Gendo Ikari
Gendo Ikari is a fictional character from the Neon Genesis Evangelion franchise, created by Gainax. In the original anime series with the same name, Gendo is the supreme commander of the special agency Nerv, which is dedicated to the study and annihilation of Angels, a series of mysterious enemies of humans. Gendo is grief-stricken by the sudden death of his wife Yui, and abandons his son Shinji Ikari to devote himself to a plan named Human Instrumentality Project. Years later, Gendo asks Shinji to pilot a giant mecha named Evangelion; his pragmatic, cold, and calculating attitude leads him to use any means to achieve his personal goals. He also appears in the franchise's animated feature films and related media, video games, the original net animation Petit Eva: Evangelion@School, the Rebuild of Evangelion films, and the manga adaptation by Yoshiyuki Sadamoto.
The character, who was originally conceived as a modern version of Victor Frankenstein, is inspired by the personal experiences of the series' production staff, reflecting the absent, emotionally detached Japanese father figure. Neon Genesis Evangelion director Hideaki Anno's abusive father particularly influenced Gendo; the director also took inspiration from psychoanalytic concepts, especially the Freudian Oedipus complex, for his development.
Critics have negatively received Gendo, describing him as one of the meanest characters and one of the nastiest parents in Japanese animation history. Reviewers criticized his unscrupulous, abusive ways, while others were more appreciative of his role in spin-offs and the manga adaptation of the series. Reviewers appreciated Gendo's role in the theatrical saga Rebuild of Evangelion, and particularly in the film Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Time, and commented positively on his character development. Gendo's typical pose with hands clasped at mouth level has become popular, and has been homaged in other anime and manga. Merchandise featuring the character has also been released.
Conception
, the Neon Genesis Evangelion anime series director and main screenwriter, took Gendo's name from a character in a failed Gainax studio project, an anime that was planned before Evangelion but was never produced. For his bachelor name, he chose the word rokubungi; for his married name, he chose Ikari, to connect to the names of other characters in Neon Genesis Evangelion, inspired by nautical jargon and ships of the Imperial Japanese Navy. The character was designed by Yoshiyuki Sadamoto, mangaka of the comic version of the series. Sadamoto was influenced by the British television series UFO and modeled his relationship with Kozo Fuyutsuki on that between Commander Ed Straker and Colonel Alec Freeman from the classic series.The show's production staff chose interpersonal communication, specifically intergenerational communication, as a central theme of the series to reflect on the lack of communication and relational difficulties of the modern world. For the psychology of the character, the protagonist's father who is unable to emotionally communicate with his son, the director took inspiration from his personality, just like all the other characters in the series. The special agency Nerv, in particular, was conceived as a metaphor for Gainax studio; Anno also described Gendo as a representation of his shadow, the dark, unconscious side of an individual's psyche. The director stated he did not conceive Gendo as a concrete father with a blood tie to his son but as a representation of society, adding; "I don't think I projected that much ".
Gendo was influenced by the personal experiences of staff members, including that of Hideaki Anno, whose father injured his left leg with a power saw in a youthful accident, forcing him to wear a prosthesis. According to Anno himself, his father became emotionally unstable as a result of the accident and he grew up in a tense family environment, marked by physical and emotional punishment from his father.
According to Kazuya Tsurumaki, assistant director of the series:
In the early design stages of Neon Genesis Evangelion, Gainax decided to portray Gendo as a "mysterious person in behavior and words", a staunch defender of the Instrumentality Project, expressive, tumultuous, akin to a twenty-first-century Dr. Victor Frankenstein. Over time, he would become obsessed with research, justifying any means to achieve his goal to the point of transforming his own body and becoming a digitized human being. His goal, however, would be benevolent, in the belief he could realize a utopian dream capable of bringing true equality among people. In the first episode of the series, Gendo would have called Shinji to fight against an Angel named Raziel, and in the fourth episode, titled "Fourteen years, the first day", he would have ignored his son on his birthday, but these ideas were discarded during the show's production.
The writers originally intended Gendo would not have participated in a survey expedition to Antarctica, as in the final scenario; the original draft had him involved in a mysterious accident that would cause the Dead Sea to evaporate, as revealed in the twentieth episode of the show. In the finale, Gendo's true goals and the true purpose of the Instrumentality Project would be revealed; the ruins of a place called Arqa, which is never mentioned in the final version, would be revealed. The conclusion originally planned by the staff also included a scene in which Gendo, separating from his son Shinji, would have said "Live!", similarly to the ending of the previous Gainax studio work, Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water.
