Angels in Neon Genesis Evangelion

In the anime and manga Neon Genesis Evangelion, Angels are beings which attack Tokyo-3 over the course of the story.

Description and information

All but two of the Angels are the progeny of Adam, itself the "First Angel". All Angels produce AT-Fields of varying strengths, and all are identified as "blood type: blue". They all possess S² engines, and most have an externalized core which serves as the seat of their soul; sufficient damage to an Angel's core will kill it. Upon their death, many Angels self-destruct, either producing a massive explosion or simply disintegrating.

Beyond these common properties, the Angels take no common form. They range from gargantuan to nano-sized and from bizarre in shape to human in appearance. Their abilities similarly run the gamut, from rapid viral-scale evolution to powerful positron beam attacks.

The Angels appear at various times in various places. Often, several weeks pass between the appearance of one Angel and the next, although in at least one instance (e.g. the timespan between the thirteenth and fourteenth Angels) two Angels have appeared within one day of each other. The location of their initial appearance, and even their apparent destination, also varies. A number of them emerge from or appear over the ocean, others appear out of thin air directly over Tokyo-3, while still others appear high up in the atmosphere. Supposedly, their arrival is predicted by the Dead Sea Scrolls in the possession of Seele.

Exactly how the Angels are related to humans is unknown. At one point, it is stated that mankind ate of the "Fruit of Wisdom", hence their intelligence and technology, and Angels ate of the "Fruit of Life", hence their immortality and powers. At a different point, it is stated that the Angels are merely different (evolutionary) paths that mankind could have taken. It is explicitly stated in the series that, even though they are composed of an altogether different form of matter ("characterized by both particulate and wave properties, like light") the Angels' genetic code bears a 99.89% similarity to humans.

Most of the Angels' names utilize the theophoric names of traditional angelology. It is not known whether these names are simply what Seele assigned to them or whether they are the Angels' "true" names. With the exception of Seele (and possibly Kaworu, as he identifies Lilith by name), most of the characters seem to be ignorant of the Angels' names, although Adam's name is known to a number of them. Also unknown are whether director Hideaki Anno or Angel designer Yoshiyuki Sadamoto deliberately chose the Angels' names after researching the angelology behind the names or whether they were chosen regardless of their mythological connotations. For the sake of completion, this list of Angels does mention the traditional angelological interpretation where appropriate.

The Japanese word used to refer to the Angels is shito (使徒, messenger, apostle, one who is dedicated to a holy cause). The word usually used for "angel" is tenshi (天使, messenger of heaven). The translation to "angel" was specified by Gainax. (Even in the original Japanese release, the English word "Angel" flashes onscreen in the opening sequence and appears on video screens in Nerv headquarters.) This is appropriate, given that the English word angel is derived from the Greek for "messenger" (ἄγγελος, angelos), which is also the source of the word "Evangelion".

The following is a list of the Angels in the series. Note that the Rebuild of Evangelion series numbers the Angels differently, with Sachiel, Shamshel and Ramiel identified as the 4th, 5th and 6th Angels respectively, instead of their original numbers of 3rd, 4th and 5th. The identity of the mystery Angel holding the position of 3rd has not been revealed yet.

Notes: There is debate among fans over the order and numbering of the Angels, and even over who qualifies as an Angel. However, official sources explicitly identify Adam as the "First Angel". Seele also identifies Sachiel as the "Third Angel", with succeeding Angels numbered accordingly. This unmistakably implicates Lilith as the second Angel.

The only legitimate controversy is the listing of Lilim (mankind) as the eighteenth Angel. Some lists identify Rei as the eighteenth, while others omit the eighteenth altogether. This list includes an eighteenth Angel for the sake of completion, and identifies Lilim as the eighteenth because they are explicitly identified as such.

Adam

The first Angel is Adam. It appeared just before Second Impact as a "giant of light" that resembles an Eva, and was also shown to have four wings (shown separately). All of the other Angels (apart from Lilith, Adam's "equal") are descended from Adam, although it is not made clear whether this is in a biological sense or a metaphysical sense. Adam's descendants possess the "Fruit of Life," the source of the Angels' power and immortality (also known as the S² Engine).

Adam was discovered in the White Moon, buried under Antarctica. The Katsuragi Expedition attempted a "contact experiment" with Adam using the Lance of Longinus, which went out of control and triggered Second Impact. Adam's body was reduced to an embryonic form, and its soul was resurrected into Kaworu Nagisa (see below). Adam's body was later retrieved and used as the basis for the Evangelions, with the exception of Unit 01 (see Lilith).

Later, Ryoji Kaji delivered Adam, encased in dura-bakelite, to Nerv commander Gendo Ikari, who at an unspecified later time had Adam grafted to his right palm. The series did not reveal what purpose this served, but in End of Evangelion, Gendo tried to physically merge Rei with Adam by pushing his right hand into her body.

Adam is named for the first human created by God in the Book of Genesis of the Hebrew Bible.

Notes:

• In Yoshiyuki Sadamoto's official manga of Evangelion, Gendo swallows the embryonic Adam.
• In the spin off video game Neon Genesis Evangelion 2, it is said Adam was planted, along with the White Moon, by an unknown "First Ancestral Race" as the intended progenitor of life on Earth. The game is supposedly to be the same story told from different angles and seen by different characters.

Lilith

The second Angel is Lilith. Lilith initially appears as a white, legless giant, whose face is covered with a mask displaying the Seven Eyes of God. Numerous human-like legs protrude from its legless stumps. The Angel is crucified on a giant cross in Terminal Dogma, the deepest level of Nerv headquarters. Lilith's torso constantly leaks LCL from an unseen wound, forming a lake of LCL at the base of its cross which is tapped to fill the Evas' entry plugs.

