Neon Genesis Evangelion General Overview:
At the turn of the millennium the inhabitants of Earth are nearly completely wiped out by a mysterious supposed meteorite strike on Antarctica. Roughly half the population dies as a direct result of the strike, and the rest are left to struggle for survival amidst the rising savage seas due to melting of the polar ice.
Now the year is 2015. As the remnants of the human race cower in subterranean cities, a deadly war is being waged for what is left of the planet, and for what lies there within. On one side are the mysterious alien beings known only as the Angels, on the other, the special agency NERV and mankind's last hope for survival; the awe-inspiring Evangelions.
Yet amongst the ongoing devastation, few weary individuals at NERV struggle to uncover and piece together the agency's long buried secrets and hidden agendas along with the mysteries surrounding the arrival of the Angels. Why was the Earth struck fifteen years ago? A mere simple unfortunate act of nature, or perhaps an act of vengeance instigated by beings more powerful than man. Why did NERV classify the Angel responsible for the first attack on Tokyo-3 as the third, not the first? And just why are the only qualified Eva pilots that of children born exactly nine months after the second impact that massacred over half the human race?
Characters:
Name: Shinji Ikari
Age: 14
Gender: Male
Occupation: Student and Evangelion pilot
Shinji is for the most part of the time an extremely troubled individual, however, most of his ordeals are worsened, and often even caused, by his severe lack of self confidence. Shinji finds it incredibly hard to express his feelings towards others for the fear of being emotionally hurt, and is all too often unwilling to adapt to new situations.
The fact that Shinji hasn't had the best of relationships with his scheming father, Gendo Ikari, having chosen to run away many years ago, and coupled with the loss of his mother, Yui Ikari, at an early age hasn't made his life any easier to deal with. Yet unfortunately running away from bad situations is one of Shinji's personal traits, one that he must over come in order to lead a less stressful life. Unable, or simply unwilling, to bear the company of his father after living alone in exile for so many years, Shinji chooses instead to accept Misato's invitation to live with her on his arrival to Tokyo-3, something which is a big step for Shinji. Although Misato turns out to be not quite the ideal roommate Shinji had in mind, the bizarre situation he finds himself thrown into does help him to open up a little.
Shinji is also the reluctant pilot of EVA-01, though no one really knows why he continues to pilot the Eva as he's made it quite clear on several occasions now that he would rather not be its pilot.
Name: Gendo Ikari
Age: 48
Gender: Male
Occupation: NERV Commander
As a Commander, Gendo is very experienced, secretive, always achieves results and is able to stay calm when in command, even when faced with dire situations. As a father, however, he is cold, heartless and even cruel. Gendo has never been there for his son, Shinji, and has made no real attempts to get to know him better, despite the fact that he's capable of doing so for Rei. He seems to almost be disappointed with Shinji and is content to treat his son as a complete stranger whom he may occasionally have a use for. It's no wonder why Shinji chose to run away at such an early age after his mother, Yui Ikari, died. Gendo met Yui during his University years, but it's always been assumed by many that his main reason for marrying her was so that he could get closer to her work and to the organization she worked for, and that he had no real interest in raising a family.
Gendo may work for NERV, however, he doesn't share the same goals laid down by the UN committee, a cover in fact for SEELE, the backbone behind NERV, who seem intent on carrying out the human instrumentality project; the next step in human evolution. The creation of a single perfect entity formed from the unity of all human souls. Otherwise known as the third impact. All Gendo really cares about is carrying out the last wish of his wife; the prevention of a probable third impact instigated by Angels.
Name: Misato Katsuragi
Age: 29
Gender: Female
Occupation: NERV operations director
Misato is an energetic, determined and strong willed individual who's not afraid to take charge of a bad situation, that is when she's not busy drinking. Misato joined NERV after the death of her father, who died saving her life during the second impact whilst leading the Katsuragi expedition in Antarctica, intent on exacting revenge against the Angels for her loss. She soon acquired the rank of Captain and shortly afterwards that of Major, and is appointed as NERV's operations director with explicit control over Evas 00, 01 and 02 in the absence of both Commanders Ikari and Fuyutsuki.
As well as working for NERV, she is Shinji's voluntary guardian, although her attitude and behavior towards him is more of that expected from an older sister. Despite her sisterly approach to Shinji and her occasionally bad domestic habits though, Misato does manage to go a long way into helping Shinji to over come his problems, and in getting him to open up a little. Misato has also taken on the role of Asuka's guardian.