Voice
voiced Gendo in the original series, in the later films, spin-offs, video games and the Rebuild of Evangelion saga. Tachiki found it difficult to empathize with or understand Evangelion and Gendo, and wondered "whether I hated or loved Gendo". Tachiki was confused during the recordings; he failed to frame Gendo's laconic phrases and intentions, and was forced to ask how to recite his lines and interpret a particular phrase. He stated; "Honestly, when I first started the television series, I’d only just been exposed to the story. It turned out to be tough; I really agonized about how to make the character come across. I can't say it was a pleasant experience". During recording sessions for the original series and the 1997 feature films, he received support from the staff, and Hideaki Anno and the sound director coached and directed him.Tachiki encountered similar difficulties for the Rebuild of Evangelion saga, and in particular for the third installment, Evangelion: 3.0 You Can Redo, which was dubbed almost twenty years after the original series. However, Tachiki, while disconcerted by the futuristic setting and plot changes, was helped by his accumulated experience and greater maturity, due to which he acted more frankly and serenely than in the classic series. For the last installment of the saga, Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Time, Tachiki remained surprised by the script, having to go over his lines several times while looking at the still-incomplete drawings of the film. The first voice-recording sessions focused on his dialogue with Fututsuki, with a colleague older than him, which allowed him to relax more during the recording phase. Despite the changes in Gendo's characterization, the staff did not ask Tachiki to dub him emotionally but naturally, without passion and particular tension. Even in the case of Thrice Upon a Time, he had difficulties, given the change of direction. Tachiki's throat hurt while he was recording a complicated scene in which he shouts Yui's name and had to raise his voice; the production asked him to convey all his emotions and feelings at that moment.
In the North American A.D. Vision version of the series and the 1997 films, Gendo is voiced by Tristan MacAvery, except for additional parts in the director's cut and Rebuild, in which he is played by John Swasey. MacAvery had difficulties when dubbing the last two episodes, which are entirely set in Shinji's inner world; "I had no idea what was going on . I had to figure how I should read the part, flat or philosophical". MacAvery and the other actors said there was nothing wrong with the English translation since the Japanese original was "incomprehensible". Ray Chase voiced Gendo in the Netflix dub, while Swasey reprised his role for the Amazon Prime Video Rebuild dub.
Appearances
''Neon Genesis Evangelion''
Gendo Ikari, originally named Gendo Rokubungi, is presented at the beginning of the series as a cold man head of the special agency Nerv, deputy to the annihilation of the Angels. His parents are never named in the series, and no details are given about his childhood and adolescence. His past is explored in the twenty-first episode of the series. In 1999, when he is thirty-two years old, Gendo is arrested and designates Professor Kozo Fuyutsuki, a lecturer at Kyoto University, as his guarantor. After being exonerated at the hands of the professor, Gendo becomes romantically involved with Yui Ikari, a brilliant researcher and student of Fuyutsuki. The professor does not approve Gendo's actions, suspecting ulterior motives on his part. Yui is linked to a secret organization named Seele, and rumors say Gendo's only interest is to get close to Seele and exploit Yui's talent. To secretly carry out Seele's plans, Gendo participates in a research group known as the Katsuragi expedition, which leaves for Antarctica to conduct experiments regarding a mechanism known as the S² engine. On September 12, 2000, Gendo leaves Antarctica with other members of the group, including a man named Lorenz Keel, head of Seele. The next day, in an apparent coincidence, a gigantic natural disaster known as the Second Impact occurs. After marrying Yui, Gendo changes his surname in Ikari and, along with other members of Seele and Professor Fuyutsuki, participates in a United Nations-organized expedition to investigate the Second Impact. A little later, Seele assigns Gendo the role of director of the Laboratory for Artificial Evolution, with the task of directing a secret plan known as Project E.In 2003, Professor Fuyutsuki collects information about the Second Impact and arrives at the Artificial Evolution Laboratory, threatening the director to make public the truth. Gendo takes him to a bunker below the Laboratory, the headquarters of an organization known as Gehirn, and invites him to collaborate "to build the new history of mankind". After careful consideration, Fuyutsuki accepts the offer. The following year, Gendo attends an experiment to activate an Eva called Unit 01; due to an accident, Yui disappears and Gendo decides to leave his son Shinji to a guardian. A week after his wife's disappearance, Gendo tells Fuyutsuki about the Human Instrumentality Project, which he describes as "the path to godhood that none have ever succeeded in before". From that moment his goal changes and becomes that of reaching his deceased wife again. In 2010 the Gehirn is disbanded and replaced with the special agency Nerv.
In 2015, after years of silence, Gendo summons Shinji to the city of Tokyo-3 to let him pilot the Eva-01 and face the Angels. He keeps a cold attitude towards his son. Following the battle against the sixth Angel Gaghiel, a man named Ryoji Kaji gives Gendo a small, embryo-like object that is identified as the first Angel Adam. Gendo later implants the embryo in the palm of his right hand. Meanwhile, discrepancies arise between the commander and the Seele, both of which are intent on starting the Human Instrumentality Project. Gendo, unlike the Seele, decides to cause a "forbidden union" between Adam, implanted in his body, and the second Angel Lilith, whose soul is kept inside a girl named Rei Ayanami. After the defeat of the last Angel, Gendo attempts to reunite with Yui, betraying Seele. To implement the plan, he enters the deepest section of the headquarters, Terminal Dogma, with Rei and inserts his right hand into the girl's body so she can absorb Adam's embryo. Rei, however, betrays Gendo's expectations and joins the second Angel against his will, causing his plans to fail. During Instrumentality, Gendo meets the spirit of his wife and is devoured by a projection of the Eva-01.