Kaworu Nagisa

Kaworu Nagisa / Tabris
渚カヲル / タブリス
Rank / Title	NGE : Fifth Children & 17th Angel Rebuild : 1st Angel & 13th Manga : Fifth Children & 12th Angel
Affiliation(s)	Nerv, Seele, Angels
Relations	Adam (salvaged soul), Unknown donor
Age	NGE : 15 Rebuild : Unknown Manga : 15
Birthday	09/13/2000
Seiyū	Akira Ishida
Voice Actor	(English): Kyle Sturdivant (TV), Aaron Krohn (films), Greg Ayres ("Director's Cut" episodes), Jerry Jewell (Rebuild), Clifford Chapin (Netflix) (Italian): Massimiliano Alto (TV),David Chevalier (films) (Brazilian): Yuri Chesman (French): Olivier Jankovic (German): Robin Kahnmeyer (TV and Rebuild 1&2) , Markus Pfeiffer (Films) Dirk Petrick (Rebuild 3.33) , Jeremias Koschorz (Netflix)

Kaworu (渚カヲル) also known as Tabris (タブリス), is both the 17th Angel and the Fifth Children. Although classified as an Angel, Kaworu is similar to Rei Ayanami in being a Seed of Life inhabiting a human body. Despite his human form, Kaworu evidently does not consider himself to be human, as he refers to humans as "the Lilin."

Though his feature in the TV series was brief, lasting only one episode (Episode 24), his appearance made a disproportional impact on Evangelion fans, prompting his return in Evangelion: Death and Rebirth and End of Evangelion, an increased, though still smaller importance in spin-off media, manga and video games, and an expanded role in the Rebuild of Evangelion series.

Origin

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See also: Theory and Analysis:Identity of Kaworu's Donor

Kaworu's body appears to have been created as a result of the Contact Experiment with Adam, wherein DNA from an unknown human donor dove into and fused with Adam's flesh, explaining Hyuga's discovery that Kaworu was "born" on the day of Second Impact. Seele salvaged Adam's disembodied soul into Kaworu, whom they may have recovered in embryonic form in Antarctica.

Kaworu's origin from Adam, only intimated in the anime, is flatly stated in Sadamoto's manga.

Since Kaworu was delivered to Nerv by Seele, it is believed that Kaworu has been living under Seele's surveillance prior to his appearance in the series.

As a Pilot

Kaworu is brought to Nerv as the Fifth Children to replace Asuka, who is no longer able to pilot Unit-02. He is only able to pilot Unit-02's soul is in hiding. In his first test, Kaworu immediately achieves impressive synchronization results. It later emerges that Kaworu is able to achieve whatever level of synchronization he chooses with Unit-02.

Though he seems to have been sent to destroy it, Kaworu shows a marked interest in human culture, as well as human issues of pain and loneliness.

When Shinji first sees him sitting on top of an angel statue (a visual theme that binds together appearances of Kaworu), Kaworu was humming part of the composer Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, the fourth and final movement "Presto - Allegro assai", more popularly called the "Ode to Joy" after the poem by Friedrich Schiller, from which it is adapted. He then says that he considers singing to be the finest achievement of the Lilin (human) civilization.

Kaworu appears comfortable in his identity (far more than Rei), and also warmer and more emotionally open. However, he does show a detachment from human protocols and shares Rei's tendency to speak in universal rather than personal terms.

Relationship with Shinji

Main article: Kaworu and Shinji (Relationship)

