Who is Shinji Ikari in Neon Genesis Evangelion?

Shinji Ikari is the main protagonist of the Neon Genesis Evangelion series. He is a young high school boy who struggled in his earlier days when her mother died.

Neon Genesis Evangelion is also known as Eva and premiered on TV Tokyo in Japan on October 4, 1995. The series is based on the manga named “ Neon Genesis Evangelion,” written and illustrated by Yoshiyuki Sadamoto, and published in December 1994 in Shonen Ace magazine.

Disclaimer: This article may contain spoilers for some. Readers are advised to continue at their discretion.

Source: Netflix

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Role of Shinji Ikari in Neon Genesis Evangelion

Shinji Ikari, the son of Gendo Ikari, the commander of Nerv, the organization responsible for protecting humanity from monstrous angels, summons Shinji to his organization to pilot the Evangelion Unit-01, a giant robot created to fight against angels.

At first, Shinji was unsure about being Eva's pilot, but after seeing the former pilot suffer the heavy blow, he decided to take up the job. He could synchronize with Eva quite well because the bio-mechanical robot had his mother, Yui Ikari's soul, in it, making it easier for him to use Eva's potential to the fullest.

Later in the series, Shinji questions his dad and asks what is the true motive of NERV because protecting mankind is not the actual role of NERV, which is quite a mysterious part as Gendo wishes to bring back his dead wife and also wants to merge all the soul of humanity in the Bio-Mechanical Eva.

In the end, Shinji is able to defeat the last Angel, who is one of the main antagonists of the series and also destroys the Angels GeoFront, which is located beneath Tokyo-3. However, the ending still remains unclear because even the last Angel defeated what the future holds not mentioned in the manga, and it was also shown that all humanity had no memory of the Angel because of the Third Impact, which Shinji used while piloting Eva-01.

Shinji’s Abilities in Neon Genesis Evangelion

Shinji is not someone who has some extra power or physical strength. The only reason why he was able to succeed as the Eva-01 pilot was that it had his late mother's soul in it.

• Shinji was able to pilot the Eva-01 quite well, even though he did not have formal training. The connection he had with Eva made it easier for him to Pilot.

• Shinji has amazing willpower, which is one of the main reasons why he was able to survive all that already happened in the past.

• Shinji’s Eva-01 has the ability to regenerate from any heavy damage.

• Eva-01’s A.T. Field: It can generate a powerful A.T. Field for defense and offense.

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