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Gendo Ikari
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Gendo Ikari (碇ゲンドウ, Ikari Gendō?) is a fictional character and the main antagonist of the Evangelion franchise. He is Shinji Ikari's father and the Commander of NERV. He played a major role in the research and construction of the Evangelions and the Human Instrumentality Project.

Appearance[]

Gendo has an appearance of a typical middle-aged man. He has a hair shape similar to Shinji's, but with a beard. His usual attire is a NERV black commander's uniform with gold lines sewn on the edges of the jacket, and green triangular identification pieces sewn at the sleeves and the necklace. Beneath the uniform, Gendo wears a red sweater. Other than his commander's uniform, he rarely wears other outfits.

Gendo wears a pair of white gloves to conceal his severely-burnt hands caused by the Unit-00 berserk incident. Gendo also wears a pair of glasses with squared lenses during that time, but later on changes to round-shaped-lenses glasses with a red or brown filter, which reflects light on large screens.

Profile[]

In NERV, Gendo is responsible for the research done on the Evas and the Human Instrumentality Project. He is the father of the Third Child, Shinji Ikari. At the start of the series, he is the only person having an effective connection to Rei Ayanami.

Gendo is a brilliant scientist and politician (the master of puppets in the series) who works diligently for his organization; however, he is an extremely cold and distant father towards his son and has no qualms about using and discarding people to achieve his goals.[2]

Gendo does not seem to have any sort of interest in contrast with other NERV crew members, but has a habit of crossing his hands whenever he sits down, hiding his mouth. He is mostly calm and does not react visibly in alarming situations. He rarely smiles or laughs, but is however seen occasionally smiling at Rei, and one time during the battle against Sachiel.

Personality[]

"Gendo is the type of person who can see & think about the welfare of an organization as a whole. In other words, he'd do anything to succeed. He takes drastic and extreme measures, by fair means or foul, or by hook or by crook, in order to accomplish his own purpose. In some ways he's mean, he hardly cares about Shinji."[3]

His last lines in The End of Evangelion reveal his regret and the true motivations for his ruthless behavior. He intended to use Third Impact to bring his wife Yui Ikari back to life. However, he realizes that his efforts are in vain and that he ignored the real wishes of Yui. She intended to bring about a brighter future for their son Shinji, whom Gendo has sacrificed in order to bring her back. In essence, Yui's dreams and principles were violated to resurrect her. Shortly after, Unit-01 is shown grasping Gendo in its hand before decapitating him, clearly rejecting Gendo's actions (however, this death sequence is questionable, due to its surreal appearance - though it is quite possible that he was turned to LCL like everyone else, the vision of Eva-01 being just a manifestation of his self-loathing). As he's dying, Gendo admits he avoided Shinji because he was just as afraid of hurting him as Shinji was of him, and thought it was better to do nothing at all. Taking into account other actions he did before, like faint praise of Shinji and attempt to spare him using the Dummy Plug system, Gendo is shown to still care for Shinji, but is extremely hesitant and insecure about it, and prefers to keep the distance between them in order to avoid being hurt. In this manner, he is very similar to his son. A common interpretation is to see Gendo as Shinji's negative adult mirror, with Ryoji Kaji as a more positive model. Similarly, Ritsuko and Misato are mirrors for Asuka, as is their respective relationships. Before being decapitated, Gendo asks for Shinji's forgiveness.

Background[]

Young Gendo

Young Gendo Ikari.

Gendo Ikari was born as Gendo Rokubungi (六分儀, meaning sextant?).[4] Though virtually nothing is known about his childhood or young adulthood, there are vague hints that he may have grown up in a traumatic or emotionally straining environment. During study, he met Yui Ikari, with whom he started a relationship, and Professor Kōzō Fuyutsuki, with whom he became friends. Many who knew him thought that the only reason for his and Yui's relationship was her connections to SEELE; however, over the course of the series and films, it becomes clear that his connection to Yui went far deeper. He and Yui were married at the beginning of the 21st century, wherein he changed his surname to Ikari. (This is the practice of mukoyoshi, where a man is adopted into a family through marriage in order to carry on the family's surname. It should also be noted that this detail is not revealed until later in the series.) In 2001 their son Shinji was born. They both worked together at Gehirn, from which Gendo became the leader. After the failed activation test of Unit-01 and Yui's apparent death during this event, Gendo became very cold and distant (even towards Shinji, whom he sent to live with a teacher and had very little contact with). Gendo also entered into affairs with both Naoko Akagi and, later, her daughter Ritsuko, seemingly casting doubt on his commitment to Yui; however, it is implied that Gendo was simply using them to achieve the means to accomplish Third Impact. Thanks to Yui's connection to SEELE, he also came in contact with the organization and started to help them with their plans for the Second Impact.