Though fans have speculated on the exact nature of Shinji's relationship with Kaworu, it is clear that Kaworu represents a sort of idealized figure to Shinji, as he appears out of seemingly nowhere when Shinji is completely desperate for any sort of connection with anyone, as all of his friends are either dead, unreachable or alienated from him. Kaworu had premeditated encountering Shinji in the lake. He immediately shows great interest in Shinji, making him initially uncomfortable. However, Kaworu telling him he liked him surprised Shinji as he is afraid of talking to Asuka, Misato or Rei, as Shinji has internalized his belief that nobody cared about him thanks to his own partly self-imposed isolation - afterwards, feeling that Kaworu has simply used him further reinforces this, as he thinks everyone is lying to him, because Shinji is unwilling to recognize the ambiguity and insecurity in other people, and the risk and uncertainty involved in reaching out to them himself, something Kaworu temporarily allowed him to ignore. Kaworu uses the ambiguous "suki" form which includes intimacy or friendship or anything more and can simply mean "like" or "fond of", and that he is deserving of "koui" (好意), which means simply "good will" or "favor", not "koi", "love". When he mentions this to Misato later, Shinji also used the ambiguous "suki" form. This line has necessary ambiguity in order to represent Kaworu's own lack of understanding regarding levels of intimacy and societal norms, part of what shocks Shinji and allows Kaworu to bypass his barriers of self-defense, as he isn't even aware those exist, as he himself has none. When Shinji is fighting Kaworu, he states Kaworu has betrayed him, just like his father did, indicating he might have been seeking a similar form of support from him, reinforcing his role as an idealization. This metaphorical meaning of his presence is emphasized further with the reappearance of Kaworu in End of Evangelion, when Shinji is traumatized by experiencing Misato's death and seeing Asuka's dead Eva, Shinji becomes desperate, but Kaworu reveals himself to be part of Lilith to stop Shinji from going into a frenzy and allow Third Impact to begin, although Shinji only enters Instrumentality after Lilith reverts to Rei's form and melts by seeing a woman's breasts, when Yui asks him what he wishes for. Irregardless, Kaworu forms a strong connection with Shinji. His absence from Instrumentality and even the Congratulations scene when even characters like Aoba are present bring into question how much Kaworu affected him besides Shinji's own desperation. Shinji, in fact, seeking unconditional affection from everybody, unwilling to return their own needs, is a fact that has hindered Shinji's happiness throughout most of the series, and Kaworu, being a somewhat non-human character without his own emotional needs (whereas Rei had slowly developed those) is the only one that does that. Moreover, the way Kaworu treats Shinji as a sort of avatar for humanity also brings into question if his affection is directed towards humanity as a whole. Official supplemental material also notes this angle, explaining that Kaworu evolved from his early role on Evangelion Proposal as an Angel disguised as cat possessing a human boy, as ultimately "This act of having his life ended by his friend Shinji was symbolic of Kaworu's desire for humanity to choose the path of life".

This, paired with the fact that Shinji had killed what he saw as a human being and someone he cared about, was part of what drove him into his state of absolute despair in Episode 25, in which he declared that he felt unworthy even of the piloting which had consumed his identity, thinking that if all he did was hurt and kill others, it was better to do nothing. By that, though, he may have condemned Asuka, who was fighting against the Mass Production Evangelions, to death. Had this not been the case, it is very possible he and Asuka could have defeated the Evas and stopped Third Impact altogether, a fact that greatly benefits SEELE. Shinji depositing all of his hopes for self-worth onto Kaworu, and having that fail him, also reinforces Shinji's notions that if he can't rely unconditionally on people and never risk rejection then he is not actually loved by anyone at all and everyone should just die, part of what motivates him to start Third Impact. In End of Evangelion, Shinji desperately seeks this same sort of unconditional affection from Asuka, and is still certain that he is unloved and unworthy, as he demonstrates he has, in fact, returned to his own childish beliefs about himself, even after the way Kaworu (whom he does not even mention) treated him, and other characters respond to him that he is, in fact, liked and treated nicely by them, but Shinji refuses to believe it. In contrast to Kaworu, when Shinji, in a similar state of desperation, asks for Asuka's own unconditional affection, Asuka refuses as she does not want to be an emotional crutch and an escape for him, and demands he gives himself to her as well, but Shinji is unwilling to give back any affection himself. Asuka says he doesn't really like anyone, as he doesn't even love himself. When Kaworu and Rei as Adam and Lilith state they collectively represent the hope for understanding and love, Shinji replies it is just a pretense, but if he returns to the real world, at least there he will know his feelings are real.

Relationship with Seele

Main article: Theory and Analysis:Kaworu's Agenda

Kaworu was sent to NERV by SEELE in order to advance their goal of Instrumentality through a Third Impact that would occur under their direction. Before his final battle, Kaworu is seen talking with a phantasm of SEELE that apparently only he can see and it can be assumed that he has been in previous communication with SEELE (for example being briefed on his mission to enter NERV as a pilot). The conversation indicates that they have (falsely) told them that they favor the "true successor" Angels over their own kind.

It is uncertain what exactly SEELE had in mind for Kaworu. Did they plan for him to attack Terminal Dogma, or was that his own plan? We do know that once the attack commenced they wanted Unit-01 to defeat him., and presumably him being killed by Shinji was a necessary part of their plan, allowing them to start their own version of Third Impact. It also begs into question if they needed Kaworu to contact Shinji, and while this seemed to have been his own initiative, they did benefit from Shinji's state of mind afterwards, as Kaworu proceeds to go after Adam even after meeting Shinji and getting to know him, and even uses Unit 02 in order to delay him. In fact, Kaworu only changes his mind when he realizes it is, in fact, Lilith in Terminal Dogma, as by that point he is unable to start any sort of Third Impact regardless.

