Submitted by: andy- i completely agree. shinji tries to see so much of his mother in rei that he attempts to become closer to her, and in the process, his father. asuka would seem to definitely love shinji, but her feelings for kaji and her competetive edge to be the best pilot forces her to hide (or not even realize) her feelings.
Submitted by: Aituru- I agree. However, although I believe Rei is fond of Shinji, I rather think she's in love with Shinji's father. Perhaps part of her fondness for Shinji stems from Shinji being Gendou's son and some of their similarities.
Submitted by: German God 2nd Children- I hate to say this but you are both wrong and right all at the same time. I don't think that it is fair to throw Rei out of the running.(Can you believe an Asuka fan said that?)I think that Shinji is incapable of true love with anyone make or female. So when these new feeling start to arise in him of trust and empathy for others he is confused. Also let us not just knock poor Kaoru out. Seeing as Asuka could not show her feeling and Rei had no feelings to Show when Kaoru showed all this love towards Shinji, Shinji was unsure but he knew he liked it. So if Shinji's love, if you can call it that, goes to anyone it would be the one who loves him back i.e. Kaoru.
Submitted by: Ikari Yui- Okayy..hmm. Well, seing as I am a huge Shinji An' Kaoru fan (as in, them as a couple) I might be a little... unfair in how I jugde this, but here goes. I think Shinji had feelings towards Rei, but they were there because she subconciouly reminded him of Yui (ie, "the way you ring that towel...it reminds me of a mother")I think Rei also had a thing for Shinji (shock) but wasn't in love with my husband. Not to say that Gendo wasn't a little strange in creating a clone of his supposedly dead wife (me!). As for Asuka, well, Shinji IS a teenager. It is kind of natural for a teen to fall for a girl like Asuka. I mean, we've all seen tape five, right? Asuka most definetely provides ample oppertunity for Shinji and his hormones to completely go crazy over her. Onto Misato- Shinji is a teen boy, like I said. Its pretty normal for him to have...um...*blush* certain feelings...you get what I'm saying? Finally, Kaoru. I'm going to agree with German God 2nd Children on this one (what a name!). Kaoru showed up at a time when Shinji was very alone in the world. Kaoru was open about his love (koi DOESN'T mean 'sympathy', people. And as for 'I was probably born to meet you'....i mean, come on). Once again, Shinji is a teen (are you sick of that argument yet?)and he needed to be needed. Shinji even admits that he liked Kaoru ('Kaoru said he liked me. I never had...such kind words. I liked him, too.') I guess that is it. Sorry I talk so much. JA!
Submitted by: Lady Riven- In my own opinions, I believe that Shinji is truely in love with Kaworu. Conveniently, Kaworu arrives when Shinji becomes aware that his friends are in a sense gone and he is again alone in the world. I'm not trying to say that Shinji or Kaworu are homosexual. That's not the case. I don't think sexuality is a part of it. What matters is the nature of love and human compassion. Kaworu states before he dies that Shinji made his life worth living. I think this is because he realizes that after bonding with Shinji, that mankind is worth saving for one reason and the reason is love. Notice in the last few episodes the constant flashing of the word hate? Mankind's hate is why we deserve to die. When Kaworu finds love in Shinji's heart during the very short time they had together, it helps him in realizing that mankind should live on. Kaworu asks Shinji to destroy him. What other way for Shinji to show his love than do exactly that? He didn't want to kill Kaworu. He wanted return the favor of love that was given to him BY Kaworu. (Shinji says he didn't have a choice but to kill him...but did he really?) I have to admit this is badly worded. In fact, I don't think I'm worth replying to. I have found an essay online however which is well-worded and will enlighten you on the bond between Shinji and Nagisa. (http://www.oocities.org/Tokyo/Shrine/3961/evaessay.html) Perhaps Shinji isn't in love with Kaworu, or anyone for that matter. Think back on the end of the series. Before you can love anyone, you must love yourself.