"Hedgehog's Dilemma", also known by the Japanese title is the fourth episode of the

anime is a Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, , in Japan and in Ja ...

Neon Genesis Evangelion , also known as ''Evangelion'' or ''Eva'', is a Japanese mecha anime television series produced by Gainax and Tatsunoko Production, and directed by Hideaki Anno. It was broadcast on TV Tokyo and its affiliates from October 1995 to March 1 ...

'', which was created by

Gainax Gainax Co., Ltd. (stylized as GAINAX; , Hepburn: ) was a Japanese anime studio famous for original productions such as '' Neon Genesis Evangelion'', '' Royal Space Force: The Wings of Honnêamise'', '' Gunbuster'', '' Nadia: The Secret of Blue ...

. The episode, written by Akio Satsukawa and directed by Tsuyoshi Kaga, was first broadcast on

TV Tokyo JOTX-DTV (channel 7), branded as is a Japanese television station that serves as the flagship of the TX Network.Shinji Ikari, a teenage boy who is recruited by his father Gendo to the organization Nerv to pilot a giant bio-machine

mecha In science fiction, or mechs are giant robots or machines, typically depicted as piloted, humanoid walking vehicles. The term was first used in Japanese (language), Japanese after shortening the English loanword or , but the meaning in Japan ...

named Evangelion into combat with beings called

Angels An angel is a spiritual (without a physical body), heavenly, or supernatural being, usually humanoid with bird-like wings, often depicted as a messenger or intermediary between God (the transcendent) and humanity (the profane) in variou ...

. In the episode, Shinji is overcome by the stress of being an Evangelion pilot and runs away from home. After wandering around Tokyo-3, he must choose between quitting and staying at Nerv. Production of "Hedgehog's Dilemma" took place after the fifth and sixth episodes were made, and the content varied from the staff's original ideas. It is the only episode in which ''Neon Genesis Evangelion'' director

Hideaki Anno is a Anime, Japanese animator, filmmaker, Film producer, producer, and voice actor. His most celebrated creation, the Neon Genesis Evangelion (franchise), ''Evangelion'' franchise, has had a significant influence on the anime television industr ...

is not credited with direction or screenplay. The episode's title references the namesake concept proposed by German

philosopher Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

Arthur Schopenhauer Arthur Schopenhauer ( ; ; 22 February 1788 – 21 September 1860) was a German philosopher. He is known for his 1818 work ''The World as Will and Representation'' (expanded in 1844), which characterizes the Phenomenon, phenomenal world as ...

, variously called the "hedgehog's" or the "porcupine's dilemma". The episode scored a 5.8% rating of audience share on Japanese TV and was generally well received by critics. The episode received appreciation for focusing on the psychological description of the characters. Critics also appreciated the philosophical themes and directorial choices of "Hedgehog's Dilemma", such as the representation of natural landscapes and the use of still images.

Plot

Special agency Nerv Major

Misato Katsuragi is a fictional character from the Gainax-created media franchise ''Neon Genesis Evangelion''. In the eponymous anime television series, Misato is head of the operations department of the special agency Nerv, and is in charge of directing an ...

notices Shinji Ikari, a minor in her custody and official Evangelion pilot, has run away from home. Shinji aimlessly wanders around the city of Tokyo-3 and the countryside, and meets his classmate

Kensuke Aida The Japanese anime television series ''Neon Genesis Evangelion'' has an extensive cast of characters that were created by Gainax. The show's protagonist is Shinji Ikari, a teenage boy whose father Gendo Ikari, Gendo recruits to the shadowy org ...

sleeping in a tent. In the morning, men in black escort Shinji back to Nerv headquarters, where he renounces the title of pilot and chooses to return to ordinary life. Shinji is taken to a station to board a special government train, and meets Kensuke and Toji Suzuhara, another of Shinji's classmates, who had struck him in the previous episode. Toji reconciles with Shinji under Kensuke's push. Misato drives to the station, believing Shinji has already left. She notices Shinji, who has decided not to board the train, on the platform, and they smile at each other.