In First Impact, Lilith usurped Adam as the progenitor of life on Earth. All life on Earth is supposedly descended from this Angel, although it is never specified if this is in a biological sense or a metaphysical sense. Lilith's descendants possess the "Fruit of Wisdom," the source of human science and technology. The "Deleted Scenes" from episode 23 also reveal that Unit 01 is artificially derived from Lilith.

Lilith was discovered in the Black Moon, underneath Japan. The Black Moon was converted into the GeoFront, and the site of Lilith's body became Terminal Dogma. It is never stated whether Lilith was already crucified when it was found, or whether it was later crucified. At some point after Yui Ikari's contact experiment with Unit 01, Lilith's soul was placed into Rei Ayanami. Later, once it was retrieved, the Lance of Longinus was used to impale the Angel. When Kaji revealed Lilith to Misato Katsuragi, both assumed it was Adam. Tabris later properly identified it as Lilith. The series does not explicitly reveal Lilith's exact role in the plans for Instrumentality.

In The End of Evangelion, Gendo Ikari tried to initiate his version of Instrumentality by pushing his right hand (to which had been grafted the embryonic body of the Angel Adam) into Rei's body. Rei, however, absorbed Adam (along with most of Gendo's arm) into herself, rejected Gendo's control of her, and merged with Lilith on her own. Though Rei merged with Lilith, she took Lilith into the form of Rei for most of The End of Evangelion. The merged Rei/Lilith freed itself from its bonds and transformed into a colossal winged version of Rei. It then generated an anti-AT field which covered the entire planet, nullifying the AT fields of every human and reverting humanity back into the primordial soup. Rei/Lilith died when Shinji rejected Instrumentality.

Lilith is named for the first woman God created in Jewish mythology, who left the Garden of Eden after she refused to be subservient to Adam.

Notes:

• In the English dub of The End of Evangelion, a line by Misato is mistranslated as saying that Lilith was born from Adam. The correct translation reads that mankind was born from Lilith in the same way the Angels were born from Adam.
• In the Rebuild of Evangelion series, Lilith is revealed much earlier in the plot, and is identified by Misato. Her mask in this version resembles the face of Sachiel (now the fourth Angel), and there is a diagonal scar across her chest, the edges of which are marked by crucifix-shaped nails. In addition, she has already been impaled by the Lance of Longinus. However, another object resembling Lilith and with a mask resembling the original version appears at the end of the first film, apparently being excavated on the Moon.
• In the video game Neon Genesis Evangelion 2, it is said Lilith, together with the Black Moon, was created to be a "Seed of Life" by an unknown "First Ancestral Race". It is also stated that the Lance of Longinus used to hold Lilith was originally created for Adam. Lilith's own assigned Lance is presumed to have been lost during First Impact.

Sachiel

Sachiel, the third Angel, is the first Angel to attack Tokyo-3. It is a massive, vaguely humanoid creature with large bony structures on its shoulders and torso, gill-like structures on its legs, tridactyl hands, and a distinctive beaked face (a second face, behind and slightly to the side of the first one, is generated after an N² bomb is dropped on the Angel). It has a powerful long-range energy blast, which distinctly forms a Christian cross on detonation, and two sharp spikes which slide through its arms and extend through holes in its palms as striking weapons (when retracted, the spikes extend from the Angel's elbows) Its core is located prominently on its chest.

After easily defeating the UN military forces sent to attack it, Sachiel was briefly stopped by an N² bomb, from which it quickly recovered. It then fought Unit 01, in Shinji Ikari's first battle against an Angel. Initially, Sachiel defeated Unit 01, driving a spike through the Eva's head. However, the Eva went "berserk", re-engaged Sachiel, and inflicted massive damage to the Angel's core. The Angel then attached itself to Unit 01 and self-destructed, but failed to destroy Unit 01.

Sachiel demonstrates impressive regenerative abilities, recovering from an N² bomb in a matter of hours. The Angel also seems to have a limited ability to alter its own body structure, as demonstrated when it bulges its arm muscles to stop a missile, when it snaps Unit 01’s arm, and when it partly envelops Unit 01 and self-destructs.

Sachiel literally means Covering of God or Price of God. It is named for the Angel of Water (水の天使, Mizu no Tenshi).

Notes

• In the manga, Unit 01 engages Sachiel in combat twice. Rei pilots it in the first engagement, but is unable to defeat the Angel. She is injured in combat and she and Unit 01 are retrieved immediately prior to the detonation of an N² weapon.
• Both forms of Sachiel's bird-like face are used in Evangelion-related imagery and on Evangelion-related merchandise. It can also be seen at the beginning of the opening credits as the "face" of a drawing of a winged figure. In the Rebuild of Evangelion series, Lilith in Central Dogma and the Angel Shamshel are depicted with Sachiel masks.
• Although looking like a mask, the eyes of Sachiel actually blinked once in the original series while being attacked by missiles from attack helicopters and blinked a few times in the new movie.
• In Rebuild of Evangelion, after enveloping Unit 01, Sachiel explodes into LCL before self-destructing. It is also designated as the fourth angel instead of the third.

Shamshel

The fourth Angel, Shamshel, is a massive, vaguely arthropod-like creature, with a long cylindrical body, a roughly shovel-shaped head with two eyespot-like markings, and eight retractable segmented limbs. It also has two short "arms" that project energy whips, which can easily slice through objects and may also be used to manipulate objects. Shamshel remains horizontal during flight; during combat it raises itself upright by 90 degrees, with the "head" remaining parallel to the ground. Its core is located under its “throat.”

Shamshel was engaged by Shinji in Unit 01. During the battle, Unit 01's umbilical cable was severed by Shamshel's energy whips, and Shinji had to fight the Angel on battery power. Ignoring orders to retreat, Shinji inflicted a fatal wound to the Angel’s core using Unit 01’s progressive knife, killing it seconds before Unit 01's batteries expired. The minimal damage to Shamshel allowed Nerv to obtain a near-complete Angel specimen, although no report was ever submitted or published. Nerv was able to recover the Angel's S² engine, which the Third Branch would later attempt to install in Unit 04.

