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Evangelion
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For other uses, see Evangelion (disambiguation).
Eva Series

The complete Eva-series from Neon Genesis Evangelion.

Evangelion (エヴァンゲリオン?) are giant, living artificial human (人造人間, Jinzō ningen?) of near-godlike power and are the namesake of the Evangelion franchise. They are present in nearly every single franchise entry, although their functionality and role can vary greatly depending on the story being told.

Originally created by Gehirn and further developed by NERV under the supervision of SEELE, the Evangelion are born from samples of the very first Angel, Adam, with the exception of Evangelion Unit-01, which was created from the second angel, Lilith. While the Evangelion were supposedly created to combat the Angel threat, their most important functions, and one of their greatest secrets, is to initiate Third Impact to evolve humanity further.

Despite being giant humans (in the series' broader definition of the term "human"), Evangelion are often mistaken to be mechanical robots or mecha. As early as Episode 02, Unit-01 is seen without its helmet on, revealing that Evangelion are living organic creatures with cybernetic components grafted onto them. This misconception exists since all the biological parts of the units are covered from head to toe in restraining metal plates that hide their true organic form and because they have pilots who sit in the cockpit-like Entry Plug.

Design[]

Original Concept[]

Evangelions Oni Concept Art

Early concept art of the Evangelions as Oni.

The Evangelions were designed after a specific type of Japanese monster called "OniWP", commonly translated into "demon" or "ogre". In the words of Anno himself [1]-

"There's a monster in Japan called the Oni; it has two horns sticking out of its head and the overall image of the Eva is based on that. I also wanted to give the impression that beneath this ‘robot monster’ image is not so much a robot, but a giant human."

Corresponding with Anno, Ikuto Yamashita worked to develop the design of the Evangelions (With the exception of the Mass Production Evangelions and the altered Unit-02 design used in End of Evangelion). In his words-

"So why did Evangelion wind up with that shape?" … The director instructed me to make, “the image of [an oni].” A giant just barely under the control of mankind. I get the feeling I've seen that correlation before … The image I had for the design concept was the fairy tale, Gulliver's Travels. Enormous Power Restrained. … What I came up with was a giant that looks like a relief on a wall. … I happily discarded the efficiency and feeling of giant size that you can guess at by sight alone. … after the designs were handed in, it caused a stir — even among the staff, positive and negative opinions were flying. And from here on out, I imagine it will cause a stir among comic readers and animation viewers."
Evangelion heads

Ikuto Yamashita's changes on the Evangelions' heads.

Evangelion design is characterized by smooth curves and flowing lines, giving the impression not of a robot, but of a giant human being.

The final Evangelion design is the result of a series of changes throughout early production. Most notably, the more "demonic" aspects of the Evangelions have largely been removed, such as the large horns (although the Unit-02 design in the Rebuild of Evangelion film series has two small horns on top of its head, suggesting a restoration of some of the older aspects of the design). The head design, in particular, has been subject to a lot of changes.

Neon Genesis Evangelion Appearance[]

Unit-02UNPF

Evangelion Unit-02 from Neon Genesis Evangelion

In Neon Genesis Evangelion, most Evangelion share the same general design with slight variation between units. The arms, legs and pylons carry over between every unit with the main variation being found in the units heads and to some degree, their upper torso. Evangelion Unit-01 has the most unique torso with enlarged and detailed breast plates. Evangelion Unit-00 also has an original chestplate similar to that of the other units, however after being refitted its torso is made to match the others. One notable exception to the other units are the Mass Production Evangelion which have many minor differences, including that they have been slimmed down, their arms have been shortened, their pylons have been removed and their backs have been adjusted to make room for their wings. The individual Evangelion do not have a fixed height. Depending on the scene, they vary in size from around 40 meters to a towering 200 meters.

Rebuild of Evangelion Appearance[]

Evangelion Scale (Rebuild)

The scale of an Evangelion in the Rebuild of Evangelion.

While the Evangelion of the Rebuild of Evangelion have a lot in common with their Neon Genesis Evangelion counterparts, many alterations have been made to them which includes slight color and proportion changes. The Evangelion units have been made slimmer, with noticeably thinner chests and torsos. Color has also been added to all the units, especially visible in the stripes all the carryover units have on their bodies. Many other changes exist when comparing units as well however most of those changes vary from unit to unit rather than existing across all the Evangelion.

