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IKARI
Seiyuu: Fumihiko Tachiko
The undeniable head of NERV Headquarters in Tokyo-3 is Gendou Ikari.
At the end of the Twentieth Century, he was Gendou Rokubungi, graduate student. When he married, he took his wife's name of Ikari. It was believed that the reason for his marriage to Yui Ikari was to use her talent in bioengineering and to obtain the support of the organization that backed her.
Ikari: "Shinji, why don't you fight?"
Shinji: "There's a person in there, Father!"
Ikari: "Irrelevant! It is an Angel! Our enemy!!"
Shinji: "But . . . but I can't! I must help him! I can't kill!"
Ikari: "If you don't, you will die!" Shinji: "I'd rather die!!"
Ikari: "Cut all synchronization between the pilot and Unit 02. Do it now!!"Ikari is not a man to be trifled with nor does he tolerate a lack of courage in those around him. In the face of the impending doom of mankind should the Angels take back their own, failure is not an option.
But then again, does the end justify the means?
Through science and technology, Commander Ikari and his people have created their own god in the form of Evangelion.
Maybe Gendou Ikari himself is the new god who creates a new world and a new mankind after the flood and the fire. Perhaps Browning is not the poet to define NERV, but Milton.
Is it better to rule in Hell than to serve in Heaven?
For Ikari Gendou the answer is yes.
Seele: "It is impossible for us to retrieve the Lance of Longinus."
Seele: "Why did you use it?"
Seele: "In regard to the EVA series, we do not yet have all those scheduled."
Gendou: "The annihilation of the Angel was more important. There was no other way."
Seele: "No other way? Your excuses should be more persuasive."
Seele: "The things you have done recently are too impressive."
Gendou: (He receives an incoming message.)"Fuyutsuki, I am in a conference. All right." (He turns back to SEELE.) "An Angel is approaching at the moment. The rest of this discussion will have to wait until the next opportunity."
Seele: "If your chair remains."
Seele: "Ikari, are you going to betray us?"Unfortunately for him he may command NERV, but SEELE commands him. And they are not unaware that he may have motives in opposition to theirs. They constantly try to threaten and admonish him for any deviations in the schedule they have projected from the Dead Sea Scrolls.
At one time they seriously consider replacing him with Fuyutsuki.
Seele: "At last we have defeated the Angels up to 16th."
Seele: "Now that there's only one Angel left, which is described in Dead Sea Scrolls." Seele: "The promised time is nearby. The road has been long, with many victims."
Seele: "Yes. After losing the Lance of Longinus, we then lost EVA Unit 0."
Seele: "That's a sufficient reason to dismiss Ikari."
Seele: "Certainly he must understand why we returned Fuyutsuki alive."
Seele: "A new sacrifice is needed, against Ikari."
Seele: "And, the one must know the truth."But Ikari Gendou has a major flaw, he is very much like his son, Shinji. He isn't well liked and he doesn't play well with others.
Nor does he believe that he can be loved by others. He doesn't believe that he deserves to be loved. He doesn't hate Shinji, but he avoids and generally ignores him as much as possible. Like his son, he runs away from pain. Before he can be hurt by others, he shuts them out.
"I'll only hurt Shinji if I go near him. So it's better not to do anything."
And in all the instances where the Commander seems to cool under pressure, it's because he's afraid to feel. Feeling leads to pain. Reaching out to others could lead to rejection. The only person he opens up to is Rei.
The importance of Rei to Ikari is displayed throughout the series. But Episode 23 shows a clear need for her and everyone is witness to his obsession. Rei destroys herself to save Shinji. And Gendou risks Cell's ire by creating REI III. But more than that he sends out a damaged EVA 01 to save her.
Asuka: "What's this? Last time he didn't use EVA 01 for me."
After Yui's "death" Ikari fell into a rather one-sided relationship with Dr. Naoko Akagi, a brilliant computer scientist. It was one-sided because he had no real feelings for her, for him it was just about the sex. So maybe he suffers from Misato's problem as well, that the only to get close to another human is through intimate physical contact.
While giving his body to Naoko, he worked on resurrecting his true love through the creation of Rei. Rei replaced his son. Rei replaced his wife -- not that he had a physical relationship with her (that's what Ritsuko was for), but he gave honestly of himself to her. He talked to her, he laughed with her, and because of her he allowed himself to dream.
Because of his betrayal, because he believed that she had served her purpose, because he referred to her as an old hag, and because she strangled Rei, Naoko Akagi killed herself. She had created the Magi system for him, based on herself as a woman, as a mother, and as a scientist.
Gendou Ikari never mourned her. But he was grateful for the computer system.
And Naoko's daughter inherited the same rather bland taste in men. Ritsuko watched her mother and Ikari in an intimate embrace and, feeling lonely because her best friends were a couple, she believed that she wanted what her mother had, she believed that she wanted to be what her mother was.
So Ritsuko became the computer scientist for NERV HQ, dealing with her mother's three faces on a daily basis. And showing how much she hated her mother by sleeping with her mother's lover.
What did Ikari get out of this relationship with Ritsuko? He bound the brilliant computer scientist to his side and he used her for all she was worth. And she let it happen. Ritsuko's jealousy of Rei was well-founded, as had been her mother's for Yui and Rei.
In order to save Rei from being interrogated by SEELE, he served up Ritsuko to them on a platter with garnish.
Misato: "What is this?"
Ritsuko: "These are dummies. Nothing but the parts for Rei...."
Shinji: "Human? Is that a human?"
Ritsuko: "Yes, it's a human. EVA, which did not have a soul in the beginning, now that, has a human soul. All of these are salvaged. However the vessel, which truly contains a soul, is Rei. Only she has a soul. No other vessels have a soul. These Rei-like things here do not have a soul. They are nothing but vessels. So I will destroy them. Because I hate them."
Misato: "Do you know what are you doing?"
Ritsuko: "Yeah, I know. Destruction. These are not humans, but are human-shaped things. I lost to that thing. I couldn't win. When he is with me, I can bear any insult. I don't care about my own body. But he, he did ... I knew that. I am stupid. I am as stupid as my mother. Very stupid. You can kill me, if you wish. I'll be glad if you do."And when Ritsuko tries to stand up for herself, Ikari brings her down and shows her that he has always been the one in control of her life.
That control is of course a fallacy. Because he is controlled by his loneliness and his fear of getting close to people and his desire for Yui.
Even his relationship with Fuyutsuki is based on these emotions. Fuyutsuki had been his wife's favorite professor and friend; he had been opposed to Gehirn's research and sought initially to expose the organization for what it was; he can command the staff as well as Ikari and no one dislikes him. So Ikari brings him into the fold to show his power over this other man, this better man.
And when Ikari could make a friend of this man, he never really does, although he does acknowledge that Fuyutsuki has always been in love with Yui.
So when the end comes and Ikari can bring back his Yui by calling on Rei for feel something for him, he loses. He is in the end betrayed as he has betrayed others. Rei's loyalty is to Shinji. As is Yui's in her EVA 01 form, for she is the one who takes his life.
"Adam is already here with me. Adam and Lilith's forbidden union is the only way to see Yui again. There is no time. The AT Field will not be able to keep your form. Let us begin, Rei. Free the AT Field, the wall of your heart. Replenish the missing part of your soul. Leave the unnecessary outer shell and unify all of your heart and soul."
Is he pathetic? Yeah, but he does not deserve pity. He chose his path.