Shamshel literally means Lonely Conqueror of God. It is named for the Angel of the Morning (昼の天使, Hiru no Tenshi), charged with guarding the entrance to the Garden of Eden.

Notes

• Shamshel's name is misspelled as "Shamsel" during Seele's recollection of the Angel attacks up to Armisael in episode 23.
• In the Rebuild of Evangelion series, Shamshel has been redesigned: the segmented limbs under its head appear to be mobile rib-like structures connected to what resembles an exposed spine. It also has a small bone mask similar to Sachiel's over its head. Shamshel totally collapsed into LCL when it died; only the whip arms remained and solidified. It has also been designated as the fifth Angel instead of the fourth.

Trivia

• Shamshel's character designer, Yoshitoh Asari, depicts the Angel as female in omake comics called "Angel Kiss". One of the omake was included in the bonus materials in volume 2 of the official manga.

Ramiel

The fifth Angel, Ramiel, is a translucent and hollow octahedron. Ramiel defends itself with a proton particle beam that automatically targets any hostile object within a certain radius or any direct threat outside of it. It also bears an AT field so powerful that it visibly warps light passing through it. It extends a drill bit from its bottom apex and attempts to bore through the armor above the GeoFront, in the first credible attempt to reach Terminal Dogma. Despite being one of the most powerful and formidable Angels, Ramiel is very passive in nature, using a slowly moving drill to bore into the GeoFront while using its deadly energy attacks only for defensive purposes. Ramiel's core is not shown, but it is implied to be deep within the Angel's body. Rebuild of Evangelion reveals Ramiel's core at the center of its body.

Ramiel was defeated by Rei and Shinji in a coordinated assault (the two pilots' first operation together). Shinji used a positron cannon appropriated from the JSSDF and powered with the entire Japanese power grid, and Rei protected Shinji using a special shield constructed from the heat shield of an SSTO spacecraft(in the anime series, the shield is said to come from the American Space Shuttle). The overall plan was named Yashima (ヤシマ作戦). Ramiel reacted and fired at the same time as Shinji. The two beams met each other, warping each other and causing both to miss. Ramiel fired a second shot before the positron cannon could fully recharge; Rei blocked the beam, first with the shield and then with Unit 00 itself after the shield was destroyed. This bought Shinji enough time to fire a second shot after the cannon recharged, which passed through Ramiel's center and killed it. Like Shamshel, Ramiel's corpse remained intact and was shown over the next several episodes being gradually deconstructed.

Ramiel literally means Thunder of God. It is named for the Angel of Thunder (雷の天使, Kaminari no Tenshi) and divine visions, who guides the souls of the faithful to Heaven..

Notes

• In the Rebuild of Evangelion series, Ramiel has been changed significantly: it at first retains its original octahedral shape, but can also change shape to suit its situation, such as when performing a variety of offensive attacks (ranging from six pyramids on every side of the core then firing four beams into a one pyramid to enhance its power then to wheel shape for a 360 degrees attack, etc). Ramiel also has one defensive state where it morphs itself into a thick hexagon to focus its AT field into one area. Several of these transformations while attacking revealed multiple cores, and it is also shown that the particle beam comes from the core itself. Instead of using a shaft-like drill bit Ramiel instead twists its bottom vertex into a drill. The attack plan retained the same name, but included attacking the Angel with conventional missiles and projectiles to activate its defence system in order to reveal the core. Shinji's first shot hits but does not kill Ramiel. Ramiel manages to regenerate some of the damage and fires back in a star shape but its shot is blocked by a large hill of rock. Ramiel then fires another shot which melts through and makes contact with Rei's shield. Shinji then fires another shot which kills Ramiel. Ramiel screams and bleeds both times it is hit and turns into a large spiky wheel shape, but on the second hit its entire body gradually decays into LCL.

• It is also specifically mentioned the United Nations and Japanese Government preferred the operation of using enough N² bombs to destroy it. According to simulations run by Magi and Magi 2, this would also destroy the Geofront and Nerv headquarters.

Gaghiel

The sixth Angel, Gaghiel, is an aquatic being with a massive body and long jaws filled with sharp teeth. It also has a small "face" similar to Sachiel's on its forehead, and its core is located in its mouth. It is extremely strong, and can use parts of its body to easily slice up combat warships. Unlike the preceding Angels, it does not generate a visible AT field (though it does not appear to be damaged by any fire from the naval vessels around it).

Gaghiel attacked the UN Pacific fleet as it was delivering Unit 02 and (secretly) the preserved embryonic Adam to Nerv. Gaghiel was searching for the Adam embryo, but because the presence of the embryo was secret (apparently even from Seele), Nerv officially reported that Gaghiel was drawn by Unit 02. It managed to damage or destroy almost one third of the UN's combined fleet.

Gaghiel fought with Unit 02, piloted jointly by Asuka Langley Soryu and Shinji Ikari in their first battle together. Asuka brashly challenges Gaghiel in Unit 02 wearing only B-type equipment (unsuited for marine combat). Gaghiel does not knock Unit 02 into the ocean. Instead, a miscalculation by Asuka makes Unit 02 step onto a flight deck elevator which collapses, throwing the Eva and the Angel into the water, where Asuka and Shinji find themselves immobilized. The Angel bites down on them, trapping them in its jaws. Misato hatches a plan, and Unit 02 forces the Angel's mouth open (though only with Asuka and Shinji working and thinking in unison), allowing a pair of scuttled Iowa-class battleships (the Illinois and Kentucky) to lodge in its mouth (knocking out most of its teeth in the process) and fire (via remote control) at the Angel's core, then self-destruct inside the Angel, killing it.

