Angels in Neon Genesis Evangelion

In the anime and manga Neon Genesis Evangelion, Angels (使徒, Shito) are beings which attack Tokyo-3 over the course of the story. They are the main antagonist of the series and were designed by Yoshiyuki Sadamoto.

Description

Though they all have very different forms and abilities, Angels are often depicted with several common elements, such as the projection of AT Fields, an internal S² engine, and an externalized core, the destruction of which is often the only way an Angel can be defeated. 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.

The first two Angels, Adam and Lilith, are the progenitors of the other sixteen. While the first fifteen Angels are descendants of Adam, humans themselves descended from Lilith. Using the Biblical story of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, the Angels are described as having eaten the "Fruit of Life", giving them immortality. At another point, it is stated that the Angels are merely different evolutionary paths that mankind could have taken.

While the original Japanese word used in the series to refer to the Angels is shito (使徒, messenger, apostle, one who is dedicated to a holy cause), as opposed to the typical translation of "angel" as tenshi (天使, messenger of heaven), the English translation was one specified by Gainax. The word "angel" itself is derived from the Greek for "messenger" (ἄγγελος, angelos), which is also the source of the word "Evangelion".

Angels

Adam

The first Angel is Adam (アダム, Adamu), named for the first human created by God in the Book of Genesis in the Abrahamic religious beliefs. All Angels, except for Lilith and the Lilim, are descended from Adam and possess the "Fruit of Life", the source of the Angels' power and immortality (also known as an S² Engine). In the spin off video game Neon Genesis Evangelion 2, it is stated that Adam and the White Moon were planted by an unknown "First Ancestral Race" as the intended progenitor of life on Earth.

Adam is discovered within the White Moon buried under Antarctica and, during the Katsuragi Expedition, is subjected to a "contact experiment" with the Lance of Longinus. The failure of the experiment results in the brief appearance of a "giant of light" (resembling an Evangelion), the occurrence of Second Impact, and Adam being reduced to an embryonic form while its soul is reincarnated in Kaworu Nagisa. Ryoji Kaji later delivers the embryonic Adam to NERV commander Gendo Ikari, who later grafts it to his right palm and, in The End of Evangelion, tries to physically merge Rei with Adam by pushing his right hand into her body.

Cells cultivated from Adam serve as the basis for all Evangelion units except for Unit-01, which is grown from cells cultivated from Lilith. In Yoshiyuki Sadamoto's official manga of Evangelion, Gendo swallows the embryonic Adam and gains the ability to manifest an AT field.

Lilith

The second Angel is Lilith (リリス, Ririsu), named for the first woman God created in Jewish mythology. Lilith is discovered in the Black Moon underneath Japan, which is converted into the GeoFront, with Lilith's resting place being called the Terminal Dogma. After Yui Ikari's contact experiment with Unit-01, Lilith's soul was placed into Rei Ayanami.

Lilith initially appears in the series as a white legless giant with the waists and legs of small humanoid bodies emerging from the stump of its waist. It is crucified onto a giant cross and wearing a mask with three eye on the right side and four eyes on the left, the same motif as the Seele logo. Lilith's torso constantly leaks LCL from an unseen wound, forming a vast reservoir used to supply its use in the Evangelion entry plugs. In the video game Neon Genesis Evangelion 2, it is stated that the Lance of Longinus used to hold Lilith was originally created for Adam, Lilith's own assigned Lance presumably have been lost during First Impact. When Kaji revealed Lilith to Misato Katsuragi, both assume they are in fact looking at Adam (Kaworu first correctly identifies Lilith).

In The End of Evangelion, after Rei rejects Gendo's attempt to initiate his version of Instrumentality using the grafted embryonic Adam, Rei and the absorbed embryo merge with Lilith. The resulting being, taking the form of a giant winged Rei, generates a massive anti-AT field that nullifies the AT-Fields of all humans, reverting them to a primordial soup.

Sachiel

Sachiel (サキエル, Sakieru), the third Angel, is the first Angel to attack Tokyo-3. It is a massive, 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 weapon 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 with a broken piece of one of Sachiel's ribs. The Angel then attached itself to Unit 01 and self-destructed, but failed to destroy Unit 01.

