[EVA] Gendou - man or monster?

[Carl Gustav Horn]

>
> Also from episode 21', the man himself this time (Platinum script):  
> IKARI:
> I'm not very good at being liked, but I am used to being treated  
> coldly.
>
> That sounds A LOT like a certain Eva Pilot, or at least his  
> perception of
> things, now doesn't it? ;) (Like father, like son.)

Gee, I wonder how the son became like the father?


>
> EoE, episode 26' (A2000A EoE Renewal fansub script):
>
> IKARI: I've been waiting for this moment. I can finally see you,  
> Yui.If I
> stayed with him, I'd only hurt Shinji. So, it'd be better to do  
> nothing.
>
> YUI: You were afraid of Shinji, weren't you?
>
> IKARI: I didn't believe that someone could love me. I don't deserve  
> it,
> either.
>

But the problem with that is he also hurt Shinji tremendously by not  
staying with him, so it's not as if he made a choice we can admire  
him for. Look, we know Shinji wanted his father's presence and praise  
his whole life--and wanting that isn't like some kid screaming for a  
PS3, it's a bare minimum thing any child should get from their  
parent. When you become a father (or mother), you have responsibility  
for your child. How can Gendo make the excuse that he didn't believe  
"someone" could love him? Naoko loved him. Ritsuko loved him. Rei  
loved him (and it seems he had no problem with her growing up around  
him, either). And of course, Yui loved him. Would it not have been  
more proper when the mother of his child vanished for Gendo to MAN  
THE FUCK UP and face his responsibilities?

Being "afraid" of a child you brought into this world is not an  
acceptable attitude for a parent to have--or if they have it, to  
simply surrender to that fear. If you have parenting issues, your  
responsibility is to try and work through them, not abandon your  
child. In the real world, there are a lot of big shots like Gendo who  
don't spend a lot of time with their children because they're busy  
running corporations and such--but they hire au pairs, nannies,  
counselors, child psychologists. And there's no evidence that having  
a completely fucked-up childhood is a prerequisite for piloting an  
Eva, or else what do we make of Toji and the relatively normal- 
seeming kids in Shinji's class? Why couldn't Shinji have grown up  
with guys like Toji and Kensuke, coming home to a nanny and getting  
the occasional grunt of approval whenever Dad shows up? Surely even  
that would be better than Gendo sending him away.

--C.