Similarly, Kaworu's subsequent actions also greatly help SEELE: had Shinji not been in a state of mind that made him refuse to pilot for most of End of Evangelion, it is very possible he and Asuka could have defeated the MP Evas and stopped Third Impact altogether. He is also responsible for stopping Shinji from going into a frenzy after seeing Asuka's dead Eva, which allows Third Impact to begin, as the Seele councilmen start chanting ritualistically.

As an Angel

As the vessel for Adam's soul, Kaworu's designation is "Tabris" (Arabic: تبريس). As revealed in Newtype publications such as ADAM and used by Keel Lorenz in the manga, Tabris (タブリス), is the 17th and final Angel. He is considered the Angel of free will, which is considered a gift of God; Bochan_bird expands:

The Newtype Evangelion Filmbook Remix Vol. II states that while Tabrith is the name of the Angel of Free Will, Kaworu/Kaoru is also that of the Angel of Betrayal.

Although Kaworu was sent by Seele for a specific purpose, he also has his own agenda. See Theory and Analysis:Kaworu's Agenda for an in-depth discussion.

Unlike the Angels who came before him, but like Rei, Kaworu has a Lilin body, with no visible physical difference from a regular human except for very pale skin, light grey hair and red irises. Although his body is presumably composed of the same "particle-wave matter" as Rei and the Angels, it is impossible to say if he possesses a core and S² Engine. Tabris is the only Angel to infiltrate Terminal Dogma.

Kaworu's human body is a vessel for the salvaged soul of Adam itself, and wields all of the power that comes with it. He is in effect Adam reborn as a human. His A.T. Field is described by the Magi as the strongest yet encountered (until it is surpassed by Rei's). Kaworu is observed using it for levitation, to control Eva-02, as a massive barrier that prevents the Command Center from receiving wave transmissions, and, (evidently) to bypass the LCL Plant's locking mechanism.

By being both the First Angel (Adam, whose body and soul were separated in Second Impact) and the Seventeenth and final Angel, he is in effect both the first and the last of his kind. Kaworu is "born from Adam," and describes Adam as "our (the Angels') Mother." As Kaworu is the vessel for Adam's soul, that paradoxically makes him his own mother.

Battle

During the battle while descending to Terminal Dogma, Kaworu is manipulating Eva-02, but the manipulated Eva doesn't seem to put up as much of a fight as it possibly could under his control. While Shinji aimed for Eva-02's head and neck to incapacitate it, both of Eva-02's knife strikes were in the pectoral region where damage was limited. Kaworu might simply have wanted to delay Eva-01 as far as possible, so that he could use the Eva to realize his own death if necessary.

Indeed, Kaworu decides to willingly let Shinji kill him to let Lilin live and Angels remain dead shows. As the human incarnate of Adam, a fact disclosed by the Seele monoliths, the sheer strangeness of the sacrifice is that Kaworu allowed Adam's (and by extension, his own) children to remain dead while letting the children of Lilith live on.

The same music that Kaworu hummed in his introduction plays during his descent into Terminal Dogma, and so serves as a leitmotif for his character. The poem was written to be dedicated to the unity of all men under God. The moment Kaworu opens the doors to Terminal Dogma is in synch with the line "Und der Cherub steht vor Gott"---"And the Cherub (Angel) stands before God."

End of Evangelion

Kaworu makes several appearances in End of Evangelion, and is often alluded to.

The first instance is at the very beginning, as Shinji stands by the lake and the (headless) bloody angel statue; the sound of the dropping debris recycles the sound effect used for Kaworu's head splashing into LCL in Death & Rebirth. In addition, "KAWORU" is written on the side of the dummy plugs for the Mass Production Evangelions, suggesting that his thought processes were used instead of Rei's. A multitude of his appearances involve him appearing simultaneously in two places at once, which Yui and most notably, Rei/Lilith demonstrate. Kaworu is present within the massive Rei/Lilith/Adam being and has control of the being for a brief period of time in order to bring down Shinji's A.T. Field, but otherwise remains passive. Whether or not Kaworu's identity survived at the very end remains unanswered.

In Rebuild of Evangelion

"We've seen it. The proof of its construction was very useful." This article or section is under construction, and needs to be further expanded. Please provide input in the discussion, or help build this page.

Kaworu Nagisa (First Angel)
渚カヲル (第1の使徒)
Number	First (later, Thirteenth)
Appearance(s)	Evangelion 1.0, Evangelion 2.0, Evangelion 3.0
Defeated by	Voluntary death by DSS Choker

Kaworu Nagisa is the First and Thirteenth Angel in the Rebuild continuity. No angelic name has been revealed for him.

