KawoShin

KawoShin is the slash ship between Shinji Ikari and Kaworu Nagisa from the Neon Genesis Evangelion fandom.

Canon
Kaworu only appears in Episode 24 and the End of Evangelion. By the time they meet, Shinji feels completely alone. His friends have moved away, he is disgusted with Rei and Misato, and he is unsure of how to connect with Asuka.

Kaworu is friendly, gentle, and open towards Shinji, and Shinji quickly opens up to him in turn. Kaworu tells Shinji that he was born to meet him, and that he loves him. However, the next day, Kaworu is revealed to be an Angel.

Hijacking Unit 2, Kaworu attempts to initiate Third Impact. Shinji initially refuses to believe that Kaworu is an Angel, but quickly realizes he must fight him. Shinji defeats Kaworu, and Kaworu asks Shinji to kill him. He tells Shinji that his death will allow humanity to continue on. Shinji hesitates, but he eventually does so. Shinji is left broken and distraught by the decision.

In End of Evangelion, Rei takes Kaworu's form to calm Shinji. Rei and Kaworu, or mental images of them, help Shinji come to terms with himself, the world, and the traumas he has been through.

Fanon
Like Shinji's other pairings, KawoShin is divisive. The rapid development of their bond, the equally destructive end, and the slash nature has lead to many debates. Supporters argue that Kaworu was the only person who was consistently kind and caring to Shinji, and criticize the dub decision to translate Shinji's feelings on Kaworu as "liking him" rather than "loving" him. Some further suggest that fans who are against the pairing are motivated by homophobia.

Meanwhile, detractors argue that Shinji was too broken and Kaworu too naive for either to properly understand their feelings. They point out that Shinji was portrayed as unambiguously straight until Episode 24, and that Kaworu's death damaged Shinji immensely. Others argue that Kaworu was purposefully manipulating Shinji to break him.

Nevertheless, Kaworu and KawoShin have proved immensely popular. Many of the spin-offs have expanded on Kaworu and his dynamic with Shinji, while Rebuild of Evangelion 3.0 put a great deal of emphasis on them as well.

Fandom
AO3