List of Neon Genesis Evangelion characters
This is a list of characters in the Japanese anime Neon Genesis Evangelion and the movie The End of Evangelion. Template:Spoiler
First Children Rei Ayanami
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| Age | 14 |
| Sex | Female |
| Birthday | March 30th, 2001 |
| Relations | Other cloned vessels of Rei - the "spare parts" Guardian: Gendo Ikari Source of genetic material: Yui Ikari and Lilith, the Second Angel. |
| Japanese seiyū | Megumi Hayashibara |
| English voice actor | Amanda Winn Lee |
Rei Ayanami (綾波レイ Ayanami Rei) is the First Children, and the pilot of Evangelion Unit 00. She is shown to be socially withdrawn and hardly interacts with anyone. Rei's cool, silent and emotionally-stunted personality has garnered the scorn of her schoolmates; Asuka calls her a "doll" or "puppet." Clones of her, which lack souls, are kept hidden under the NERV building to be the supposed "cores" of the Dummy Plugs. Although she once only associated with Gendo, she and Shinji break the ice after the battle against Ramiel, and grow progressively closer for a while. In the manga version, Rei grows a lot closer to Shinji than in the anime.
Physically and genetically, her appearance has some importance in the series. It is readily apparent that Rei is the diametric opposite of Asuka, not only in terms of personality, but also physically. Asuka is outspoken, extremely emotional, and violent; Rei is the opposite of Asuka on all these major accounts. Asuka has red hair and blue eyes, while Rei has red eyes and blue hair. This color switch between the characters may also relate to the difference between how they are seen by others and what their true feelings are. However, the lead character designer has said that Rei's coloration was intended to make her look "more distinct," so this color inversion may simply be a coincidence. Another theory may also be hybridization; speculation is that Yui's remains were mixed with that of Lilith to create the rei clones.
Rei's mysterious background has led fans to develop multiple theories of just what exactly went into creating her. Gendo Ikari first introduced her to the NERV staff as an "acquaintance's child" whom he is temporarily taking care of. The Red Cross Book states that Rei was created from the "salvaged remains" of Yui after her death in 2004. There is evidence shown to support the Red Cross Book: Shinji Ikari tells her that he thinks she'd "make a good mother," and later compares Gendo's manipulation of her to his manipulation of Yui; they are also shown to have a physical resemblance. .In episode 24, Kaworu mentions that he and Rei are "the same." This statement was expanded in the "director's cut" of the episode, in which Kaworu goes on to say that he and Rei are human vessels for the souls of Adam and Lillith, respectively. Hybridization between Lilith's genetic material and Yui's might account for Rei's pale complexion and unnaturally red eyes, that, unlike that of genetic albinos, do not betray photosensitivity (Rei is never seen wearing any sunglasses to protect her eyes in daylight or bright interior light as those suffering from the condition of albinism often must). There's certainly some connection between them: both have red eyes, pale skin, and light hair, and while the NERV Dummy Plugs contain Rei clones, SEELE's Evas use Kaworu-powered Dummy Plugs. Kaworu is the seventeenth Angel, and Rei demonstrates Angelic powers later in the series. Further, in Lilith/Rei's ascension after Lilith had subsumed Rei, as the giant being raises her head to face Shinji in EVA 01, Lilith/Rei's eyes are initially seen as glowing red spheres deep in the back of empty, black eye sockets, to be quickly replaced by Rei's eyes after blinking.
It is hinted that Rei died twice; in the series, this stems from the fact that Rei herself says "I think I'm the third one," shortly after her death when Unit 00 self-destructed, an event that she could not remember. The first Rei is shown to have died as a small girl at the hands of Dr. Naoko Akagi for revealing carelessly (or perhaps in an intentional set-up by Gendo Ikari) to Naoko that Gendo called her a "useless old hag." The explanation is that her soul and most of her memories are transferred to one of the clones every time she dies, which then takes the preceding Rei's place as if she had not died at all.
Second Children Asuka Langley Soryu
| File:Asuka in suit.gif | |
| Age | 14 |
| Sex | Female |
| Birthday | December 4, 2000 |
| Relations | Mother: Kyoko Zeppelin Soryu Father: "Papa" Step-mother: "Mama" Guardian: Misato Katsuragi Former Guardian: Ryoji Kaji |
| Japanese seiyū | Yuko Miyamura |
| English voice actor | Tiffany Grant |
Asuka Langley Soryu (惣流・アスカ・ラングレー Sōryū Asuka Rangurē) is Second Children, who pilots Evangelion Unit 02. She is from Germany, but with an American father and a half-German, half-Japanese mother. Her mother, Kyoko Zeppelin Soryu, went insane after an Eva-related experiment and began to believe that a doll that resembled Asuka was, in fact, her daughter, to the point that she refused to even acknowledge the real Asuka. Kyoko Zeppelin Soryu committed suicide on the very day that Asuka was chosen to become an Eva pilot. On that day, Asuka promised herself that she would never cry again. This event gives her an innate hatred of dolls and all things that she perceives to be doll-like, especially Rei. Asuka's father later remarried a woman for whom Asuka feels no affection. Asuka feels the need to verbally and sometimes physically lash out at everyone around her, except to her sole friend, Hikari, and her unrequited crush, Kaji, who is Misato's ex-boyfriend and more than twice Asuka's age. On her better days, however, she can be quite cheerful and friendly.