Kaworu appears in Evangelion 1.0, rising from a coffin on the moon in sight of an Eva-sized giant in a white covering (Eva-06 under construction). He speaks to Keel Lorenz (via his monolith), agreeing that "the child" is progressing as predicted in the Dead Sea Scrolls, and saying that "The Third is still the same." (Referring to Shinji, not the Third Angel) He ends the conversation saying that he hopes to meet Shinji Ikari. Bizarrely, Kaworu appears to be capable of breathing and even speaking in the absence of air.

In Evangelion 2.0, Kaworu is seen on the moon base (Tabgha base), when Fuyutsuki and Gendo approach it on an SSTO to inspect the construction of the new, Seele-built Eva-06. Fuyutsuki, looking out of the spacecraft window, observes Kaworu sitting on Eva-06's finger, clad only in his trousers, and wonders whether Kaworu is human or not. Kaworu greets Gendo as "Father", although the circumstances render it impossible to determine whether he used the word in a literal or metaphorical sense. Kaworu is seen putting on a plugsuit immediately before the battle with Zeruel, standing on top of the now-complete Eva-06, confirming that he is the new Evangelion's pilot. He reappears at the end of the movie and stops Eva-01 from transforming with a staff-like weapon thrown from his Eva, addressing Shinji and saying, "This time, I'll be sure to bring you happiness."

Kaworu appears in a more major role in Evangelion 3.0. As Asuka and Eva-02 to Earth with the recovered Eva-01, he states he has been waiting for Shinji. Kaworu appears once more when Shinji arrives at the now derelict Nerv Headquaters playing piano, and when Gendo tells Shinji he will pilot Eva-13 along with him. As Shinji spends time with Kaworu at Nerv, Kaworu teaches Shinji how to play the piano. Both form a deep friendship to the point of Kaworu declaring "I was born to meet you." He also shows Shinji the devastation caused by the Near Third Impact. Shinji is devastated by this and says he only wanted to save Rei, but Kaworu replies that humanity does not see it that way. Later, Kaworu gives him an offer: he tells him they can alter the world again, by pulling the Spears of Longinus and Cassius. Before they pilot Eva-13, Kaworu takes away Shinji's choker, telling him that he would shoulder the burden of Shinji's punishment.

As Kaworu and Shinji descend into Terminal Dogma with Rei in Mark.09, he explains to Shinji about what has happened to Lilith and Mark.06, and finally explains what they were sent here by Gendo to do: remove the Spears of Longinus and Cassius from Lilith's now headless, gigantic corpse. However, Kaworu becomes confused, wondering why both Longinus and Cassius now have the same shape. He appears to be physically unwell during Shinji's battle against Asuka in Eva-02 and Mari in Eva-08, and when Shinji grabs the Spears and begins to pull them out, Kaworu begs Shinji not to do so. Shinji does not listen to Kaworu, and once the Spears are pulled, Lilith's body disintegrates, the Twelfth Angel is revealed to be inside Mark.06, and a chain of events begin as Eva-13 goes out of Shinji's control. Kaworu states that he who was First Angel is now the Thirteenth Angel, and implies that Gendo, whom he refers to as "The King of Lilin", is responsible for setting up the events.

Eva-13 awakens and ascends into the sky, beginning Fourth Impact, which Kaworu confirms to a horrified Shinji. As the Impact begins, the choker begins to activate. Despite everything, Kaworu tells Shinji that the Fourth Impact was his fault, due to him becoming the Thirteenth Angel, becoming the trigger. He tells Shinji he is sorry, as this was not the happiness he desired. He declares he will close the Doors of Guf, telling him that "We'll meet again," before the choker explodes and decapitates him. After Kaworu's death, Fourth Impact is finally stopped by Mari ejecting Shinji from Eva-13, during which there is a momentary shot of Kaworu in his school uniform. Shinji is thrown into a catatonic state by Kaworu's death.

In Evangelion: 3.0 + 1.0 Thrice Upon a Time, Kaworu appears as a vision to Shinji just after Asuka leaves after she expresses her feelings for him. Kaworu tells him that he can find peace on his own and that fate will guide him, and once more that they will meet again. When Asuka is absorbed, Kaworu's remains can be briefly seen inside Evangelion 13.

