Neon Genesis Evangelion and Mobile Suit Gundam
“Neon Genesis Evangelion” is a TV anime series directed by Hideaki Anno that aired from 1995 to 1996. The story is set in Japan. It depicts the battle between the protagonist, Shinji Ikari, the organization he belongs to, “NERV,” and mysterious beings called “Angels.” It is a masterpiece in the history of Japanese animation that remains popular to this day.
One reason for its popularity is thought to be the “mysteries” and “codes” scattered throughout the work. Many parts are difficult to understand on a single viewing, often leaving one feeling unsatisfied. However, thanks to the analysis of many fans, it is now possible to get a general overview of the world of Evangelion.
On the other hand, “Mobile Suit Gundam” is a TV anime series directed by Yoshiyuki Tomino that aired from 1979 to 1980. Earth has already been unified by the Earth Federation Government, and humanity has advanced into space, making it possible to live on the moon and in space colonies. Amidst this, a colony called Side 3 declares war on the Earth Federation, launching a war for independence. The protagonist, Amuro, gets caught up in the war, pilots the mobile suit “Gundam,” and survives the One Year War with the crew of his mother ship, the “White Base.”
This time, by tracing the similarities between these two works, I want to consider the famous final episode of the TV version of Evangelion.
*This article is an English translation of the original Japanese article, “【TV版新世紀エヴァンゲリオン】機動戦士ガンダムの共通点と最終話のメッセージ“
Let an AI walk you through the highlights of this post in a simple, conversational style.
- The Difference Between the Protagonist of the Story and the Protagonist of the World
A commonality in “Gundam” and “Evangelion” is that while the protagonists are at the center of their stories, they are not the protagonists of their worlds. This difference gives the narratives depth and complexity. - The Differences in Shinji’s and Amuro’s Inner Worlds
Amuro is strongly aware of his own worth, whereas Shinji feels he is an “unnecessary person,” and this fundamental suffering influences his actions. - Reconsidering the Final Episode of Evangelion
The final episode of Evangelion is the culmination of Shinji’s story, depicting the theme of whether Shinji can “affirm his own existence.” However, within a modern sense of reality, it’s difficult to conclude that story, so it ends with words of celebration. - The Differences Between Gundam and Evangelion
In “Gundam,” Amuro grows and discovers something new. In “Evangelion,” however, Shinji is unable to find anything new amidst the severe circumstances of the modern era, and this background leads to Evangelion’s unique ending.
Commonalities Between the Two Works
Anyone who has seen both series can probably find several commonalities in their stories. For example:
- The protagonist pilots a “robot” created as part of a project his father was involved in,
- He plays an active role in one way or another,
- In the process, he nearly loses himself and suffers greatly,
- He attempts to escape from his current situation,
- But eventually returns to protect everyone.
- Later, he meets someone in battle with whom he forms a heart-to-heart connection,
- But ends up killing that person.
I think there are many more, but these are the general similarities (limiting it to the TV versions, I personally don’t think their relationships with their parents are very similar). However, these are superficial similarities, and I believe there is a significant difference in the meaning of each episode, especially in the inner truths of the protagonists, Shinji and Amuro. I plan to summarize those differences as well, but first, I want to talk about a more important similarity.
Amuro’s Position in the “Gundam World”
One answer to the question “What’s so interesting about Mobile Suit Gundam?” would be its “worldview.” More specifically, I think it’s the fact that “while the actions and successes of Amuro, the protagonist of the Mobile Suit Gundam story, were incredibly helpful in ending the One Year War, the decisive factor was the Federation’s victory through a war of attrition.” In other words, Amuro was undoubtedly the protagonist of the story, but he was not the protagonist of the world.
The same can be said for all the other characters besides Amuro. Since they were not the protagonists of the world, all they could do was “live with all their might.” Even so, Degwin Zabi almost became the protagonist, and Gihren Zabi tried to become one. But the fates of both were tragic.
Shinji in Evangelion
Just like Amuro in Gundam, Shinji in Evangelion was undoubtedly the protagonist of the story, but not the protagonist of that world. This was also the case in Mobile Suit Gundam, and this relationship between the world and the protagonist gives the world breadth and depth, making the work more interesting. In the case of Evangelion, especially, a certain “mystery” is presented, so its explosive power is immense (What the heck is the “Human Instrumentality Project”?!).
Moreover, or rather, because of this, as the story progresses, our interest shifts from “Shinji’s suffering and growth” to “the secrets of the world.” As a result, what we demand from the final episode of Evangelion becomes “the full picture of the Human Instrumentality Project” and “the clarification of Gendo Ikari’s objective.” It seems likely that our dissatisfaction arose from this gap between the protagonist of the world and the protagonist of the story.
I’ve thought a lot about the dissatisfaction with the final episode, but on top of that, I want to think about it one more time. In other words, that final episode should have been the “culmination of Shinji’s story,” which has nothing to do with the world’s secrets in the first place. So, what was “Shinji’s story”?