As a pilot, Asuka greatly fears being inadequate, often venting by lashing out at Shinji and Rei. Asuka says that she would rather die than be saved by the skill of another pilot. Her pride and recklessness affects her performance: she grows jealous of NERV's special treatment of its best Eva pilot, causing a massive drop in synchronization rate. Eventually, Asuka loses all functional synchronization with Unit 02. In her third-to-last battle in the series, she suffers massive emotional damage as her Eva loses both arms and its head to the fourteenth Angel, Zeruel. She is only saved from death by Central Dogma's split-second decision to undo her remaining neural connections with the Eva. Her synchronization rate drops below viable levels after she is attacked by the fifteenth Angel, Arael. Due to her inability to pilot the Unit 02 again, she finds herself useless and enters a cycle of deep depression ultimately leading to her becoming comatose, and is tended in the NERV's infirmary until The End of Evangelion.
In The End of Evangelion, Asuka is saved from being assassinated. NERV personnel place her inside her Eva and dropped seventy meters below the surface of the lake in the underground crater. She awakens to the sound of battle and, after finally making contact with her mother's soul in the Eva, she realizes that she was never truly alone. Revived, she combats and takes out the nine SEELE Eva in less than three minutes.
Third Children Shinji Ikari
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| Age | 14 |
| Sex | Male |
| Birthday | June 6, 2001 |
| Relations | Father: Gendo Ikari Mother: Yui Ikari Guardian: Misato Katsuragi |
| Japanese seiyū | Megumi Ogata |
| English voice actor | Spike Spencer |
Shinji Ikari (碇シンジ Ikari Shinji) is the Third Children, who pilots Unit 01. He is the son of Gendo and the late Yui Ikari. Abandoned by his father, Gendo, when he was a toddler, Shinji often ran away from difficult situations. As a pilot, he panics easily and reacts very poorly to unexpected events. Over time and with encouragement from Misato, he learns to be less cowardly, more outspoken, and more confident, but his progress is all undone when he is forced to kill the only person who ever openly expressed love toward him. His only friends are Toji and Kensuke, but he apparently cares about Rei more than even he realizes, although everyone around him seems to think that his feelings are obvious. Despite his rapport with Rei, Asuka is a sexual presence in his life, and is ultimately shown to be a figure of great emotional importance to him as well. Though not immediately apparent, their relationship is a powerful driving force for both characters throughout the series. Their confused, back-and-forth emotional interchanges are a source of considerable guilt and tension for both parties. While Asuka is attracted to Shinji, she is afraid to admit to being dependent on anyone; so instead of expressing affection, she teases Shinji (often with sexual overtones), hoping to "provoke" him into initiating a closer relationship. Significantly, she gives him his first kiss (supposedly out of boredom, though the Director's Cut makes clear that the kiss meant a lot more to her than she lets on). However, due to his own emotional issues, Shinji is unable to recognize Asuka's actions for their true intent, and is only confused and hurt by her flirting mixed with abuse. Since Asuka is constantly heaping him with accusations and blame, his most natural response is to withdraw and hide himself, both emotionally and literally. To make matters worse, Asuka only finds herself more and more frustrated by Shinji's failure to respond to her advances, and in turn only abuses him more and more harshly, which only makes him withdraw further, thus continuing the vicious cycle. Their tense relationship reaches a breaking point toward the end of the story; when Asuka's stress finally causes her to degrade into a completely withdrawn state, Shinji tries to comfort her, only to be coldly rejected. Later on, when Asuka has further been reduced to a comatose state and Shinji has also suffered incredible mental duress, he goes to her bedside to beg for help, only to end up masturbating over her partially nude (and comatose) body. Wracked with guilt and completely lost to his own self-hatred, he enters a completely withdrawn state, not unlike Asuka's earlier on. Ultimately, when Shinji chooses to reject Instrumentality, he finds that Asuka to be the only other person on Earth, and they painfully reconcile.
Fourth Children Toji Suzuhara
| File:Touji.jpg | |
| Age | 14 |
| Sex | Male |
| Birthday | December 26, 2000 |
| Relations | Sister: Unnamed |
| Japanese seiyū | Tomokazu Seki |
| English voice actor | Brett Weaver Joe Pisano Michael O'Connor |
Toji Suzuhara (鈴原トウジ Suzuhara Tōji) is the Fourth Children. Toji is a tough boy, the stereotypical "jock," and is in constant conflict with Asuka. Toji's kid sister was injured in the battle between the third Angel, Sachiel, and Unit 01, piloted by Shinji Ikari, and he beats Shinji up soon after for being indirectly responsible. However, after witnessing firsthand the suffering Shinji experiences piloting Eva in the battle against the fourth Angel, Shamshel, Toji comes to respect Shinji and the two eventually become friends.
In the same day he becomes a pilot, Unit 03, his Evangelion, is taken over by the thirteenth Angel, Bardiel, and is destroyed by Unit 01, which was under the control of the Dummy Plug system. He is severely injured when his Entry Plug is crushed, leaving him crippled (losing an arm and a leg) and in critical condition; it is not mentioned whether he dies from his injuries.
Toji is named after one of the main characters in the novel The Fascism of Love and Fantasy (Ai to Gensou no Fascism) by Ryu Murakami.