When the Additional Impact starts, Shinji confronts Gendo, and Kaworu appears, explains to Shinji that Gendo is the center of Instrumentality, "the origin of the cycle". During Instrumentality, Kaworu's memories are revisited, including farming with Ryoji Kaji, the elder, during the timeskip. When Shinji tells him he wants to help Asuka and everyone else, Kaworu recognizes Shinji is getting used to reality. After Shinji returns Asuka's feelings, Kaworu asks if Shinji won't be lonely, to which he says it will be alright.

In a visual callback to their encounter in the original series, Shinji affirms having met him before. Kaworu explains that he has written ShInji's name in the Book of Life, which allows him to meet him in the cycles the cast is trapped in. In a version as a small child, Shinji says it is a way for them to become friends.

Shinji says that Kaworu is just his father Gendo Ikari in his single-mindedness over Yui Ikari. Shinji replies that he won't cry anymore, as it won't help the people he cares about. Kaworu says he'll be lonely, but it's alright. Shinji destroys Kaworu's Eva-13. Afterwards, Kaworu talks to Kaji and reminisces on the inevitability of his fate and how he is unable to die. Kaji tells him that he wanted to make himself happy through Shinji. Kaworu apologizes for mistaking Shinji's happiness. Shinji breaks the cycle, and he thanks Kaji, who calls him "Commander Nagisa", for saving him. Kaworu thus seeks to find out happiness on his own, and moves on from using Shinji to find his own happiness.

At Kaji's suggestion, Kaworu agrees to become a farmer with Misato Katsuragi and her son with Kaji in the survivor's village. In the rebuilt world, the Children are present as adults, and Kaworu is seen as an adult talking with Rei Ayanami, also an adult in the other side of the train station.

In Other Media

Sadamoto's Manga

Kaworu's introduction comes much earlier: he is first seen waking up in an LCL tube with Keel Lorenz talking to him, and then he speaks to Seele, who call him by his Angel name "Tabris" and refer to an agreement made between them. Shinji does not initially like or trust Kaworu, and in fact actively avoids him. His arrival in Tokyo-3 is shortly before the battle with Arael. Shinji first finds Kaworu playing Ode to Joy on a piano in a ruined church, and Kaworu immediately earns Shinji's immense dislike when he breaks a starving kitten's neck as an act of mercy. At school, Kensuke thinks of him as "creepy...something inhuman." When Arael attacks, Kaworu is a spectator in Central Dogma, and is disturbed by Gendo's use of the Spear of Longinus. After Asuka enters a vegetative state from the mental attack, Kaworu takes her place in the battle with Armisael, proving himself a spectacular Eva pilot, but refusing to reveal his true nature to the invasive Angel. Despite momentarily feeling Rei's love for Shinji, he tells him that Rei was stupid in sacrificing herself, drawing an intense outburst of violence from Shinji.

In volumes 9 and 10, Kaworu pilots Unit-02 alongside Rei in the battle with the Angel Armisael. The Angel partially assimilates Unit-02, connecting the already-assimilated Rei to Kaworu and causing him to feel Rei's love for Shinji, which makes him cry. After the battle, Shinji nearly punches Kaworu after he calls Rei a fool. Despite this, Shinji stays in Kaworu's apartment rather than go home to Misato, believing that being around the emotionally distant Kaworu would be more tolerable than being around people who would also be sad about Rei's death. He reluctantly accepts Kaworu's offer to use one half of the bed. That night, Shinji begins to hyperventilate while having a nightmare, and Kaworu uses the chance to perform CPR on Shinji, using the lack of a handy paper bag as an excuse. Shinji becomes angered and repulsed when he wakes fully and realizes what Kaworu did, and is even more angered when Kaworu asks him if what he felt while connected to Rei was love and attempts to physically advance on Shinji. Shinji is repulsed by this, and quickly storms off as he finds out Rei is still alive, visibly upsetting Kaworu.

Kaworu allows Shinji to kill him in the end, although he displays none of the self-sacrifice portrayed in the anime.Shinji refuses to kill a non-resisting opponent, and Kaworu concludes Shinji hates him. Shinji says he has never said that, and then Kaworu decides to persuade Shinji to kill him as "proof of what (Shinji) really think(s) of (him)" instead of obsessing over his own guilt in the aftermath, comparing it to when he kiled the stray cat. Shinji imagines himself choking Kaworu in the same place they initially met, after Kaworu killed the cat. In the following chapter (75), Shinji admits that he was drawn to Kaworu, even though he knew he shouldn't be because he feels guilty and unworthy after killing Toji. Shinji wonders why people get close to other people. Misato tells him it is because people are incomplete and seek each other in order to not live alone. He is not mentioned again.