Gaghiel literally means Roaring Beast of God. It is named after the Angel of the Fish (魚の天使, Sakana no Tenshi).

Notes

• In the manga, Gaghiel's appearance is limited to a video shown to Misato, Rei, and Shinji by Ritsuko Akagi, showing Unit 02 engaging the Angel and inflicting massive damage with its progressive knife. Ritsuko states that Gaghiel was killed by a point-blank assault from ships accompanying Unit 02, a similar tactic to that used in the anime.

Trivia

• Illinois and Kentucky were the only two ships of the Iowa class not completed (cancelled in 1945 and 1950, respectively), yet when shown in the series they appear as they would have had they been modernized in the 1980s under the 600-ship Navy program.
• Most of the ships shown in the episode are of recognisable classes, but have fictitious names. An exception is the Russian destroyer Udaloy, scrapped in 2002.

Israfel

The seventh Angel, Israfel, has the appearance of a massive, vaguely humanoid creature, similar to Sachiel. Israfel has a face/mask, reminiscent of Sachiel’s, which resembles a yin-yang symbol. Israfel has a pair of razor sharp claws and a weak energy beam (compared to other Angels). Its AT field appears to be relatively weak. It has two cores located in its chest, matched on either side of its center torso by four external bone-like rib structures.

Israfel’s most notable weapon is its ability to split itself into separate, twin Angels, referred to as "Alpha" and "Beta" in the English translation and "Kou" and "Otsu" in the original Japanese. The twin Angels are almost identical in appearance and properties to the original (except in color scheme). Both have faces/masks with three eye holes and possess their own cores, though they lack the rib structures in their chest(s). They (apparently) use synchronized tactics to fight enemies. Both cores must be destroyed at the same time, or they will heal each other.

After emerging from the ocean, Israfel was engaged by Asuka and Shinji. Defying orders to attack in synch with Shinji, Asuka assaulted the Angel alone, cleaving it in two. Shocking everyone, Israfel split into its twins, and decisively defeated Asuka and Shinji. To Nerv’s embarrassment, the UN Secondary Command was allowed to take over the battle, and an N² bomb was dropped on the Angel, vaporizing 28% of its mass. The Angel was incapacitated for roughly six days, during which time it recovered from its injuries.

Israfel was defeated through a synchronized attack by Shinji and Asuka, concerted via a musical score and with the memorization of numerous dance moves, first forcing the Angel to split into its twins, then back into its singular mode, this time with the two cores exposed which were destroyed simultaneously.

Israfel is named for the twin Angels of Poetry, Music and Dance (音楽の天使, Ongaku no Tenshi).

Notes:

• It is stated in the anime that the dance music was sixty-two seconds long, but the actual score composed by Shiro Sagisu for this specific scene- "Both of You, Dance Like You Want to Win!" (hence the English title of the episode) - is not the same length (1:50min instead) and was cut down to match the footage. The countdown on screen is different from real time; it is similar to SMPTE timecode used for editing, synchronization and identification of video.

• In the manga, Israfel remains split into its "twins" after it initially divides.

Sandalphon

The eighth Angel, Sandalphon, is similar in form to the aquatic Cambrian predator Anomalocaris. It appears to have no abilities beyond its extraordinary resistance to heat and pressure, up to the point of being able to open its mouth in magma. Its own AT field was never strong enough to physically manifest. Its core was never depicted.

Sandalphon was discovered in an embryonic state deep inside the Mount Asama volcano. Nerv was determined to take advantage of this unprecedented opportunity to strike first against an Angel. Asuka, in Unit 02, was sent to capture the Angel using a special electromagnetic cage. The Eva’s normal B-type equipment was not designed for extreme environments, so Unit 02 was equipped with the D-type Equipment, specifically designed for extreme conditions like magma. During the operation the Angel awoke, rapidly developed into its adult form, and attacked Unit 02, damaging it, however Unit 02 could not take any countermeasure due to the fact that it had lost its progressive knife earlier from the pressure of the lava (It was sent over the depth limit of the D-type equipment). Sandalphon was defeated by Asuka using the D-type equipment's coolant (inspired by an earlier conversation with Shinji regarding thermal expansion) and Unit 01's progressive knife.

Sandalphon is named for the angel of tears and the master of heavenly song, whose duty is to deliver prayers to God, and is also the Angel of Embryos (胎児の天使, Taiji no Tenshi).

Notes:

• Sandalphon did not appear in the manga adaptation of Evangelion.

Matariel

The ninth Angel, Matariel, has the appearance of a massive opilionid-like creature with numerous eyes. The central eye on the underbelly secretes a strong solvent which can easily melt through both concrete and steel. The Angel attempts to burn a tunnel directly into the Geofront using the solvent. The Angel appears to possess no armament beyond this solvent, and its AT-Field never physically manifests, though the battle plan against it made mention of using Unit 02 to nullify its AT field before it would be fired upon. Matariel's core is not revealed.

Matariel emerged from the ocean during a near-total power outage in Tokyo-3 (caused by an unnamed individual or party). It was defeated through the coordinated efforts of Units 00, 01, and 02, in the first simultaneous deployment of all three Evas. Due to the power outage, the Evas ran on their internal batteries, supplemented by large additional batteries mounted to the shoulder boxes, and had to be launched manually. The Angel was killed using standard-issue Eva firearms, the only successful attempt at doing so.

Matariel literally means Premonition of God. It is named for the Angel of Rain (雨の天使, Ame no Tenshi).

Notes:

• Matariel did not appear in the manga adaptation of Evangelion, though the power outage that preceded its appearance still occurred.

