion Battlefields'', Kaworu is implied to be jealous of Shinji’s affections for Rei.

* In ''End of Evangelion'', Shinji meets Giant-Naked Rei and has a screaming fit of insanity (to be fair, [[NightmareFuel so did many fans]]) but a second later, she transforms into Giant Naked Kaworu and asks, "Is this better?" Shinji ''smiles'' for the first time since meeting Kaworu. Yep.

* Kaworu is available as a romantic option in some games, notably in Scenario 17 out of 19 in ''VideoGame/NeonGenesisEvangelion2'', and ''VideoGame/ShinjiIkariRaisingProject'', the latter in which also has an entire bonus path in which the player plays as Kaworu, to compensate for the *seven* other romantic options. In ''Girlfriend of Steel 2'', he has a route that ends abruptly and the player is instead forced to choose between Asuka or Rei anyway. That said, the game confirms that Shinji and Kaworu’s attraction is mutual.

* And during the bathing scene, Kaworu places his hand on Shinji's, and rather than hesitate or pull back (as he did in a previous episode, when Misato attempted to touch him), Shinji allows Kaworu's hand to linger on his own. And shortly afterwards Kaworu tells Shinji that he loves him. At the end of the bathing scene, Shinji tells Kaworu that they need to go to bed, to which Kaworu is confused and asks, "Together?" Shinji is quick to decline Kaworu's offer, but he does spend the night at Kaworu's apartment, sleeping on the floor beside Kaworu's bed. Shinji finds it quite easy to talk to Kaworu about his conflicted feelings and Kaworu is shown smiling at Shinji in a fond manner, causing Shinji to blush, and Kaworu tells him "I think I was born just to meet you, Shinji Ikari." Later, Shinji is devastated by [[spoiler:his killing Kaworu]], and remarks that Kaworu was the only person in his life to tell him that he was loved. The original Japanese [[LostInTranslation also encompasses]] a more friendly "like" (though the term “Suki” can also be translated to “love” depending on the context), however, which is present in the new Khara translation Kaworu, as well as the first ADV one.

* In the manga, meanwhile, the Ho Yay is much more sexualized but one-sided, with Kaworu as the aggressor. Shinji outright tells [[FanNickname "Evil Manga Kaworu"]] he doesn't even ''like'' him, and rebuffs anything resembling an advance he makes. That still doesn't stop him from kissing a feverish, hyperventilating Shinji in bed--covering it up as mouth-to-mouth resuscitation--then rather aggressively interrogating him on the nature of love. Throughout their scenes together, Shinji is unnerved by Kaworu's "weird" behavior, but acts as a classic tsundere archetype. Only later after [[spoiler:killing Kaworu at his request]] does Shinji admit he was attracted to Kaworu in a conversation with Misato.

** And in ''Rebuild 2.0'', after [[spoiler:knocking out Eva-01 and putting Third Impact on ice]], a very annoyed-looking Kaworu says, "This time, only you will find happiness". The creators even jokingly (or maybe not) suggested that Kaworu was annoyed that Shinji had a thing for Rei in this movie.

** In Manga/ShinjiIkariRaisingProject, Kaworu has the hots for Shinji ''so much'' that Asuka and Rei team up to push Kaworu away from him. Before long, Kaworu completely dissappears for the rest of the story.
** In [[https://wiki.evageeks.org/Resources:Episode_24_Draft_1_(Translation) the early drafts]] of Episode 24, the episode writer wanted to insert much more HoYay. In those drafts, they were going to go skinny dipping in the ocean together, and Shinji was actually going to confess his feelings for Kaworu. This was eventually shot down by Anno as being "above my tolerance levels" and the episode director Masayuki outright refusing to do it.
* Kaworu is available as a romantic option in some games, notably in Scenario 17 out of 19 in ''VideoGame/NeonGenesisEvangelion2'', in which he has and ''VideoGame/ShinjiIkariRaisingProject'', in which he is largely absent from most portions of a game, but also has an entire bonus path in which the player plays as Kaworu, to compensate for the *seven* other romantic options. Kaworu, however, is the only character associated with bad endings. In ''Girlfriend of Steel 2'', he has a route that ends abruptly and the player is instead forced to choose between Asuka or Rei anyway.
** A scene from the NGE2 game had Fuyutsuki say that Shinji looked just like Yui and then crossdress Shinji for the role all while saying how beautiful "she" looks; Fuyutsuki's actions soon become overtly sexual.

* In the Neon Genesis Evangelion 2 video game, [[spoiler: should the player choose the right options and convince Kaworu to return with them, Kaworu lives unlike in the Anime continuity where Shinji has to kill him. This can lead to the player being given the option to have Shinji confess his love to Kaworu and kiss him (both optional on part of the player).]]