Reconsidering the Final Episode of Evangelion
When considering the final episode of Evangelion, one cannot overlook Shinji’s words: “I’m allowed to be here.” In Gundam, Amuro says a line in the final episode that seems similar but is completely different: “I still have a place to go home to. There’s nothing that could make me happier.” The difference in the meaning of these lines reveals the fundamental suffering that Shinji carries, and it connects to the difference in the fundamental meaning of the similarities between the two works I mentioned at the very beginning.
For example, Shinji runs away from NERV, and Amuro runs away from the White Base. But Amuro is thinking, “I can’t stay in a place like this!” and is strongly aware that his existence is necessary (even though those around him try their best to deny it). On the other hand, what Shinji feels is not “I can’t stand being in a place like this!” but rather, “I really am an unnecessary person.”
Furthermore, regarding killing the person he connected with, Amuro’s final line is, “Lalah would understand, right?” so, in fact, Lalah’s death has been rationalized in some way within Amuro. However, Shinji has no time to rationalize Kaworu’s death (immediately followed by Episode 25, “The Ending World,” and then “The Beast that Shouted ‘I’ at the Heart of the World”). Also, regarding his relationship with his parents, Amuro is given the chance to overcome his mother and father on his own, but Shinji is not given that opportunity. Or rather, Shinji is not even allowed to reach the stage of overcoming them (Shinji is satisfied just by being praised a little by Gendo).
As seen above, the two works feature scenes that are superficially similar but completely different in terms of the characters’ inner worlds. What does this mean?
Perhaps it was a kind of answer to Mobile Suit Gundam. Both Evangelion and Gundam are so-called “a boy in the midst of war (chaos)…!” stories, but in Gundam, Amuro grows and discovers something new within that chaos. However, what is depicted in the TV version of Evangelion is that “young people living in this day and age are in a serious situation where they cannot discover anything new, even in the great chaos of an Angel attack.“
Therefore, that was the only way to end Shinji’s story (an answer that says, “If you try to realize Mobile Suit Gundam in the modern era, you can’t finish it.”). Even so, ending it with “Thank you, Father. Goodbye, Mother. And to all the Children, congratulations!” was, I now believe, a testament to the creators’ spirit, at the very least.
To summarize all of the above,
The phenomenon of the story’s protagonist being different from the world’s protagonist gave the work depth and made Evangelion extremely interesting. However, because our interest shifted towards that depth, we were left dissatisfied with the final episode, which offered no solutions to the mysteries. On the other hand, since there is no modern reality that could bring an end to the story of Shinji, who is placed in a suffocatingly painful situation, the only choice was to conclude the work with the celebratory word, “Congratulations!”
That’s what I think. People living today might find it easier to see themselves in Shinji.
Finally
This time, I’ve talked at length about how in Evangelion, “the protagonist of the story is different from the protagonist of the world.” The protagonist of the story is, of course, Shinji. But who is the protagonist of the world? Of course, it is Gendo Ikari. I believe that the “End of Evangelion” movie depicted the all-out war between the story’s protagonist, Shinji Ikari, and the world’s protagonist, Gendo Ikari. I’ll try to think about this next time as well.
Appendix: A Slightly “Cynical” View
I wrote this article with the intention of interpreting the ending of the TV version of Evangelion as positively as possible, but I can’t help but take a slightly cynical view. This is because, in the final episode of the TV series, Shinji “miraculously” attains self-affirmation with the phrase “I’m allowed to be here,” but the process to get there is just cruel.
In the final episode, Shinji spills his true feelings,
“The reason I mustn’t run away is because if I do, I’ll be abandoned! I’m scared of being abandoned! Don’t abandon me! Please, don’t abandon me! But no one will ever accept me for who I am anyway! And I hate myself for it!”
But in response, the other characters tell him,
“You’re not the only one who’s suffering! You don’t do anything because you’re afraid of getting hurt, right? You say no one will accept you, but you’re just convincing yourself of that, aren’t you? You think everyone hates you, but in the end, that’s just something you’ve made up in your own head, right?”
This is a complete denial of his suffering. In short, he is being told, “It’s your own fault that you’re suffering.” And then, right before “I’m allowed to be here!”
“You are the one who perceives reality as bad and unpleasant—it’s your own heart. It’s your heart that’s replacing reality with your own truth. Just a slight change in the angle you view reality from, the place you put it, can greatly change the shape of your heart. You’re just not used to being liked by people.”
It might seem like they’ve become a little gentler, but the expression has only changed slightly, and in the end, it’s still “It’s your fault.” And after this, he changes his mind at full throttle to “I’m allowed to be here,” and everyone tells him, “Congratulations.” To completely deny a person and then say “congratulations” the moment they slightly change their mind—isn’t that the very definition of human bleaching? It makes one feel as if the creators threw up their hands and said, “The only way to save Shinji is to bleach him!” and, given the time period, it also brings to mind the Aum Shinrikyo affair.
In any case, thinking in this direction isn’t very pleasant, so I basically choose to take the stance of “the creators’ spirit.” Writing it like this might seem sarcastic, but I honestly, truly believe it was their “spirit,” and I think the TV version’s ending is wonderful. That’s why this “cynical” view is an “appendix,” and why it doesn’t feel very good.
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