Sahaquiel

The tenth Angel, Sahaquiel, is a massive and bizarrely-shaped creature. It has an elongated body, with three eye-like markings (one in the center and one on either end of the body), and three stem-like growths projecting radially at both ends. Sahaquiel's AT field is comparatively powerful, able to shield the Angel from several dozen N² bombs. It also seems to have an ability to jam satellite communications. The Angel's most devastating weapon is itself: utilizing both kinetic energy and its AT field, it drops pieces of itself onto Earth as bombs. Its core appears as the pupil of the central "eye."

Sahaquiel first appeared in low-earth orbit. The Angel's jamming ability prevented Nerv HQ from contacting Commander Ikari or Sub-Commander Fuyutsuki in Antarctica. When Nerv attempted to analyze the Angel, it crushed the scanning satellites with its AT field (although they were able to complete the scan). Attempts to destroy the Angel using N² bombs utterly failed. The Angel began dropping pieces of itself onto Earth. The first hit landed in the middle of the Pacific Ocean (far from Tokyo-3) but with each successive hit the Angel's aim improved. For the final blow, the attack that would land on Nerv proper, Sahaquiel intended to drop its entire body onto Tokyo-3. The resulting blast would have been so powerful that Tokyo-3 would have been transformed into an extension of the Pacific Ocean.

Sahaquiel was intercepted and killed through the combined efforts of all three Evas. They first stopped the Angel's physical descent and canceled out its AT field, negating both of its main means of attack, then killed the Angel by stabbing its core with a prog knife.

Sahaquiel literally means Ingenuity of God. It is named for the Angel of the Skies (空の天使, Sora no Tenshi).

• Because of the extreme physical exertion needed to keep the Angel from touching the ground until the other EVAs arrived, Unit 01 sustains a minor stress fracture break to its right arm. (Oddly, during this time, Shinji himself showed no signs of feeling the EVA's pain even after the other two arrived.)
• In the manga, it is considered the 7th angel (Vol.30, p.31).
• Eva Unit 01 also achieves amazing speeds and a shockwave is visible in the dust rings formed from its run.

Iruel

The eleventh Angel, Iruel, is a nano-scale entity, similar to a virus. In addition to its AT field, it demonstrates an ability to adapt and evolve to almost anything. Rather than "moving" in the conventional sense, the Angel seems to simply spread by rapidly reproducing at the cellular level. It is not known whether or not Iruel has a core.

It appears in the Pribnow Box deep in the GeoFront, where it is initially mistaken for corrosion before spreading to where the pilots are taking part in tests. Ritsuko and Misato, prior to understanding what they were up against, attempted to destroy the "corrosion" with lasers, only to have an AT field materialize to block their efforts. They soon discovered that the Angel is vulnerable to ozone and so pumped large amounts of it into the area of infection. The tactic temporarily stopped the Angel's spread, but after only a few seconds, it adapted to the ozone, and even absorbed it to increase its strength before suddenly mutating into a form resembling electronic circuitry. Linked into the Pribnow box computer systems, the Angel electronically hacked into the MAGI computer systems, protecting the hard connections with an AT field on the cables to prevent it from being cut off. While inside, it read many critical files and initiated a self-destruct sequence before being slowed down long enough by Ritsuko to allow her in turn to initiate the Angel's destruction by using the last "free" MAGI to set the Angel on an evolutionary path to its own annihilation.

Iruel literally means Fear of God. It is named for the Angel of Terror (恐怖の天使, Kyōfu no Tenshi).

Notes:

• Iruel did not appear in the manga, though MAGI was programmed directly to stop an attempt to hack into MAGI by Seele with two or three other MAGI systems in other branches of Seele.
• Iruel infects Rei's simulation body and causes it to move; however, all the pilots are ejected, unharmed (although Rei screams, a sound similar to when the Angels analyze Asuka. This is posibly a reference both to that incident and to the early talk of Rei's mental instability).

Leliel

The twelfth Angel, Leliel, has a misleading appearance and possesses bizarre properties and powers. The Angel initially appears as a large, floating, black-and-white patterned sphere, and, when attacked, it re-manifests as a large black shadow. The Angel’s true body is the shadow itself, and the “shadow” of the Angel is the floating sphere, this makes this Angel one of the most difficult to combat as it is impossible to attack a 2-D creature. Leliel is explained as possessing an inverted AT field, which allows the Angel to take into itself anything in range of its shadow-like body, but keeping it contained. (An analogy would be a two-way mirror.) Within the inverted AT field is a Dirac sea, which “could lead to another universe.” At its fullest extension, the Angel's body is 600 meters in diameter and 3 nanometers thick. It is unknown whether Leliel had a core.

Leliel appeared (literally out of thin air) over Tokyo-3, and all three Evas were sortied against it. Shinji, in Unit 01, impulsively fired upon the Angel’s spherical “body”, which vanished before his shots hit it. Immediately after the "body" disappeared, a shadow appeared under Unit 01’s feet, absorbing both the Eva and a substantial portion of Tokyo-3. Unit 01 was cut off from all power and communication. Once Nerv realized the properties of the Angel, in order to kill it they planned to drop the 992 remaining N² bombs into the Angel while Units 00 and 02 negated its AT field, in spite of the possibility of losing Shinji in process. Within the Angel, Shinji experienced a bizarre sort of self-psychoanalysis (speculated by Seele to be an attempt by the Angel to establish contact with a human). Moments before dropping the N² mines into Leliel, Unit 01, out of battery power at this point, activated berserker mode and tore its way out of the spherical shadow, shattering its 2-dimensional body. The spherical shadow released torrents of blood as Unit 01 emerged.

Leliel literally means Jaws of God. It is named for the Angel of the Night (夜の天使, Yoru no Tenshi).