After the timeskip in Evangelion: 3.0 You Can (Not) Redo, the designs of the Evangelion underwent radical changes. While the general body shapes remained for most of the traditional units, almost every new unit had entirely new armor layouts with some units like Evangelion New Unit-02α essentially being entirely new designs. Even units resembling the others like Evangelion Mark.06 and Evangelion 13 have many minor changes including changes to their shoulder pylons and increases their height. Taking advantage of the 3D models used, the size of the Evangelion units were made to be more consistent between scenes and are estimated to be around 80 meters tall, with special units like Mark.06 and Evangelion 13 being taller than average.

The timeskip also introduces the Mark Series of Evangelion units. For the most part, these units greatly or entirely deviate from the traditional humanoid Evangelion design however they are all made up of aspects from the original designs. For example, Evangelion Mark.44A is two humanoid Evangelion on their sides with some added details and Evangelion Mark.04C is just a large disk with dozens of shoulder pylons around its circumference.

Naming Conventions[]

Designation[]

Evangelion Unit-00 is designated the "Prototype", being the first successful Evangelion in a long line of failures. Evangelion Unit-01 is designated "Test Type", possibly because of its unique method of creation, from Lilith. Unit-02 was the first "Production Model" Evangelion, and Evangelions 03 to 06 were designated "Production Model". The original Unit-05 and 06 were canceled and scrapped for parts, so the next Evangelions belonged to the "Mass Production Model" of identical Evangelions 05 to 13.

In Rebuild of Evangelion, Evangelion Unit-00, 01 and 02 all use the same designation as in Neon Genesis for the same reasons. Additionally, Evangelion Unit-08 is also given the "Production model" designation and Evangelion Provisional Unit-05 is given the "Provisional" designation due to its extremely specific role being to guard the Third Angel. Unlike the "Unit" series, the "Mark" series do not possess such designations, though the reason is unclear.

Numbering[]

Unit-00 is referred to as "Zerogoki", which literally translates into "Zero Number Machine" (although a loanword from English, "Zero" in Japanese is not pronounced the same as "Zero" in English), and Unit-01 as "Shogoki", literally "First Number Machine" as opposed to "One Number Machine". From Unit-02 (Nigoki, "Two Number Machine") onwards, the "#numeral Number Machine"(-goki) convention is followed. Unit-00, 01 and 02 use the Kanji numerals for zero, one and two respectively. Unit-03 onwards are named with Arabic numerals instead (although, in some materials, these units are named with the Kanji numeral for their respective numbers instead).

In Rebuild of Evangelion, only Unit-00 and Unit-01 use the kanji numerals. Unit-02 onwards are named with Arabic numerals. This new continuity introduces a new series of Evangelion units, the Mark series. These Evangelion have their names written exclusively using the Latin alphabet, even in Japanese. Their names are also pronounced as English names (although Mark.06 has been referred as "Eva Rokugōki" like a classic unit, in the preview for 2.0). After the timeskip, all the Evangelion operated by WILLE are given the "Unit" moniker where as the Evangelion operated by NERV are given the "Mark" moniker. The one exception to this is Evangelion 13 which uses neither.

In most other media, including Neon Genesis Evangelion: ANIMA, all the Evangelion units continue to use the "Unit" moniker.

Biology[]

Origins[]

Created from the Seed of Life Adam (with the seeming exception of Unit-01), their massive bodies are formed of Particle-Wave Matter, but their shape appears to be determined genetically rather than through their A.T. Fields since they were born without souls, having their soul inserted in a Contact Experiment with a human being. Evangelions are also incapable of generating an S² Engine, although Unit-01 later acquires one and Mass Production Evangelions are all equipped with them.

Like the original Adam, an Eva has essentially the same physical form as a normal human, albeit with exaggerated torso/waist proportions and varying head forms. The limbs are identical to human limbs in structure, down to the point of the fingers having fingernails (Episode 03) and the feet having toes (seen in The End of Evangelion).