The bonus materials in volume nine of the English adaptation of the manga contain an article written by the editor Carl Gustav Horn which compares Kaworu to the character Satan in Mark Twain's novella, Mysterious Stranger.. Sadamoto has stated that his relationship with Shinji in the manga is like that of a younger primary school student seeking admiration from an older, middle school one, not romance. Sadamoto has also explained he wished to make the relationship less ambiguous in the manga. Sadamoto says Kaworu feels for Shinji a reflection of Rei's feelings, however Shinji rejects him as he is not Rei. The choking scene in the manga is inspired from a film called Betty Blue, by Jean-Jacques Beineix. This is contrast to the scene in End of Evangelion, which according to Megumi Ogata was based on an experience of a female acquiantance of Anno's. He says it does not have the same meaning as the film's. He also says he does not understand the success of his character. In an interview Sadamoto compared his death to a "contradictory fumi-e", an ancient Japanese ritual consisting of the trampling of Christian icons, asking Shinji to kill him if he cared about him at all. Through this Shinji would have to confront the situation of caring for and being close to other people, as later referenced in the following chapter.

Shinji Ikari Raising Project

In the noncanonical Shinji Ikari Raising Project, Kaworu is an agent sent by SEELE to infiltrate Shinji's school (much like the original). Here, he is helped by Ritsuko Akagi. He teases Shinji frequently, drawing Asuka's (and eventually, Rei's) ire. He is also implied to be the cause of a blackout at NERV (in an homage to the original outage in the anime), and is also a potential romantic interest for Shinji alongside Rei and Asuka, though Shinji seems unaware of Kaworu's intentions. Kaworu is mostly used as comic relief, and is completely absent from the story after the early chapters as it returns to focusing on Rei and Asuka.

Neon Genesis Evangelion: Angelic Days

Cover for It's A Miraculous Win

In Angelic Days, Shinji met Kaworu in their childhood and this has gotten Shinji used to run away to him when he fights with Asuka, his first childhood friend, however Shinji always makes peace with her. Asuka is somewhat hostile to Kaworu as Shinji's attention is divided between Asuka, Rei and Kaworu, though she eventually mellows out. Eventually, Kaworu starts to understand Shinji's feelings for Asuka when he chooses to take care of her instead of going to a concert with him and Rei. Inside a Instrumentality of sorts, Kaworu offers Shinji a world that doesn't change in which they're children forever. Shinji refuses, realizing he needs to grow up, and Kaworu wills himself out of existence. This leads to Asuka and Shinji realizing their feelings for one another. Near the ending Kaworu, in fact, seems very happy for them and refers to Asuka as "your girlfriend" to Shinji. He also appears in a flashback with Gendo and Yui in their high school days, before disappearing again, similarly motivating Gendo to connect to Yui.

It's a Miraculous Win

In this this spin-off manga, a character that looks just Kaworu works in an Eva pachinko parler, and dates the protagonist, a female obssesed Eva fan called Sakura Mogami.

Development

Settei and Early Design

In early designs, Kaworu was depicted as a schoolboy with a pet cat who could switch to an "Angel form". The Angel would not be Kaworu himself, but rather the cat, controlling the boy, who'd also be much younger. He was also considered to appear for two episodes rather than one, but Anno ultimately cut him down to one. He also was described as blonde. In vol. 9 of the manga, one of Sadamoto's artworks is a portrayal of Kaworu dressed in black and holding a black cat. This is sardonically referenced in the manga as Kaworu kills a stray cat when he meets Shinji. There is also an official figure of him holding a cat. Kaworu was named by screenplay writer Akio Satsukawa. Kaworu's surname "Nagisa" comes from the Japanese word nagisa (渚), meaning "waterside" or "shore", concerned with the sea. It also comes from Japanese movie director Nagisa Oshima. Adding to these, the character "渚", when divided, can be read as "shi-sha" (シ者). The title of episode 24 is "The Last Shisha"|最後のシ者|Saigo no Shisha. "シ者" includes two Japanese words read as "shisha" (the character "シ" only represents the sound "shi"). The first is "messenger" or "apostle"|使者|shisha. while the other is "dead (person)"|死者. This is one of the ways in which he is likened to Rei, as his "shore" reading parallels with the Aya-nami "wave". His name was decided relatively late in production, beyond the initial Proposal stage, and many details from his episode were shuffled around, with Kaworu's appearance being cut down from two to one episode. Kaworu seems to be the only character not named by Anno, and in fact Satsukawa's expansion on Anno's initial outline came as a shock to staff, before eventually being overruled by Anno. Episode director and animator Masayuki even refused to work on him at first, threatening to resign. Shinji Higuchi, one of the chief animators and Shinji's namesake, couldn't stand being called "Shinji-kun" by Kaworu in the script. He was relieved he didn't have to animate his scenes and that he was instead handed to Masayuki. Satsukawa was not only not picked exclusively for this episode, Anno had not even watched his previous work on Watcher on the Attic, as is sometimes speculated. In fact, Satsukawa had previously served as an editor for Anno's earlier work Nadia The Secret of Blue Water. Satsukawa declared he had put his all, in fact, in Episode 15.