Fifth Children Kaworu Nagisa
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| Age | 15 |
| Sex | Male (?) |
| Birthday | September 13, 2000 |
| Relations | Brothers: other Kaworus? (SEELE Dummy Plug System) Sister: Rei Ayanami? |
| Japanese seiyū | Akira Ishida |
| English voice actor | Kyle Sturdivant (series) Aaron Krohn (movies) Greg Ayres ("Director's Cut" episodes) |
Kaworu Nagisa (渚カヲル Nagisa Kaworu) is the Fifth Child, and the seventeenth Angel, Tabris. He is sent to NERV by SEELE as a replacement pilot for Unit 02 after Asuka's synchronization ratio falls below viability. SEELE actually sent Kaworu to hasten the Human Instrumentality Project, as the seventeenth Angel, Tabris. He verbally expresses love toward Shinji, though the show's creator denied allegations that Kaworu was homosexual. He breaks into Terminal Dogma to return to Adam and initiate the Third Impact, but upon discovering that the being there is actually Lilith, he implores Shinji to destroy him. After his death in Episode 24, Kaworu is not seen again until The End of Evangelion, where he appears in the beginning and middle of Third Impact.
NERV Staff
Head Commander Gendo Ikari
| File:Gendoikari.jpg | |
| Age | 48 |
| Sex | Male |
| Birthday | April 29, 1967 |
| Relations | Son: Shinji Ikari Wife: Yui Ikari Guardian of: Rei Ayanami |
| Japanese seiyū | Fumihiko Tachiki |
| English voice actor | Tristan MacAvery (series and movies) John Swasey ("Director's Cut" episodes) |
Gendo Ikari (碇ゲンドウ Ikari Gendō) is the head commander of NERV. He is responsible for the research done on the Evas, Rei Ayanami, and the Human Instrumentality Project. He is the father of the Third Children, Shinji Ikari, and the guardian of Rei. His original surname was Rokubungi, but he changed it to Ikari following his marriage to Yui. At the start of the series, he is the only person having an effective connection to Rei Ayanami. As the series progresses, his rather unscrupulous past is revealed, as is the intensity with which he loved his late wife, Yui. He also bears a resemblance to Director Hideaki Anno.
Deputy Commander Kōzō Fuyutsuki
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| Age | 58 |
| Sex | Male |
| Birthday | April 9, 1957 |
| Japanese seiyū | Motomu Kiyokawa |
| English voice actor | Guil Lunde (series) Michael Ross (movies) |
Once a professor of meta-biology at Kyoto University, Kōzō Fuyutsuki (冬月コウゾウ Fuyutsuki Kōzō) is now Deputy Commander of NERV under Gendo. But he is not a military man, despite his professional bearing and seeming ease of command. In the director's cut, it is revealed that he has had some sort of training as a physician though he has either lost or never acquired a license to practice medicine. There is no indication given during the series of any romantic relationships or of any dependents. In the episode The Birth of NERV, in several flashbacks, a few of his students and the superior professor at his institute (who first suggests that he take on the young and brilliant Yui Ikari as a research assistant) suggest that he be more sociable; this hints at Fuyutsuki being a classically withdrawn academic, and possibly a life-long bachelor. Shortly after beginning his academic (and platonically affectionate and supportive) association with Yui Ikari, he was directed by his institution's superiors to initiate a similar arrangement with the then Gendo Rokoboungi.
Given later revelations about apparent decades-long behind-the-scenes machinations of SEELE into all aspects of the sciences directly and indirectly involved in the subject of Instrumentality (the Dead Sea Scrolls were uncovered in 1947, so presumably the world-wide conspiracy behind SEELE's operations had been in existence for only slightly less time) it is safe to say that Professor Fuyutsuki had been monitored by and targeted for recruitment by SEELE early in his career. If speculations regarding Yui actually having been a junior member of SEELE through her father's influence are correct, then Fuyutsuki's association with Gendo Rokoboungi/Ikari was equally planned well in advance. His earlier introduction to Rokoboungi/Ikari by taking him on as a research assistant, bailing him out of jail, and later meeting him again after Second Impact during a research expedition to the area formerly occupied by Antarctica may be seen as steps in a testing procedure to determine his reliability, discretion and intelligence at being able to surmise SEELE's goals...and whether he would actually be amenable to that recruitment.
Fuyutsuki's earlier assessment of Gendo Ikari's personality (in the Director's Cut, the subtitle during Fuyutsuki's recall of the initial meeting at the police station refers to Rokoboungi/Ikari as 'real bastard') was reinforced by the Antarctic mission, during which Fuyutsuki began to suspect that the now Gendo Ikari's associates in SEELE may be more powerful and dangerous than he originally realized. The seed of doubt planted during that voyage led to the discovery of the true nature of the events leading up to Second Impact and SEELE's involvement in initiating that catastrophe.
After Fuyutsuki threatened to expose Gendo to the public, regarding the massive deception concerning Second Impact, in 2003 (through his own research), Gendo Ikari led him into the GeoFront and Central Dogma and revealed to him an incomplete prototype Eva. At that point, Ikari asked Fuyutsuki to join him and "create a new future for humankind, together with me." Fuyutsuki accepted this, and started to help Gendo. Whether this agreement was entirely out of idealism or more from self-preservation is not made clear. In the movie The End of Evangelion it is mentioned that SEELE had threatened Fuyutsuki with being 'disappeared'; the implication is that this recruitment may have been a Hobson's Choice.
Despite Fuyutsuki's initial dislike of Gendo, it is clearly evident that he becomes the closest thing that Gendo has to a confidant in the series. In many episodes, Fuyutsuki may be seen as a sort of external conscience for Gendo Ikari; despite his somewhat gruff nature, Fuyutsuki is genuinely concerned for those under his commend, but having the added knowledge of SEELE's true goals for Instrumentality, must balance his compassion with Ikari's ruthlessness in pursuing both SEELE's agenda and Ikari's own hidden one of re-uniting with his discarnate Yui. Ikari's dependence upon Fuyutsuki as both confidant and his chief lieutenant is shown by the many times that Fuyutski takes the initiative for action without waiting for direction from Ikari.