Skull shape and features vary from Evangelion to Evangelion. Some of the failed Prototype Evangelions have a skull shape almost identical to that of a human, while the Mass Production Evangelions have no eyes and a vaguely cetacean head form. Production model Evangelions vary in head shape, as well as in the number of eyes and nostril position.

Evangelions have internal organs including a complete digestive tract, as evidenced by display monitors and Unit-01's attack on Zeruel, and visually seen during the dismemberment of Unit-02. With the exception of Unit-02, which has blue-purple blood (In Rebuild, Unit-02's blood has been switched to red), all Evangelions have red blood, which sprays out of wounds in spectacular fashion.

Like Adam and the Angels, all Evangelions have a core, located on the solar plexus region in a similar manner to the more humanoid Angels. Unit-01 is known to have two smaller cores located below and next to the main core. NERV's technology allows the core to be prepared for a Contact Experiment or for piloting. Cores appear to have their own supply of LCL, and pipes for the liquid connect to the back of the Eva's head. In Neon Genesis Evangelion: ANIMA, Maya Ibuki says that "creating an Evangelion's physical body isn’t the difficult part. It’s stabilizing the core—infusing the Eva with a soul.”[1]

Like the Angels, Evangelions have regenerative capabilities. It is directly stated that they are capable of regenerating damaged or destroyed organs. Unit-01, in particular, has demonstrated extremely fast, controlled regeneration, including the ability to convert foreign biomass to its own. Likewise, Evangelions can lose their limbs or even their head and have them reattached later.

Unit-02's left leg is ripped off at the knee (which the script attributes to a blasting bolt), after which the torn off leg sinks deeper into the magma of the volcano, presumably beyond all hope of recovery; however, by the next episode Unit-02 is seen to be fully repaired with a full left leg. NERV is either capable of creating replacement limbs for the Evas (as opposed to simply being able to reattach limbs that have been severed), or of making Evas regrow lost limbs from their torso. It is not known how long or difficult of a process this might be, as it is not clear how much time passes between episodes during the fairly standalone "Action Arc" of the series, although in Episode 19, Unit-00 did not have time to grow a new left arm after the battle with Bardiel, implying that the regenerative process is fairly slow (or at least for Unit-00).

The Evangelion are covered in bindings that serve to restrain them and bind them to NERV's control, and are restrained heavily at all times when not in combat. Whether the bindings serve to restrain them physically or use some other mechanism to restrict their power is not known as the functioning of the bindings is not elaborated upon within the series. The bindings appear to serve as armor of sorts, but they are presumably unnecessary in that role. The shoulder pylons serve as part of the restraint system, attaching to external restraints as well as serving as storage for weapons like the Progressive Knife and Unit-02's spike launcher.

Ikuto Yamashita admits that the setting about what Evangelions truly are is not definitive. The organs being created by instinct or necessity like Unit-01 eyes for example.[2]

Forming the Evangelion Body[]

Evangelions seem to be created from a sort of asexual amoeba-like[3] fission process with either Adam or Lilith, in which the torso of the Eva is 'pulled' out of the Seed; Bochan_bird's translation of the Japanese liner notes, Genesis 0:12, in the "Eva Tomo no Kai" section:

"[...] Among these are an image of two giants lying stretched out. These apparently are Lilith and Unit-01 at the stage of the experiment where Yui disappeared. Both are in the condition with most of their lower bodies missing, and the missing lower torsos appear to be joined. Yui probably performed contact in the condition with Lilith and Unit-01 joined, and was taken/absorbed into [the Eva]."

In the Rebuild continuity, the biological creation of the Evas is mostly the same at first, but a few key differences surface over the progression of the movies. First is that their origins are somewhat different as the First Angel was not involved in the Second Impact, but instead the four Adams take his role. Secondly, as the movies progress, NERV and SEELE begin to expand on Eva development, using different source materials for their creation such as Angels and even the Adams, culminating on the creation of Evangelion 13, which is one of the living Adams, restrained and mechanized.