Sachiel demonstrates 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.

It is named for the Angel of Water (水の天使, Mizu no Tenshi). Both forms of Sachiel's bird-like face are used in Neon Genesis Evangelion merchandise. In the Rebuild of Evangelion series, Lilith in Central Dogma and the Angel Shamshel are depicted with Sachiel masks. In Evangelion: 1.0 You Are (Not) Alone, after enveloping Unit 01, Sachiel explodes into LCL before self-destructing. It is also designated as the fourth Angel instead of the third.

Sachiel has been publicly cosplayed by Yuichiro Nagashima.

Shamshel

The fourth Angel, Shamshel (シャムシェル, Shamusheru), is a massive, arthropod-like creature, with a long cylindrical body, a shovel-shaped head with two eyespot-like markings (but are not eyes), and eight retractable segmented limbs. It also has two short "arms" that project energy whips, which can slice through objects and manipulate them. 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.

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, or 'the angel of daytime' 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 collapsed into LCL when it died. The whip arms turned solid and were the only part of Shamshel to remain. It has also been designated as the fifth Angel instead of the fourth. 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 (ラミエル, Ramieru), is a hollow, translucent blue 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 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). The overall plan was named Yashima (ヤシマ作戦). Shinji in Unit 01 was armed with an experimental positron cannon to shoot the Angel from a distance, Rei in Unit 00 was equipped with a special shield to defend Unit 01. The positron cannon needed all the power from Japan to operate and the shield could only deflect the particle beam for 17 seconds. When Shinji fired, Ramiel reacted and fired at the same time. 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.

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. In the Rebuild of Evangelion series, Ramiel has been changed significantly: it retains its original octahedral shape when acting passively, but when attacking or defending it morphs into symmetrical arrangements of multiple geometric shapes, with different configurations for different situations. Its drill bit is also morphed out of its substance. Additionally, it is surrounded by a noise that sounds like female choral music, emitting screams when it attacks and is damaged. It is classified as the sixth Angel instead of the fifth.

Gaghiel

The sixth Angel, Gaghiel (ガギエル, Gagieru), 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 can use parts of its body to slice objects such as warships. Unlike the preceding Angels, it does not generate a visible AT field.

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). 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.

It is named after the Angel of the Fish (魚の天使, Sakana no Tenshi). In the manga, Gaghiel's appearance is limited to a video shown to Misato, Rei, and Shinji by Ritsuko Akagi, showing Unit 02 (piloted just by Asuka) engaging the Angel and inflicting massive damage with its progressive knife. Gaghiel does not appear in Rebuild of Evangelion series.

Israfel

The seventh Angel, Israfel (イスラフェル, Isuraferu), has the appearance of a massive, 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 can shoot an energy beam. 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 has the ability to split itself into separate, twin Angels, referred to as "Alpha" and "Beta". The twin Angels are almost identical in appearance and properties to the original except in color scheme. Both have masks with three eye holes and possess their own cores, but without the rib structures. 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). In the manga, Israfel remains split into its "twins" after it initially divides. Israfel does not appear in Evangelion: 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance.

Sandalphon

The eighth Angel, Sandalphon (サンダルフォン, Sandarufon), is similar in form to an Anomalocaris, but with hands on its arm-like appendages and two humanoid eyes on the left front of its head. 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 never manifested physically.

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.

Is named after the Angel of Embryos (胎児の天使, Taiji no Tenshi). Sandalphon did not appear in the manga adaptation nor in the Rebuild of Evangelion series.

Matariel

The ninth Angel, Matariel (マトリエル, Matorieru), 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.

It is named for the Angel of Rain (雨の天使, Ame no Tenshi). Matariel did not appear Evangelion: 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance or the manga adaptation of Evangelion, though in the latter case the power outage which preceded its appearance still occurred.