A massive malfunction during the first activation test for Unit-00 caused the Eva to go "berserk." To prevent Rei from being seriously injured, the entry plug was ejected, and Gendo pried the plug's overheated door open with his bare hands to extract Rei. His hands have severe scarring because of this, and he is never shown without wearing gloves (except in episode 5, when he briefly takes them off and Shinji sees they are burned, and Ritsuko explains why).

Although Gendo pretends to follow SEELE's orders without question, he has his own agenda and tries to out-manipulate the committee. His final outspoken rebellion towards SEELE comes from his desire to initiate Third Impact under his complete control. He implants Adam's embryo in his hand (only shown in Death and Rebirth and the Director's Cut Edition) and tries to merge with Rei to achieve this purpose.

Gendo abandoned his son, Shinji, when he was a toddler and throughout the series, he was uninterested, distant, and harsh towards Shinji. In the movie, The End of Evangelion, Gendo and Rei are in Central Dogma in front of Lilith. He asks Rei to lower the A.T. Field so he can see Yui, his deceased wife again. Rei is supposedly made from some parts of Yui and when her A.T. field is lowered she and Gendo will dissolve into the "soup of life" (or "primordial goo") uniting Gendo with the pieces of Yui. She denies him saying, "I will not be your puppet" and cuts off part of his hand into her body. Despite his want to be reunited with his wife, he has affairs with Naoko Akagi, the developer of the Magi, and her daughter Ritsuko Akagi, head scientist of NERV. There is no love in these relationships and Gendo only does it to gain their favor or have them keep secrets.

In The End of Evangelion, Rei finally defies Gendo forwardly and separates with him (after absorbing Adam) to merge with Lilith and start Instrumentality on her own. Seeing that all his plans to be reunited with Yui have come to nothing, Gendo begs Rei to return to him, she refuses. After Instrumentality is started, Gendo confronts specters of the various Reis as well as Kaworu and Yui herself. Gendo confesses that he is afraid of the "invisible bonds" formed by those around him, and that he was afraid to confront his son after Yui's death. A vision of Unit-01, with much of its armor missing, (the real Unit-01 is at that moment within the Tree of Life, and still fully armored) is seen holding Gendo in much the same manner as Kaworu in Episode 24. Gendo states that "...this is my retribution", and the spectral Unit-01 bites off his torso as he utters his final words: "Forgive me, Shinji." The camera then shifts back to Terminal Dogma, where the lower half of Gendo's body is seen, still standing, with his torso severed.[5]

History[]

Neon Genesis Evangelion[]

The End of Evangelion[]

In Other Media[]

Neon Genesis Evangelion manga[]

Gendo in the manga

Gendo as he appears in the manga.

Gendo's role and overall character in the manga is pretty much the same, with only a few differences. Gendo is shown to be more antagonistic towards Shinji than in the anime, first shown when he calls his son a "coward" when he refuses to pilot Unit-01. Later, while Shinji is recovering, Gendo checks on Rei in the hospital, but barely acknowledges his own son.

Gendo activates Unit-01's Dummy System in the battle against Bardiel, resulting in the death of Tōji Suzuhara, the pilot of the possessed Unit-03 (an event exclusive to the manga; Tōji survives in the anime but is left horribly crippled and missing a leg). After Shinji uses Unit-01 to damage the cage, Gendo calls on Kaji to bring Shinji to his office. Shinji asks his father if he has anything to say to him, which Gendo does not answer. Shinji's responds to this by trying to punch him, but is held back by Kaji; Shinji screams that he never wants to see him again. Gendo's response to this is the same as in the anime, to have Shinji removed from NERV's records.

When Zeruel attacks and Rei fails to activate Unit-01, he heads down to the cage to try and get the Dummy System to work, which proves futile. Gendo, in his first act of distress, frantically asks why Unit-01 (and by extension, Yui) is rejecting him, to which Shinji's picture appears on the screens. This, and Shinji's sudden reappearance in the cage to do battle against Zeruel, surprises Gendo.

Just as in the anime, SEELE begins to doubt Gendo's trustworthiness after Unit-01 absorbs Zeruel's S² Engine. This results in them sending Kaworu Nagisa in order to spy on Gendo and NERV. Gendo increasingly defies SEELE while he continues to further his plan to take control of the Human Instrumentality Project. He later swallows Adam instead having it grafted to his hand.