In Neon Genesis Evangelion: ANIMA, the Evangelions piloted by Asuka and Rei change their overall proportions mirroring Asuka and Rei's own bodies as they mature as women over 3 years.[4]

Evangelions can alter their own physical configuration, even when they are made out of inorganic matter. These changes can happen fast or more slowly, when slowly it was reported to sound of metal ocurring inside the holding cages at night. These changes were troublesome to the maintenance team. The current chief of the science and engineering divisions, Maya Ibuki theorized that these changes were part of the Evangelion natural development. These changes became more noticeable after the 3 years of gradual ocurrence. The pilot's effect in the Evangelion's body were observed more in Evangelion Unit-02, as it reflected the changes of Asuka more strongly than Rei's stunted development. [5]

At a certain point, Unit-02’s restraint armor no longer fit despite the best efforts of the mechanics. The armor was removed, and new, properly fitting, Stage 2 restraint armor was created. Due to the results of performance in Unit-02, the same kind of armor was used on the Unit-0.0 after coming back to Earth and being launched again on orbit after the upgrades were installed.[6]

One aspect that regulates the changes in an Evangelion are the Logical Definition Drive, located inside every entry plug, behind the plug seat lies a large and clearly antiquated disc-based storage device.[7]

When an Evangelion is awaken, there is always a danger that the soul within its core could go berserk, and unless a pilot had achieved a dangerously high synchronization, an Evangelion left on its own couldn’t maintain its humanoid form. The LDD constantly streams data into the Evangelion—data that tells the giant what it is, what form it takes, and other aspects of its existence. The system formed the fundamental basis of Evangelion control. All Evangelions had the ability to change their form. This can include the development of new abilities, regeneration, degradation, and retrogression. The LDD when working correctly makes so changes could never degrade or overwrite.[8]

Modifying for Combat Use[]

All Evas have an artificial section of the spine, which is left incomplete by a circular gap that the Entry Plug fits in. Inserting the entry plug completes the nerve connections from the head to the rest of the body. As an added precaution, a Signal Termination Plug is often kept in place of the Entry Plug to prevent neural impulses from flowing. While in operation, the Entry Plug is kept covered by a flush-fitting armor plate, although it can be lifted to eject the Entry Plug in an emergency.

The end of the Entry Plug is inserted into the core, which has a cylindrical cavity drilled out to accommodate it. The depth of the Plug inside the core can vary according to the synchronization rate and other factors, such as the Eva going berserk. The Entry Plug is flooded with LCL, which is either generated by the core itself or is pumped in from external storage before being processed and purified by the life-support systems. It serves to both provide oxygen and establish the link between the Entry Plug's occupants and the Eva, although the Interface Headset would appear to be necessary to actually pilot the Eva.

In Neon Genesis Evangelion, each Evangelions core is imbued with the soul of the pilot's mother, with the exception of Unit-00 and possibly the Evangelion Unit-03, Evangelion Unit-04 and Mass Production Evas.

In addition, there appears to be an extensive computer interface between the pilot and the Eva, as the system must be set to the pilot's native language (the language in which the pilot thinks, see note below) to allow the Eva to activate and be piloted. It might also link to the viewscreens in the Eva cockpit (which can flicker on and off depending on the activation state of the Eva).

The shoulder-armor pylons on Evangelions do not actually contain any biological part of the Eva, underneath the armor. The entire pylon is just an extension of the Eva's outer armor. As seen in Episode 14, the pylons can actually be removed should the need arise, in this case to fit them into external restraints; besides Unit-00, both Unit-01 and Unit-02, which always had shoulder-armor pylons, are here seen without them.

Operational Capabilities[]

Offensive Capabilities[]

Despite being extremely massive, the Evangelion are extremely capable of acrobatic feats like drop-kicks and enormous spinning leaps into the air. The units extreme agility and speed allow for a great amount of movement in combat allowing the units to effectively use melee weapons and close range arms.

Pallet Gun (NGE)

Pallet Rifle from Neon Genesis Evangelion

As the Evangelion were designed with combat in mind, they have a wide variety of conventional and non-conventional combat options and capabilities. For built in systems, each unit is equipped with a computerized targeting system, radar and sonar. These systems exist to support the pilot and enable them to use weaponry effectively in combat. The most common weapons used by the Evangelion are the Pallet Rifle, an Evangelion sized assualt rifle, and the Progressive Knife, a small vibrating knife capable of cutting through angels. The Evangelion armory isn't limited to these two weapons, however, and the weapons used by the units almost always varies from fight to fight.