As had been mentioned and implied in the series, while obviously kindly disposed towards Yui, at all times Fuyutsuki maintained a professional demeanor towards her. It is not intimated how the Destrudo experiment that 'killed' her and ensconced her soul into EVA Unit 01 affected him. The depth of his feelings for her, however, is revealed when immediately prior to dematerializing into LCL during Instrumentality, Fuyutsuki witnesses an image of Lilith-as-Yui which appears to float down to embrace him, comforting him in his transition to a non-corporeal state.
Captain/Major Misato Katsuragi
| File:Misato.gif | |
| Age | 29 |
| Sex | Female |
| Birthday | December 8, 1986 |
| Relations | Father: Dr. Katsuragi Guardian of: Shinji Ikari, Asuka Langley Soryu, Pen Pen |
| Japanese seiyū | Kotono Mitsuishi |
| English voice actor | Allison Keith |
Misato Katsuragi (葛城ミサト Katsuragi Misato) is the head operations officer at NERV, initially holding the rank of Captain (with a later promotion to Major). In several instances during the series, most notably in the battle with the Angel Ramiel, she displays a quick tactical wit combined with an unorthodox approach to problem solving to provide equally out-of-the-box solutions. This is in combination with a degree of boldness and self-assuredness in her professional life which paradoxically is not mirrored in her personal one. In the personal sphere she appears lonely, and despite her obvious vivaciousness, until the arrival of Shinji, lives alone as a matter of choice.
It is later revealed that there has only been one man in her entire life that she has had any degree of real intimacy with, that being Rhyoji Kaji, and that is only admitted after after a deliberate attempt to override her own reluctance in addressing the matter by, in her words, 'getting the courage up to get falling down drunk' to be able to admit this to Kaji. Her taking Shinji under her wing was to fulfill several purposes, only one of which was to see to Shinji's care, but this quickly developed into a much more familial form of relationship as Misato began to understand how tortuous Shinji's coping mechanisms in dealing with daily life closely approximated some of her own. This semi-familial relationship later included Asuka, though not without some friction, thanks to Asuka's outwardly abrasive personality and continual berating of Shinji.
Misato was with her father, leader of the Katsuragi expedition to Antarctica, during the Second Impact. Before her father's death, he placed 14-year-old Misato in a protective capsule (reminiscent of an Entry Plug which must have contained its own A-T Field, which would explain her surviving a blast that destroyed an entire continent and sent a tidal wave scores of meters high surging northward to devastate every coastline on every remaining continent). Prior to her escape she was badly injured; she has a deep white scar running from her sternum and angling rightwards under her right breast across her abdomen. She never mentions how it happened, and never supplies any details. Following the catastrophe, after rescue, she became mute and withdrew from social interaction for two years. The mute, near-fetally withdrawn young woman with haunted looking eyes is seen by Professor Fuyutsuki onboard the research vessel in the waters of the now obliterated Antarctic, where it is commented that 'she had seen Hell, first hand'. It is not explained what caused her to return to normal consciousness and resume social interaction. While grateful to her father for saving her life, she also admits to hating him, as he devoted his life to his work and neglected her and her mother. She always wears a cross pendant which her father put around her neck before sealing the protective capsule.
After her period of mute catatonia, her personality changed when she began to attend college, where she became more social and talkative (Ritsuko, whom she met in college, commented that she talked so much as if she was attempting to "make up for lost time"). At the time of the series, she is very extroverted (and some would say alcoholic). This is mainly as a result of her being always a bridesmaid and never a bride, which worsened when Kaji dies, the only man she had ever loved. She exhibits great concern for the Eva pilots under her command; indeed, she is something of a surrogate mother to Shinji. The End of Evangelion, however, adds another layer to the relationship between Misato and Shinji. In one scene of The End of Evangelion, Misato kisses Shinji and tells him that when he comes back, "they'll do the rest." By shocking him out of his depressed and suicidal frame of mind and using his disorientation to push him into the elevator leading to the EVA launch facility, Misato saves Shinji's life and causes the Human Instrumentality Project to advance. Misato dies just after she sends Shinji away, but is seen in episodes 25 and 26 as something of a mentor to the Instrumentalitied Shinji, causing speculation as to whether the process of Instrumentality affected all souls, both those carnate at the time of their conversion and those already dead.
Head Scientist Ritsuko Akagi
| File:Ritsuko.png | |
| Age | 30 |
| Sex | Female |
| Birthday | November 21, 1985 |
| Relations | Mother: Dr. Naoko Akagi |
| Japanese seiyū | Yuriko Yamaguchi |
| English voice actor | Sue Ulu |
Ritsuko Akagi (赤木リツコ Akagi Ritsuko) is NERV's head scientist. The daughter of Naoko Akagi, the developer of the MAGI supercomputers, she is a lonely, cool and intelligent woman who has great affinity for cats and is completely devoted to her work. In flashbacks, it is revealed that she was one of Misato's first friends following the Second Impact. Ritsuko was also friendly with Kaji, and jokingly flirted with him, which is often misinterpreted by fans as evidence of a past romance. Additionally, she is a natural brunette who bleaches her hair. Along with Gendo and Fuyutsuki, she's the only person at NERV fully aware of the Evas' true nature and the purpose of the Instrumentality Project. Similarly to Gendo and unlike Misato, Ritsuko is willing to sacrifice the Eva pilots if the situation appears to warrant it. It is revealed in the later episodes that Ritsuko was romantically involved with Gendo Ikari. She feels betrayed by Gendo when she realizes that he was using her, mirroring her own mother's tragic fate. As revenge, she destroyed the Rei Dummy Plug system. She was shot dead at the end of The End of Evangelion, when she tried to launch the self-destruct to stop Gendo from initiating the Third Impact. She failed when Casper, the third MAGI computer which contained Naoko Akagi's personality as a woman, overrode the command. She was then shot and killed by Gendo.
