Shinji Has No Reason to Pilot | Evangelion Episode 3

Three weeks have passed since episode 2, and Shinji continues his training, doing what he's told. But in the cockpit this episode, he asks himself the question that defines him: "Father isn't here to watch, so why am I here?" Shinji has no reason of his own to pilot. So for the first time, he borrows one from someone else.

Hi there, if you're new around here my name is Oren and I'm a nerd who likes to talk about my favorite shows, games, and books. Today we're talking about Neon Genesis Evangelion episode 3.

Shinji is lonely

One moment at the beginning of this episode doesn't get a lot of attention and it should. Misato gets a phone call from Ritsuko where they talk about Shinji.

Misato says she bought him a phone but nobody calls him. She's beginning to think he has no friends.

And that's important because that means that even in Nerv where he's been for three weeks now, he hasn't really made friends with other people who live there. He's pretty isolated and usually puts on headphones to avoid contact with other people. But we the viewers do see him glancing at Rei from time to time.

I have a feeling he's about to make some friends, but it will get rough before it gets good.

Shinji is getting punched in the face

In this episode, we're introduced to Toji and Kensuke who are classmates with Shinji. Toji is furious with Shinji after discovering he's the EVA pilot from three weeks ago. That fight put his sister in the hospital and he wanted revenge for that.

Aside from introducing us to new characters, this moment does more for the show. We usually don't really see any regular people when one of these fights is happening. The scale is the size of buildings. But in some cases, people could still be in those buildings.

And when a new Angel alert begins, Toji and Kensuke decide to do something very stupid.

Who is Shinji fighting for when dad isn't around?

In the cockpit, just as he's about to start the fight against this new Angel, Shinji asks himself, "Father isn't here to watch, so why am I here?"

And he remembers Toji and what Toji said about his sister. In the meantime, Toji and Kensuke have made their way out of the shelter to record the Angel and the fight. Only in peak anime fashion, the fight comes to them as EVA Unit-01 is thrown in their direction. Its hand slams down right where they stand, and they survive in the gap between its fingers.

Then the episode does something wild. Misato has Shinji take both of them into the entry plug, and they experience the rest of the battle from inside the cockpit, hearing Shinji scream through every hit. From the outside, these fights look like Power Rangers: poses, explosions, monster of the week. From the inside, it's a kid screaming. Toji hears it up close, and that's where his fury starts to turn into sympathy.

I kinda like the trope of bullies to friends. What do you think? Will Toji and Shinji become friends? Let me know in the comments, and if you already know, please don't spoil.

Misato orders a retreat, but Shinji is not backing down.

Shinji is disobeying Misato's orders

Can you imagine disobeying your boss and then also having to go back home with them at the end of the day? That dinner was probably tense.

But on a more serious tone, to me, Shinji didn't disobey Misato because he thought he could win or something. Charging the Angel with two civilians aboard isn't bravery. It seemed like he kept going because finishing the task was the only thing in front of him, and he doesn't really have anything to lose.

Then the Angel cuts the umbilical cable, and Shinji is down to a few minutes of internal battery. That countdown added more fuel to the fire, but even if it wasn't there, I believe Shinji would not have backed down.

The episode ends with the Angel dead and the EVA shut down where it stands, battery spent.

But there's one more scene, and it's my favorite ending so far. Remember the phone nobody calls? Toji stands at the school phone, dials most of Shinji's number, and hangs up before finishing. He walks away. The phone almost rang. Hitting Shinji was easy. Calling him is impossible.

Shinji has no reason to pilot. In the next episode, he finds a reason to stay.