Production

"Hedgehog's Dilemma" was once omitted in terms of the series composition, and it was planned that the fifth episode " Rei I" would come after the third, "

A Transfer "A Transfer", known by the Japanese title is the third episode of the anime ''Neon Genesis Evangelion'', created by Gainax. Series director Hideaki Anno and writer Akio Satsukawa wrote the episode, directed by Hiroyuki Ishido. It aired originally ...

". After the battle against Angel Shamshel, Shinji would become friends with Toji Suzuhara and

in "A Transfer", receiving a call from them. As production progressed, however, staff members said they thought there was a need to depict Shinji's relationships with the people around him after the third episode. "Hedgehog's Dilemma" was thus made with contents that differ from the original plans. Moreover, ''Neon Genesis Evangelion'' director

had already worked on the fifth and sixth episodes of the series, and tried to go beyond regular anime and develop realistic characters with the installments. The episode's script was written after the fifth episode's script had already been finalized, making "Hedgehog's Dilemma" the only episode in which director Anno did not have direct input into the plot and script. Akio Satsukawa wrote the episode, while

Junichi Sato is a Japanese anime director. After working for Toei Dōga (currently Toei Animation) and then TYO Animations (formerly Hal Film Maker), he joined Twin Engine in 2017. Sato has been active since the 1980s and is a hit maker who, as serie ...

, who is credited as Kiichi Jinme, drew the storyboard. Tsuyoshi Kaga directed the episode and Satoshi Shigeta served as chief animator. In 1993, Gainax wrote a presentation volume of ''Neon Genesis Evangelion'' named . The studio published the ''Proposal'' document in 1994. In the original project, the fourth episode should have been titled ; during the episode, Shinji's birthday would occur, but his father Gendo would have ignored the son without wishing him a happy birthday. Rei Ayanami would then attempt to make dinner for both of them, while Misato would decide something for Shinji. Hakone 20050105 140432

During production, the staff thought about opening and closing the episode with Misato reading the day's notes from her diary, but the idea was dropped and used for the movie '' Neon Genesis Evangelion: Death and Rebirth'' (1997). The draft script for "Hedgehog's Dilemma" also mentions dates that were cut from the broadcast, according to which the fourth episode spanned 15 to 18 July 2015. Furthermore, in a scene in which Shinji watches the disaster film about the Second Impact in a cinema, a "

story within a story A story within a story, also referred to as an embedded narrative, is a literary device in which a character within a story becomes the narrator of a second story (within the first one). Multiple layers of stories within stories are sometime ...

" script was created and dubbed for realism, including all of the film's main characters, who were voiced by Kōichi Nagano, Hiro Yūki,

Megumi Hayashibara is a Japanese voice actress, singer, lyricist and radio personality from Kita ward in Tokyo and is affiliated with self-founded Woodpark Office. One of the most prominent Japanese voice actresses since the 1990s, Hayashibara is best known for ...

, Fumihiko Tachiki as the doctor, Tetsuya Iwanaga and

Tomokazu Seki is a Japanese voice actor and singer. He has previously worked with Haikyō. He is honorary president of and affiliated with Atomic Monkey and the chairman of theater company HeroHero Q. He is a special lecturer at Japan Newart College. Caree ...

as his assistants. A frame in which Rei is analyzed in a computerized scanning was added in the following scenes, in which normal cells have been integrated with computer-generated effects. The Tokyo-3 signs in the night scene were also produced by the staff on the computer, and were later incorporated into the final drawings. Italian writer Mario Pasqualini noted how the scene features, among others, a karaoke sign, whose sign, however, reads , where the

kana are syllabary, syllabaries used to write Japanese phonology, Japanese phonological units, Mora (linguistics), morae. In current usage, ''kana'' most commonly refers to ''hiragana'' and ''katakana''. It can also refer to their ancestor , wh ...

character is replaced with . Pasqualini linked this to a specific choice of Anno already used in ''

Gunbuster ''Gunbuster'', known in Japan as , is a Japanese original video animation (OVA) series produced by Bandai Visual, Victor Entertainment, and Gainax and released from October 1988 to July 1989. It was the directorial debut of Hideaki Anno, b ...

