List of Neon Genesis Evangelion characters
Eva Pilots
Rei Ayanami
| Japanese Name | 綾波レイ |
| Age | 14 |
| Birthday | Unknown, or n/a |
| Sex | Female |
| Blood Type | Unknown |
| Relations | Mother:Lilith Sister:Yui Ikari Nephew:Shinji Ikari (Father)Gendo Ikari |
| Japanese Seiyuu | Megumi Hayashibara |
| English Voice actor | Amanda Winn Lee |
First Child and pilot of Eva Unit 00. She is socially withdrawn and hardly interacts with anyone, except for Commander Ikari, whom she cherishes. Rei's cool and apparently emotionless personality, if it can be called that, garnered the scorn of her schoolmates; indeed, Asuka regards her a 'doll'. Although she previously only communed with Gendo, her interaction with Shinji has led her to question her relationship with Gendo, and eventually reviles Gendo's lack of sensitivity towards his own son. Technically speaking, Rei is not Gendo's biological daughter, even though he wished, if he had a daughter, to call her Rei. Rei is the pilot of Eva Unit 00. Her synchronization ratios are generally average, but not nearly as high as Asuka's or Shinji's. On some occasions, Unit 00 rejected Rei, because Unit 00's soul is in fact Naoko Akagi.
Asuka Langley Soryu
| Japanese Name | 惣流・アスカ・ラングレー |
| Age | 14 |
| Birthday | April 12, 2001 |
| Sex | Female |
| Blood Type | O |
| Relations | Mother:Kyoko Zeppelin Soryu Father:Mr. Langley Step-mother:second Mrs. Langley (Caregiver)Misato Kitsuragi |
| Japanese Seiyuu | Yuko Miyamura |
| English Voice actor | Tiffany Grant |
Second Child, pilots Eva Unit 02. 14 year old girl from Germany, but with an American father and a half German, half Japanese mother. Obsessed with being the best. Has a crush on Kaji Ryoji. Her mother was the head pilot of NERV Germany's Evangelion project, she went mentally insane after a test and she pretended that Asuka's doll was really her daughter. She hangs herself and the doll, and from that day, Asuka promised to herself to never cry again. Like the Japanese aircraft carrier Soryu, after which she was named by her creators, Asuka is proud, strong, and has a high opinion of herself. She is often violent and offensive of other people's space, especially Shinji. Her feelings for him are violently suppressed by bossing him around and battering his ego. Asuka does this because she needs to feed her voracious yet unstable ego. This is also her way of shutting others out of her life, often using her blustering character as an offensive AT Field. Her best friend is her classmate and class representative, Hikari Horaki. Asuka is an exceptional Evangelion pilot. Unlike Shinji, she is proud of being an Eva pilot. She has a strong synchronisation score, although never exceeding the Berserk climax like Shinji's Eva Unit 01.
Note: In artbooks done by Sadamoto, Asuka is typically drawn with blonde hair, not red.
Shinji Ikari
| Japanese Name | 碇シンジ |
| Age | 14 |
| Birthday | June 6, 2001 |
| Sex | Male |
| Blood Type | A |
| Relations | Father:Gendo Mother:Yui (Caregiver)Misato Kitsuragi Aunt:Rei clone of Yui |
| Japanese Seiyuu | Megumi Ogata |
| English Voice actor | Spike Spencer |
Shinji Ikari is the Third Child, who pilots Evangelion Unit 01. He is the son of Gendo and Yui Ikari. Abandoned by his father, Gendo, when he was a toddler, Shinji is socially inept. Forced to be self reliant, he did not mingle with individuals of his age group. People always pitied him, scorning his father for abandoning him in order to focus on using Shinji's mother as an experiment for Project 'E'. As a result, Shinji is a reclusive character, who often runs away from difficult situations, using it as a shield; in that way, he contrasts indefinitely from Asuka Soryu. Yet, they are the same, because they are both trying to escape from those that surround them. He became involved in NERV's war against the Angels when he met Captain Misato Katsuragi, the commander of the Evangelion team. She led him unwittingly into joining the battle in Eva Unit One, which has enclosed in it his mother's soul. Thus, Shinji's relationship with his father became downright frigid over the coming months. Fortunately, Shinji managed to build a social life when he created inseperable bonds with classmates Toji Suzahara and Kensuke Aida; and, if you can call it a friendship, with Asuka, as well. As an Eva pilot, Shinji is very reluctant, but he is given strength by his mother, who is in Unit 01. As a result, the Eva reaches Berserk mode, with a sync ratio of 400+ percent, helping him in his times of need.