* In the Neon Genesis Evangelion 2 video game, [[spoiler: should the player choose the right options and convince Kaworu to return with them, Kaworu lives unlike in the Anime continuity where Shinji has to kill him. This can lead to a good ending with the two of them where Shinji confesses his love to Kaworu and kisses him (both optional on part of the player).]] Whether this is counted as an aspect of canon, however, is unknown.

** Over the years, there have been plenty of things these two have had going for them in terms of HoYay, but for some examples.
** The blushing, the showering together, the hand-holding, the sleepover, and the declaration of love, all in one episode.
** And during the bathing scene, Kaworu places his hand on Shinji's, and rather than hesitate or pull back (as he did in a previous episode, when Misato attempted to touch him), Shinji allows Kaworu's hand to linger on his own. And shortly afterwards Kaworu tells Shinji that he loves him. At the end of the bathing scene, Shinji tells Kaworu that they need to go to bed, to which Kaworu is confused and asks, "Together?" Shinji is quick to decline Kaworu's offer, but he does spend the night at Kaworu's apartment, sleeping on the floor beside Kaworu's bed. Shinji finds it quite easy to talk to Kaworu about his conflicted feelings and Kaworu is shown smiling at Shinji in a fond manner, causing Shinji to blush, and Kaworu tells him "I think I was born just to meet you, Shinji Ikari." Later, Shinji is devastated by [[spoiler:his killing Kaworu]], and remarks that Kaworu was the only person in his life to tell him that he was loved. The original Japanese [[LostInTranslation also encompasses]] a more friendly "like" (though the term “Suki” can also be translated to “love” depending on the context), however, which is present in the new Khara translation Kaworu, as well as the first ADV one.
*** Look where Shinji's staring when he blushes in the shower.

* The Shinji/Kaworu HoYay is often used by Khara to sell merchandise, much like LesYay and pretty much everything even remotely markeatable.

*** When Gendo and Fukutsuki were at the moon and saw Kaworu seat on Mark.06 without a suit or [[ShirtlessScene even a shirt]], Kaworu turns around to see Gendo. What he says? "Nice to meet you, Father" as in "Father-in-law".

* Kaworu is available as a romantic option in some games, notably in Scenario 17 out of 19 in ''VideoGame/NeonGenesisEvangelion2'', in which he has and ''VideoGame/ShinjiIkariRaisingProject'', in which he is largely absent from most portions of a game, but also has an entire bonus path in which the player plays as Kaworu, to compensate for the *seven* other romantic options. Kaworu, however, is the only character associated with bad endings. In ''Girlfriend of Steel 2'', he has a route which ends abruptly and the player is instead forced to choose between Asuka or Rei anyway.

* In the 4koma gag comic strip (not confused with the anime adaptation), Puchi Eva or Petit Eva, Kaworu's blatantly in love with Shinji (he desires to be his wife in his profile and calls Gendo his father in law). There are a number of teases in several strips, including one with Kaworu moving in with his family (the angels) to live with the Ikaris. Yui's supportive of their relationship and teases Shinji about it. For a online Valentine's Day Special campaign in a mobile phone, Shinji and Kaworu were drawn sharing the RedStringOfFate tied to their pinky, both bashful with a multiple heart patterned background.
* In 3.0 Kaworu and Shinji both play the piano under a heart shaped tree, with Shinji learning how to play the piano instantly with some help from Kaworu. Later on he blushes when Kaworu tells Shinji he can just call him by his first name.

* KHARA recently released engraved Kaworu and Shinji wedding bands and necklaces from wedding company KISS that read "Good things happen when we play together". What about any of that is 'ambiguous'?

** And during the bathing scene, Kaworu places his hand on Shinji's, and rather than hesitate or pull back (as he did in a previous episode, when Misato attempted to touch him), Shinji allows Kaworu's hand to linger on his own. And shortly afterwards Kaworu tells Shinji that he loves him. At the end of the bathing scene, Shinji tells Kaworu that they need to go to bed, to which Kaworu is confused and asks, "Together?" Shinji is quick to decline Kaworu's offer, but he does spend the night at Kaworu's apartment, sleeping on the floor beside Kaworu's bed. Shinji finds it quite easy to talk to Kaworu about his conflicted feelings and Kaworu is shown smiling at Shinji in a fond manner, causing Shinji to blush, and Kaworu tells him "I think I was born just to meet you, Shinji Ikari." Later, Shinji is devastated by [[spoiler:his killing Kaworu]], and remarks that Kaworu was the only person in his life to tell him that he was loved. The original Japanese [[LostInTranslation also encompasses]] a more friendly "like", however, which is present in the new Khara translation Kaworu, as well as the first ADV one.