Ramiel: Difference between revisions

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==In Other Media==
==In Other Media==
===Rebuild of Evangelion===
===Rebuild of Evangelion===
[[Image:Rebuild trailer ramiel.jpg|thumb|Ramiel in ''Rebuild'']]
[[Image:Rebuild trailer ramiel.jpg|thumb|left|Ramiel in ''Rebuild'']]
Ramiel appears in [[Evangelion 1.0: You Are (Not) Alone]], the first film in the [[Rebuild of Evangelion]] re-imagining of the original series.
Ramiel appears in [[Evangelion 1.0: You Are (Not) Alone]], the first film in the [[Rebuild of Evangelion]] re-imagining of the original series.



Revision as of 00:01, 15 May 2013

Ramiel
ラミエル
Number 5th
Symbol Thunder
Appearance(s) Episode 05, Episode 06
Defeated by Evangelion Unit-01,
with assistance from
Evangelion Unit-00
Design Hideaki Anno[1]

Ramiel (katakana: ラミエル; Hebrew: ספר החנוך ,רעמיאל vi:vii) is the Fifth Angel, one of the largest and most powerful. Ramiel becomes the first Angel to physically penetrate the Geofront when its drill bit breaks through the armor.

Profile

Internal scan of Ramiel, showing the nuclear reactor

Compared to the Angels which preceded it, Ramiel has a drastically different form and does not appear to be "alive" in a conventional sense, it appears to be a gigantic, floating, crystalline octahedron (two pyramids attached at the base, one on top and one on bottom). The surface of Ramiel is blue and highly reflective.

The Angel has a deadly directed beam attack capable of melting through an Evangelion's armor in seconds, and it can sustain the blast for a very long period of time, perhaps indefinitely. While most other Angel attacks remain inexplicable, Ramiel is shown activating an "Inner Torus Reactor" -- possibly a reference to a tokamak -- to power the beam. The beam is capable of hitting any target within the Angel's firing radius with perfect accuracy, and the Angel itself is capable of detecting threats coming up from underground as well as beyond its normal firing range. The potency of its attack makes Ramiel too dangerous to engage in direct combat with an Evangelion.

Ramiel's massive corpse slowly being demolished

In addition, Ramiel has one of the strongest A.T. Fields of all the Angels, so strong that the naked eye can see it refracting light when it attacked. The A.T. Field is quoted as needing a massive 180 million kilowatts (1.8 X 1011 watts) to penetrate. Combined, these potent defensive and offensive abilities make Ramiel a veritable flying fortress. Ramiel also possesses a drilling appendage which it can extend out of its main body, which it uses to drill straight down into the GeoFront itself.

However, the Angel is indeed biological. In the shots of the Angel being demolished in the following episode, bloody red squares are seen where the Angel's armor/surface structure is being taken off, indicating that it does have blood. Ramiel is so large that it takes three more episodes for Nerv to clean up its remains; its corpse is still being disassembled in Episode 09.

Design and Production

Early Ramiel design

Ramiel's design has remained largely unchanged through production, being a reflective blue octahedron even during the proposal stage. The only actual changes made were in coloration and the removal of the smaller triangular surfaces floating over each face of the octahedron.

The planned battle with Ramiel was largely the same as that which appears in Episode 06 and Rebuild of Evangelion, with Shinji getting defeated and Nerv having to mount a major operation to defeat the Angel.

Battle

The two energy beams warp each other

Ramiel approaches Tokyo-3 by flying in from over the ocean. Eva-01 was sortied to attack the Angel on the surface, without any prior intelligence on the Angel's abilities. Ramiel detected the Eva even before it reached the surface and powered up a deadly particle beam that shot straight through a building and nearly melted through the Eva's chest armor. The pilot, Shinji Ikari, was almost killed inside his entry plug.

Ramiel proceeded to use a large drill-appendage to begin drilling through the armor plating of Tokyo-3 to reach Nerv HQ below in the GeoFront[2].