Toji Suzuhara
| Japanese Name | 鈴原トウジ |
| Age | 14 |
| Birthday | February 26, 2001 |
| Sex | Male |
| Blood Type | B |
| Relations | Sister:little sister |
| Japanese Seiyuu | Tomokazu Seki |
| English Voice actor | Brett Weaver (one of several) |
Fourth Child. Seen as a bully towards the beginning, but later revealed to be sweet and very caring for his sister. In the same day he becomes a pilot, his Evangelion, Unit 03 is taken over by Bardiel (13th Angel) and destroyed by Unit 01's Dummy Plug. He is severely injured, losing an arm and a leg (he dies in the manga). Only chose to pilot the Evangelion to get his sister better hospital care (in the NERV hospital).
Kaworu Nagisa
| Japanese Name | 渚カヲル |
| Age | 14 |
| Birthday | August 13, 2001 |
| Sex | Male |
| Blood Type | Blue |
| Relations | Father:Adam Aunt:Lilith Sibilings:the other Angels |
| Japanese Seiyuu | Akira Ishida |
| English Voice actor | Kyle Sturdivant |
Fifth Child, replacement pilot for Unit 02 sent by SEELE to NERV, after Asuka's Synchronization Ratio falls below usability. He is also 14 years old (as are all pilots and candidates). See 17th Angel.
A major point of contention among some fans - usually male - is his somewhat ambigious relationship with Shinji (they appear in a few unusually intimate scenes) likely the latter's only experience with unbiased tenderness. While this tends to only result in long discussions to the nature of Kaworu's 'humanity' and instinct, later installments of the series such as in games, manga, and CD dramas, use it as a point of light humor. He is an extremely popular character considering he was only in a single episode, and treated accordingly in later merchadise.
Gainax renders his name in Romaji as "Kaworu", not "Kaoru" as would be given by most romanization schemes. "Kaworu" can be clearly seen on display screens in the series and on the mass-production Dummy Plugs in End of Evangelion.
NERV Staff
Gendo Ikari
| Japanese Name | 碇ゲンドウ |
| Age | 48 |
| Birthday | April 29, ??? |
| Sex | Male |
| Blood Type | A |
| Relations | Son:Shinji Wife:Yui Daughter:Rei clone of Yui |
| Japanese Seiyuu | Fumihiko Tachiki |
| English Voice actor | Tristan MacAvery |
Gendo is Shinji's father and commander of NERV. Formerly known as Gendo Rokubungi, he took his wife's surname when he married her. Although Project 'E' was designed for the Third Impact and the union of all living beings as one with God, Gendo has his own plans for apocalypse; he attempts to engineer it, at the cost of everyone - even Shinji - especially Shinji - so he could see his dead wife, Yui, again. He is a cunning manipulator; he uses Shinji's affection for him, he cherishes Rei and pushes everyone else away from her so as to command her heart, and his shady political dealings and feuds with the United Nations and the Japanese government have won the distrust of SEELE. He currently has the first angel, Adam, in its embryonic state, fused to his hand.
Kouzou Fuyutsuki
| Japanese Name | 冬月コウゾウ |
| Age | 58 |
| Birthday | April 9, ??? |
| Sex | Male |
| Blood Type | AB |
| Relations | |
| Japanese Seiyuu | Motomu Kiyokawa |
| English Voice actor | Guil Lunde |
Once a professor at Kyoto University, Kouzou is now Deputy Commander of NERV under Gendo. He taught the talented Yui Ikari and bailed Gendo out of jail once during college.
Misato Katsuragi
| Japanese Name | 葛城ミサト |
| Age | 29 |
| Birthday | December 8, ??? |
| Sex | Female |
| Blood Type | A |
| Relations | Father:Dr. Katsuragi (Dependant)Pen Pen (Dependant)Shinji (Dependant)Asuka |
| Japanese Seiyuu | Kotono Mitsuishi |
| English Voice actor | Allison Keith |
Misato is the head operations officer at NERV. She chose to have Shinji move in with her rather than letting him live alone. She has a scar on her chest from the trauma she suffered during the Second Impact, in which her father sealed her inside a capsule to save her. She becomes mute and non-social for a long time after that event, but apparently tries to make up for that in college when she meets Ritsuko. At the time of the series, she is very extroverted (and some would say slightly alcoholic).
Ritsuko Akagi
| Japanese Name | 赤木リツコ |
| Age | 30 |
| Birthday | November 21, ??? |
| Sex | Female |
| Blood Type | B |
| Relations | Mother:Dr. Naoko Akagi |
| Japanese Seiyuu | Yuriko Yamaguchi |
| English Voice actor | Sue Ulu |
Ritsuko is NERV's head technician. She is a close associate to Misato Katsuragi. Like her mother, she had a fling with Gendou Ikari. She bleaches her black hair blond.
