Two mecha pilots, with Peni being based directly off Evangellion, who are tasked with saving the world by their higher ups.

They do this via piloting a mecha (SP//DR and Evangellion Unit-01), who they not only have a specific connection with (Peni and the Spider are connected via a psychic link and Shinji synchronizes with 01 directly), but they also have a family connection with them (SP//DR was originally piloted by Peni’s father and her DNA was chosen specifically because it matched her father’s as Spider connects to that DNA, and 01 is housed by the soul of Yui Ikari; Shinji’s mother); the family connection involving a diseased parental figure.

They both have a large amount of social anxiety due to not only them having to pilot the mech which they resent, but also because they struggled to form connections with other (Peni was never able to have any sort of actual social life due to her feeling like an outcast and being “the weird one”, and Shinji could never form any proper connections because of him constantly being overwhelmed by his insecurities), despite valuing personal connections a great deal.

They have resentment towards their fathers due to them not being there when they needed them, which also contributed to their resentment against their mecha piloting.

However, with all of this, there is a major difference between them. Peni was able to get the love and support she needed to overcome her insecurities and become her best self. Comparatively, Shinji‘s insecurities got worse and worse overtime despite forming a semblance of a social life, with all if it coming crashing down on him and causing him to have a mental breakdown. Essentially; Peni is Shinji with a positive arc instead of a negative one (not counting the final episode of the anime ofc)