The "Third Child", Shinji is 14 and has a little lack of confidence. He was brought to NERV by NERV's Mission's Director, Misato Katsuragi. When Shinji met his dad, he felt hurt when he remembered how his dad "left" him 10 years ago. He first didn't want to pilot the Eva Unit-01 but when he saw Rei injured, he felt sad for her and decided to pilot it instead of her. Shinji's talent seems to be luck. Shinji is a great Eva pilot. Although he hesitates sometimes, he can usually get the job done. He sort of likes Asuka. (in a way) Although he has suffered severe damages when piloting Eva Unit-01, he claims he's doing it for everyone......but is he really?
11 years ago, Yui, Shinji's Mother, was test-piloting Eva Unit-01. Due to her high synchronization rate of 400%, she had completely vaporised into the LCL but her soul remained in Eva Unit-01. She was killed right in front of Shinji. Gendo was accused for murdering her and Shinji ran from NERV.Gendo sent him to a teacher in Tokyo-1 and Shinji had been living with the teacher for 10 years. Although Shinji's forgetful, he never forgot how his father abandoned him.