'' and to the ''

gyaru-moji or is a style of obfuscated (cant (language), cant) Japanese writing system, Japanese writing popular amongst urban Japanese youth. As the name suggests ( meaning "gal"), this writing system was created by and remains primarily employed by yo ...

'' writing style, which has spread among Japanese youth during ''Evangelion'' broadcast using arbitrary homophones or graphic inventions. Writer Virginie Nebbia noticed that Misato, usually depicted in a sensual manner, wears long pajamas that cover her entire body in "Hedgehog's Dilemma". According to Nebbia, this is due to the absence of Anno from the main staff. However, Nebbia noted how Anno's imprint is still present, as it features elements typical of his direction, such as close-ups of electricity poles and the long silent final shot. During the episode, existing geographical places such as

Atsugi is a city located in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 223,960 and a population density of 2400 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . While the name "Atsugi" is often associated with the United ...

, Gōra, Togendai, the

Ōwakudani is a volcanic valley with active sulphur vents and hot spring A hot spring, hydrothermal spring, or geothermal spring is a Spring (hydrology), spring produced by the emergence of Geothermal activity, geothermally heated groundwater onto th ...

valley, a pampas grass field in

Sengokuhara , sometimes called Sengokubara, is a district in Hakone, Kanagawa, Japan. Geography The district covers a total area of approximately 22 km2,

Lake Ashi , also referred to as Hakone Lake or Ashinoko Lake, is a scenic lake in the Hakone area of Kanagawa Prefecture in Honshū, Japan. It is a crater lake that lies along the southwest wall of the caldera of Mount Hakone, a complex volcano that last ...

, are named and drawn. A fictional JRG train model named

Odakyu , commonly known as Odakyū, is a major railway company based in Tokyo, Japan, best known for its '' Romancecar'' series of limited express trains from Tokyo to Odawara, Enoshima, Tama New Town, and Hakone. The Odakyu Electric Railway Company f ...

7700 series CHiSE was also drawn for the episode. Hayashibara and Hiro Yūki served as female and male speakers of the train, respectively. Hayashibara and

Yūko Miyamura , also known by her nickname , is a Japanese actress, voice actress, singer and sound director. She played Kazuha Toyama in '' Detective Conan'', Casca in '' Berserk'' and Asuka Langley Soryu in '' Neon Genesis Evangelion''. Personal life Mi ...

also voiced two prostitutes in a scene in which Shinji wanders Tokyo-3 at night. For the last scene, which is set in the New Hakone Yumoto station, staff took inspiration from the real

Hakone-Yumoto Station is a railway station on the Hakone Tozan Line in Hakone, Kanagawa, Japan. Lines Hakone-Yumoto Station is served by the Hakone Tozan Line from to , although all Hakone Tozan Line trains start from this station, and only Odakyu services operate ...

, depicting it similarly to the actual station. The stairs into which Shinji is led by the men in black were depicted as dark, similar to the corridors of a prison. Another Okadyu

Romancecar The is Odakyu Electric Railway's name for its limited express luxury tourist services south-west of Tokyo, to mountain resorts such as Hakone and Gotemba (Mount Fuji), and beaches such as Odawara and Enoshima. When the service started in ...

train similar to the Odakyu 10000 series HiSE was drawn for the scene, along with a Renault Alpine A310 car without modifications driven by Misato. In the same sequence, the songs ''Bay Side Love Story – from Tokyo'' and ''Face'' from

Masami Okui is a Japanese singer and songwriter from Itami, Hyōgo. She began her professional musical career at age 21 as a concert backup singer. From almost the very beginning of her career, Masami has sung themes for anime television and movies. She ...

