There's something about Gendo

[Ryo]

As a regular visitor at FFNET, I've read a lot of Eva fics. Lately, though, the overall quality of the fanfics has dropped, at least IMO.

As if the current flood of Shinji/Rei fics wasn't enough ( :P ), many of the recent fics have one thing in common:

Gendo Bashing.

And the reviewers love it.

And I'm not talking about authors calling him a cold-hearted bastard, these are fics where Gendo dies and Shinji dances on his grave and sings "Hallelujah!"

It made me realize that my own views of the wretched man, summarized in an excellent way by EM in his writing thingy here, maybe isn't the mainstream opinion.

So, what are your own thoughts about him? Is he evil? An asshole? Misunderstood? Retarded? Cool? Weak? The baddest villian of them all, or the true hero of Evangelion? Or is he simply a badass über-pimp?


Before people start to bitch about "n00bs" and "search functions", there hasn't been an active thread about Gendo in the past 2-3 months. The question is, if I used one of those threads instead, would people accuse me of reviving dead threads?

[sachiel]

I like Gendo.

I mean, you can't not like him after seeing EoE, in my opinion. I think he's misunderstood in a way that makes others the victim if they don't understand him.

In EoE, he said that he didn't believe that anyone could love him. He avoided Shinji because he didn't want to hurt him. And in doing that, he made Shinji suffer because he thought his father had abandoned him completely.

That's what I think, anyway.


Shnooks is on the phone with me, and she loves Gendo. She's having an affair with him, but he doesn't know it yet. :shock: But she's not a scary fangirl, she does understand him.

[DatDude]

I hate gendo for lots of reasons but I don't let it affect my fan fic writing.

http://www.fanfiction.net/~datdude

And yes I'll eve get chapter two out on of these days

[Ryo]

That'd be about time, DD - It's been three months already.

[The Sandman]

Not only I hated him, I"LL KILL HIM. Before Gendo I thought Mikagi from Ceres was bad enought now here comes this Abraham Lincoin reject dissing his own son, a man who should be in a mental hospital, and when the TV cameras turns off , he'll sleeps with Rei.(Oops! I said too much.>__> Gendo going to sue my ass.)

• The Sandman: Listen Gendo. They don't know the tape so don't worry.
• Gendo:I'LL KILL YOU!!!!
• Gendo chokes Sandman

[DatDude]

That'd be about time, DD - It's been three months already.

Very true, I'll have to get a chapter out before school started up again.

[Defectron]

* The Sandman: Listen Gendo. They don't know the tape so don't worry.
* Gendo:I'LL KILL YOU!!!!
* Gendo chokes Sandman

No that's not how it would happen, Gendo would send a hitman after you and shoot you in some dirty looking room with a big fan.

Anyway my personal thoughts on Gendo is that he's a bastard but I don't hold that against him. Also on the outside he's the uber pimp cool guy with the sunglasses, but on the inside he's basically a more evil version of Shinji.

[The Sandman]

No that's not how it would happen, Gendo would send a hitman after you and shoot you in some dirty looking room with a fan.

Sure. Is like asking Kaji if he want another bullet in the heart.>__> (Asuka and Misato bitch slaps Sandman.)

[sachiel]

Well, in the manga, he kinda DID ask for another bullet to the heart. >__>

I don't have a working scanner, so lemme find some scans.

(Stage 55)

(Page 138)

(Page 139)

;__; Mehh, I get all sad when I read this. But yeah.



Anyway, I still think Gendo was a good character. I mean, he wasn't the best father there is, but he never intended to hurt Shinji. Gendo was used to being hated. He didn't think anyone could love him, or that he could love anyone else.
So he thought Shinji would be better off without him.
This scene in EoE makes that pretty obvious...

(Possible spoilers ahead. >___> Don't read if you haven't seen EoE.)

Gendo: I have been waiting for this moment for so long. I finally see you again, Yui... With me, I will just keep hurting Shinji. So, it is better to do nothing.

Yui: You are actually afraid of Shinji, aren't you...

Gendo: I don't believe I can love people. I don't have that quality.

Kaworu: This is only an appearance. Before you hurt yourself, you reject the entire world.

Yui: Between one person and another, there is no solid object blocking us from seeing one another.

Rei: Afraid, so you just close your heart to others.

Gendo: So this is my punishment? Sorry, Shinji.

(Script found here.)

[DatDude]

You forget sir, that gendo was used to being hated, and alone before he met Yui. As much as he valued yuis kindness and love his fear keep him from showing those emotions to their son.

You do not look a women in the face, and say I love you, and abandon youf first born child with this women because of fear and pain of loss.

I recognise the weakness we see in every eva character we get a good look at, but I see gendo as the weakest character in the bunch.

The man knew better, and it was Yui that taught him.

