The Children
Rei Ayanami 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 She is shown to be socially withdrawn and hardly interacts with anyone.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.
Age
14
Sex
Female
Blood Type
Unknown
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 seiyuu
Megumi Hayashibara
English voice actor
Amanda Winn Lee
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Asuka Langley Sorhyu 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 Sorhyu, 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 Sorhyu 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 synchonization 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 and engages and defeats both the JSSDF forces attacking NERV headquarters and the Mass-Produced Evas. However, the MP Evas return to life and destroy Unit 02, ostensibly killing Asuka. At the end of the film, she and Shinji are the last humans on the planet still in physical form.
Age
14
Sex
Female
Blood Type
O
Birthday
December 4, 2000
Relations
Mother: Kyoko Zeppelin Sorhyu
Father: “Papa”
Step-mother: “Mama”
Guardian: Misato Katsuragi
Former Guardian: Ryoji Kaji
Japanese seiyuu
Yuko Miyamura
English voice actor
Tiffany Grant
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Shinji Ikari 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.
Age
14
Sex
Male
Blood Type
A
Birthday
June 6, 2001
Relations
Father: Gendo Ikari
Mother: Yui Ikari
Guardian: Misato Katsuragi
Japanese seiyuu
Megumi Ogata
English voice actor
Spike Spencer
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Toji Suzuhara is the Fourth Children. Toji is a tough boy, the stereotypical “jock,” and is in constant conflict with Asuka. His younger sister was injured in the battle between the third Angel, Sachiel, and Unit 01, and he beats Shinji up soon after for being indirectly responsible. However, after witnessing firsthand the suffering Shinji experiences piloting Unit 01 in the battle against Shamshel, Toji comes to respect Shinji and the two eventually become friends.
Toji’s Eva, Unit 03, is taken over by the thirteenth Angel, Bardiel, and is eventually destroyed by Unit 01, which was under the control of the Dummy Plug system. He is severely injured when his Entry Plug is crushed; in the manga, he is killed.
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.
Age
14
Sex
Male
Blood Type
B
Birthday
December 26, 2000
Relations
Sister: Unnamed
Japanese seiyuu
Tomokazu Seki
English voice actor
Brett Weaver
Joe Pisano
Michael O’Connor
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Kaworu Nagisa is the Fifth Children, 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; however, his true purpose is to hasten the Human Instrumentality Project’s implementation. 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.
Age
15
Sex
Male
Blood Type
Unknown
Birthday
September 13, 2000
Relations
Brothers: other Kaworus (SEELE Dummy Plug System)
Japanese seiyuu
Akira Ishida
English voice actor
Kyle Sturdivant (series)
Aaron Krohn (movies)
Greg Ayres (“Director’s Cut” episodes)
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Credits: List of characters in Neon Genesis Evangelion
Webmaster’s note: The information here is a mix of different definitions from wikipedia editors.
March 19 2008 09:36 am | Evangelion
link the image to: http://afufu.net/freewill
Hello on 28 Jan 2010 at 2:02 pm #
“However, the MP Evas return to life and destroy Unit 02, ostensibly killing Asuka.”
She’s confirmed to be killed by the MP Evas? It just seems to be the assumption that theres noway she could have survived those attacks which is pretty careless. One could make alot of points for and alot of counterpoints against such as no images of Rei appearing like in the cases of others death but this one really does seem inconclusive. Of course she and everyone else does die in 3I but thats a totally different point.