>>283421104
If they had grown in the same shitty way as Shinji, yes. It was quite literally Gendou plan for him to grown lonely, introverted and desperate for approval, as that made him easier to manipulate.
Let's remember that the Kensuke and Toji we know had normal and happy lives so they would react very different to being thrown into being pilots instead of shinji.
They could still be manipulated and broken but in different ways. Toji using his anger and sense of duty to not being able to help his sister and the innocent.
While Kensuke is basically a mecha Otaku so just keep him interested enough to ignore the bad things of being a pilot.
>>283421136
The series does play with that a bit though?
Misato creating this weird picture in Shinji (and her own) mind where their relationship is both a mother-son thing but also sort of sexual in nature.
While Asuka indirectly awoken the most unstable degenerate violent side of him, because of the whole thing about them liking each other but being unable to express it.
Also, you know, to this day I don't fully comprehend what was Kaworu deal?
He seems to truly care for Shinji, and has always depicted as not being malignant, but that there's some manipulation is clear, starting from the simple fact of him being an angel and not telling Shinji until it's too late.
Was his goal just to traumatize Shinji or what? Making him trust him in such a way just to become his enemy and things to fall in such a way he pretty much let Shinji kill him.
Or was that it? He wanted Shinji to suicide assist him or some weird crap?
