Why is Shinji Ikari so polarizing?

......Not really.

He's from a Shonen series, anyhow.

Of course if he's being reconstructed he would act more like a shonen character, albeit with realistic issues still.

Manga and Rebuild Shinji still have a long way to go to reach average Shonen protagonist territory.

Although you could say the Girlfriend of Steel and Ikari Shinji Raising Project Shinjis are firmly planted into standard Shonen Harem male lead grounds.

edited 13th Aug '12 4:58:17 PM by NapoleonDeCheese

Cosnidering Hideaki Anno had oversaw those projects (Since Girlfriend Of Steel Has Canon elements in it, and Ikari Shinji Raising Project is intentionally meant to be a more comedic take on the main story), I think even he indulges on what a Normal or Fantastical shinji would be like.

edited 13th Aug '12 5:01:13 PM by Demongodofchaos2

I would say that Rebuild has a more traditional Bildungsroman structure than NGE; but NGE is as well to an extent. It just focuses more on how messed up that state is. But to say that Shinji is a stereotypical Shonen protagonist is ludicrous.

And yeah, Evangelion technically is Shonen just like Madoka is Shoujo, though I think some sorta YA Fiction descriptor would fit it better.

Young Adult Fiction is Seinen. Which is technically what Madoka Magica Qualifies as.

Gundam despite all its themes is also shonen although not a traditional one.

I also agree , Shinji is not really a shonen hero but a boy who never be a shonen star in any capacity.

I dunno, Senien has sorta the distinction of being pretty dark and mature oriented. I wouldn't go so far as to say Evangelion is Senien, but it just strikes me as heavier than Shonen. Also Madoka appears to be and was marketed as a Shoujo show, so that's what it falls under.

edited 13th Aug '12 10:48:02 PM by Scherzo09

Madoka only qualifies for a Shoujo for like, two episodes, and even then calling it a shoujo would be a stretch considering those episodes still had a dark tone to them.

Also, Madoka aired in a very late timeslot typical for most seinen shows, and the majority of the show was rather dark, bordering on psychological thriller even.

Madoka and NGE were only marketed as shounen and shoujo to disguise their true nature. They have since busted the demographics, but seinen is probably the nearest fit.

Children of all ages still watch both, regaurdless.

edited 17th Aug '12 6:39:41 AM by Demongodofchaos2

True; I first watched End of Evangelion when I was 12. It was a late-night movie, and I was sleeping in the lounge-room. It's possibly the only reason I'm still sane today.

It led me to the series eventually, and I was disgusted with the "fans" who did nothing but complain about Shinji. If anything, he was coping better than a usual 13 year old in his situation.

edited 17th Aug '12 10:49:08 PM by MrMallard

I see a lot of Shinji is passive and stuff like that here, but I don't see that.

There are many scenes where he's with Asuka where he shows a spine. Actually, most of his positive character development is brought out through his interactions with her. He seems more open about his issues from the time she appears to the incident with Toji, and, even then, he still has a LOT of moments where he tries to do stuff.

When he refuses to pilot anymore, that's him taking a stand against his father, and, rather than an act of cowardice, shows that, if Shinji feels passionate enough about something, he will do it. He only pilots again when he realizes that him dodging responsibility would end up killing everyone. However, even after that, he still has heroic moments, where he tries to protect Rei and begs to help Asuka. Of course, over this period of time he's broken down more than any human being ought to be. Still, in the end, he does reverse Instrumentality, so that's something.

I never felt Shinji was as pathetic as people made him out to be. Sure, he was depressed, maybe even helpless, but pathetic? Never. >_<

I'll have to rewatch this thing, start from the beginning and work my way to the very end to find what it is that would inspire all the discussion it gets on this site.

Someone's going to have to run through Shinji's contrasts for me. Did Amuro from Gundam start off similarly? Domon did not, being an athlete/martial artist representing Japan. Everyone from Wing was a military officer, politician or terrorist/freedom fighter. Van from Zoids was a desert raider, Improbable Age aside Bit was a looting mechanic, everyone from Robotec was an established pilot getting a new "plane". Gene from Outlaw star was an odd jobs man/pseudo mercenary trying to strike goldDragonite.

Is there any common theme here besides "I drive a robot"? Who is this typical protagonists he's "deconstructing" cause he doesn't seem to be negatively paralleling anyone I know. So he's doubting, whiny and ignorant? Okay, why should anyone I already mentioned be the same way? Not a "deconstruction" if you're not pointing out why something shouldn't work. Shinji seems to be a lot like the guy from Blue Gender. Both are supposed prodigies forced into situations they hate, which just seems like a happy coincidence of two common tropes.

I didn't think Blue Gender was very good either. I think there are people who don't like a show but attack one element, such as the main character, rather attack the whole thing and don't elaborate their feelings. "Shinji Ikari is the worst protagonist ever" is like "Eragon Is the Worst Protagonist Ever", or "Halo 2 ruined the pistol".

edited 24th Aug '12 9:06:28 PM by Cider

Koji Kabuto style protagonist.

Yeah, he copes pretty well until End of Evangelion. He's even pretty cocky in episode 16 (before being pwned by Liliel).

Most people tend to base him off the first few episodes and End of Evangelion, which is where he's pretty emo.

I am not sure if this counts but part of the deconstruction was how the character was utilized. Normally, in giant mecha shows the main character experiences a massive revelation and they stop being characters but messianic figures who change the world for the better. The heroes fight for world peace or to protect someone they love but Shinji fights for approval from everyone especially his father. Shinji doesn't like piloting the Eva but only does so because he seeks approval from others. Shinji is a deconstruction because he is an anti mecha pilot hero, he is selfish, he is anti social, he is very much flawed, he is pathetic and he is coward.

Shinji does actually grow in confidence and he isn't always like this but he doesn't truly receive the revelation that he needs to love himself and overcome the hedgehog's dilemma until the end of the series.

edited 25th Aug '12 12:45:02 PM by GAP

Rather than reiterating the fact that NGE is supposed to be a Deconstruction of the Super Robot genre, I'll just say that he's a Falling into the Cockpit case with somewhat more realistic reactions than earlier examples who instead tend to transform into messianic figures as stated above or romp through it like they were having all the fun in the world.

We can't in any sense compare him to newer examples because most of the newer examples are colored by NGE.