Gendo Ikari
A father's love twisted into a weapon that threatens to reshape all existence.
Gendo Ikari (Japanese: 碇 ゲンドウ, Hepburn: Ikari Gendō) is a fictional character from the Neon Genesis Evangelion franchise, created by animation studio Gainax. In the original anime series, 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 the 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.
- Role
- supreme commander of the special agency Nerv
- Affiliation
- Nerv
- Relation
- Father of Shinji Ikari; Husband of Yui Ikari (deceased)
- Key Trait
- pragmatic, cold, and calculating attitude
Verified Timeline
Lore & Background
Hideaki Anno, the Neon Genesis Evangelion anime series director and main screenwriter, took Gendo's name from a character in a failed Gainax studio project. For his bachelor name, he chose the word rokubungi (六文儀; lit. "sextant"); for his married name, he chose Ikari (碇; lit. "anchor"), 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. Gainax 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. In the early design stages, 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 Their Own Story
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 [into him]". Some fans have suggested that Gendo was partly inspired by Hideaki Anno's relationship with his father. Anno's father injured his left leg with a power saw in a youthful accident, which forced him to wear a prosthesis for the rest of his life. According to Anno himself, his father became emotionally unstable as a result of the accident, so he grew up in a tense family environment, marked by physical and emotional punishment from his father.
Reader's Guide
Fumihiko Tachiki 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 (Not) Redo (2012), 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 (2021), Tachiki remained surprised by the script, having to go over his lines several times while looking at the still-incomplete drawings of the film.
Did You Know?
- Gendo's name was taken from a character in a failed Gainax studio project that was planned before Evangelion but never produced.
- His bachelor name 'rokubungi' means 'sextant' in Japanese, and his married name 'Ikari' means 'anchor'.
- Gainax modeled Gendo's relationship with Kozo Fuyutsuki on that between Commander Ed Straker and Colonel Alec Freeman from the British TV series UFO.
- Hideaki Anno described Gendo as a representation of his shadow, the dark, unconscious side of an individual's psyche.
- In early drafts, Gendo would have commanded Eva-06 in a psychological confrontation with Shinji, and in one version Shinji would have been the one to kill Gendo.