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Evangelion Index

Eva Guide Intro

Chapter 1- An Overview

Chapter 2- Shinji Ikari

Chapter 3- Rei Ayanami

Chapter 4- Asuka Langley Sohryu

Chapter 5- The Angels

Chapter 6- The Evangelions

Chapter 6-The Evangelions

There are 13 Evangelions is NGE. Eva 1-4 are all different, whilst 5-13 are the Eva series: Seeles personal combat force designed as the failsafe in case Nerv fails, and for use in 3rd impact. The word Evangelion is a mix of 2 German words. Meaning Eve, and Angel. As explained in Chapter 5- The Angels, I believe that the Evangelions, specifically Eva-01, is the second angel, and represent Eve. (With the possible exception of the Eva Series- these have no souls, and are instead controlled by remote, and powered by S2 engines. I personally consider these to simply be organic machines, and not true Evangelions.)

It is interesting to think that the protector of humanity is not their mother, Lilith, but instead an almost foster mother. Eve was wife to Adam, who was father of mankind, and although Lilith and Eve were put in similar positions. Both were in a sense trapped in the Evangelions, the real mother turned against her children, whilst Eve still tried to protect them. At a glance this appears to be an expression of Anno Hideaki’s pessimism regarding mother figures. But it is also possible that it is, in fact, quite an optimistic view- even when those you thought were all you had to rely on are against you there may be others willing to help. (Unlikely though it may seem.) Corny, yes, but I’m not very good at summarising these things, so I blame my poor explanatory/writing talent. So sue me.

There are 4 Evangelions successfully completed in Neon Genesis Evangelion.

Evangelion Unit-00. Designed based on information gathered from Lilith (note that the Angel hall of Gaffe was marked as UN base number 2- Humans had been studying Lilith longer than they had Adam, so it makes sense Lilith was the basis of the prototype Evangelion.) This Evangelion has no human soul. Instead, it houses the soul taken from Lilith’s sleeping (and somewhat crucified) body, it is bitter and resentful of its imprisonment and enslavement. It is because of this that Eva-00 attacks the minds of each pilot that tries to synchronise with it, and why Evangelion Unit 00 is the weakest- It was not designed from a true Angel, and the spirit inside of it is not benevolent, like in the other Evas.

It is possible that the use of Eva-00 as the Eva that pierces Lilith with the Spear of Longinus was deliberate- a remark that Lilith is human and so has the same sense of Thanatos, a need for self destruction, as all other humans. It’s also possible that it simply tied in with Rei being the first child, and so pilots the first Eva, which is unit 00.

(With all deeply meaningful and symbolic stories pretty much everything can take on meaning if you look at it the right way. The real challenge is not to find all the meaning, but to try and work out which ones were intentional and contribute to the story, and which were simply incidental, and some, perhaps, might even have been accidental.)

Evangelion Unit-01. Somewhat jokingly referred to as Oni (a demon) by Ritsuko, unit 01 is the most powerful of the Evangelions, and the incarnation of the second Angel, Eve. Based on Yui Ikari’s hypothetical meta-biological theories and research from both Lilith and Adam, it is the truest incarnation of Eve, hence why it is the most powerful. Containing the soul of Yui, it is the most benevolent of all the Evas, and so the easiest to synchronise with. (Especially if you happen to be the child of that soul.)

Eva-01 is unique in that it is the only Evangelion that self activates. Even before it becomes consciously aware, it moves when to virtually all it seems impossible that it could, all to protect Shinji. A few people believe that Yui's sacrifice to become Eva-01 was a selfish act motivated by power, and slightly by neccessity. I disagree. If that were the case, Eva-01 would synchronise better with Rei (Who shares a soul, and is a much better DNA match) than with Shinji, who is more different. The reason Shinji synchronises with Eva-01 better that Rei is because Yui wanted to protect Shinji, and make the world a better place for him. Simple. (About the only thing in Eva that is, really)

Evangelion Unit-02. This Eva was based on research conducted on Adam whilst it was in Germany, and contains the soul of Asuka’s mother. As a result, Asuka is the best choice for synchronising with Eva-02, and, being designed later than the other piloted Evas, has more advanced human technology in its components. (For example, it has 4 optical sensors instead of just 1 on Eva-00.) This gives it an advantage.

However, Asuka, being stubborn and used to the concept of Eva from a young age (and not having the dark secrets of Eva revealed to her) grows with the concept of it being a machine, and so does not question it, and does not realise the presence of her mother. This is unlike Shinji, who, being so unfamiliar with it questions everything about it, and so grows to better understand Eva than Asuka, and recognise the soul present within it, even if not on a fully conscious level.

Evangelion Unit-03. The 13th angel, Bardiel, possesses this Eva. It is unknown whether there is a human soul in it, but it is quite likely- all known Eva’s require a soul to function properly, and Nerv believed that Eva-03 would be an effective combat unit. Piloted by Toji Suzahara, there is no reference as to what technology or Angel it is based on. The most likely answer is that it was based on collective information gained from Shamshel (the 4th angel, defeated by Shinji leaving all but its S2 engine intact.), Lilith and Adam.

Being based on a second generation Angel would explain why it was easier for the angel to infect it. With all other Evangelions it was extremely obvious when they were being infected. Huge varicose veins sprouted across their bodies, etc, but the make up of Eva-03 would be much similar to the natural state of Bardiel, and so it would be more efficient, and more discrete.

(By second generation I mean that Shamshel was born from an Angel- Adam and Lilith were created by higher power.)

Some would argue that it is also possible that it was made as an Angel itself- No Evangelion was ever successfully made with both a human pilot and an S2 engine, but Eva-04 had both. Perhaps simply giving it a soul and an S2 engine made it a suitable host for Bardiel. I would disagree with this- The information given on the Angel Hall of Gaffe said that there were no souls left, that it was empty. This would mean that Bardiel already had a physical form, and so it had to have infected it. The S2 engine would have made it easier, granted, as it is one of the trademark features of most Angels (it is unclear whether some had one.), but it is not the be all/end all of the matter.

And so concludes my guide to Evangelion. I hope you enjoyed reading it. ^_^

Chapter 1- An Overview
Chapter 2- Shinji Ikari
Chapter 3- Rei Ayanami
Chapter 4- Asuka Langley Sohryu
Chapter 5- The Angels
Chapter 6- The Evangelions