Sahaquiel

The tenth Angel, Sahaquiel (サハクィエル, Sahakwieru), 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 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. Eva 01 first stopped the Angel's physical descent by "catching" it as it fell, then as all three Evas held it off the ground, Eva 00 canceled out its AT field, negating both of its main means of attack and then Eva 02 killed the Angel by stabbing its core with a Progressive Knife.

It is named for the Angel of the Skies (空の天使, Sora no Tenshi). In Evangelion: 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance, It has undergone a massive redesign with various stages. It starts out in space as a giant ball with eyes similar to Leliel. Then when it is about to land, it begins to resemble its anime counterpart, only this version is larger and has sharp spikes trailing it. When Shinji uses EVA-01's A.T. Field to stop its descent, a body resembling Sachiel comes out of the central eye and attacks Shinji. Its core is also movable and avoids attacks from EVA-02 until Rei in EVA-00 is able to physically grab hold of it and stop it (greatly hurting herself in the process). When defeated, Sahaquiel explodes into a massive geyser of blood and floods a great portion of the city. Sahaquiel is designated as the 8th angel in Evangelion: 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance.

Iruel

The eleventh Angel, Iruel (イロウル, Irouru), 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 attempted to initiate 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.

It is named for the Angel of Terror (恐怖の天使, Kyōfu no Tenshi). 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. This Angel does not appear in the Rebuild of Evangelion series.

Leliel

The twelfth Angel, Leliel (レリエル, Rerieru), 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 virtually 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 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.

It is named for the Angel of the Night (夜の天使, Yoru no Tenshi). Leliel did not appear in the manga nor in Evangelion: 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance.

Bardiel

The thirteenth Angel, Bardiel (バルディエル, Barudieru), inhabits Unit 03. It 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. It is unknown if the Angel was hidden within the cloud or if it was the cloud itself. 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 (or Dummy System in Evangelion: 2.0) to be activated. Under the Dummy Plug's control, Unit 01 broke Bardiel's neck and literally tore it to shreds, only stopping once Unit 03's entry plug — with Toji Suzuhara inside it — was crushed in its hand.

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.

It is named for the Angel of Haze (霞の天使, Kasumi no Tenshi). 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.

In the manga, Gendo refers to Bardiel as the eighth Angel. However, even with the omission of some of the anime's Angels, Bardiel should have been referred to as the ninth Angel. In Evangelion: 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance, Bardiel is confirmed as the ninth Angel, and attacks Unit 03, piloted by Asuka Langley Shikinami (in lieu of Unit 02 being put to storage in accordance to the Vatican Treaty, which allows a country to operate a maximum of three EVA units). This time, the Angel demonstrates a previously unseen ability: when Unit 01 forces the Angel's hands away, it breaks off Unit 03's shoulder fins and grows a second pair of arms. Bardiel suffers the same fate as its anime series incarnation, with the exception of the entry plug being crushed in Unit 01's mouth rather than its hand. Asuka survives the ordeal, but is badly wounded and placed in quarantine for fear of mental contamination by the Angel.

Zeruel

The fourteenth Angel, Zeruel (ゼルエル, Zerueru), appears as a floating creature as large as the Evas but lacking humanoid limbs, with a malformed "skull" as a face. Zeruel possesses a powerful Angel beam attack which it can fire several times in rapid succession, and 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 GeoFront. 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 use 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 from its dual machine guns were completely ineffective, as were a row of spikes from its shoulder extension to damage Zeruel, which proceeded to slice off Unit 02's arms. Rei in Unit 00 attempted to stop Zeruel in a kamikaze attack using an N² bomb forced through the angel's AT field. Zeruel covered its core with a protective membrane, which the mine failed to penetrate. Zeruel proceeded to blast through and enter Central Dogma proper (the only Angel to successfully break into 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 nearly destroyed Unit 01, slicing off its left arm in the process. Before it could land the final blow, Unit 01 went berserk. The Eva unit 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.

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.