[Ryo]

Uh-huh. And that is a reason to hate him? If anything, he should be pitied. We don't know much, but his childhood and youth may've been worse than even Shinji's. He hid himself in order of not being hurt. Then he met Yui, the only person that could ever see the man behind the mask. There is no doubt that he loved her. Knowing him and his lack of self-esteem, he probably valued her higher than his own life.

And then she disappears.

Many of the choices Gendo made in life, we view as devious and underhanded. The way he (as the head of Nerv) consumed the Earth's less than abundant resources, the way he treated the pilots of the Evas, the way he had Jet Alone sabotaged, the way he nearly killed Touji, and how he (more than likely) had Kaji killed. They were all done with the understanding that all humans would be joined together in instrumentality. His knowledge that humanity is fundamentaly flawed and is heading towards a dead-end justifys and validates his actions. "The ends justify the means" is something he perscribes to, because in the end it doesn't matter, so long as we get there.

As we can expect, Gendo is not nearly that noble, as he wasn't doing it for the rest of humanity, but for the one and only person who ever truly loved him, his wife, Yui Ikari. It may seem selfish in a way, that his one thought was seeing his wife again, but who would not do the same in his position?

[sachiel]

You forget sir

I'm a girl, not a 'sir'.

I agree with Ryo's response to this.

[DatDude]

Uh-huh. And that is a reason to hate him? If anything, he should be pitied. We don't know much, but his childhood and youth may've been worse than even Shinji's. He hid himself in order of not being hurt. Then he met Yui, the only person that could ever see the man behind the mask. There is no doubt that he loved her. Knowing him and his lack of self-esteem, he probably valued her higher than his own life.

And then she disappears.

Yui ment so much and yet he never stoped to thing " What would she want me to do now that she's gone".

He though of himself, end of story.

Many of the choices Gendo made in life, we view as devious and underhanded. The way he (as the head of Nerv) consumed the Earth's less than abundant resources, the way he treated the pilots of the Evas, the way he had Jet Alone sabotaged, the way he nearly killed Touji, and how he (more than likely) had Kaji killed. They were all done with the understanding that all humans would be joined together in instrumentality. His knowledge that humanity is fundamentaly flawed and is heading towards a dead-end justifys and validates his actions. "The ends justify the means" is something he perscribes to, because in the end it doesn't matter, so long as we get there.

As we can expect, Gendo is not nearly that noble, as he wasn't doing it for the rest of humanity, but for the one and only person who ever truly loved him, his wife, Yui Ikari. It may seem selfish in a way, that his one thought was seeing his wife again, but who would not do the same in his position?

I wouldn't.

He loved a women more then life itself, and didn't honor that love and her momory by trying to do for their son what she did for him, show kindness and give a DAMN!

[sachiel]

He loved a women more then life itself, and didn't honor that love and her momory by trying to do for their son what she did for him, show kindness and give a DAMN!

Damn, you're persistent...

I already explained that. Yui wanted what was best for Shinji. Gendo, knowing he's a weak and wretched person (much like Kaji, who never told Misato that he loved her, although he knew he was about to die), thought Shinji would be better off without him.

He was wrong in thinking that, but he realizes that.

Gendo: "This is my punishment, then? Sorry, Shinji."

[DatDude]

Damn, you're persistent...

Thank you

I already explained that. Yui wanted what was best for Shinji. Gendo, knowing he's a weak and wretched person (much like Kaji, who never told Misato that he loved her, although he knew he was about to die), thought Shinji would be better off without him.

He was wrong in thinking that, but he realizes that.

Gendo: "This is my punishment, then? Sorry, Shinji."

I read your posts, I just can't forgive the man the way you do. I understand his very human weakness, but I can't forgive him for it.



Also sorry about the sir thing it just the internet and all :oops:

[sachiel]

I read your posts, I just can't forgive the man the way you do. I understand his very human weakness, but I can't forgive him for it.



Also sorry about the sir thing it just the internet and all :oops:

Ah, I see.

And it's okay. I realize that not a lot of Eva fans are girls. o_O;

[Phaze]

Is he evil?

Yes.

An asshole?

Yes.

Misunderstood?

Yes.

Retarded?

No.

Cool?

Yes.

Weak?

Yes.

The baddest villian of them all

No.

or the true hero of Evangelion?

No.

Or is he simply a badass über-pimp?

You can only recycle a joke so many times before it becomes useless.

Before people start to bitch about "n00bs" and "search functions", there hasn't been an active thread about Gendo in the past 2-3 months. The question is, if I used one of those threads instead, would people accuse me of reviving dead threads?

This isn't an elitist forum . . . yet.

[DatDude]

This isn't an elitist forum . . . yet.

The day it does is the day I leave for good, I can't stand boards like that.

[Hyper Shinchan]

I haven't read all the posts above (I'm sorry) but I hate Gendo, he's too selfish, and in EoE he has the finish that it's worthy for him. Maybe he was eated when he was young, but he can't trample the feelings of the other people like this. I don'ìt understand why I shouldn't hate him (of course coz he's a character of an anime and he's not real XD).