Kensuke Aida

Kensuke is Shinji's classmate at school in Tokyo-3, a scrawny military otaku who sneaks past checkpoints with a camcorder to catch glimpses of Eva units and NERV hardware. He idolizes the war machines and the idea of piloting one, pestering Shinji with questions and envy, oblivious to how much Shinji dreads the job he wants so badly.

He's comic relief built from real specificity — the exact brand of kid who memorizes tank specs and thinks combat looks cool from a safe distance — and that specificity is what makes him land as more than a stock sidekick. Kurt Stoll plays his enthusiasm straight, so the gap between his excitement and Shinji's misery does quiet, unforced work.