During the invasion of NERV by the JSSDF, Gendo saves Shinji by projecting an AT Field from his left hand, which now has Adam embedded within. Gendo reveals the extent of his madness, telling Shinji that he has never loved him and that he used to feel jealous of the attention Yui gave to him, as well as detailing his plan to use Third Impact to become God and destroy humanity while reuniting with Yui. Gendo asks Shinji to pilot Unit-01 once again to aid in his plans, since Shinji has experienced loss and can now understand Gendo. Misato appears, however, and urges Shinji not to listen to his father.

After aiding Shinji and Misato's escape from the JSSDF, Gendo descends into Terminal Dogma to convince Rei to merge with Adam. As in The End of Evangelion, he shoots Ritsuko when she attempts to self-destruct NERV Headquarters to stop them. However, much to Gendo's surprise and anguish, Rei rejects him and destroys Adam, merging with Lilith without ever having absorbed the latter. After Rei/Lilith ascends from Terminal Dogma, Gendo is shot through the neck by a still-living Ritsuko in her final act. A vision of Yui confronts him as he lays dying, asking him to remember the first time he felt love for Shinji. After confessing that he has only caused his son pain, Gendo remembers Shinji as a newborn baby—the first time he felt love for him, and realizes that what Yui wanted (through the Evangelion project) was a better world for them to live in as a family. He thus redeems his soul in his final moments.

Shinji Ikari Raising Project[]

In Neon Genesis Evangelion: Shinji Ikari Raising Project, Gendo is shown in a humorous light, much unlike his anime counterpart. His antics, oftentimes embarrassing Shinji, often end with him being hit by Yui. During a blackout at NERV, he shined his torch in a scary way, which promptly earned him a smack from Yui. Another time, Gendo is reading a newspaper when Yui asks him if he told Shinji something (like she told Gendo to do). Gendo's response was to sweat and shake nervously and the scene ends with the sound effect of Yui hitting Gendo. Gendo is also shown to be a rather charismatic figure during this time, moving several members of NERV staff (notably all male) to aid with the "pedaling for power" plan.

Also, the perceived "father-son rivalry" between Gendo and Shinji in Evangelion fandom is parodied here, as both men decided to "compete" to see who could pedal the fastest. The contest was actually a way to generate electricity for NERV HQ, which had been hit by a blackout. The incident also pays homage to the original anime, where Gendo helps in the manual launching of the EVAs against the invading Angel. Interestingly, both Fuyutsuki and Rei were shown to put in their share of work before dropping out due to fatigue.

Neon Genesis Evangelion: Gakuen Datenroku[]

At the start of the manga, Gendo is stated to be overseas, having left Shinji in the care of Ryoji Kaji. About halfway through the story, Gendo is revealed to be behind NERV, the organization fighting the Angels. Shinji notes that something is amiss, as Gendo acts far colder and distant than he did when Shinji was a boy. At the story's climax, it is revealed that this Gendo is a doppelganger from an alternate universe, who came to this one as part of an ill-fated attempt to replace his universe's Yui following her death. After discovering that this universe's Gendo had been killed in a lab accident (the same one that resulted in Yui becoming trapped in the Tree of Y'ggdrasil), the alternate Gendo took his place.

He initially plans to have Rei Ayanami take Yui's place in the tree (thus freeing her), but the plan changes after Rei becomes fond of Shinji and refuses to give up her own existence. Gendo shoots Rei for her betrayal and attempts to use Shinji as a replacement, but is ultimately killed by falling debris from Y'ggdrasil, implied to have been caused by Yui.

Rebuild of Evangelion[]

Main article: Gendo Ikari/Rebuild

Neon Genesis Evangelion: ANIMA[]

Main article: Gendo Ikari/ANIMA

Voice Actors[]

  • Japanese: Fumihiko Tachiki
  • English: Tristan MacAvery, John SwaseyWP (Director's Cut), Ray ChaseWP (Netflix)
  • French: Michel Roy
  • Italian: Massimo Corvo, Roberto Draghetti (Netflix, Revival of Evangelion)
  • Portuguese (Brazil): Fábio Moura
  • Portuguese (Portugal): João Cardoso, Jorge Paupério
  • Russian:
  • Spanish (Spain):
  • Spanish (Latin America): Humberto Solórzano (First dub, Renewal dub), Idzi Dutkiewickz (Netflix)
  • Catalan:
  • German: Erich Räuker
  • Hindi:
  • Korean:
  • Chinese (Simplified):
  • Chinese (Traditional):

Development[]

