Tsurumaki averred that Shinji’s character was based mostly personally on that of Hideaki Anno. When PULP requested him what he intended by that, Tsurumaki explained, "For case in point, in Eva, I thought Shinji’s character would only be recognized by Japanese followers of this generation. But I was pretty delighted - or basically, stunned - to discover out that his form of character is also comprehended by Americans.