Fourthed, but I must disagree with Gendo, and by extension Ritsuko being sympathetic. I did believe he was, but then came Chapter 19 — when we discover that he had the souls of millions of children's mothers all over the world souls sucked out to create cores for potential EVAs. This wouldn't be so bad if he did not still believe that he had the right to reunite with Yui and consider himself "good". At best, I would consider Gendo to be Affably Evil or a Jerkass Woobie — his refusal to consider himself at least Necessary Evil prevents him, in my view, from being truly sympathetic. I still rather enjoy the story but have lost my appetite for seeing Gendo as heroic here ... On a brighter note, Science!Rei is absolutely adorable, one of the better interpretations of the character — I never could see her as anything but Kuu Dere, which is why I never got into stories like Nobody Dies despite their popularity (you could say I experienced Hype Backlash pretty early on). Overall a very well-written story, and I wouldn't be surprised if Gendo regains his sympathetic qualities soon enough.
Caellach Tiger Eye's review
Fourthed, but I must disagree with Gendo, and by extension Ritsuko being sympathetic. I did believe he was, but then came Chapter 19 — when we discover that he had the souls of millions of children's mothers all over the world souls sucked out to create cores for potential EVAs. This wouldn't be so bad if he did not still believe that he had the right to reunite with Yui and consider himself "good". At best, I would consider Gendo to be Affably Evil or a Jerkass Woobie — his refusal to consider himself at least Necessary Evil prevents him, in my view, from being truly sympathetic. I still rather enjoy the story but have lost my appetite for seeing Gendo as heroic here ... On a brighter note, Science!Rei is absolutely adorable, one of the better interpretations of the character — I never could see her as anything but Kuu Dere, which is why I never got into stories like Nobody Dies despite their popularity (you could say I experienced Hype Backlash pretty early on). Overall a very well-written story, and I wouldn't be surprised if Gendo regains his sympathetic qualities soon enough.