's album '' Gyuu'' (1995) were used as background music. A fifty-second-long take in which Shinji and Misato look at each other in the station was added as a conclusion to the episode. The take was originally supposed to be one minute long, but staff decided to cut it during production. Academic Philip Brophy noted that Shinji is positioned in wide-frame, visually reducing him in size, focus, and importance; the scene has no music, with just the station announcements and Okui's song "at the threshold of audibility", so "at these moments, location sound is either reduced or voided". Brophy described it as a musical ''

haiku is a type of short form poetry that originated in Japan. Traditional Japanese haiku consist of three phrases composed of 17 Mora (linguistics), morae (called ''On (Japanese prosody), on'' in Japanese) in a 5, 7, 5 pattern; that include a ''kire ...

'', where the "individual elements collide, merge, and quietly coumbst". British singer Claire Littley also sang a cover of "

Fly Me to the Moon "Fly Me to the Moon", originally titled "In Other Words", is a song written in 1954 by Bart Howard. The first recording of the song was made in 1954 by Kaye Ballard. Frank Sinatra, Frank Sinatra's 1964 version was closely associated with the Apo ...

" which was later used as the episode's closing theme song, replaced in late home video editions by another cover by Yoko Takahashi.

Cultural references and themes

The episode's English title "Hedgehog's Dilemma" references the

psychoanalytic PsychoanalysisFrom Greek: and is a set of theories and techniques of research to discover unconscious processes and their influence on conscious thought, emotion and behaviour. Based on dream interpretation, psychoanalysis is also a talk the ...

concept of the porcupine's dilemma, mentioned for the first time in the previous episode. The concept, suggested by Satsukawa during the script writing, is usually used to describe the behaviors of individuals with a

borderline personality disorder Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is a personality disorder characterized by a pervasive, long-term pattern of significant interpersonal relationship instability, an acute fear of Abandonment (emotional), abandonment, and intense emotiona ...

. Like the porcupines of

's ''

Parerga and Paralipomena ''Parerga and Paralipomena'' (Greek for "Appendices" and "Omissions", respectively; ) is a collection of philosophical reflections by Arthur Schopenhauer published in 1851. The selection was compiled not as a summation of or introduction to Schop ...

'', Shinji is afraid to be hurt and withdraws from human contact. As noted by writer Virginie Nebbia, all the main ''Evangelion'' characters hide their inner

self In philosophy, the self is an individual's own being, knowledge, and values, and the relationship between these attributes. The first-person perspective distinguishes selfhood from personal identity. Whereas "identity" is (literally) same ...

for fear of being hurt, as in Schopenhauer's dilemma. Shinji's relationship with Misato Katsuragi follows Schopenhauer's concept, since they both hurt but look for each other. Misato is also a victim of the dilemma, and during the episode she realizes Shinji's loneliness and communication difficulties. Gualtiero Cannarsi, who curated the Italian adaptation of the series, noticed the characters get closer without hurting each other at the end of the episode. Schopenhauer originally named his concept after the

porcupine Porcupines are large rodents with coats of sharp Spine (zoology), spines, or quills, that protect them against predation. The term covers two Family (biology), families of animals: the Old World porcupines of the family Hystricidae, and the New ...

, or ''hystricidae'' (''Stachelschweine'' in

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

); ''Evangelion'' staff however chose an alternative translation, since they wanted to portray Shinji as a

hedgehog A hedgehog is a spiny mammal of the subfamily Erinaceinae, in the eulipotyphlan family Erinaceidae. There are 17 species of hedgehog in five genera found throughout parts of Europe, Asia, and Africa, and in New Zealand by introduction. The ...

, an animal with smaller, blunter spines than those of a porcupine, suggesting more delicacy for the character. Furthermore, according to director Anno, when Shinji says "I'm back" at the New Hakone Yumoto station, the first stage of his growth journey ends. Shinji's temporary resignation from Nerv is a tribute to the television series ''

The Prisoner ''The Prisoner'' is a British television series created by Patrick McGoohan. McGoohan portrays Number Six (The Prisoner), Number Six, an unnamed British intelligence agent who is abducted and imprisoned in a The Village (The Prisoner), mysteri ...