NERV Special Inspector Ryoji Kaji
| File:Kaji.png | |
| Age | 31 |
| Sex | Male |
| Birthday | June 17, 1984 |
| Japanese seiyū | Kōichi Yamadera |
| English voice actor | Aaron Krohn |
Kaji, while only being a special inspector, secretly works for SEELE investigating NERV's true intentions. He is always called by his last name, Kaji. During college, he had a serious relationship with Misato, but after having long broken up, they see each other again on the UN fleet ferrying Unit 02 and its pilot, Asuka Langley Soryu, to Japan. After he returns to NERV headquarters, Kaji and Misato rekindle their romance following a period of teasing and insults, when Misato confesses that she broke up with him because she realized that Kaji reminded her of her father. He is eventually shot by an unnamed assailant, described as "a third party working either for SEELE or for NERV's Intelligence Division" in the episode Film-book. In the manga, it is Commander Ikari who personally kills Kaji.
First Lieutenant Makoto Hyuga
| File:Hyuga.jpg | |
| Age | Unspecified (about 24) |
| Sex | Male |
| Birthday | February 13 |
| Japanese seiyū | Hiro Yuuki |
| English voice actor | Matt Greenfield (series) Keith Burgess (movies) |
Makoto Hyuga (日向マコト Hyūga Makoto) is First Lieutenant at NERV and a computer technician. He is something of a nerd, reading manga while on his break time, but is a hard worker, nonetheless. He also appears to harbor a deep crush for Misato, as Lilith approaches him during his implementation in the form of Misato.
First Lieutenant Maya Ibuki
| File:Mayaeva.jpg | |
| Age | 24 |
| Sex | Female |
| Birthday | July 11, 1991 |
| Japanese seiyū | Miki Nagasawa |
| English voice actor | Kendra Benham (series) Amy Seeley (movies) Monica Rial ("Director's Cut" episodes) |
Maya Ibuki (伊吹マヤ Ibuki Maya) is a First Lieutenant at NERV and a computer technician who works primarily with Ritsuko Akagi. Her main role during the fights with the Angels is to constantly monitor the Eva pilots’ synchronization ratios and send various emergency commands to the Evangelions as ordered by Misato or Gendo. Her implementation scene during the The End of Evangelion movie has been read by many fans as a revelation that she is secretly in love with Ritsuko. When Maya's Instrumentality occurs, Lilith (in the form of Ritsuko) types "I need you" into Maya's laptop and embraces her. Maya's reversion to LCL comes after an ecstatic gasp of "Senpai!" However, this scene is the only one that alludes to her possible feelings towards Ritsuko, and its intention is not clear. In spite of her profession, Maya despises violence of any sort, and is frequently shown becoming nauseous and averting her eyes during battles with the Angels. Notably, in The End of Evangelion, Maya is the only NERV officer who is shown refusing to fight back against the JSSDF invaders. She rejects the gun Shigeru hands her to defend herself saying "I can't shoot this thing", not because she is unskilled, but because she has never shot it at a human being. Throughout much of the second half of End of Evangelion Maya is seen with her face buried in a pink pillow under her desk.
She is sometimes described as representing the audience's views throughout the series, as she shows revulsion when it would be most likely for the viewer to do the same, and delight in other, more light-hearted scenes.
First Lieutenant Shigeru Aoba
| File:Aoba.jpg | |
| Age | Unspecified (about 24) |
| Sex | Male |
| Birthday | May 5 |
| Japanese seiyū | Takehito Koyasu |
| English voice actor | Jason C. Lee (series and movies) Vic Mignogna ("Director's Cut" episodes) |
Shigeru Aoba (青葉シゲル Aoba Shigeru) is First Lieutenant at NERV and a computer technician. At times a stereotypical metalhead, he is a nihilist and plays guitar (he can also sometimes be seen strumming an air guitar). In his implementation sequence, Lilith forces her way through his AT Field by bombarding him with a wall of Reis in which he screams in fear. She supposedly takes this tactic with his implementation because there is no one he loves or trusts enough to let his guard down, suggesting a possible layer of solitude and bitterness behind his cynical persona. Again, his character is not explored in depth within the series.
Kyoko Zeppelin Soryu
| Age | 31 |
| Sex | Female |
| Relations | Daughter: Asuka Langley Sohryu Husband: "Papa" Associated Eva: Unit 02 |
| Japanese seiyū | Maria Kawamura |
| English voice actor | Kimberly Yates |
Kyoko Zeppelin Soryu (惣流・キョウコ・ツェッペリン Sōryū Kyōko Tsepperin), Asuka's mother, was a key scientist in the German division of GEHIRN (what would later become NERV's Third Branch) and the development of Unit 02, the first Production Type (the second and third of which were later produced by the two American branches of NERV). After participating in Unit 02's contact experiment, she became mentally unstable and was admitted to a mental institution. Her husband entered an affair with Kyoko's own doctor, which eventually prompted Kyoko's suicide in 2005; and by the time of Kyoko's funeral, the doctor had already become Asuka's stepmother.
Kyoko's soul seems to have become trapped in Unit 02 as a result of the experiment, although how her body remained intact afterwards is a well-disputed mystery. Many speculate that her losing her soul during the GEHIRN experiments is the reason for her mental instability. In the NGE2 game released for the PSP it is revealed that the mother portion of her soul was taken explaining why she no longer was able to recognize her daughter as well.