It is named for the Angel of Strength (力の天使, Chikara no Tenshi). Zeruel is designated the 10th Angel in Evangelion: 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance, and while it plays a similar role to its anime counterpart, there are differences to the engagement. Mari is the pilot of Unit 02, not Asuka, and she uses a secret code to release all of Unit 02's limiters and shed its humanity, entering into a controlled berserk state, and Zeruel disables her by dismembering an arm and part of the head as opposed to both arms. Unit 02 also helps Unit 00 break through Zeruel's AT field, ripping through it with its teeth. Zeruel consumes Unit 00 after Rei's Kamikaze attack, and transforms into a gigantic, pale-skinned female humanoid with its misshapen skull-mask trailing long black tendrils resembling hair (at least as long as the new Zeruel is tall) for a head. This is the form that Shinji battles, and while the conclusion to the fight is very similar the details and the meaning of the outcome are vastly different from the anime version. Rather than entering a berserk state when his power runs out Shinji drives the Unit 01 to reactivate by force of will, and the Evangelion goes through some kind of angelic apotheosis (manifesting a halo similar to the ones previously seen on some other angels). Shinji also remains conscious for the rest of the fight. Eva 01 replaces its missing arm with a limb formed out of its own AT field, as opposed to flesh stolen from Zeruel. Rather than devouring Zeruel while ripping it apart, Eva 01 separates Rei, and Unit 00's core from Zeruel causing Zeruel's core to burst in the process. The Angel explodes and then reforms itself into a giant replica of Rei, which is then absorbed into Unit 01's core.

Arael

The fifteenth Angel, Arael (アラエル, Araeru), 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 escaped Earth's gravity (eventually landing on the moon) and Nerv was unable to retrieve it.

It is named for the Angel of the Birds (鳥の天使, Tori no Tenshi). 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 (アルミサエル, Arumisaeru), appears as a large glowing floating torus which may represent a plasmid. 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, taking the appearance of Lilith as in "End Of Evangelion". 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' her second body and destroying Unit 00, the Angel, and a sizable portion of the Tokyo-3 area.

It is named for the Angel of the Womb (子宮の天使, Shikyū no Tenshi). While merging with Armisael in the Director's Cut and Platinum version (as well as in the manga), 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. Also, for a moment the Eva raises in the air and turns into an all white, naked, Rei, that appeared to resemble Lilith, with a halo over her head just prior to exploding.

Tabris

Main article: Kaworu Nagisa

Tabris (タブリス, Taburisu), 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, subatomic 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.

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.) The back of the DVD containing episodes 24–26 spells his name as "Kaoru". 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.

Lilim

The eighteenth Angel, Lilim (リリン, Ririn), 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. In the manga, Misato tells Shinji that humans are the thirteenth Angel, born from Lilith, and should have never been born on Earth.

Appearances in other media

Rebuild of Evangelion

In the Rebuild of Evangelion film series, many of the Angels return along with some differences and new original designs. The order of the Angels have been changed and some Angels that were originally in the anime do not appear in the remake. Most of the angels die differently than they do in the original version.

Two new unnamed Angels are introduced in Evangelion: 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance. The first is the new Third Angel, designed by illustrator Mohiro Kitoh, which appears as a skeleton's spinal column with legs and a bird-like head. The Angel is being studied at NERV's Bethany Base in Russia when it escapes, and is ultimately destroyed by Mari Illustrious Makinami in the Provisional Evangelion Unit 05. Kaji claims that it appears as a skeleton because the NERV scientists performed such extensive tests that what was shown is all that is left of the Angel's body. The second unnamed Angel is the new Seventh Angel, designed by Kazuya Tsurumaki, which appears as a drinking bird-like body with a large pendulum that holds the Angel's core and two stilt-like double helix legs that freeze water to allow it to walk on the ocean. Its face also has two clock hand-like appendages that allow the Angel to unleash an attack when the hands meet. The Angel is ultimately destroyed by Asuka Langley Shikinami in Evangelion Unit 02.

Other

Gainax has several other Angels appearing in other Neon Genesis Evangelion titles. In the game Evangelion 2nd Impression, Mayumi Yamagishi is an Angel known as the Insubstantial 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 Qur'an, 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 Angels are souls made up into a red spherical object called "Core". They can take over the body of a creature but it also kills the soul of the original host.

See also

• Mahiro Maeda