'', Junichi Sato compared the third and the fourth episode of ''Evangelion'' to ''

Mobile Suit Victory Gundam , is a 1993 Japanese science fiction anime television series. It consists of 51 episodes, and was directed by Gundam creator Yoshiyuki Tomino. The series was first broadcast on TV Asahi (and its ANN stations). It is the fourth TV anime in ...

'', while critic Mario Pasqualini likened the scene in which Shinji stops near a Jizō statue to a similar sequence in the film ''

My Neighbor Totoro is a 1988 Japanese animated fantasy film written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki and animated by Studio Ghibli for Tokuma Shoten. It stars the voices of Noriko Hidaka, Chika Sakamoto and Hitoshi Takagi, and focuses on two young sisters a ...

'' (1988). According to academic Susan J. Napier , the scene shows how ''Evangelion'' has some "nostalgic aspects" for the premodern pastoral world. In the cinema scene, Shinji sees a movie named , a parody of '' Japan Sinks''. Cannarsi also noticed Kensuke plays a survivor game alone in "Hedgehog's Dilemma", comparing him to a military fan who appears in ''

Otaku no Video is a Japanese word that describes people with consuming interests, such as anime, manga, video games, computers or other highly enthusiastic hobbies. Its contemporary use originated with a 1983 essay by Akio Nakamori in '' Manga Burikko''. ...

'' (1991), a previous work by Gainax. Multiversity Comics' Matthew Garcia traced an influence on the episodes "A Transfer" and "Hedgehog's Dilemma" to Hideaki Anno's personal experience, particularly the production of his previous work, ''Nadia''; according to him, like Anno on ''Nadia'', Shinji is thrown "into a situation he didn't understand or have much investment in". The main theme of "A Transfer" and "Hedgehog's Dilemma" is interpersonal communication. No battle against an Angel is presented in the episode, which is entirely focused on the psychology of the characters instead. Cannarsi and Yūichirō Oguro, the editor of supplemental materials included in the Japanese edition of the series, noticed ''Evangelion'' characters have communication difficulties, except for Kensuke, who shows great communication skills in the episode. Kensuke takes advantage of his dialectical skills with his classmates Toji and Shinji in "Hedgehog's Dilemma", but they described his communicative ability as a

defense mechanism In psychoanalytic theory, defence mechanisms are unconscious psychological processes that protect the self from anxiety-producing thoughts and feelings related to internal conflicts and external stressors. According to this theory, healthy ...

that could mask loneliness and inner fragility. Walter Veit in ''

Psychology Today ''Psychology Today'' is an American media organization with a focus on psychology and human behavior. The publication began as a bimonthly magazine, which first appeared in 1967. The print magazine's reported circulation is 275,000 as of 2023. ...

'' compared Shinji's behavior to

Jean-Paul Sartre Jean-Paul Charles Aymard Sartre (, ; ; 21 June 1905 – 15 April 1980) was a French philosopher, playwright, novelist, screenwriter, political activist, biographer, and literary criticism, literary critic, considered a leading figure in 20th ...

existentialist Existentialism is a family of philosophical views and inquiry that explore the human individual's struggle to lead an authentic life despite the apparent absurdity or incomprehensibility of existence. In examining meaning, purpose, and value ...

concept of

bad faith Bad faith (Latin: ''mala fides'') is a sustained form of deception which consists of entertaining or pretending to entertain one set of feelings while acting as if influenced by another."of two hearts ... a sustained form of deception which c ...

and

Albert Camus Albert Camus ( ; ; 7 November 1913 – 4 January 1960) was a French philosopher, author, dramatist, journalist, world federalist, and political activist. He was the recipient of the 1957 Nobel Prize in Literature at the age of 44, the s ...

's " philosophical suicide" for his passivity and his submissive attitude. During the episode, Shinji flees from reality and listens to music with his

Sony is a Japanese multinational conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at Sony City in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. The Sony Group encompasses various businesses, including Sony Corporation (electronics), Sony Semiconductor Solutions (i ...