Proposal 22 gendo

Early Gendo designs

Gendo's last names (Rokobungi and Ikari) mean "sextant" and "anchor" in Japanese, respectively. His first name was taken from another anime project prior to Evangelion that was aborted.[6] With different kanji "Ikari" can translate to "anger" or "rage". In the Evangelion 3.0 You can (not) Redo theatrical book, Gendo's name is depicted as "Gendoh Ikari". The understandably common theory of Gendo being on Anno's own father seems unlikely considering Anno was quite open about having a good relationship with him. Instead, Gendo is meant to be a representation of societal pressure, and also representing a strong father that would be a positive influence on Shinji so that he could grow more confident, in contrast to softer modern fathers.[2] In fact, Anno's father seemed to have influenced Toji of all people.[7][8] Anno said that Gendo was simply based on himself, and Nerv as a metaphor for Gainax itself, with him at the helm, but also subordinate to TV Tokyo's executives, represented by Seele.[9][10] He likened him to his Jungian shadow, a comparison he made only with Kaworu, while other characters like Shinji and Asuka were considered his conscious parts.[11] Gendo's full line when he shoots Ritsuko has been revealed privately by Anno to her voice actress, but the latter has promised not share it.[12][13] See Gendo's Silent Words.

At first, he would have ignored Shinji's birthday in Episode:14, but this was later re-introduced, as staff realized they did have a tenuous link left.[14] He also would not go to an expedition to Antarctica, but rather involved in an accident causing the Dead Sea to evaporate.[15] Initially, he wanted to bring about a "digitized human" and modify his body, and his goals were more sincere in pursuing Instrumentality itself, which he believed to be for the benefit of all humankind, rather than reuniting with Yui.[16] In the original ending, Gendo's Instrumentality Project would took place on a place called "Arqa", and he'd have a scene separating himself from Shinji and yelling to him, "Live!", recalling Nemo from Anno's previous Nadia.[17][9] His design comes from Commander Ed Straker of the TV series UFO.[18] His office includes Kabbalistic symbols.[19]

Gendo Ikari shares the same initials as the scientist Goro Ibuki who created the robot Jet Jaguar in the 1972 movie Godzilla vs Megalon. This may not be merely a coincidence as Anno is a noted fan of Godzilla having confirmed he based Jet Alone on Jet Jaguar and later working on Shin Godzilla to the point it delayed production on the final Rebuild movie for several years.

In contrast to his comments in the 1990s regarding NGE, Anno says that, when making 3.0+1.0, he now identifies with Gendo rather than Shinji.[20] Ritsuko's name, incidentally, was borrowed from a girlfriend of series creator Hideaki Anno that introduced him to sci-fi and shojo manga.[21]

References[]

