List of Neon Genesis Evangelion characters
Many of the heroes in the second half of the series suffer trauma or physical violence that exacerbates their anxieties and fears, and the episodes give ample space to their inner monologues, in which they question the meaning of their actions and lives.
Critics had mixed feelings about their psychological exploration; some reviewers appreciated their complexity and depth and praised Anno's script, but others found the characters to be stereotypical or problematic, and disliked the insistence on their weaknesses and characterization.
[23] Initially, Anno proposed using a female protagonist, following Gainax' earlier projects GunBuster and Nadia, but Sadamoto was hesitant about the idea, not understanding "why a girl would want to pilot a robot".
[31] In the following episodes, Misato opens up to Shinji and talk to him about her painful past;[32] Asuka shows a sweeter and more-caring character, the cold commander Ikari helps his subordinates and praises his son.
(生きろ, Ikiro) to his son Shinji, similar to the ending of Gainax's earlier show The Secret of Blue Water, in which Captain Nemo utters the same phrase before sacrificing himself.
[35] During the first broadcast of the series, Anno responded to animation fans with anger, accusing them of being excessively closed and introverted; for this reason, he changed the atmosphere of the show's second half, making the narrative even darker and more introspective.
While being criticized, Anno decided to make the characters Asuka and Toji undergo physical and psychological violence, which was considered unsuitable for a television show in a protected transmission time.
[39] At the same time, breaking a taboo of Japanese television, Anno focused on the sexuality of the protagonists, inserting in the twentieth episode a sequence of implicit sex that includes a long, off-screen shot of Misato making sounds of pleasure in bed with her lover Kaji.
[63][64] After moving to Tokyo-3, Shinji begins to form relationships that influence him positively, especially with other pilots, his classmates,[65] and members of Nerv, such as Misato Katsuragi, his superior and legal guardian, and Ryoji Kaji.
[3][72] Anime critics associated the character with the youth and climate of 1990s Japan, which was impacted by the Tokyo subway sarin attack, the Great Hanshin earthquake, and the bursting of the Japanese asset price bubble,[75][76] and interpreted him as a messianic figure.
Voiced by: Akira Ishida (Japanese); Kyle Sturdivant (ADV),[150][151] Aaron Krohn (films),[152] Greg Ayres (Director's Cut),[153][154] Jerry Jewell (Funimation Rebuild),[155] Clifford Chapin (Netflix), Daman Mills (Amazon Prime Video Rebuild) (English)[156] Kaworu Nagisa (渚 カヲル, Nagisa Kaoru) is the Fifth Child,[157][158] who is sent to Nerv as a replacement pilot for Unit 02 following Asuka's psychological breakdown.
[170][171][172] Anime News Network's Kenneth Lee disliked Kaworu's ambiguity and lack of clarity, and the homoerotic undertones of his relationship with Shinji;[119] others reviewers praised it and enjoyed his personality.
[194][195] In Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Time, Mari's character was deepened with additional details, which drew attention[196][197][198] and further mixed evaluations; several critics complained about the lack of explanations about her nature, finding her underdeveloped and wasted;[199][200] others appreciated her battle scenes,[201] her psychology, and her role in the show's finale.
The character was originally conceived as a modern version of Victor Frankenstein;[211] he was inspired by the personal experiences of the series' staff members, reflecting the absent and emotionally detached Japanese father figure.
For the character, the staff took inspiration from Fujiko Mine of Lupin III, Japanese writer Aya Sugimoto,[233] and Usagi Tsukino of Sailor Moon, with whom she shares a voice actor.
[236] Writer Dennis Redmond speculated that Misato may be based on Nadia Arwol from The Secret of Blue Water, while Akio Nagatomi of The Animé Café compared her to Kazumi Amano from Gunbuster.
In 2003, Kozo continued to independently investigate the matter; having arrived at the Artificial Evolution Laboratory, he threatened to publicly disclose the truth he discovered, but Gendo led him to Central Dogma, where he met Dr. Naoko Akagi and learned of Gehirn, the association in which they both secretly operate.
[254] In The End of Evangelion, a vision of Yui Ikari appears to Kozo during Instrumentality and he smiles to welcome her;[255] he serenely watches the process while waiting to reunite with the woman he never stopped loving.
[268] In The End of Evangelion, Ritsuko is no longer able to manage her feelings of love and hate; she attempts to destroy Nerv's headquarters, uttering the phrase "Mom, do you want to die with me?".
[21] Voiced by: Takehito Koyasu (Japanese); Jason C. Lee (ADV and films, Amazon Prime Video Rebuild), Vic Mignogna (Director's Cut), Phil Parsons (Funimation Rebuild), Billy Kametz (Netflix) (English) Shigeru Aoba (青葉 シゲル, Aoba Shigeru) is, along with Makoto Hyuga and Maya Ibuki, one of the technical operators of the Operations Command Center at Nerv's headquarters.
[313] For the character's surname, Anno took inspiration from Murakami's novel Ai to gensō no fascism;[21] the names of her sisters, Kodama and Nozomi, are taken from high-speed trains of the Tokaido Shinkansen line.
It is later discovered Mana actually is a spy under the orders of a rival company to Nerv, and is assigned as a pilot of a mecha called Trident, along with two men named Musashi Lee Strasberg (ムサシ・リー・ストラスバーグ) and Keita Asari (浅利 ケイタ).
[437] According to Neon Genesis Evangelion: The Unofficial Guide, which was written by Kazuhisa Fujie and Martin Foster, the anime's release "ignited a boom in merchandise unprecedented in a country already awash with such goods", with over 600 items being made to celebrate the event.
[454] According to critic Pier Francesco Cantelli, "it is impossible to take a tour of Akihabara without coming across at least one poster depicting [the show's] protagonists"; he also compared the success of the Evangelion franchise to the popularity of Star Wars in the United States.
Quest,[462] Line Rangers,[463] Unison,[464] MapleStory,[465][466] Valkyrie Connect,[467][468] Ragnarok Online,[469][470] The Battle Cats[471] and an official crossover episode of Shinkansen Henkei Robo Shinkalion.
[475][476] The Artifice's Justin Wu attributed the characters' success to several factors, such as Sadamoto's designs and the open-ended nature of the product, which is characterized by obscure points and facts that are left to viewers' interpretation and imagination; according to him, Neon Genesis Evangelion is a pivotal event in the history of merchandise, which became an important market.
The central element and the reason for so much attraction to Evangelion is in Japanese called jibun sagashi (自分探し, "self-seeking"),[484] a theme that aroused empathy in the youth, who saw their problems in Shinji and Asuka.
[486] As a result of the success of Neon Genesis Evangelion, the sekaikei genre, in which plots combine apocalyptic crises with the sentimental comedy of school settings, spread and became popular; the love stories of the protagonists of such works are directly related to the fate of the world.
Critics have identified sekaikei elements in Voices of a Distant Star, She, the Ultimate Weapon, Iriya no Sora, UFO no Natsu,[488] Your Name.,[487] and The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, interpreted as a parody of it.
According to Park, fans of the series are divided between Asuka and Rei, and have generated the waifu wars, a phenomenon in which users of blogs and websites clash to determine with different arguments which character is the most attractive.