Digital Audio Tape Digital Audio Tape (DAT or R-DAT) is a signal recording and playback medium developed by Sony and introduced in 1987. In appearance it is similar to a Compact Cassette, using 3.81 mm / 0.15" (commonly referred to as 4 mm) magnetic t ...

, constantly repeating tracks 25 and 26; Carl Gustav Horn, editor of the English edition of the ''Evangelion'' manga, linked the tracks to the last two episodes of ''Evangelion'', which close the series in an interrogative style. For writer Philip Brophy, Shinji listens to his DAT "as if to soothe his own debilitating

PTSD Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental disorder that develops from experiencing a traumatic event, such as sexual assault, domestic violence, child abuse, warfare and its associated traumas, natural disaster, traffic collision, ...

state". According to writer Claudio Cordella, since Shinji "is living an unsuistainable situation for him, he has a rejection reaction with hallucinatory states". In the following scenes, Shinji is overcome by a panick attack; everything turns red with the sounds of cicadas, orchestral murmur, and reverberant sirens. According to Philip Brophy, "this is the noise of the world he is actively suppressing: the presence of others, the closeness of friends, the touch of Rei". Brophy also noted that Shinji's voice is noticeably different in the episode, with a calmer, higher-pitched, breathy sound, echoing Rei Ayanami. In the scene at the New Yamoto station, Toji demands Shinji to punch him back to make them even; academic Cristopher Smith described this as a "stereotypical manly exchange of violence expected to lead to homosocial bonding, at least in anime tropes". As noted by Smith, Shinji reluctantly agrees and punches Suzuhara, thereby momentarily performing hegemonic violent masculinity, but he cannot sustain this performance. Shinji then returns to Suzuhara with tears in his eyes proclaiming that he is the one who should be hit because he is "cowardly, timid, sneaky, weak". According to Smith, these four words are a "catalogue of his failures to perform hegemonic masculinity: cowardly and timid rather than courageous and confident, sneaky and weak instead of straightforward and strong". Moreover, Joshua Sorensen of Film Daze compared Shinji's attitude in "Hedgehog's Dilemma" to ''

otaku is a Japanese word that describes people with consuming interests, such as anime, manga, video games, computers or other highly enthusiastic hobbies. Its contemporary use originated with a 1983 essay by Akio Nakamori in '' Manga Burikko''. ...

'', a Japanese term for young people who are obsessed with computers or particular aspects of pop culture to the detriment of their social skills. The series' assistant director

Kazuya Tsurumaki Kazuya Tsurumaki (鶴巻和哉 ''Tsurumaki Kazuya'') is a Japanese anime director. He was born on February 2, 1966, in the city of Gosen, located in Niigata Prefecture. He is the protégé of Hideaki Anno, and a longtime animator at Gainax. T ...

, noting "distant, awkward communication" can be observed between Shinji and other characters in the first episodes, described ''Evangelion'' as a "story about communication" that is directed to the ''otaku'', criticized by director Anno for being overly closed in on themselves. Anime Feminist website writer Jeremy Tauber interpreted the scene in which Shinji listen to his walkman ignoring the other train passengers as a reference to "how the electronics industry drove Japanese consumers to alienation". According to Tauber, Shinji does demonstrate the symptoms of social withdrawal felt by Japanese youth at the time, as his preference towards dissociation over socialization and camaraderie indicates. Shinji's frequent habit of skipping habit. Tauber then compared Shinji's behaviour to ''

hikikomori ''Hikikomori'' (, "pulling inward, being confined") are reclusive adolescents or adults who withdraw from social life, often seeking extreme degrees of isolation and confinement. The term refers to both the sociological phenomenon in gener ...

'', young Japanese people who exhibit total withdrawal from society and seeking extreme degrees of social isolation; while not describing Shinji as strictly ''hikikomori'', he noted that skipping class, or ''

fushūgaku is a Japanese term meaning " non-attendance of school". Fushūgaku refers to students in Japan, primarily foreigners and non-citizens, that are not currently attending school. However, the term is generally used for people that never registered ...