As previously mentioned, each units can also generate an A.T. Field. While it is often used defensively, its most common usage is offensively to erode the A.T. Fields of Angels by canceling their wavelength.

The height an Evangelions combat capabilities is achieved once they enter Berserk mode when the resident soul has taken control from the pilot. It is characterized by savage, animal-like behaviour.In this form, the Evangelion has greatly enhanced physical strength, and, at the height of berserker mode, can run without any electrical power at all.[9] The Rebuild series introduces an additional mode to Unit-02 called Beast Mode which unlocks the innate power of the Evangelion without having it go berserk. When in this form, the units undergo a transformation which varies from unit to unit. In this series, Evangelion Unit-01 and Evangelion 13 also awaken which is similar to berserk however the color of the armor changes and their power increases by a far larger amount.

NTE 3.33 Mark

Mark.04B using its energy weapon from Rebuild of Evangelion 3.0.

The Mark series display bizarre battle features compared to the standard Evangelion units. These units no longer wield standard Evangelion weaponry, instead, each unit has its own unique, built in weaponry. For example, the Mark.04 series utilize anti-AT Field attacks, while Mark.09 is seen equipped with a bizarre jetpack, and later a scythe as a melee weapon. Mark 09 also enhances its lifespan by altering its core to the whole body. It later displays Angelic features when taken over by a SEELE hijack system, such as transformation and firing iconic Angel-like cross-beam attacks on the AAA Wunder. Evangelion 13 doesn't have an AT Field itself, instead it uses the assistance of four RS Hoppers to generate shields similar to AT Fields. It also features a double entry-plug system and an additional set of arms. Evangelion 13's physical strength is also noteworthy, being able to pull out the two Spears of Longinus from Lilith's corpse. The unit also has the ability to be 'Awakened'.

In the Rebuild continuity, more is revealed about the hardware embedded within the Evangelion units. There is 255 terabytes of memory available to the software used to run the Evangelion Provisional Unit-05. It is unknown, however, if this also applies to the other Eva units. More curiously, the colors used by the holographic display to show the various information, alerts, and so on, seems to be changeable via a control panel, as seen when Mari plays with this feature in her Evangelion Unit-08.

Defensive Capabilities[]

Every Evangelion is fitted with 1200 pieces of armour capable of resisting a low yield nuclear blast[10] which serves to protect the units from all sorts of attacks as well as restrain the units to keep them under NERV control. In addition to their armour, Evangelion are also capable of creating protective A.T. Fields which can be used for defence to block incoming attacks as well as for offensive purposes.

Evangelion are also customizable, being able to be equipped with a wide variety of defensive equipment including blast shields and full body equipment like the Type F equipment.

However in Transformers Mode "Eva" it is revealed Evangelion Units can be easily be disabled by weaponry designed to shutdown machinery as Angel-Scream used his Null Rays (A weapon in the Transformers series that disables or destroy machinery) to target EVA-1 and Unitvwas disabled by the attack even while shielded by Optimus Prime.

Power Limitations[]

Cable00

Umbilical cable being severed during combat from The End of Evangelion.

Generally, Evangelion are not self sufficient and require external power to function for extended amounts of time[11]. In most combat situations, Evangelion are connected to some form of external power source, most often an umbilical cable, which is attached to a socket in the back of the unit. However, these cables are vulnerable to attack. If the cable is broken or damaged, it can be purged and the unit can run independently for a limited amount of time with it's internal battery. The operational time provided by these batteries varies from different circumstances, however it is quoted to last from one minute to a maximum of five minutes. Later in the series, portable batteries attached to the unit's shoulder pylons are introduced, however they are only used once, likely due to them encumbering the units, and the operational time they provide is unknown.

In the Rebuild of Evangelion continuity, as a result of technology advancing during the 14 year time skip, new solutions to powering Evangelion were introduced. The Evangelion used by WILLE have portable batteries connected to their backs rather than cables, allowing them greater freedom of movement and quicker replacements, should their energy run out. Additionally, they also possess larger portable batteries which can be carried around to charge the units. These additional battery solutions provide the units a much longer operational time however it is unclear how much longer they can operate before needing to recharge.