  1. Evangelion Chronicle 27, p.8-12
  2. 2.0 2.1 "Ikari Gendo is not exactly popular in Japan. Many think that he is too stern with Shinji and that he generally exudes the aura of a hard, traditional, strict father. Gendo was meant to be a strong father who should have a positive influence on Shinji so that he could grow to be more confident and adult-like. Many modern fathers in Japan are “mollycoddled” which was another reason to make Ikari Gendo into a strong father."FUNime interview with Kazuya Tsurumaki, English translation by Kendrix
  3. from Hideaki Anno's Anime Expo '96 interview, pp20-3 in the November 1996 Newtype, as translated by Miyako Graham in issue 43, pages 40-41 of Protoculture Addicts and as quoted by Lawrence Eng [1][2][3]
  4. Kaji is named from the Japanese word for "rudder", forming a triad with Gendo and Shinji, whose surnames come from the words of other ship components, "anchor" (Ikari) and "sextant" (Rokubungi). See Character Name Origins
  5. People are surrounded by emptiness… And loneliness fills their hearts. And when humans’ history reaches its conclusion, Gendo Ikari will be reunited with his wife. Yui Ikari – the woman who loved a man unworthy of love. Did the Instrumentality Project exist to bring her back? Instrumentality (Complementation) for Gendo could only mean the resurrection of Yui. Having achieved this eagerly awaited reunion, Gendo confesses that he was “afraid” – afraid that contact with his son would only hurt his son. The hedgehog’s dilemma whereby the nearer we draw to one another, the more we hurt each other. This may be the nature of people who estrange themselves from each other using barriers of the heart. Gendo was also this type of weak person. Like his son, Shinji, he was nothing more than a cowardly, weak man. With his last words “Forgive me… Shinji,” Gendo is crushed by the jaws of Eva-01. Was this the retribution toward a man who kept running from the world, or was it also his salvation…? - End of Evangelion Program Book
  6. Character Name Origins
  7. Oizumi: About the complex you have because of your father’s body… you said, for instance, in an interview with Animage that even when drawing a robot you’re not satisfied until you’ve erased some part of it. Anno: Probably I have an attachment towards deformity. I can’t love [something] if it’s not broken somewhere. I believe that’s [due to] the influence of my father[’s condition].Schizo
  8. "My father has only one leg. While working at a lumber mill he had his left leg seriously injured with an electric saw. He was 16 years old at the time. He wears an artificial leg below the thigh. He has trouble walking, so he used to stay at home.
    But there is no doubt that I have been influenced by father's physical handicap. I cannot love anything perfect." - Disability Shapes Taste for the Imperfect
  9. 9.0 9.1 "Takekuma: There are people who have argued that Nerv is [a representation of] Studio Ghibli (laughing), but in truth Nerv is [a representation of] Gainax.
    Anno: That's so. It's what you would call an amateur group.
    Takekuma: You are projected into every one of the characters in your work, but you were in Gendo's position, right? The staff had to follow you anyway, even though [they] didn't know what [you were] thinking.
    Anno: I'm in that position as far as my standing is concerned. As to whether I'm projecting that much [into him], I don't really think so. But he is certainly my shadow."
    [...] I'm not sure that it's a real father [that Gendo represents]. Well, not a father in the sense of a parent with a blood relation to his child, but more, I think, [in the sense of being] a representative of society or the system. That's why he has that expression.
    Takekuma: So, he's kind of amorphous.
    Anno: The angels are the same. I made them appear amorphous in that way because, for me, society is unclear, the enemy is unclear.
    Takekuma: Gendo is [a representation of] the boundries or the pressure of society itself.
    Anno: That might be it. Perhaps Gendo is [a representation of] society itself. - Schizo/Parano
  10. Anno: A whole family would watch Heidi together. But as for Yamato, it was just me (laughs). But my father was soon tempted, too. After all, it was a program adults could enjoy. The first episode was a big surprise, and I became an instant fan. When the second episode came on, I put my cassette recorder next to the TV. I loudly begged my parents for one to help with English study. After listening three times I could repeat all the dialogue (laughs)! - Yoshinobu Nishizaki X Hideaki Anno, 2008 Interviews
  11. Eva Special Talk with Anno Hideaki and Toshiya Ueno (Newtype 11/1996)
  12. Koji Ide's Evangelion Forever
  13. Red Cross Book - Seiyuu Retrospective
  14. Evangelion Chronicle 18, pg 25-26
  15. Evangelion Chronicle 19, pg 25-26
  16. Advocate of the “Human Complementary Plan,” and also head official.
    Gradually becoming fixated on the research itself and turning into a digitalized human who justifies any means in order to achieve the goal.
    Believes his plan will form a utopia bringing true equality to all people.
    - Evangelion Proposal
  17. Sadamoto: The truth is that in the initial planning stages, there was a draft outline of the final episode. There were lines in it that were exactly the same as "Nadia." Even the lines were the same - what were the lines?
    Sato: "Live!" and so on.
    Sadamoto: Right, the father says "live!" and so forth. It was something like that. - Parano
  18. "Interview with Sadamoto Yoshiyuki", Der Mond
  19. At the beginning and end of the episode, the image displayed on the floor and ceiling of Gendo’s office is a chart called the Systema Sephirotica. This is a chart symbolic of the Kabbalistic arts, which became the basis of alchemy, mysticism, astrology, and other such fields, and it explains the creation of the world. The same chart appears in the opening sequence. - Platinum Episode Commentaries
  20. (Ogata): So I asked, "Why did you ask me that in the first place!?" I don't know if it was instrumental at that time or what it meant, but he said, "Among the members of this meeting only Todoroki (Ikki) and you understand Shinji's feelings”. (laughs). So I had a little discussion with the staff about how Shinji would act. (Ogata):"One day, I got a call from Khara, Inc. saying, 'We'd like to discuss the scenario,' so I went there and had a meeting. Anno said, 'I want to know your opinion on how to deal with Shinji's inability to speak at the end of 3.0.' "I told him, 'I'll do whatever Anno decides,' but he said, 'Now I feel closer to Gendou than Shinji. The only people who can understand Shinji's feelings now are Ogata and [Anno's assistant] Ikki Todoroki' (laughs)." - Evangelion 3.0+1.0 Assorted Translations
  21. "Anno thinks his first battle was with his staff. In junior high school, Anno had a friend - nowadays, he says, you would call her a girlfriend - named Ritsuko, who had a major impact on his life and introduced him to sci-fi and shojo manga" - 2nd June Interview
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