Maya Ibuki
| Japanese Name | 伊吹マヤ |
| Age | 24 |
| Birthday | July 11, ??? |
| Sex | Female |
| Blood Type | A |
| Relations | |
| Japanese Seiyuu | Miki Nagasawa |
| English Voice actor | Kendra Benham |
Maya is a technician at NERV who works very closely with Ritsuko Akagi. She is a lesbian, and some fans believe she's in love with Ritsuko. In Maya's Instrumentality scene, Ritsuko-Rei-Lilith types "I need you" into the Maya's laptop and embraces her.
Makoto Hyuga
| Japanese Name | 日向マコト |
| Age | 23 |
| Birthday | February 13, ??? |
| Sex | Male |
| Blood Type | B |
| Relations | |
| Japanese Seiyuu | Hiro Yuuki |
| English Voice actor | Brian Granveldt |
Makoto is First Lieutenant at NERV and a computer technician. He also secretly loves Misato. In his completion sequence, he is in ecstasy over Misato-Rei-Lilith.
Shigeru Aoba
| Japanese Name | 青葉シゲル |
| Age | 23 |
| Birthday | May 5, ??? |
| Sex | Male |
| Blood Type | A |
| Relations | |
| Japanese Seiyuu | Takehito Koyasu |
| English Voice actor | Jason Lee |
A Lieutanant at NERV. He is a nihilist, and plays guitar. In his completion sequence, he cowers in fright from Rei-Lilith, because he does not want completion.
Ryoji Kaji
| Japanese Name | 加持リョウジ |
| Age | 30 |
| Birthday | June 17, ??? |
| Sex | Male |
| Relations | |
| Blood Type | A |
| Japanese Seiyuu | Kouichi Yamadera |
| English Voice actor | Aaron Krohn |
Officially employed as special inspector at NERV, Kaji secretly works for SEELE investigating NERV's true intentions. He is referred to as "the useless bell that doesn't ring" by SEELE. He once seriously dated Misato, but they had long broken up. After he came to NERV, they slowly got back together out of desperation despite Misato's dislike of him.
He is eventually shot and killed by an unknown assailant. The anime series never makes it clear, but a common speculation holds that it was either Misato or some generic security agent of NERV/SEELE. (Evidence for Misato is that after Kaji's shooting scene in the anime, the next thing that is shown is Misato's door, and that she was handed back her gun later. Evidence against Misato is that she has no real motive to kill Kaji and nor does Commander Gendo have any reason to give the order to her instead of another agent. Note that in the manga it is made clear that Misato was not the killer, as the gun used to kill Kaji is clearly of a different type from Misato's.) He remarks that his last assignment, to kidnap the Sub-Commander, was colored red, the color of blood. The Sub-Commander even remarks that this will cost him his life. He is probably Gendo or Gendo's agent, since he commonly meets with Gendo after assignments. He is killed because he finally betrayed SEELE and NERV enough to have them both want him dead.
Kyoko Zeppelin Soryu
| Japanese Name | ??? |
| Age | ??? |
| Birthday | ??? |
| Sex | Female |
| Blood Type | ??? |
| Relations | Daughter:Asuka Ex-husband:Mr. Langley Soulcarrier:Unit 02 |
| Japanese Seiyuu | Maria Kawamura |
| English Voice actor | ??? |
Asuka's mother was head of the German Evangelion Project. She developed Unit 02, the first production type (of which three were produced, 02-German, 03-American, 04-American). She was mentally unstable, which was why her husband left her, and committed suicide. Her soul is entrapped in Eva Unit 02.
GEHIRN Staff
Yui Ikari
| Japanese Name | 碇ユイ |
| Age | 27, at death. |
| Birthday | July 9th, 1977 |
| Sex | Female |
| Blood Type | O |
| Relations | Son:Shinji Husband:Gendo Ikari Clone:Rei Ayanami Soulcarrier:Unit 01 |
| Japanese Seiyuu | Megumi Hayashibara |
| English Voice actor | Amanda Winn Lee |
Yui is Shinji's mother. Proclaimed dead in 2004, after she disappeared during an experiment known as Project E (the project to resurrect the original Adam). There was no body to be recovered so her grave contains nothing.