This limitation can be entirely overcome through the integration of a S² Engine. Units with these engines, those being Unit-01 and the Mass Production Evangelion have an indefinite operational time and therefore have no need for batteries or cables as they generate the energy required to function themselves. In the Rebuild continuity, many Evangelion units and weapons used by NERV operate for prolonged periods of time without any need for external power. Units like Evangelion 13 and its RS Hoppers, the mark series and the Arm Units have no visible plugs for power suggesting they may use S² engines, however this has not been confirmed.

The Evangelions use their A.T. Fields to generate a field to the ground beneath their feet. This allows the Evangelion to he able to walk and move without sinking due to their mass.[12]

Evangelion Pilots[]

Synchronization and Pilot Compatibility[]

An Evangelion is imbued with the soul of its pilot's mother. Whether the soul or the pilot is chosen first is unknown. A pilot can easily sync only with a compatible soul. Synchronization depends upon the pilot's psychological condition. Synchronization rate and performance can be pulled down when the pilot is emotionally distressed and increase under duress or anger, reaching a high sync rate when in battle rage. In Evangelion: 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance, Shinji is able to achieve 400% synchronization rate with the awakened Evangelion Unit 01.

In Episode 14, Ritsuko's "mutual compatibility experiment" marked the first time that it was attempted to switch Eva pilots between Evangelions. Rei could synch with Unit-01 fairly well, but when Shinji tried to sync with Unit-00, it went berserk. Evangelions are thus permanently associated with exclusively one pilot, and while Ritsuko considered the experiment enough of a success to begin work on the Dummy Plug system, pilots have never really switched between Evas in the series.[13]

However, the souls used for Mark.06 onwards (including WILLE's Unit-08) are unknown. Most of the Mark Series units are assumed to be autonomous themselves.

In Neon Genesis Evangelion: ANIMA, both US Evangelion/Wolfpack and Mari were NERV U.S.’s answer to NERV Japan’s rigorously high synch rate requirements. The idea of splicing animal and human genomes together to allow for lower synch rates was an ambitious one, although officially their scientists swore that no animal souls were harmed during the production of Wolfpack. In fact, they maintained that Mari’s unsettling references to her “pack” were all in her head.[14]

Mental Link Between Evangelion and their Pilots[]

  • An Eva pilot feels everything their Evangelion feels when synchronized with the Eva, experiencing the pain of injuries the Eva sustains, i.e. Shinji feels like his left arm has been broken when Unit-01's arm is broken.
    • Apparently, Eva pilots feel the pain of injuries but do not actually sustain these injuries: Misato points out to Shinji that "That's not your arm" when he feels the pain of Unit-01's arm being broken. Similarly, in Episode 10 Unit-02's left leg below the knee is completely bitten off, but Asuka's leg does not just spontaneously fall off as a result. Also, in Episode 19 both of Unit-02's arms are cut off, but Asuka's arms do not physically fall off. Even in this episode, Unit-01 is shot through the head, destroying its eye (which it later regenerates) but Shinji does not instantly lose an eye. The pilots appear to experience the pain and nervous system shock (which can actually result in severe forms of injury nonetheless) of injuries the Evas sustain, but do not actually suffer these injuries themselves. That said, it appears that if an Evangelion is severely damaged enough (even if the Entry Plug containing the pilot is not directly damaged itself), the pilot can indeed die from physical shock. For example, in Episode 19 Misato shouts for technicians to quickly cut the synchronization connection between Asuka and Unit-02 moments before the Angel Zeruel decapitates Unit-02, the sheer pain and shock of which would probably have killed Asuka. However, at odds with this is that during The End of Evangelion pilots appear to actually suffer the same physical injuries that their Eva Units suffer. This may be explained by the fact that in The End of Evangelion, the pilots were highly synchronized with their Evangelion Units. At an abnormally high synchronization ratio, it appears that pilots will really suffer injuries an Eva suffers. This may also be because being struck by the Lance of Longinus replica altered Asuka's AT field between mind and body, causing her to actually sustain injuries, but looking closely, it is evident that her guts were not pulled out when her Eva's were. She did however sustain injuries later on when struck by even more spears. In the manga, this is also shown when the Spear of Longinus replicas impale the hands of the Unit-01 moments before the beginning of the Third Impact. Shinji is seen later with a hole in each of his hands, showing that the high synchronization-level (which was of at least 250% at the time) may have effects on the pilot's health when the Evangelion is damaged. It could also be because the wounds were specifically made by Spears of Longinus.
  • The Rebuild continuity seems to have a strange relationship with this concept. While the Pilots do not seem to sustain the same damage as their Evas, several effects can be seen on the pilot when the Eva sustains damage. In particular, when exposed to damage, the Pilot's plug suit seems to heat up and take similar damage to the Unit, despite not being actually under attack. This can be seen quite evidently with Mari in Unit-05, the right arm of her plug suit burning when her Eva was attacked. Similarly, Shinji's plug suit is seen glowing, as is Rei's when Evangelion Unit-01's arms were impaled by Sahaquiel and when Evangelion Unit-00 grabbed its core. Of these injuries, Shinji's are the only ones that actually seem to translate over to actual damage to the pilot, his hands later being seen bandaged after this event.

