依怙贔屓
e.ko.hi.iki

Literally: depend / rely on – depend / rely on – ally / strength – breathe through the nose / exert strength

Alternately: Favoritism. Bias. Taking sides with one’s friends, relations, or allies in a situation where one should be impartial or objective. Nepotism, for example.

Notes: While the first character of this compound is in the general-use set; the latter three are all “rare.” One of my dictionaries even specifies the final 屓 as referring to an exertion of strength in aikido practice. Nonetheless, the compound itself is relatively well known (when spoken, if not when written).

Note that the first character is pronounced e here, even though it is commonly read i; and that the final character is technically supposed to be read as simply ki, but that phonetic drift has rendered it as iki.

Realistically speaking, it’s much worse in Shinji’s case.