Misato is also Kaji's old lover and at one point lived with him, but she broke off the relationship when she realized how similar to her father he was. Despite this though, she still cares greatly for him, although admitting to this in public would be unlikely, and it's not inconceivable that they may soon become once again more than just good friends.
Name: Ritsuko Akagi
Age: 30
Gender: Female
Occupation: NERV head technician
Ritsuko is very secretive and seldom talks about herself or her family, but it is known that she didn't get along with her mother, Naoko Akagi, creator of the MAGI super computers used by NERV, that is on a personal level. She works closely with Commanders Ikari and Fuyutsuki and knows a great deal of the truths behind the mysteries surrounding the second impact, Adam and the arrival of the Angels.
She is also friends with Misato and Kaji having known them both for many years. Although Ritsuko is fond of Kaji, the two are merely good friends, she knows Kaji still cares for Misato. Ritsuko herself though is still single mainly because she doesn't really know how to act around men.
Name: Rei Ayanami
Age: 14
Gender: Female
Occupation: Student and Evangelion pilot
Rei is extremely timid, shy and at times almost seems withdrawn from the world around her. She finds it incredibly hard to express her feelings towards others and as a consequence isn't the kind of person who makes friends that easily. All of Rei's personnel records have been erased, she has no parents and there is no trail leading to her past, it would seem that her existence begins at a dead end.
She was the first child to be chosen to pilot an Eva, in particular EVA-00, in accordance with the Marduk institute. Though unfortunately she was seriously injured during her first attempt to synchronize with her Eva when it mysteriously went out of control. Fortunately Commander Ikari rescued her and she survived the accident, her next attempt at synchronization was successful and she has now become the active pilot of EVA-00. Whether or not this is by choice is unknown, Rei simply seems to do as she is told without complaining, something which Shinji is known for doing.
The truth is though, Rei is in fact not human, that is not entirely. She is a byproduct of the human instrumentality project, artificially created and implanted with the soul of Yui Ikari. Rei has only one soul, however, NERV have created multiple bodies, or vessels, for Rei's soul in the event of her death. Rei is killed twice, by Naoko Akagi and the sixteenth Angel.
Name: Asuka Langley Soryu
Age: 14
Gender: Female
Occupation: Student and Evangelion pilot
Asuka is extremely confident and constantly struggles onwards trying to better herself over others. Since her mother, Kyoko Zeppelin Souryu who worked for NERV, went insane after an accident, in which she tried to synchronize with EVA-02, and later committed suicide many years ago, Asuka has emersed herself heavily in her own pride; possibly her way of dealing with her tragic loss. As a result of this she is often unwilling to accept any kind of help and advice from others, and will rarely ever admit to making a mistake. She can also be very annoying at times and is known to look down on people, especially Shinji, however, she would never intentionally hurt the feelings of others.
Since moving to Japan, Asuka has taken up on Misato's hospitality choosing to live with her and Shinji, but with her interest in Kaji and her overall attitude towards Shinji, the decibel level in Misato's apartment has risen somewhat since her arrival.
Asuka is also the proud pilot of EVA-02, and is probably the only Eva pilot who actually enjoys and takes pride in being a pilot. Although she puts a lot of effort into piloting EVA-02, unlike Shinji she is not a naturally talented pilot, it is therefore extremely likely that this is the reason for her pointless ongoing rivalry with him.
Name: Adam
Designated number: 1st
First appearance: Episode 21
The very first Angel was discovered in Antarctica during the Katsuragi expedition lead by Misato's father. It was there that the first Angel, Adam, was found, described by those few survivors of the expedition team as a glowing giant. Humanity had found their god of gods, but when humanity attempted to contain what they had found, by reducing Adam to his embryo form, their god fought back, the second impact... Adam vanished, and was not seen again until many years later when humanity revived their god, from his remains found after the second impact, containing him in his embryo form. Then came the Angels.
Presumably Adam possesses similar abilities to the Evangelions constructed by both NERV and SEELE as the Eva series was created from Adam. In line with this presumption then, Adam most likely possesses superior strength over that of all the other Angels along with the ability to rapidly regenerate making the Angel the ultimate close combat opponent. As with all the other Angels, Adam possesses an S2 engine capable of providing an infinite source of energy, and it is rumored that Adam has the ability to manipulate this energy in many devastating ways which would nicely explain the melting of Antarctica. Adam also possesses an AT, Absolute Terror, field, that is a kind of almost impenetrable force field, like all the other Angels, though its effectiveness is unknown.