GEHIRN Staff
Naoko Akagi
| Age | Unspecified |
| Sex | Female |
| Relations | Daughter: Ritsuko Akagi |
| Japanese seiyū | Mika Doi |
| English voice actor | Laura Chapman |
Naoko Akagi (赤木ナオコ Akagi Naoko) was Ritsuko's mother. She was the creator of the MAGI Super Computer system and the former GEHIRN head technician. The MAGI computers were built on three opposing principles of the life of its creator: Naoko as a scientist (Melchior), Naoko as a mother (Balthasar), and Naoko as a woman (Casper). Moreover, her personality ("divided" into these three principles) has been implanted into the MAGI's organic computer, so that the system can think like a human being. These three aspects are in constant conflict, and together they delegate to formulate decisions and judgments on behalf of NERV and the government of New Tokyo-3. Naoko was involved in a romantic relationship with the recently-widowed Gendo Ikari while working at GEHIRN. However, after Rei 1 called her an "old hag" and said that Gendo himself called Naoko that frequently, she realized that he had merely been using her affections to ensure her performance for him. In a fit of rage, Naoko strangled Rei to death and then either committed suicide or was murdered by an unknown assailant. Soon afterward, GEHIRN was disbanded and the organization NERV was formed in its place.
Yui Ikari
| File:Yui.png | |
| Age | 27 (at the time of her disappearance) |
| Sex | Female |
| Birthday | 1977 |
| Relations | Son: Shinji Ikari Husband: Gendo Ikari Genetic: Rei Ayanami (possibly) Associated Eva: Unit 01 |
| Japanese seiyū | Megumi Hayashibara |
| English voice actor | Kim Sevier (series) Amanda Winn-Lee (movies) |
Yui's background is not covered in the series, but according to the "Neon Genesis Evangelion 2" PS2 game, her father was a powerful member of SEELE, which explains why she had the backing of this powerful organization. She was a student of genetic engineering at Kyoto University, where she met her future husband Gendo and her mentor and trusted friend Kouzou Fuyutsuki. Afterwards, she joined Artificial Evolution Laboratory (future GEHIRN) in Hakone, Japan, and played an integral role in Project E.
Despite Fuyutsuki's misgivings, Yui served as the test subject for the Contact Experiment of EVA-01 in 2004, saying that "everything happens as it must." She invited her son Shinji to GEHIRN to watch what would be her final moments: Yui "disappeared" during testing — leaving no body behind — and was proclaimed dead that same year after efforts to recover her failed. Although GEHIRN considered it an accident, it is arguably clear that what happened was Yui's intention. Living on within the Eva, she continues to ensure a "bright future" for Shinji and the rest of humanity, seeing to it personally that SEELE's scenario is never entirely fulfilled.
While Yui is not exactly an important character on her own, it is her relationships with those around her that make her key to the entire series.
Gendo's love for her is his entire motivation for going through with SEELE's Instrumentality Project. He misses her so longingly that he goes through with SEELE's plan in the hopes that, after being implemented, he would be able to be one with Yui again.
Shinji is equally affected by his mother. Her absence and Gendo's subsequent abandonment of Shinji is the reason behind his anti-social, non-confrontational nature. At the same time, her maternal protectiveness of Shinji as the soul of his Unit 01 is solely responsible for EVA-01's being the formidable fighter it is. Also, it can be argued that Shinji's relationship to his Eva is a physical manifestation of the Freudian Oedipus Complex: he longs for contact with his mother to the point that he wants to be inside her, however this is contradicted by how at times it seems he has some disdain for Unit 01, as a weapon, and most of his resentment towards his father is based on other aspects of their relationship. Nonetheless, it has been proven through The End of Evangelion and by Gainax itself that the only reason Shinji and Gendo acted the way they did is because they wanted to be with Yui again.
Other characters
SEELE Leader Keel Lorenz
| |
| Age | Unspecified |
| Sex | Male |
| Japanese seiyū | Mugihito |
| English voice actor | Richard Peeples (series) Tom Booker (movies) |
In the series, Keel Lorenz (キール・ローレンツ) is the leader of SEELE. Among his most defining characteristics are the futuristic visors that he wears throughout the series, which some fans have interpreted to mean that he is blind. He is also ancient in appearance and from what little is said about him in the series, he is believed to be a figure of a great political power in the UN. Little else is known about him and is vastly up to interpretation. His body is also shown to be supported by a myriad of artificial components when he dissolves into LCL during The End of Evangelion.
Some fans believe him to be the character from the anti-Semitic legend of The Wandering Jew, but there is no evidence in the series or from any other source to support this claim. In fact, news clippings with Lorenz's picture dating 20 years prior to the story show him visibly younger. An immortal would not have aged in a mere two decades. Others have speculated that he is a representation of Cain, the son of Adam and Eve, and the first murderer, who was condemned by God to wander the Earth forever without rest. Though it is an interesting interpretation, little evidence exists to support this claim.
The inspiration for his name originates from Konrad Lorenz, a zoologist known especially for his research on animal psychology who also, notably, was once affiliated with the Nazi party.