'', is "a tell-tale sign of social withdrawal and the descension into ''hikikomori''-ism".

Reception

"Hedgehog's Dilemma" aired on October 25, 1995, and scored a 5.8% rating of audience share on Japanese TV. The episode was generally well received by critics. Stephen Bijan, writing for ''

The Verge ''The Verge'' is an American Technology journalism, technology news website headquarters, headquartered in Lower Manhattan, New York City and operated by Vox Media. The website publishes news, feature stories, guidebooks, product reviews, cons ...

'', described "Hedgehog's Dilemma"'s plot as one of the great tensions of the series and Shinji's reactions as instructive; he also considered the episode as an example of the show capacity of "synthesizing its philosophical influences into a coherent, cohesive whole".

Anime News Network Anime News Network (ANN) is a news website that reports on the status of anime, manga, video games, Japanese popular music and other related cultures within North America, Australia, Southeast Asia and Japan. The website offers reviews and ot ...

's reviewer Nick Creamer described it as "harrowing" and a "wholly tonal, visually driven experience". EX.org's Peter Cahill praised "A Transfer" and "Hedgehog's Dilemma", but also stated "action fans might be a little disappointed in the story", since character psychology has a more prominent role in it than mecha fights. Max Covill of

Film School Rejects Film School Rejects is an American blog devoted to movie reviews, interviews, film industry The film industry or motion picture industry comprises the technological and commercial institutions of filmmaking, i.e., film production company, prod ...

ranked "Hedgehog's Dilemma" among the lowest of ''Neon Genesis Evangelion'' episodes; he criticized Shinji for being "whiny and unlikable", attributing the negative traits to the exclusion of Anno from the screenplay, but he also listed the scene of the colloquy between Shinji and Misato, with the Nerv logo in the background, among the "perfect shots" of the series. Anthony Gramuglia from

Comic Book Resources ''CBR'', formerly ''Comic Book Resources'', is a news website primarily covering comic book news, comic book reviews, and comic book–related topics involving movies, television, anime, and video games. It is owned by Valnet, parent of publicat ...

defended Shinji's refusal to pilot the Eva and his weakness, comparing him to

Amuro Ray is a fictional character introduced in Sunrise (studio), Sunrise's 1979 anime series ''Mobile Suit Gundam''. As the first protagonist in the franchise, Amuro is a mechanic who becomes the pilot of the mecha known as RX-78-2 Gundam to protect h ...

from ''

Mobile Suit Gundam , also retrospectively known as ''First Gundam'', ''Gundam 0079'' or simply ''Gundam '79'', is a Japanese anime television series produced by Nippon Sunrise. Created and directed by Yoshiyuki Tomino, it premiered in Japan on Na ...

'', which he said was viewed "more favorably" by anime fans. The Animé Café Japanese reviewer Akio Nagatomi described the scene in which Kensuke plays a survivor game alone as an example of the "incongruous character traits" presented in the episode. He also said that the viewer is never concerned about the plot development, since "It's just not that well written". Jane Nagatomi similarly described the ending as "predictable enough", but praised the scene in which Shinji, Toji and Kensuke talk as "really cute", "definitely a touch different". Writer Dennis Redmond described the natural scenery around Tokyo-3 shown in the episode as "gorgeous". ''

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The co ...

'' Lauren Orsini praised the final scene's still frame of Shinji and Misato, describing it as a "refreshing alternative" from the frenetic action of modern shows and "a silent response to the noise that allows us to look inward alongside these characters". ''

'' Walter Veit attributed the popularization of the concept of the porcupine dilemma to ''Evangelion''. Official merchandise based on the episode has also been released, including lighters, umbrellas, and t-shirts.

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * * * * *

External links

* {{Neon Genesis Evangelion 1995 Japanese television episodes Neon Genesis Evangelion episodes Science fiction television episodes