Subsequent experiments, including the use of an inflatable dummy Eva-01 and an attack with a Type-12 mortar, determined that Ramiel's particle beam targeted any threat within a particular radius, with perfect accuracy. Ramiel's AT field was also the most powerful ever observed when it was encountered, strong enough to visibly warp light when fully deployed.

Realizing they could not get an Eva close enough to Ramiel to neutralize its AT Field, Misato came up with a plan to channel the entire electrical output of Japan into an experimental new positron rifle, which Eva-01 would fire while Eva-00 provided support. While Eva-01 sniped Ramiel, Eva 00 protected their position with a specially converted "shield" made from the heat shield on the underside of an SSTO spacecraft[3].

Ramiel reacted to the Evas by firing its energy beam at the same time that Eva-01 fired its first shot; the two energy beams warped each other as they passed by and caused both to miss. Ramiel's second shot was blocked by Eva-00 with its shield, but its shield could only hold for so long and it was badly damaged. However, Eva-01's second shot pierced Ramiel, destroying it.

In Other Media

Rebuild of Evangelion

Ramiel in Rebuild

Ramiel appears in Evangelion 1.0: You Are (Not) Alone, the first film in the Rebuild of Evangelion re-imagining of the original series.

In Rebuild, Ramiel shows exceptional shapeshifting capabilities, changing its form to suit its attack or defense requirements, although its "default" form is the classic octahedron form seen in the TV series.

Ramiel's beam attack is much more dangerous than before. At its most powerful, the beam attack is capable of tearing down battleship-caliber gun emplacements and mountainsides alike. Ramiel can adjust the beam's power, as seen in the initial confrontation with Eva-01. In addition, the Angel is capable of adjusting its A.T. Field so that it would not be possible for an Evangelion to neutralize it.

Ramiel takes a direct hit to its core in the first positron rifle attack, only to survive and retaliate. It is destroyed in the second, exploding, along with its giant drill, in a hail of blood.

Notes

Future Police Urashiman: Super-X
  • Super-X from Future Police Urashiman (1983), an nigh impervious mech which also defends itself by momentarily shifting shape.

Ramiel's design was a direct tribute to the mech Super X from Future Police Urashiman. The changes to Ramiel's design in the Evangelion 1.0 are even closer to the original, with Ramiel regaining Super-X's polyhedral shape-shifting abilities.

Ramiel also resembles the "Blue Water" crystal in the previous Gainax Anime Nadia and the Secret of Blue Water , which Anno also directed, ultimately, Urashiman is the source. In addition, the same regular octahedral design is seen in 2001: A Space Odyssey. Tributes to Other Shows in Neon Genesis Evangelion


References

  1. Eva Tomo no Kai.
  2. An Animation Error - Ramiel's drill is turning the wrong direction every time it is shown. It actually shouldn't have been able to pierce anything. In addition, the rate at which it is drilling is actually much faster than it should be going, given the time it takes to penetrate the GeoFront.
  3. The spacecraft from which the heat shield is obtained is not from the current Space Shuttle; it is actually from an SSTO (Single Stage to Orbit) spacecraft, probably similar to the one Gendo flies in Episode 07.



Angels
Angels (general)
First and Second Angels (Seeds of Life): Adam | Lilith
Third to Seventeenth Angels (Adam's Children):
Sachiel | Shamshel | Ramiel | Gaghiel | Israfel | Sandalphon | Matarael | Sahaquiel
Ireul | Leliel | Bardiel | Zeruel | Arael | Armisael | Tabris
Eighteenth Angel: Lilin
Rebuild of Evangelion: ?Adams? | Lilith | 3rd Angel | 4th Angel | 5th Angel | 6th Angel | 7th Angel | 8th Angel | 9th Angel | 10th Angel | 11th Angel | 12th Angel | 1st/13th Angel
Other: Extracanonical Angels