Kensuke Aida
| File:Kensuke.gif | |
| Age | 14 |
| Sex | Male |
| Birthday | September 12, 2001 |
| Japanese seiyū | Tetsuya Iwanaga |
| English voice actor | Kurt Stoll |
Kensuke Aida (相田ケンスケ Aida Kensuke) is a geek, a military buff, Toji's best friend, and a part of the "Other Children," candidates who are also Eva replacements placed in the same class as Shinji, Toji, Rei, and Hikari. His hobbies include camping in the mountains surrounding Tokyo-3 and playing simulated war reenacting - by himself. Kensuke became Shinji's friend after Shinji picked him and Toji up in his Eva during the fight against the fourth Angel, Shamshel. Kensuke constantly dreams of becoming an Eva pilot. He ceaselessly begs Shinji to pull strings in NERV so he can be commissioned as a pilot, but Shinji has to constantly tell him that he has no say in the matter. It is likely that NERV monitors all of the 14-year-old children in Tokyo-3 constantly, as they are all candidates specifically chosen for their suitability as pilots. He also seems oblivious to the intense physical and psychological duress endured by Eva pilots. Nevertheless, Kensuke enjoys the privileges of being the friend of an Eva pilot; he has fun on the excursion to the UN combined naval fleet during the transportation of Unit 02. Like Toji, Kensuke has a crush on Misato Katsuragi. He is rarely seen without his camcorder at hand.
Kensuke is named after a main character in the novel The Fascism of Love and Fantasies (Ai to Gensou no Fascism) by Ryu Murakami.
Hikari Horaki
| |
| Age | 14 |
| Sex | Female |
| Birthday | February 18, 2001 |
| Japanese seiyū | Junko Iwao |
| English voice actor | Carol Amerson (series) |
Hikari Horaki (洞木ヒカリ Horaki Hikari) is the intelligent and pretty class president of the class that Shinji and the other Eva pilots attend. Despite her by-the-book demeanor, she has an enormous crush on Toji, although she is unable to express her feelings to him openly. She also appears to be Asuka's only friend.
Hikari is named after a character in the novel The Fascism of Love and Fantasies (Ai to Gensou no Fascism) by Ryu Murakami. Her name, and that of her unseen younger sister, Nozomi, and elder sister, Kodama, is also in reference to the names of the trains of the Tokaido Shinkansen line.
Pen Pen
| File:Penpen.jpg | |
| Age | Unspecified |
| Sex | Male |
| Relations | Guardian: Misato Katsuragi |
| Japanese seiyū | Megumi Hayashibara |
| English voice actor | Amanda Winn Lee (series and movies) Mandy Clark ("Director's Cut" episodes) |
Pen Pen, or Pen² (ペンペン) is a warm-water Erect-crested Penguin with a relatively high degree of intelligence. According to the manga, he is the result of a genetics experiment at Misato's former workplace, and she adopted him after the experiment's conclusion rather than watch him be euthanised. He lives in a custom refrigerator in her apartment, enjoys taking warm baths, eating whatever food he can get his hands (or wings) on, and going to hot springs. He is also shown watching TV and reading newspapers. Pen Pen is the series' mascot and key source of comic relief.
Incidental Characters
- "Papa" Sohryu
- (Seiyu: Toshihiko Seki) Asuka's father, lost custody during the divorce, regained custody after Kyoko's suicide.
- "Mama" Sohryu
- Married Asuka's father after the divorce, raised Asuka after Kyoko's suicide.
- "Doll" Asuka
- A doll that Kyoko, Asuka's mother, treated as the real Asuka when she went insane. When Kyoko committed suicide, she also "killed" the doll.
- Shiro Tokita
- (Seiyu: Houchu Ohtsuka) Team leader for the Jet Alone project.
Non-canonical characters
Mana Kirishima
| File:Manaeva.jpg | |
| Age | 14 |
| Sex | Female |
| Birthday | November 4, 2000 |
| Japanese seiyū | Megumi Hayashibara |
| English voice actor | No English version. |
Mana Kirishima (霧島マナ Kirishima Mana) is the main focus of Girlfriend of Steel (鋼鉄のガールフレンド Kōtetsu no Gārufurendo), a game that is like an episode of the series. She appears as a transfer student at the Children's school, and becomes the focus of Shinji's interest and Asuka's ire (due to a rampant fit of jealousy). She is the pilot of another man-made replacement for the EVA Units, the Trident, whose combat skills are actually on par with the Evangelions', to whom they bear a resemblance in design. She also appears in Shinji Ikari Raising Project (碇シンジ育成計画 Ikari Shinji Ikusei Keikaku). Like many Evangelion characters, Mana's family name, Kirishima, is taken from a World War II battleship.
A shy female character, Mana Kirishima, starts at Shinji Ikari's school and immediately admits to finding him cute. Gradually, a relationship unfolds and they end up going on a date where they kiss. It turns out, however, that she is one of three test pilots of TRIDENT, of a new competitor to the Evangelions, similar to Jet Alone, thus the name Girlfriend of Steel. Eventually, the other robot goes berserk and the Evas have to destroy it. Throughout the game, Asuka Langley Soryu is constantly jealous of Shinji and Mana, consistent with her widely-speculated romantic feelings for Shinji. (Mana is, in fact, much disliked by many fans of the Shinji/Asuka pairing.) Rei Ayanami is present but plays a rather background role in the story. (This could be due to the fact that Rei's seiyu is also the seiyu for Mana.) The interactivity in most of the game is limited to walking around areas until the next plot event is triggered. However, the one true branch occurs at the end of the game, where the player may choose to focus on Mana, Asuka or Kaji. This choice determines which of the game's three endings are shown. In the Mana ending, Mana is discovered not to have been killed in the battle. Shinji rescues her and brings her back to his apartment. She showers, emerges wearing only a towel, and teasingly asks Shinji if he'd like her to remove it (this is similar to a scene involving Shinji and Asuka in Yoshiyuki Sadamoto's Evangelion manga, in which Asuka actually does remove the towel - revealing that she has on a sleeveless, strapless top and short shorts underneath). In discussion with Misato, however, it is agreed that Mana has to leave Tokyo-3, and she says a teary goodbye to Shinji who had won her heart.