Notes:

• This is another rarely-seen example in the series of an alternative form to the standard defensive AT Field: it contains matter and energy rather than deflecting or reflecting it, though this did not prevent Nerv from recovering Unit 01's disconnected umbilical lead.
• Unit 01 is trapped inside Leliel for almost 16 hours, the absolute limit of an Eva's battery power at minimal use. The LCL inside the Entry Plug is shown to be murky and polluted-looking near the end of this time.
• This incident marks the first appearance of Yui Ikari's soul inside Unit 01.
• Leliel did not appear in the manga. The scene depicting Yui Ikari inside of Unit 01 instead occurred during the earlier fight against Sachiel, but still immediately prior to Unit 01 going berserk.

Bardiel

The thirteenth Angel, Bardiel, inhabits Unit 03. It apparently possesses all the properties and strengths of Unit 03, and it can also stretch the Eva's arms to a distance roughly equal to the Eva's height. The Angel's core is never shown, but, given that it has taken over Unit 03, and the Evangelions all have cores, it can be assumed to possess Unit 03's core.

Bardiel initially appeared in a cloud, infecting Unit 03 as it passed through in the process of being transported from the USA to Japan. The Angel revealed itself during the activation test at the Matsushiro facility, at the instant the "Absolute Borderline" (the point in startup where a pilot interfaces with an Eva) was reached. Despite a quick cutoff of the external power cable, the Angel apparently had generated an S² engine capable of powering Unit 03, completely taking over the Eva and destroying the base in a huge detonation detected back at Nerv HQ. Responding to the explosion and detection of an unidentified object, Nerv sortied all three Evas against it. Seeing that the Angel was an Eva, the pilots hesitated. Bardiel defeated Asuka in Unit 02 almost immediately. Rei, considering the pilot inside the possessed Eva, did not respond to orders to attack fast enough, and was attacked and disabled by the Angel, which attempted to "fuse" with Unit 00. Commander Ikari ordered the infected portion of her Eva cut off, throwing Bardiel away in the explosion and paralyzing Rei's left arm. The Angel then focused on Shinji. During the assault, Shinji was able to see that the Eva's entry plug was still inside the Angel. Even as Bardiel attacked Unit 01, using its extendable arms for the first time, Shinji refused to fight back, refusing to harm the trapped Eva pilot. Commander Ikari ordered Shinji cut off from Unit 01 and the Dummy Plug system to be activated. Under the Dummy Plug's control, Unit 01 broke Bardiel's neck and literally tore the Eva to shreds, only stopping once Unit 03's entry plug—with Toji Suzuhara inside it—was crushed.

Seele specifically mentions the thirteenth Angel during their interrogation of Misato regarding the twelfth Angel. No reasons are given in the series for this mention. However, the twelfth, thirteenth, fifteenth, and sixteenth angels all contacted an EVA.

Bardiel literally means Humiliated Son of God. It is named for the Angel of Haze (霞の天使, Kasumi no Tenshi).

Notes:

• In the manga, Shinji is aware before the battle that Toji is inside Unit 03, unlike in the anime where he knew there was a pilot inside but does not discover that it was Toji until after the battle, seeing him being carried out of the wreckage of the entry plug. Additionally, Toji is actually killed when Unit 01 crushes Unit 03's entry plug, while in the anime he survives but is severely injured.

• The teaser trailer for the second Rebuild of Evangelion film has signs pointing towards Bardiel returning and featuring greatly in the plot. Whether Toji will actually be piloting again and whether his fate will follow the TV timeline, manga story, or something new is still uncertain.

• In the manga, Gendo refers to Bardiel as the 8th Angel. However, even with the omission of some of the anime's Angels, Bardiel should have been referred to as the 9th Angel. Whether this is a translation error, simple counting error, or simply shows that one of the Angels from the anime wasn't considered an Angel in the manga is unknown.

Zeruel

The fourteenth Angel, Zeruel, appears as a floating creature as large as the Evas but lacking humanoid limbs, with a malformed "skull" as a face. Zeruel possesses the most powerful Angel beam attack to date (which, like Sachiel’s, detonates into the shape of a Christian cross) which it can fire several times in rapid succession, it also possesses folding foil-like "arms" that it uses as cutting weapons in close-range combat, the "arms" can breach most materials with relative ease. It also uses these "arms" to crawl about when it breaks into Central Dogma from the Geo Front. The Angel has a relatively powerful AT field, and its armor-like "skin" is strong enough to endure the point-blank detonation of an N² bomb completely undamaged even without the usage of an AT field. All in all, Zeruel is one of the most powerful Angels ever seen. Its core is located on its chest.

Zeruel initially appeared and proceeded to the GeoFront, and, in a demonstration of power, blasted through 18 layers of the GeoFront’s armor with a single shot of its beam attack. Inside the GeoFront, the Angel was confronted first by Asuka in Unit 02. Unit 02’s artillery attacks were completely ineffective, and, using its foil-like arms, Zeruel cut off the Eva's arms and decapitated it. Rei in Unit 00 (which was still damaged from the battle with Bardiel) attempted to stop Zeruel in a kamikaze attack with an N² bomb, but after Unit 00 successfully pushed through the Angel’s AT field, Zeruel covered its core with a protective membrane which the mine failed to penetrate. Zeruel disabled Unit 00 and proceeded to blast through and enter Central Dogma proper (the only Angel to do so from outside the GeoFront by force). Seconds before wiping out the bridge (and everyone in it), the Angel was confronted by Shinji in Unit 01.

