otaku central
KAJI
Seiyuu: Kouichi Yamadera
"I
know Commander Ikari is using me. But as long as he is, I can get the job
done."
There is a saying that with great power comes great responsibility, such is also true of knowledge. The idea of responsibility relates to the fifth in command -- Ryouji Kaji.
Kaji never actually takes command at any time, but his superior skills as tactician and strategist are made known time and again. It is unfortunate that once his "part-time" job became public that he lost his position in the battle order, because he is nearly as cunning as Commander Ikari and is a far better at motivating others.
He does manage to be a pain in Ikari's backside, ever close to the Commander to remind him of his errors.
- "Oh dear! These developments were unexpected, weren't they? How will you phrase your excuses to SEELE?" He asks Ikari, as he casually leans against the bureau in the massive office with the Systema Sephiroticum on the ceiling. Some would be intimidated, but not the cool and calculating Kaji.
When NERV is humiliated by the Seventh Angel and Katsuragi's job is on the line, Kaji develops the unconventional idea of a synchronous attack. Unit 01 and Unit 02 worked together in absolute cooperation and timing, defeating an angel that could split in two.
Eight years ago, Ryouji Kaji and Misato Katsuragi lived together. They were young and in love. Well, he was definitely in love with her and remained so until his death. They shared an apartment near the train tracks. Beer cans and instant ramen containers littered the floor. And an electric fan kept them cool in the unchanging climate, not an air conditioner. They were young and poor and happy -- for a while.
They were friends with Ritsuko Akagi, who has never understood the meaning of a loving relationship between two human beings -- and certainly not the unresolved tangled mess between Kaji and Misato. However, no one is quite as passionate about Ryou-chan as Asuka.
- Hikari: "He's that really cool guy? Kaji-san...?"
- Asuka: "Yeah, against these potato heaps, it's like comparing the moon to soft-shelled turtles."
- Ritsuko once warned Shinji that he shouldn't let one bad roommate ruin his life. Perhaps Ritsuko should have warned Misato and Kaji back when they lived together. Did Misato serve instant meals and beer to him?
- Shinji: "I thought you'd be a more serious person, Kaji."
- Kaji: "You're saying that to someone as arrow-straight and reliable as me, Shinji Ikari?"
Kaji and Misato met when they were students at the of Tokyo-2 University. Did Kaji join Gehirn upon graduation, as Misato and Ritsuko had? Misato likened him to her father because he dedicated himself to his work, perhaps to the exclusion of all else.
If they were living together when he started working for Gehirn at Hakone or simply the UN, headquartered in Tokyo-2, he may have been too busy to pay attention to her. And so she fled, thinking she didn't want to be like her mother, who cried when Dr. Katsuragi went to work.
How do you know Kaji is still a bachelor? Because he wears white socks with dark shoes and dark trousers. When he dresses formally, he wears a regular white tie against a white shirt. He's fairly sloppy in appearance.
He uses that disheveled look to hide the truth about his keen intelligence and ability. If he cut his hair and shaved, people would start taking him seriously, which is the last thing he wants.
Because he is a consummate intelligence operative, he becomes privy to many of the secrets upon which NERV is established. But he has his own secret -- he grows watermelons.
Unfortunately for NERV, the UN failed to believe his reports about SEELE or NERV.
"I can't believe that the purpose of the Instrumentality Project, which NERV is in charge of, is to trigger the Third Impact, to end humanity. What a ridiculous story." -- Prime Minister, Tokyo-2
Kaji likes to flirt outrageously, but in truth he's only interested in Misato. He just doesn't think she truly wants him back. He tells Ritsuko that it's not his style to keep fighting a battle he's sure to lose. He lost her once when Misato joined Gehirn Third Branch in Germany. And yet, he continues to pursue Misato.
Kaji's not just a charming scoundrel with a handsome face. It may seem as though he does little more than chase women . . . .
- Kaji: "Buy you a drink? Can of tea?"
- Shinji: "But . . . I'm a boy."
Kaji:
"Is that you, Shinji?" - Shinji: "Kaji-san, what are you doing here?"
- Kaji: "That's my line. What are you doing here, Shinji-kun?"
- Shinji: "I've decided that I will never pilot an EVA again."
- Kaji: "Is that so? Well, since my other job has become public knowledge, I'm off the combat roster. So, here I am. Sprinkling."
- Shinji: "At a time like this?"
- Kaji: "What better time? Although I would rather be between Misato's breasts, I wouldn't mind being here when I die."
- Shinji: "Die?"
He does, however, affect the story in many other ways. Because he's investigating NERV, he has information to share with Misato, who has been deliberately left out of the ring of intrigues. He becomes a substitute father to Shinji, much in the same way that Misato is the 14-year-old's surrogate mother. He encourages Shinji to fight in Episode 19, when the horrors (Asuka's paralyzed EVA is headless and armless, Rei's EVA is nearly blown up by an N2 mine) around them can't.
Kaji gets the characters he encounters to think. And one begins to wonder if the side he supports isn't the right one. In the end, he is an agent of the truth -- which is not a good thing to be in a world threatened by angels, defended by powerful tools of destruction, and ruled by super-secret organizations.