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How do you feel about Gendo Ikari?

I HATE Gendo!
60%
 60%  [ 3 ]
He's made some mistakes, but I pity him...
40%
 40%  [ 2 ]

Total Votes : 5

 
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Gendo Ikari--do you hate him or pity him? Major Spoilers!!
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Curious (#139364)
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 Gendo Ikari--do you hate him or pity him? Major Spoilers!!
I'm really curious as to what others thought about Shinji's dad, Gendo.

Okay, so I'd like to ask for some opinions here on Gendo Ikari, Shinji's dad.

WARNING: THIS CONTAINS SPOILERS, SO IF YOU HAVE NOT SEEN THIS WONDERFUL ANIME IN ITS ENTIRETY, PLEASE, FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, CLOSE YOUR BROWSER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

















































Okay. Anyway, what are your thoughts on Gendo? I found myself conflicted between hatred and pity. On the one hand, I hated him for abandoning Shinji. Like the kid didn't have enough emotional problems on his plate already! Plus, I've always wanted to be a dad, so how Gendo could turn down such a wonderful gift (a child of his own) just infuriated me to no end. Add to that that he gave up this gift AFTER THE KID'S FREAKING MOTHER DIED. Throughout the entirety of the series, the fatherly instincts in me just kept wanting to reach out to Shinji and hug him, to tell him everything will be all right...the poor kid has suffered enough. It didn't help that I was a lot like Shinji when I was his age, so I really empathized with him.

I mean, ya know, I didn't pilot an extra-terrestrial being converted into a giant bio-robot and fight a post-apocalyptic battle to keep humanity from merging into a single entity, but...still. A lot in common.

On the other hand, I kind of pitied Gendo. This didn't really come out until I saw "The End of Evangelion," but it did. Gendo is just as worried about getting close to people as Shinji is. He too, like Shinji, suffers from "The Hedgehog's Dilemma," it would seem (he is Shinji's father, after all). The difference is that while Shinji longs for anyone to be close to him and just doesn't know how to go about it, Gendo knows how to go about it but decided long ago that Yui was the only one who mattered to him. With that in mind, he shut himself off to everyone else in order to focus on getting her back.

But what do you guys think?

PostPosted: Sat Feb 21, 2009 7:05 am
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Ken Hayashi (#52012)
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I've added a spoiler tag so you guys don't have to worry about blocking off your text now.

Anyway, coming back to the question. I'm kinda neutral. I don't particularly hate the guy. In fact I hated Shinji more than I hated his old man. Now, it's been a many years since I last saw NGE, but I don't recall being overcome with revulsion everytime I saw him manipulating the kids and whatnot. He's caught in a bad situation, and had to do what he could.
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PostPosted: Sat Feb 21, 2009 11:45 am
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Shinka (#128364)
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I think he is just a selfish, selfish man. He maniulated everyone, excpet Fuyutsuki, in order to meet his love again (who sort of rejected him later, lol). I dont know if I hated him or pity him, I just think he is a man with his own reasons who doesnt need to answer to anyone, and he'll do anything to achive his goal, even prey on his own child.

His abandoning of Shinji was also for his selfish reasons, Shinji reminded him too much of Yui. That is actually something very common in people who have gone through that kind of situation, if your love one has died you might find yourself having trouble looking at your kids eyes cause they have their mothers or fathers eyes, and that sort if thing.

In a certain way Gendo is worthy of both, hatered and pitty. You hate him because of what he does, but you pitty him because of the reasons he does why he does.
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PostPosted: Sat Feb 21, 2009 1:58 pm
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Veleon (#124559)
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Gendo could've done a lot of things "better." One example was when he took control of Unit-01 with the dummy plug and destroyed the possessed Unit-03 with Touji inside it. He could've explained to Shinji that by systematically breaking all the limbs of Unit-03 and forcibly ejecting the entry plug you could easily save Touji. However better is in quote because Gendo obviously had his plans. And that whole situation was all apart of his plans. Anything and everything he did was so he could be reunited with Yui.