During the fight, Zeruel blew off Unit 01’s left arm, but Shinji still managed to force the Angel onto an Eva launch platform and launch both of them outside of Central Dogma. Unit 01 battered the Angel before attempting to rip off its head but Unit 01's battery power ran out before Shinji could defeat the Angel. Zeruel, now unhindered, destroyed the Eva's chest armor, revealing Unit 01's core, which the Angel tried to break with its arms. Before it could land the final blow, Unit 01 went berserk (in the series, the rhythmic beating against the Eva's core is what revives Unit 01, creating the sound of a heartbeat in the entry plug). The Eva stopped Zeruel's right arm as it attempted to strike again, splitting it apart, then forcefully pulled Zeruel toward it, impaling the Angel's right eye on its distinctive forehead protrusion. Unit 01 then kicked the Angel away, tearing the arm off and converting it into a new left arm for itself. The Angel then attacked Unit 01 with its remaining arm, which was destroyed by Unit 01's AT-Field, causing the sharp fragments to rebound and severely wound the Angel. Unit 01 then smashed the Angel's face into the ground when it attempted to fire a final beam at it. Unit 01 finished off the crippled Angel and devoured it, ingesting the Angel's S² engine. During the battle, Unit 01 breaks free of its armour.

After the battle, it was the discovered that Shinji, having achieved a synchronization ratio of over 400%, had reverted to LCL in the entry plug and merged with Unit 01.

Zeruel's physical substance seems to change during the fight: early on, its face is hard and durable enough to strike sparks when forced against the Eva lift by Shinji, but following its demise even the apparently rock solid 'skull' on its face becomes limp and pliable.

Zeruel literally means Arm of God. It is named for the Angel of Strength (力の天使, Chikara no Tenshi).

Notes

• When Shinji enters Unit 01, he is wearing his school uniform, but after the 400% synchronization ratio is reached, his plugsuit is seen floating in the liquid inside the entry plug.
• Unit 01's eye is shown in the first battle as being unfixed and able to appear on the inside of Eva's face. Unit 01 also seems to have no skull and the head shaped armour is the only thing giving it any structure. However, in this battle, when Unit 01 sheds its bonds, the head is shown as human, with tombstone teeth and two fixed eyes. The eye colour remains the same shade of green.

Arael

The fifteenth Angel, Arael, has the form of a massive, glowing winged creature. In addition to a conventional AT field, Arael's main weapon appears as a beam of yellow-white light, which penetrates the target's mind to directly attack their psyche (the beam itself is stated to have properties similar to an AT field). The Angel's core is held outside of its body by the appendages on its underbelly.

Arael initially appeared in low-earth orbit, outside of the range of both conventional weapons and the Evangelions. Ignoring orders to serve as Rei's backup, Asuka confronted the Angel alone in Unit 02. Once she targeted the Angel, it used its weapon on her. The psychic attack forced Asuka to relive the horrors of her childhood and deconstruct her social and emotional facade, resulting in mental trauma sufficient to cause her to completely lose synchronization with Unit 02, which became inactive. After a particle beam weapon proved unable to penetrate Arael's AT field at such an extreme range, Gendo ordered Rei, in Unit 00, to use the Lance of Longinus against it (an order that both Misato and Dept. Commander Fuyutsuki took issue with, albeit for different reasons). Rei descended to Terminal Dogma, removed the Lance from Lilith's chest, and, once back at the surface, hurled the Lance at the Angel. The Lance broke through the Angel's AT field and destroyed the Angel, but it drifted out to orbit (eventually landing on the moon) and Nerv was unable to retrieve it.

Arael literally means Light of God or Vision of God. It is named for the Angel of the Birds (鳥の天使, Tori no Tenshi).

Notes

• The positron beam cannon used against Arael by Asuka is the cannon designed specifically for the Evas, that Misato rejected for use on Ramiel. Rei also used the modified JSSDF cannon, but with only local power to draw on, it proved insufficient to the task of penetrating the Angel's AT field at orbital distances.
• It is never explained how Unit 00 was able to produce the massive amount of force necessary to get an object the size of the Lance of Longinus to achieve escape velocity. However, in The End of Evangelion the Lance returns to Unit 01 by itself, indicating a degree of self-propulsion.
• In the anime Asuka suffered no apparent physical aftereffects from the psychic attack, but in the manga she becomes comatose due to mental shock.
• In the anime, Arael's beam attack is accompanied by the Hallelujah Chorus from Handel's Messiah.

Armisael

The sixteenth Angel, Armisael, appears as a large glowing floating torus. In its initial dormant phase, the Angel's body has a double helix structure. During battle, the double helix deconstructs into a single thread, which then lashes out at enemies, utilizing its entire body as a weapon. Its powers are potent enough to pierce the Evas' AT fields.

Armisael appeared, seemingly out of thin air, over the outskirts of Tokyo-3, and Rei in Unit 00 and Asuka in Unit 02 were sortied against it. Once the Evas approached it, Armisael assumed its "combat form." It pierced Unit 00's AT field and core and began to fuse with the Eva. While it was in contact with Unit 00, the Angel also merged with Rei and mentally contacted her, expressing a desire to merge with her and forcing her to feel its pain, which Rei realized was actually loneliness. When ordered to assist Rei, Asuka proved unable to even move her Eva, and was consequently pulled out of the battle. Gendo, apparently desperate to save Rei, ordered Unit 01 out of quarantine (which it had been kept in since the battle with Zeruel) to battle the Angel (an order he had declined to give while Asuka was attacked by Arael). When Unit 01 approached the Angel, it tried to fend him off, and, when that proved only a mixed success, it began to fuse with Unit 01 as well. To keep the Angel from fusing with Shinji, Rei reversed her Eva's AT field, pulling the Angel into Unit 00's core. She then self-destructed her Eva, killing herself and destroying Unit 00, the Angel, and a sizable portion of the Tokyo-3 area.

Armisael literally means Mountain of Judgment of God. It is named for the Angel of the Womb (子宮の天使, Shikyū no Tenshi).

