The Never-Ending Rant
Shinji: The Anti-Hero
by Ira GoldbergIssue III - January 8th, 2000
Y2k is upon us and surprisingly we're all here and there hasn't apparently been any problems. Too bad the media will keep trying to milk this for all its worth. In any case, I guess we have a few more months to wait before we see if there is a 2nd Impact ^_^
I decided to keep this going for whomever does read it. And the topic I chose was inpsired by the recently reading Catch-22. Mainly, its about the ways that Shinji Ikari is an anti-hero in the truest sense, just like John Yossarian in Joseph Heller's own classic.
By now you may be wondering what I am even talking about. An anti-hero is a main character, usually, that does not go with the traditional way that heroes go. Though they are the moral center of the series or book, they instead take a stand against the insitution.
No one defines this role in anime, in my opinion, than Shinji Ikari. Ikari is thrown into a war he never asked to fight, in which he is the proxy of his father. If he fails, the whole world will perish, if he wins, he will be dispensed like garbage. As seen in Ambivelence, Shinji stands up against establishment in an attempt to just walk away. Unfortunately, he is forced by his own morals.
Shinji never asked to be put in the position he is in and he never truly comes to terms with fighting the angels. Unlike the typical hero, who would go running in with weapons blazing at the first sign of trouble, Shinji reluctantly does what he has to simply to survive.
Finally, ironically as Yossarian of Catch-22 does, he gets better in the very end and knows what he wants and has to do. I'm sorry if this wasn't the most insightful of columns but I thought I'd talk about a character that wasn't the typical hero we so craze too often *ex: Goku*
Can I go to bed yet?