So in the end he had justification for everything he did. And it wasn't really a bad reason. Many people would kill another human being to save the life of their spouse. Gendo was just trying to reunite himself with Yui (who is alive inside Unit-01) the only way he knew how.

I wouldn't say I hate or pity him either. But once you understand his reason it comes down to whether you think his justification of what he did is good enough for you also.
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PostPosted: Sat Feb 21, 2009 6:57 pm
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Curious (#139364)
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Yeah, well, from that point of view I can tell you that I don't think Gendo's case was justified. Yui loved Shinji and wanted him to be happy and safe, and if Gendo really loved Yui as much as he thought he did, then he would see that. He must have been really ignorant to think that Yui would be happy to see him again in light of how he abandoned Shinji.

PostPosted: Sat Feb 21, 2009 9:31 pm
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Shinka (#128364)
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Veleon (#124559) wrote:
Gendo could've done a lot of things "better." One example was when he took control of Unit-01 with the dummy plug and destroyed the possessed Unit-03 with Touji inside it. He could've explained to Shinji that by systematically breaking all the limbs of Unit-03 and forcibly ejecting the entry plug you could easily save Touji. However better is in quote because Gendo obviously had his plans. And that whole situation was all apart of his plans. Anything and everything he did was so he could be reunited with Yui.


I dont really understand that since EVA-01 sqashed the entry plug with its own hands, after teh entry plug was forced ejected but the comand was rejected, and in a shot they show you that the angel's tissue is whats preventing the entry plug from being succesfully ejected.

Gendo never gave any explanations to anyone, he never had to and never cared to do so.


Curious (#139364) wrote:
Yeah, well, from that point of view I can tell you that I don't think Gendo's case was justified. Yui loved Shinji and wanted him to be happy and safe, and if Gendo really loved Yui as much as he thought he did, then he would see that. He must have been really ignorant to think that Yui would be happy to see him again in light of how he abandoned Shinji.


True enough, since Yui actually sacrificed herself in order to protect Shinji, but Gendo was being selfish and couldnt see that, all he wanted was his love back again, by any means. Remember he was ultimately rejected, in EoE, so everything ended up backfiring on him, lol.
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PostPosted: Mon Feb 23, 2009 1:27 pm
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Ken Hayashi (#52012)
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Shinka (#128364) wrote:
Gendo never gave any explanations to anyone, he never had to and never cared to do so.


Interesting to note that I see a bit of myself in him. Which is probably why I'm neutral towards him.
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PostPosted: Mon Feb 23, 2009 5:03 pm
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Veleon (#124559)
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Shinka (#128364) wrote:
Curious (#139364) wrote:
Yeah, well, from that point of view I can tell you that I don't think Gendo's case was justified. Yui loved Shinji and wanted him to be happy and safe, and if Gendo really loved Yui as much as he thought he did, then he would see that. He must have been really ignorant to think that Yui would be happy to see him again in light of how he abandoned Shinji.


True enough, since Yui actually sacrificed herself in order to protect Shinji, but Gendo was being selfish and couldnt see that, all he wanted was his love back again, by any means. Remember he was ultimately rejected, in EoE, so everything ended up backfiring on him, lol.


Gendo wasn't really being selfish by trying to get Yui back. To get Yui back he had to defeat all the angels and start instrumentality. At that point, Unit 01s purpose would be completed and would have no reason to protect Shinji anymore. However complications arise when Rei decides to betray Gendo (not Yui betraying him). Rei (Whose soul is Lillith) decides to have Shinji be the decider of human fate. Unit 01 who know has both the fruit of life (S2 organ), the fruit of wisdom (the free will that humans have), and the lance of longinus. So, Unit 01 has pretty much become a new Seed of Life (Adam and Lillith are Seeds of Life). Lillith gives shinji the choice for humanity.
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PostPosted: Mon Feb 23, 2009 5:22 pm
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Last Exile (#35342)
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Gendo is simply a character in it for himself and doesn't care who or what is consumed in his selfish desire to get what he wants. A character made to be hated and who utterly deserves it. Regardless of whether you can understand why he did what he did, it doesn't justify it at all. Really, he's Shinji without the surface emo. Any major character in that show was desperate for affiliation once everything came to a climax. It's just amusing that Gendo always loses the ability to choose what happens. The man who was always in control loses it at the critical moment.