Yoshiyuki Sadamoto conceived his design to be "more elegant and more refined" than Shinji, compared to which he should have been "taller, thinner and with a smaller face". For the features of his face, he decided to blend those of Rei, Shinji himself, and Asuka Langley Soryu. Following a personal request from the director, his eyes were dyed red by the colorist Harumi Takaboshi, to draw an analogy with Rei's and give him "a distinct impression". Although he was conceived to appear only in the final episodes, during the making of the opening theme the main staff decided to depict him with a sketch by Sadamoto; in the editing phase, the sketch was inserted just before a frame depicting Rei Ayanami and the caption "Angels". Official material also describes him as forming a triad with Arael and Armisael in exploring the pilots' psychology.

Gainax renders his name in Romaji as "Kaworu," not "Kaoru" as would be given by most romanization schemes. The reasons for the difference in the naming have not been explicitly detailed by the series' creators; one theory is that the name is based on the original kana of the name Kaoru Genji, from The Tale of Genji. Some fans have long speculated on Kaworu being modeled on a real person or experience, but this has been denied long ago by both Anno and Sadamoto, neither this is ever even alluded to in multiple Sadamoto interviews detailing his design.

As a promotion for its 10th Anniversary Special Edition of Evangelion, ADV Films published a humorous bumper sticker which reads "KAWORU DIED FOR YOUR SINS"|カヲルはあなたの罪のために死んだ|Kaoru wa anata no tsumi no tame ni shinda. Mania Entertainment's Chris Beveridge described Kaworu's death in the anime as an "extremely powerful moment" due to the fact that after a minute without dialogue, his head's shadow appears touching the water. Kaworu has had the most English voice actors out of all the characters in the entire franchise.

Kaworu Nagisa was the second most popular male character in the 1997 Animage poll. In a Newtype poll from March 2010, Kaworu was voted as the second most popular male anime character from the 1990s.

Sadamoto claims he wrote his relationship with Shinji on the manga as similar to a primary school student to an older, middle school one that would leave a strong impression on the former, prompting him to seek his admiration, not romance. Sadamoto complimented this by comparing Shinji's perspective to how he himself felt towards superheroes and other role models as a child and teenager. Conversely, "In Kaworu's case, through Rei's heart flowing into his own, he is held captive by feelings that would get him nowhere—because he was still unable to even comprehend the feelings." Sadamoto has also explained he wished to make the relationship less ambiguous in the manga. Sadamoto says Kaworu feels for Shinji a reflection of Rei's feelings, however Shinji rejects him as he is not Rei. The choking scene in the manga is inspired from a film called Betty Blue, by Jean-Jacques Beineix. Sadamoto explained that the scene is not meant to parallel Shinji's scene with Asuka from EoE, and has a different meaning altogether. Anno's inspiration from EoE's scene came from a female friend of his and her boyfriend. Sadamoto also says he does not understand the success of his character.

In an interview for JUNE, Hideaki Anno claimed that Kaworu was intended to be Shinji's idealised version of himself, something which allows Shinji to easily drop his defense mechanisms as he does not feel he is not exactly dealing with an "Other". Anno goes on to give examples from psychology and the process of realising the good and bad in other people and coming to terms with this duality as part of growing up and maturing in Episode 25, something which he does not do with Kaworu. Like other characters, Anno described Kaworu as being based on himself, though he likened him to Rei as part of his Jungian shadow, in contrast to Shinji, Asuka and Misato as his conscious parts. This comparison was also made with Gendo.

