[Layton13]

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Shinji's biggest dilemma is choosing between saving the civilians and Riders, and also denying the Rider's wishes if it's done which is stopping the war, so by that he actually knows about being wrong? Also, what benefits will be gain from the other's beliefs?

Because a battle of ideas, desires and the like is build and won by understanding. People won't spring on onto the same argument. If you don't understand the ideology of your opponent your chances of confining them are slim at best. And, maybe, you could find a flaw in your own set of beliefs. Shinji doesn't do that. He never thinks about how others may feel, never considers their side, that's why he always loses. That's why the war ends in a stalemate. That's why everyone will be eaten by Mirror Monsters. That's why Ren has to clean up his mess because Shinji failed!

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They're all only self-serving, where Ren boasts about his cynicism to get only what he wants (killing to win the war, and he only prioritizing his loved one's wellbeing, which also gets him in a dilemma), Kitaoka is about hedonism; to only do anything that satisfies yourself,

No, Kitaoka is about survival, fear, and hopelessness. Shinji never understands him, why he fights or why he thinks he can't leave. He only ever tries platitudes which obviously don't work. Shinji only deals in platitudes, never developing past them. It's a hollow conviction with no ground to stand on.

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Shibaura is about treating life as a game, Tezuka is similar to Shinji's, about doing the right thing even if it won't benefit you otherwise (coming from Yuichi who wouldn't fight even if he can restore his fingers) and also run by fate,

He doesn't really care about doing the right thing though. He doesn't care about the Riders about saving anyone. he wants to stick it to Kenzaki and that's about it. Saving the Riders is an afterthought for him.

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and that's the one which inspired Shinji's (and Tezuka's run of it has similar outcome to Shinji's) to try changing the Rider by person, Sano is the happiness is money belief and that people can be bought, etc.

He is more about a quick way to wash away his problems and paying the price.

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His idiocy and naivete did cause a harm at first (Scissors part), but he does mature later, contrast when he finds it suspicious when Tiger works at .

His struggle with Asakura if he can be saved and the like never goes anywhere regardless. Even when he vows to stop him he can't follow through. Because Shinji doesn't have conviction, ideals, just hollow platitudes.

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If you bring up the Imperer arc to argue for this, then, it's Inoue screwing up his writing at that part by ignoring his development there.

Honestly, disagree. Inoue understood Shinji right from the get-go, or else he wouldn't have introduced Sanako Kanzaki, the most similar person to Shinji in the cast. And like Shinji, she ends up being wrong pretty much all of the time. All of Shinji's worst traits are personified in her, she is stubborn, judgmental and never deviates from her first opinion, hell, it's even her catchphrase. Inoue saw right past Kobayashi and pointed out what was wrong with Shinji and he was dead on the money in my opinion.

Obviously, there are always different readings about characters, but this threat honestly just strengthened my belief in my interpretation.