List of Evangelions[]

Neon Genesis Evangelion[]

Rebuild of Evangelion[]

Neon Genesis Evangelion: ANIMA[]

Neon Genesis Evangelion: Battle Orchestra[]

Other[]

Godzilla vs Evangelion[]

Collaboration[]

Development[]

In the Neon Genesis Evangelion Proposal, it is revealed some information: General-purpose Humanoid Battle Weapon Evangelion Prototype (汎用人型決戦兵器 『エヴァンゲリオン・試作型』?). It is a has a total length of approximately 40 meters. It took an astronomical amount of money and 14 years to put it into practical use. The most powerful conventional weapon that humans could currently create.

Trivia[]

  • Evas are referred to as "copies" of Adam, and, in the Classified Information files, by the awkward phrase "clonal regenerations" (in reference to the "Adam Revival Project", or Project E). Biologically, "clone" refers to an exact genetic copy. Considering the differences exhibited by the Evas and discounting the possibility of epigenetic modification (which changes gene expression while leaving the underlying DNA intact), Evas are unlikely to be clones.
  • According to Ritsuko in Episode 01, the formal full name for the Evangelion Units (almost never actually used) is All-Purpose Humanoid Decisive Battle Weapon - Artificial Human Evangelion (汎用人型決戦兵器 人造人間エヴァンゲリオン, Hanyō Jingata Kessen Heiki Jinzō Ningen Evangerion?).
  • Apparently, the internal controls of an Evangelion which interact directly with the pilot's mind which the pilot is synchronized with the Eva are set to the native language of the pilot, the "base thought language" which the Eva's systems are set to. For example, Shinji's native language is Japanese, and therefore he "thinks in" Japanese, so Unit-01 is set to Japanese. The language mode of Unit-02, however, is set to German, because Asuka's native language is German and she "thinks in" German. However, Asuka speaks fluent Japanese, so she can apparently set the language mode to Japanese, but still function well enough (meanwhile, Shinji doesn't understand German at all, so he cannot function in an Eva set to any language other than Japanese).
  • Ritsuko explicitly states that only 14 year old children can pilot Evangelions, but does not elaborate on why exactly this is so.
    • Possibly it is because hormonal changes in late puberty make it impossible for adults to synchronize with Evangelions, but they want the oldest possible child pilots (i.e. if the pilot has to be before the later stages of puberty, they'd rather use a 14 year old than a four year old).
    • All Evangelion pilots were conspicuously born in the year following Second Impact. There might be a connection with this, potentially implied by Gendo's reply that "no one else can," when Shinji asks why he has to pilot Unit-01.
  • Ritsuko's statement is however contradicted in the ANIMA continuity (a continuity directly linked to the continuity of the anime) where the pilots have all grown up and are now 17 years old. The fact that the pilots are all still able to synchronize with their Evas could also be due to the Evas having "recognized" their pilots and thus let them pilot them.
  • Since Evangelions (except Unit-01) are "clones" of Adam, it is possible that they are Angels, but when Unit-01 goes berserk in Episode 1, it attacks the Angel instead of ignoring it, as all Angels are on the same side. However, it is also possible that it was Yui triggering the berserk stage as she is the soul of Unit-01. In an edited photo of Unit-01 without its armor, it has the birdlike Angel's mask seen on Sachiel, and Gaghiel.

