Original Neon Genesis Evangelion Actor Reveals Their Interpretation Of Controversial Scene

Neon Genesis Evangelion came back with a vengeance onto Netflix last month, allowing older fans to revisit the series and giving a whole new generation a look into the world of NERV and the troubled teenagers that pilot the mech suits, the EVA units. While there was certainly some controversy with the loss of the original “Fly Me To The Moon” theme as the ending to each episode, even more controversy arose from the change that seemed to arise within the relationship of Shinji Ikari and Kaworu Nagisa. One original voice actor has given their thoughts on the matter.

Kyle_Cardine of Buzzfeed News printed a transcript from a recent interview that sees Megumi Ogata, the original voice of Shinji Ikari, make a statement regarding the line that Shinji and Kaworu shared:

The debate has long been whether or not Kaworu said “I love you” to Shinji or “I like you”, which obviously changes the dynamic between the two friends. Whether Shinji and Kaworu loved or liked each other is still a point of contention and even Ogata isn’t 100% sure as she believes the “nuance is difficult”, though in the end admits that she believed Kaworu told Shinji he “liked him”. While Evangelion still managed to make waves on Netflix, there will be some controversies from the series that may be debated on for years to come.

What do you think SHOULD have been the line between Kaworu and Shinji in the latter end of Neon Genesis Evangelion? Were there any other changes that Netflix made to the series that you’d like to see undone? Feel free to let us know in the comments or hit me up directly on Twitter @EVComedy to talk all things comics and anime!

Neon Genesis Evangelion is a psychological drama by way of giant monster versus mech anime. The franchise debuted as a television series in 1995-1996 with two films following in 1997. Neon Genesis Evangelion: Death & Rebirth is an one-part drastically abridged retelling of the first 24 episodes of the television series, and one part new animation. The End of Evangelion, the second film, would incorporate some of Death & Rebirth’s original animation and offer an alternate take on the original series’ controversial final two episodes.

The series follows Shinji Ikari, who is recruited by his father to pilot the giant mech Evangelion in the fight against giant monsters known as Angels in the futuristic city of Tokyo-3. But Shinji is unwilling to bear this huge responsibility and is often conflicted about taking part in a war he was dragged into. This conflict of emotions leads to many introspective episodes that cover the range of religious, philosophical, and existential concepts.