As noted above, the seiyu for Mana is also the seiyu for Rei (as well as Yui Ikari and Pen Pen). Her lively personality is comparable to the change to Rei's personality in Girlfriend of Steel 2. Also, the idea of Shinji having a "girlfriend" was addressed in the manga version by Yoshyuki Sadamoto, where both Shinji and Rei realised that they cared deeply for each other. Tragically, they never expressed this "love" to each other, for Rei detonated Unit 00 in the fight with Armisael (book 10).
Another interesting note is that Mana could be said to resemble both Rei and Asuka.
- Her personality was a "right mix" of Rei's quietness and Asuka's energetic personality.
- She is a timid girl who can be very energetic.
- She's a brunette, like Asuka; her appearance shares some similarities with Rei (short hair, slim build).
Other characters from Girlfriend of Steel
- Musashi Lee Strasberg (ムサシ・リー・ストラスバーグ, Musashi Rī Sutorasubāgu) (Seiyu: Hiro Yuki)
- A test pilot for the Trident alongside Mana Kirishima.
- Keita Asari (浅利ケイタ, Asari Keita)
- A test pilot for the Trident alongside Mana Kirishima.
Mayumi Yamagishi
| File:Mayumi.png | |
| Sex | Female |
| Japanese seiyū | Kyoko Hikami |
| English voice actor | No English version. |
Mayumi Yamagishi (山岸マユミ, Yamagishi Mayumi) is the new character introduced in Evangelion 2nd Impression, a Sega Saturn game. In the game, Mayumi is a bespectacled bookworm who somehow has the core of an Angel inside her body. She joins Shinji's class and befriends him, and like many of the Evangelion cast, has a dark history. Her mother apparently committed suicide while Mayumi was a girl (much like Asuka's mother), and toward the end of the game, Mayumi tries to commit suicide when the Angel she's connected with attacks Tokyo-3. Depending on the choices you make in the game, Shinji saves her, and some notable moments from the game include seeing Mayumi sing a karaoke song and running into Shinji in the library.
Miscellaneous NERV technicians
In Shinji Ikari Raising Project, three NERV technicians are named, who may have previously been shown unnamed:
- Kaede Agano (阿賀野カエデ, Agano Kaede)
- Aoi Mogami (最上アオイ, Mogami Aoi)
- Satsuki Ooi (大井サツキ, Ōi Satsuki)
Trivia
The Director Hideaki Anno was influenced by Ryu Murakami's war novel Fascism of Love and Illusion (愛と幻想のファシズム), and many names including Aida and Suzuhara come from this story, which was based on Kanji Ishihara, a Lieutenant General in Imperial Japan.
Many of the surnames of the characters in Evangelion are named after Japanese warships in World War II.
Characters directly named after WWII naval vessels
| Character | Ship class and name | Ship fate |
|---|---|---|
| First Children Rei Ayanami | Fubuki class destroyer Ayanami | Sunk after the Second Naval Battle of Guadalcanal by the USS Washington on November 15, 1942. |
| Second Children Asuka Langley Sōryū | Langley class aircraft carrier USS Langley Sōryū class aircraft carrier Sōryū |
USS Langley wrecked by a Japanese air attack on February 27, 1942, and scuttled by her own escorts. Sōryū sunk at the battle of Midway on June 4, 1942, by dive bombers from the USS Enterprise. |
| Deputy Commander Kozo Fuyutsuki | Akizuki class destroyer Fuyuzuki | Badly damaged, then scrapped and used as a breakwater in 1948. |
| Captain/Major Misato Katsuragi | Unryū class aircraft carrier Katsuragi | Captured, then scrapped in 1947. |
| Head Scientist Ritsuko Akagi | Akagi class aircraft carrier Akagi | Damaged by US air attack at the battle of Midway and scuttled on June 4, 1942. |
| First Lieutenant Maya Ibuki | Ibuki class aircraft carrier Ibuki and Takao class heavy cruiser Maya | Ibuki was not completed, then scrapped in 1947. Maya was sunk at Battle of Leyte Gulf on October 23, 1944 |
| First Lieutenant Makoto Hyuga | Ise class battleship Hyūga | Sunk in the port of Kure by US planes on July 28, 1945. |
| First Lieutenant Shigeru Aoba | Aoba class heavy cruiser Aoba | Sunk in the port of Kure by US planes on July 28, 1945. |
Characters named after parts of ships
| Character | Part of ship |
|---|---|
| Third Children Shinji Ikari Head Commander Gendo Ikari Yui Ikari |
Ikari (いかり) Anchor |
| GEHIRN Staff Gendo Rokubungi | Rokubungi (ろくぶんぎ) Sextant |
| NERV Special Inspector Ryoji Kaji | Kaji (かじ) Rudder, Helm |
| SEELE Leader Keel Lorenz | Keel |
References
- Template:Ja icon Hideaki Anno's Official Site: Essay Page an essay written by Hideaki Anno explaining Evangelion's character's etymologies.
- Evangelion FAQ V0.5.12.2 (see section 3.4).
- Evangelion Facts (Useless, Tasteless, & Completely Random).
- Evangelion: Death & Rebirth Theatrical Program (Characters).
- NGE2 Classified Information translations of information presented in the NGE2 game for PSP