References[]

  1. Neon Genesis Evangelion: ANIMA Volume 2, Chapter 01
  2. https://web.archive.org/web/20210412210140/https://twitter.com/ikuto_yamashita/status/1301338169787383813
  3. Bochan_bird: Incidentally, this image of Unit-01 being grown/separated from Lilith matches with the word used in "Air" to describe Unit-01 -- "bunshin". This word can be used for "clone", but the constituent kanji "bun" (divide) and "shin" (body) also point to the more amoebic-type reproduction of growth and separation."
  4. Neon Genesis Evangelion: ANIMA Volume 1, Chapter 02
  5. Neon Genesis Evangelion: ANIMA Volume 1, Chapter 02
  6. Neon Genesis Evangelion: ANIMA Volume 1, Chapter 02
  7. Neon Genesis Evangelion: ANIMA Volume 2, Chapter 60
  8. Neon Genesis Evangelion: ANIMA Volume 2, Chapter 60
  9. Whenever an Evangelion screams when it goes "berserk" in the series, it is part of the episode's dialogue track, not just the background effects sound track. As a result, when episodes such as this one are translated into different languages (such as the ADV Films English dub), the Evangelion screams have to actually be re-produced by different voice actors. The result is that Eva screams sound noticeably different between the original Japanese and English dub versions.
  10. Neon Genesis Evangelion, Episode 7
  11. Ritsuko explains in Episode 03 that Evangelions have limited Internal Battery power supply, and must rely on Umbilical Cables to supply external power. Ritsuko states that "In emergencies, it can switch to an internal battery with an active life of one minute at full power, and no more than five minutes using gain mode." This "one minute" limitation mentioned here is disregarded in all subsequent episodes, except Episode 09. For all practical purposes, the Evas have a five minute operational time limit using battery power, not just one minute. In Episode 11 it is revealed that external batteries can be connected to all 3 Evas to extend their operational time limit when they are not connected to an Umbilical Cable. They connect to an Eva's shoulder armor fins, and are so long that they extend below the hips. Presumably these are not normally attached to an Eva because they restrict its mobility.
  12. Neon Genesis Evangelion: ANIMA Volume 1, Chapter 03
  13. Unit-00 and Unit-01 are said to have "very similar personal data patterns"; Rei's sync rate with Unit-01 is almost the same as it was with Unit-00, and Shinji's synch ratio with Unit-00 is only slightly lower than what it normally is with Unit-01. However, Misato says that she thinks Unit-02 would definitely be incompatible: why? Further, it is strange that Misato is the one thinking this. It's been implied that Misato does not really understand the true inner workings of the Evangelions, that they each contain a human soul. If Rei, hypothetically, is synchronizing well with Unit-01 because she is a clone of Yui Ikari, who's soul is contained in Unit-01, Misato wouldn't know it at this point. So if Unit-02 probably wouldn't be interchangeable because its soul would be unrelated to another pilot...why is Misato, who doesn't know Evas contain souls at all, the one thinking this? There is always the possibility that the director for the episode just wanted to vary up the dialogue and gave Misato a line which was actually better suited to Ritsuko: technically, Ritsuko is the only person in the room who knows the true nature about Evas and the souls they contain, and only giving relevant dialogue like that only to Ritsuko would have basically amount to a monologue by Dr. Akagi.
    • What makes it even stranger is that Misato was with Asuka and Shinji in Episode 08, where both of them broke their sync records with Unit-02. Aside from the initial problems with Shinji "thinking in Japanese", there seems to have been no problem at all with Shinji synching with Unit-02, and if Misato herself noted it, why would she suddenly dismiss Shinji as being incompatible with Unit-02?
  14. Neon Genesis Evangelion: ANIMA Volume 3, chapter 09
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