Much like many other characters, Kaworu's interactions with Shinji have been a topic of debate among fans of Evangelion since the series' first run as discussed in the Patrick Drazen's book Anime Explosion! The What? Why? & Wow! Of Japanese Animation Anime Explosion!. Patrick Drazen's view is that Kaworu's offer of unconditional, one-way love for Shinji is a tactic that Kaworu as the last Angel used to disarm Shinji. In 1998 reviewer Kenneth Lee criticized Kaworu, saying: "Ultimately, the homosexuality issue seems nothing more than cheap shock value tactics to stun generation X"; he considered the entire Shinji-Kaworu relationship "ludicrous", as he thought Shinji receptiveness to Kaworu was implausible and "irrational". It should be noted however that Japan had a long history of very overt homosexual relationships in media and even in anime, and that Eva would not have any need of hiding any for fear of censorship like a Western work might need to, even in 1995. Staff also seems to have not been expecting Kaworu to provoke such a strong impression of that in the first place, and attribute their lack of attention to this to the lack of time and rushed production when making the latter episodes, and mention Kaworu was not supposed to hold Shinji's hand in the bath scene, as this was an animation error and he was instead supposed to touch it, nor was Shinji supposed to blush, indicating Kaworu as a breakout character of sorts, and the usage of the bath scene as a casual, often public occurrence in Japan, specially the countryside that he is from. Shinji's voice actress Megumi Ogata also agrees with the translation for the Netflix/Khara release, saying she originally interpreted Kaworu's lines as "like", and says she's glad that the new version is closer to the Japanese original, as she interprets her relationship as friends. Ogata also rejects the idea that Kaworu is his lover, or that he is someone he can depend on, but instead sees him as a friend that's his equal. Hideaki Anno has also denied "carnal feelings" on Shinji's part or having yaoi elements in mind.

In an interview, Anno was asked about expanding Ep 24 for the then-unreleased home video versions. He however, decided against it om the expanded Director's Cut episodes and chose to focus on Misato and her relationship with Kaworu instead, despite his considerable expansions to other relationships Shinji had as in Episode 22. Doujinshi author Nobi Nobita provided June magazine with non-official illustrations. She even participates in the longer and often-omitted second half of the June interview. Nobita made a doujin expanding Asuka's mind attack sequence. Anno also took inspiration from her doujinshi for Episode 22's DC, but chose instead to use it for Asuka's relationship with Shinji, removing the ambiguity over it possibly referring to Kaji present in the original doujinshi. Rumours of censorship are also unsubstantiated - the network had not even seen the episode before airing it, due to its rushed production. Afterwards, they demanded to see Episodes 25 and 26 because of a single contention point - Kaworu's death being too graphic. Another material describes him as a "symbol of escapism".

Regardless, Gainax is clearly aware that the audience associates Kaworu with bishounen tropes, and have produced artworks such as splash pages for their website in reference to Kaworu's ambiguity and the audience's reaction to the character. This is not exclusive to Kaworu, however, as Gainax has produced official material covering virtually all possible relationships regardless of canonicity, including ones between Rei and Asuka or Kaworu himself and Rei, and he tends to have less space than material depicting Shinji with Asuka or Rei. Some videogames allow him to be a possible romantic option for Shinji as well as multiple female characters as in Shinji Ikari Raising Project though he sometimes has less scenes or no ending route like in Girlfriend of Steel 2. Spinoffs such as Angelic Days put him in a more comedic or romantic light though he still tends to have less space than other side characters, particularly Asuka or Rei, who receive the same treatment. [Evangelion ANIMA]] also features a "Dark Kaworu" who hates humans and hates music. Additionally, some believe that whether Kaworu, an Angel, actually has any concept of sexuality as he is presented in the series is unclear. Mamerto Adam sees their relationship as "as a sign of self-hate and lack of confidence", as Kaworu's role as an idealized self means Shinji is "drawn to a better Shinji rather than this depressed soul". He considers that "He represents an idealized world, an escape or a fantasy that we must awaken from. Killing Kaworu is an act of rejecting this fantasy and embracing the real, but darker world." Mike Crandol of ANN regards Kaworu as being "representative of blind, total and unconditional love and acceptance, but like those things Kaworu turns out to not be real at all".

References

Characters

Main characters: Shinji Ikari | Rei Ayanami | Asuka Langley Soryu

Nerv staff: Misato Katsuragi | Gendo Ikari | Ritsuko Akagi | Kozo Fuyutsuki | Ryoji Kaji | Maya Ibuki | Makoto Hyuga | Shigeru Aoba

Classmates: Toji Suzuhara | Kensuke Aida | Hikari Horaki

Other characters: Kaworu Nagisa | Yui Ikari | Naoko Akagi | Kyoko Zeppelin Soryu | Dr. Katsuragi | Mr. Langley | Keel Lorenz | Pen Pen

Rebuild of Evangelion: Asuka Shikinami Langley | Mari Makinami Illustrious | Sakura Suzuhara | Ryoji Kaji (Jr)

Miscellaneous: Minor Characters | Minor Characters (Rebuild) | Extracanonical Characters

Theory and Analysis: Name Origins (Warships) | Designs | Relationships | Profiles

Resources: 2015: The Last Year of Ryohji Kaji

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