Screwing over the whole planet just to be reunited with your partner is justified....sure...Yes, putting one life ahead of several billion is ever so admirable and self-righteous...

Face the facts. Yui made her choice and her intentions clear. She could've chosen to live and let Shinji die, but she didn't. She made the ultimate sacrifice and chose death so Shinji would live. Gendo couldn't hack it without her and goes renegade to bring her back. How about what Yui wanted? If anything, End of Evangelion proved that Yui didn't want to be brought back to life and made Gendo pay for it. Gendo chose to dishonor every single moment and memory of Yui and chase the chance to bring her back as a shell of what she was in life. He chose to do the complete anti of what Yui did. I daresay Yui would have been utterly disappointed in him for doing so. For her sacrifice to have been for nothing and utterly dishonored and defiled...that really is the ultimate insult to what Yui was and whatg she stood for. If anything, Gendo commited the ultimate betrayl with his course of action. Yui wanted him to live on and to protect Shinji. Instead, he chases a memory of a dead person and ignores reality/the living.

There is nothing admirable in Gendo's actions. He's a traitor to humanity and to the woman he loved. He deserves to be hated.
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PostPosted: Mon Feb 23, 2009 6:00 pm
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Shinka (#128364)
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Veleon (#124559) wrote:
Shinka (#128364) wrote:
Curious (#139364) wrote:
Yeah, well, from that point of view I can tell you that I don't think Gendo's case was justified. Yui loved Shinji and wanted him to be happy and safe, and if Gendo really loved Yui as much as he thought he did, then he would see that. He must have been really ignorant to think that Yui would be happy to see him again in light of how he abandoned Shinji.


True enough, since Yui actually sacrificed herself in order to protect Shinji, but Gendo was being selfish and couldnt see that, all he wanted was his love back again, by any means. Remember he was ultimately rejected, in EoE, so everything ended up backfiring on him, lol.


Gendo wasn't really being selfish by trying to get Yui back. To get Yui back he had to defeat all the angels and start instrumentality. At that point, Unit 01s purpose would be completed and would have no reason to protect Shinji anymore. However complications arise when Rei decides to betray Gendo (not Yui betraying him). Rei (Whose soul is Lillith) decides to have Shinji be the decider of human fate. Unit 01 who know has both the fruit of life (S2 organ), the fruit of wisdom (the free will that humans have), and the lance of longinus. So, Unit 01 has pretty much become a new Seed of Life (Adam and Lillith are Seeds of Life). Lillith gives shinji the choice for humanity.


That still doesnt mean he wasnt selfish. And I said he was rejected and that everything backfired on him, which you explained how, but I never said by whom he was rejected/betrayed. In a manner of speaking though, despite the fact that Rei did betray him, Yui also did, since she chose Shinji over him. In the end, everything he did for himself failed.

Last Exile (#35342) wrote:
Screwing over the whole planet just to be reunited with your partner is justified....sure...Yes, putting one life ahead of several billion is ever so admirable and self-righteous...


Nobody ever said he was worthy of admiration or anything close to it, we simply said we understood his actions, that does not mean we justify his actions. Granted, if I had someone like Yui who subsequently dies and an oportunity to reunite with her presents itself, I would take it, no matter what, though I wouldnt "sacrifice" my kid to do so.

