Neon Genesis Evangelion Chapter 78 Discussion

Ok...I don't know how to feel about this.



I know Gendo was always a piece of shit but I liked how he was more of an embodiment of the hedgehog's dilemma, in the sense that he doesn't feel like he has the right to be loved by others, not even his son, because he know he'll only cause them hurt, and someone who just can't get over his wife's death. Still awful, but tragic. I also liked how in 2.0 he was given a but more attention with a few subtle details to his character and the way he acts.



Instead, in here he's shown as a full-blown narcissistic sociopath with a creepy obsession over Yui. It's not even love, but a weird mix of idolizing and objectification. I can't tell if this fits the overall themes of Evangelion or if it suddenly feels a bit too edgy.

I've never imagined that a father wouldn't love his son for this reason.

That monologue and seeing Gendo using the A.T field were great additions, indeed

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                        Holy shit, Ikari telling to his son that he hated him because he was jealous of him was freakin' epic. It reminded of the scene where Ryouji was telling to Shinji that he doesn't deserve happiness.

This is what I love about Eva, it's violent and depressing when we're not expecting it.

And people can overburden others when we're expecting them to cheer them.



Eva is the very definition of thought provoking, nuff" said.

Gendo finally spills what was probably the worst kept secret in the whole story: he doesn't like Shinji. In fact he hates him. Hates him to the very core. That Yui, understandably as a mother, would shower affection on Shinji, didn't fit well with Gendo. Yet again, like Asuka, Shinji comes to the realisation that his birth wasn't welcomed by one of his very own. Predictably because it's the final time they'll ever meet, the father also tells his son to join his crusade. The crusade to make him into a God so that he never loses anything again.



Gendo, in short, is an absolutely miserable human being. Unable to face the loss of his loved one, he's hell bent on turning the rules for himself, rather than accepting them as any other human being. In his quest for getting back to the one he loved, he has ironically severed several other relationships, alienated his own son, used people for his own causes and then leaving them in the cold.



' I want to become God, so that I won't lose anything'..

One of the pet themes of Eva is how the characters deal with personal losses, and Gendo's reasons here aren't meant to be viewed in a sympathetic light.



I would've liked the manga to explore more on Gendo's past, the guy he was before he met Yui. I guess the manga missed a trick there.

So Gendo has superpowers now but he still leaves Shinji behind? Funny how he just monologues in the middle of chaos