Notes:

• In the manga, Kaworu Nagisa, not Asuka, piloted Unit 02. The weapon he used in the battle was a double-bladed chainsaw. Armisael partially merged with Unit 02 while it was still fusing with Unit 00 and Rei, and consequently Kaworu experienced Rei's emotions. He considered using his powers as an Angel to defeat Armisael, but opted not to in order to continue concealing his true nature. He also referred to the Angel as an "encroachment type" after seeing it begin to fuse with the saw, though he never elaborated on this.
• While merging with Armisael in the Director's Cut and Platinum version Unit 00 is shown growing a fleshy tumorous mass along its back which incorporates the shapes of almost all the previous angels they have battled.
• Rei somehow wakes up in the hospital wing with only minimal damage to her body. As the dummy-plug is built on clones of Rei, it is safe to assume that whenever 'Rei' becomes severely damaged, she is replaced. Rei also remembers nothing of her past experiences, including, later in the series, not recognising the Commander's glasses she keeps by her bed.

Tabris

Main article: Kaworu Nagisa

Tabris, the seventeenth and final Angel, holds the form of a human, Kaworu Nagisa. Like the other Angels, he is "born of Adam", although it is implied that he was created by Seele. He contains the soul of Adam, similar to how Rei contains the soul of Lilith. Tabris' AT field is the most powerful ever detected, strong enough to block out "light, magnetism, sub-atomic particles, everything". He may control any Evangelion unit he wishes, even from outside the entry plug, so long as the soul inhabiting the Eva is dormant. Within the entry plug, he can set his synchronization ratio at any level he wishes. The nature or even the very existence of his core is not revealed.

Tabris, as Kaworu, infiltrated Nerv under the pretense of being sent to replace Asuka as Unit 02's pilot. During his stay in Tokyo-3, he formed an extremely close relationship with Shinji. Kaworu later revealed himself as an Angel, seizing control of Unit 02 and descending with it towards Terminal Dogma. Shinji, in Unit 01, was sent to stop him, but was forced to battle Unit 02 while Tabris proceeded to Terminal Dogma. Tabris' AT field manifested during the battle, effectively cutting both of them off from all contact with anyone outside. After he reached Terminal Dogma, Tabris was surprised to discover that the Angel held there was not Adam, but Lilith. Shinji incapacitated Unit 02 and proceeded to try to stop the Angel. Tabris, gripped in Unit 01's hand, stated his unwillingness to destroy mankind by causing Third Impact, and asked Shinji to kill him. Shinji, after a long period of hesitation, crushed the Angel in his Eva's hand.

"Tabris" is a corruption of Tabbris, which loosely means Good of God in Hebrew ('Tov' טוב means 'good', and 'Yah' יה is a short for Yahweh יהוה). He is named for the Angel of Free Will and Alternatives (自由の天使, Jiyū no Tenshi). (This naming convention breaks from most of the other Angels in that it uses a Yah theophory, rather than an El theophory.)

Notes

• Rei also appears in this battle, standing above Lilith. This coincides with the detection of another powerful AT Field, but the Magi are unable to analyze it before it disappears again.
• The scene where Shinji hesitates after Tabris asks him to kill him is the longest still shot in the entire series, lasting 65 seconds.
• The back of the DVD containing episodes 24–26 spells his name as "Kaoru". This is not a typo. The character in the Japanese spelling of his name can be interpreted as either "wo" or "o". However, in The End of Evangelion, his name is written as "Kaworu" on the Dummy Plugs for the mass-production Evas.
• Kaworu Nagisa's first appearance in the Rebuild of Evangelion series is shortly after the battle with Ramiel. He is shown conversing with the Seele monoliths on the surface of the moon, standing near an object that somewhat resembles the original series' depiction of Lilith.

Lilim

The eighteenth Angel, Lilim, is said by Misato in The End of Evangelion to be mankind itself. It is also the name used by Tabris to describe mankind, in reference to their progenitor, Lilith. As Lilith's descendants, the Lilim are endowed with the "Fruit of Wisdom", which is the source of their intelligence and technology. Like the Angels, Lilim also have AT fields, but unlike the Angels who can physically manifest theirs, the AT fields of Lilim are merely what separates each human from all others, creating individual identity.

Some materials also cite the Eighteenth Angel as being referred to as "Humanis".

Angels in other titles and media

Gainax has several other Angels appearing in non-canonical Evangelion-related titles. There is also a Gainax promotional artwork with Unit 01 fighting a white winged Angel. This creature is known as the "Diemay Angel" and was designed by a fan who won a contest to have his Angel featured in official artwork. In the game Evangelion 2nd Impression, Mayumi Yamagishi is an Angel.

Gainax has released a number of tenth-anniversary figurines under the Angel Chromosome XX label. The figurines are designed by Keroro Gunso artist Mine Yoshizaki and are female anthropomorphized versions of several Angels. The packaging for the figurines gives the appearance of being a Nerv lab sample, and is marked with a biohazard symbol. Lilith, Sachiel, Zeruel, Armisael, and Tabris are featured under the "Angel-XX" line, as well as a figure called "Code:BE", which is virtually identical to the Lilith figure. Shamshel, Sahaquiel, and Arael are featured under the "Angel-XX: Next" line. Another line, "Angel-XX: nano!", features moe versions of the Lilith, Sachiel, Zeruel, and Tabris figurines, plus a Leliel figure unique to the 'nano' range.

Two additional Angels also appear in the Evangelion tabletop roleplaying game. Both are named after figures from the Qu'ran, these being Iblis which appears as a turtle-like creature and Baraqijal, a coral-like being with a single enormous eye encased in a gelatinous orb that uses electricity-based attacks.

In Neon Genesis Evangelion: Gakuen Datenroku, the actual Angels are just souls; instead, they have to infect/take over the body of a creature, which also kills the soul of the host. Example of this includes a Raven, as well as the body of a human, first done by Ramiel. Even when in human form, they are able to grow wings from the back of their body.