Also, Gendo's plan was never to revive Yui, since instrumentality is forcebly taking humanity to the next level of evolution, he wanted to do that in order to be reunited with her. He wasnt looking for a physical resuscitation, he was looking for a way of being with her in the next plane of existence, something beyond physical.
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PostPosted: Mon Feb 23, 2009 9:36 pm
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Elias (#139835)
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Last Exile (#35342) wrote:
Gendo is simply a character in it for himself and doesn't care who or what is consumed in his selfish desire to get what he wants. A character made to be hated and who utterly deserves it. Regardless of whether you can understand why he did what he did, it doesn't justify it at all. Really, he's Shinji without the surface emo. Any major character in that show was desperate for affiliation once everything came to a climax. It's just amusing that Gendo always loses the ability to choose what happens. The man who was always in control loses it at the critical moment.

Screwing over the whole planet just to be reunited with your partner is justified....sure...Yes, putting one life ahead of several billion is ever so admirable and self-righteous...

Face the facts. Yui made her choice and her intentions clear. She could've chosen to live and let Shinji die, but she didn't. She made the ultimate sacrifice and chose death so Shinji would live. Gendo couldn't hack it without her and goes renegade to bring her back. How about what Yui wanted? If anything, End of Evangelion proved that Yui didn't want to be brought back to life and made Gendo pay for it. Gendo chose to dishonor every single moment and memory of Yui and chase the chance to bring her back as a shell of what she was in life. He chose to do the complete anti of what Yui did. I daresay Yui would have been utterly disappointed in him for doing so. For her sacrifice to have been for nothing and utterly dishonored and defiled...that really is the ultimate insult to what Yui was and whatg she stood for. If anything, Gendo commited the ultimate betrayl with his course of action. Yui wanted him to live on and to protect Shinji. Instead, he chases a memory of a dead person and ignores reality/the living.

There is nothing admirable in Gendo's actions. He's a traitor to humanity and to the woman he loved. He deserves to be hated.



I don’t think it’s all that simple... If I were to choose between saving a billion people or someone I love I would save the one closest to my heart. It might be easier to get by when basing decisions on practicality or the greater good but I think that’s self deceptive. I could not be bothered to hate Ikari, it’s his weakness as a person that leads him to abandon Shinji and that’s the only wrong things I can find in his actions, he might be a madman but I think he followed his heart which is the right thing to do from his view.

It’s illusionary to think that caring for his son just because it was his wife’s wishes would be the right thing to do, unless this is something that comes from himself things might have turned out worse for Shinji if his father had chose to care for him.

PostPosted: Fri Apr 03, 2009 7:47 pm
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Rutlawski (#141432)
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Gendo? I guess I van only pity him.

At first he looks like an emotionless robot, who is making use of poor Shinji but through the story we get to know him better, especially from Fuyutsuki's memories.

We see a bastard, who got out from a fight. He seems like a bastard himself, but we cannot help pity him, as he says that everyone picks on him for no reason at all. He also says about how people never loved him, he is rather made to be hated. Of course in this state of mind, even if someone loved him, he wouldn't believe it. Even Yui loved him, but Ikari's definition of love was to be with somebody and make use of him. He wanted probably some power, and wanted to be noticed in the world.

Or maybe he was scared of the reality he lived in, and that's why he began the Human Instrumentality Project. To bulid himself a better and easier life.

Yui was the only person, Ikari was bonded to. In manga, he explains to Shinji that he never loved the boy, he was just jealous of him. He wanted Yui all to himself, is that love?

Off course, when Yui was no longer there to comfort him, he gave Shinji to his uncle and made Rei to have a shadow of Yui.

Like you said he made something opposite of love - Yui sacrificd herself and watched over Shinji ever since, Gendo justy wanted to keep someone he used. He also used Risuko and her mother in a cruel way. Although the two woman were quite cold, their anger was awakened by him.

A the end, he got what he wanted. Rei abandoned him. He then saw Kaworu's and Yui's souls and understood what was he doing wrong. He had his punishment.

Did Gendo ever love someone? No. He didn't know how to love, and he daren't ask someone to love him. But that's no reason to hate him.

PostPosted: Sun Aug 30, 2009 1:01 pm
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cranston (#84421)
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A question from someone who hasn't (and has no intention of ever) watching NGE: What actions did Gendo take in order to fulfill his goal that earned people on the internet refer to him as a master manipulator?
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