Eighth Angel
The Eighth Angel appears in Evangelion 2.0. The underlying design principle of the Angel is fundamentally the same as that of Sahaquiel but with elements of Leliel and Israfel, as is the overall structure of the "catching" operation, but both have been expanded upon thoroughly.
The Angel initially appears in orbit as a sphere covered in rapidly-moving black plates bearing eye-like patterns. Following an ineffective N² aerial depth charge attack, the Angel begins its plummet to Tokyo-3. The city is evacuated and all three Evas are mobilized across the Angel's probable landing zone.
As it descends, the Angel transforms, shedding its black shell to reveal a rainbow-colored "eyeball" that eventually opens into something resembling the classic amoebic form of the original series Sahaquiel. Concentric circles of rainbow color emanate from the central "eye" across the Angel's front surface, which has a scaly texture like the wings of a butterfly. Spikes resembling traditional angels playing trumpets unfold from behind the rim of the central body, and along the "arms" a horde of vaguely humanoid "feathers" unfurl.
Via innovative use of Tokyo-3's mobile blast shields and extensible buildings, along with an A.T. Field-boosted sprint, Eva-01 is able to maintain high enough speed to intercept the Angel before it reaches ground. Immediately after the Angel is stalled by the Eva's A.T. Field, however, the center of its "eye" opens up and a giant humanoid with a bird-like head extends from it. It locks hands with Eva-01, then transforms its arms into helical spears and impales the Eva's palms. The Angel begins to "boost", pushing the Eva into the ground and making its arms burst into ribbons.
Eva-02 arrives and, deploying two prog knives, aims for the Angel's core on the outer rim of the "eye". The core begins to circle around the Angel's humanoid extension erratically, like an electron in its orbital, and Asuka is unable to pinpoint the target. Eva-00 then holds the super-heated core in place, allowing Eva-02 to penetrate it with both knives, then knee the knives further in to act as a wedge when the core begins to swell. Eva-00 delivers the final blow by pushing the weakened core in half. The 8th Angel collapses and dissolves, flooding Tokyo-3 and Lake Ashi with "blood" and sending a cross flanked by multiple circular rainbows into the sky.
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Design Notes
The design for the 9th Angel's primary form, including its initial stages, was finalized by Mahiro Maeda. The use of black and white coloration for the first stage, and then a striped sphere motif for the second, might be an allusion to Leliel. The "feathers" on the 9th's arms also bear a strong resemblance to Israfel, whom Mahiro designed for the original show. The stylized "eye" symbol present on the original Sahaquiel makes a cameo on the black plates of the 9th's first form and also on the bellies of the humanoid "feathers".
For the humanoid offshoot, preliminary concepts were forwarded by Yoshitoh Asari, with the finalized drawings done by Takeshi Honda. The 8th's head is a variation on the theme established with Sachiel, and the upper arms are shaped like double helices. The front of the torso strongly resembles a vulva.
| 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 |