Naoko Akagi
| Japanese Name | 赤木ナオコ |
| Age | ??? |
| Birthday | ??? |
| Sex | Female |
| Blood Type | ??? |
| Relations | Daughter:Dr. Ritsuko Akagi (Creation)The MAGI Soulcarrier?Unit 00 |
| Japanese Seiyuu | Mika Doi |
| English Voice actor | Laura Chapman |
Naoko is Ritsuko's mother. Creator of MAGI computer system and former GEHIRN head technician. The MAGI computer is built on three opposing principles from the life of its creator: Naoko as a scientist (Melchior), Naoko as a mother (Balthasar), and Naoko as a woman (Casper). These three aspects are in constant conflict, and together they delegate to form the MAGI's answer. It is speculated that her soul is contained within the triple computer system. After Rei I called her an "old hag", and said that her lover, the widowed Gendo Ikari, called her that, Naoko murdered Rei I and then killed herself, at the GeoFront control station, atop the primary MAGI system by plunging to her death.
Other Characters
Keel Lorenz
| Japanese Name | キール・ローレンツ |
| Age | 64 |
| Birthday | October 5 |
| Sex | Male |
| Blood Type | O |
| Relations | |
| Japanese Seiyuu | Mugihito |
| English Voice actor | Richard Peeples (series), Kyle Sturdivant (movies) |
Keel Lorenz is the leader of SEELE.
Kensuke Aida
| Japanese Name | 相田ケンスケ |
| Age | 14 |
| Birthday | August 12, ??? |
| Sex | Male |
| Blood Type | A |
| Relations | |
| Japanese Seiyuu | Tetsuya Iwanaga |
| English Voice actor | Kurt Stoll |
Kensuke Aida is a military geek and Toji's best friend. Kensuke became Shinji's friend after he picked up Kensuke and Toji up in his Eva during the fight against the Fourth Angel, Shamshel. Kensuke constantly dreams of becoming an Eva pilot. He ceaslessly begs Shinji to pull strings in NERV to be commissioned as a pilot, but Shinji usually sidesteps the matter. Nevertheless, Kensuke enjoys the privileges of being the friend of an EVA pilot; he has fun on the Eva pilot's excursion to the UN combined naval fleet during the transportation of Eva Unit 02. And, like Toji, Kensuke has a crush on the beautiful Captain Misato Katsuragi.
Hikari Horaki
| Japanese Name | 洞木ヒカリ |
| Age | 14 |
| Birthday | February 18, ??? |
| Sex | Female |
| Blood Type | AB |
| Relations | |
| Japanese Seiyuu | Junko Iwao |
| English Voice actor | Carol Amerson |
Hikari is the president of the class Shinji and the rest attend. She is in love with Toji Suzuhara and a friend of Asuka's.
Papa Langley
| Age | ??? |
| Birthday | ??? |
| Sex | Male |
| Blood Type | ??? |
| Relations | Daughter:Asuka Wife:second wife Ex-wife:Kyoko Zeppelin Soryu |
| Japanese Seiyuu | Toshihiko Seki |
| English Voice actor | ??? |
Asuka's father, divorced Kyoko, and later remarried.
Mama Langley
| Age | ??? |
| Birthday | ??? |
| Sex | Fenale |
| Blood Type | ??? |
| Relations | Stepdaughter:Asuka Husband:Asuka's father |
| Japanese Seiyuu | ??? |
| English Voice actor | ??? |
Asuka's father remarried to the woman Asuka refers to as Mama after divorcing Kyoko. Asuka feels no affection towards her.
Sister Suzuhara
| Age | ??? |
| Birthday | ??? |
| Sex | Fenale |
| Blood Type | ??? |
| Relations | Brother:Toji Suzuhara |
| Japanese Seiyuu | ??? |
| English Voice actor | ??? |
Toji's kid sister, was injured in the battle between Sachiel and Unit 01, piloted by Shinji Ikari.
Dr. Katsuragi
| Age | ??? |
| Birthday | ??? |
| Sex | Male |
| Blood Type | ??? |
| Relations | Daughter:Misato Kitsuragi |
| Japanese Seiyuu | ??? |
| English Voice actor | ??? |
Misato's father was leader of the Katsuragi Expedition to Antarctica. He was killed during the Second Impact, but not before saving 14 year old Misato by placing her in a protective capsule (which looks like an Entry Plug).
Pen Pen
| Japanese Name | ペンペン |
| Age | 3 |
| Birthday | ??? |
| Sex | Male? |
| Blood Type | ??? |
| Relations | (Caregiver)Misato Kitsuragi |
| Japanese Seiyuu | Megumi Hayashibara |
| English Voice actor | Not changed from Japanese. |
Misato's pet warm water penguin. He lives in a custom refrigerator in her apartment, and enjoys taking warm baths and going to hot springs.