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[[Image:Interface_Headset_Example.jpg|thumb|right|250px|An Interface Headset Example.]]
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An '''Interface Headset''' is a small device worn on an [[Evangelions|Evangelion]] pilot's head, which is the primary means by which a pilot controls an Eva Unit.  It does this by linking with the cranial nerves of the pilot, thus allowing the pilot to "synchronize" with the Eva and control its movements.  Of these nerves, the most important is this "A<sup>10</sup> nerve", which is associated with higher order brain functions such as memory, cognizance and the execution of movement, and with emotions such as anxiety, fear, happiness and pleasure. In addition, it is also said to play an important role in affection between parent and child, and between lovers.
[[Image:InterfaceHeadset.gif|right]]


Interface Headsets are usually worn in conjunction with a [[Plug suit]], however Plug suits do not appear to be absolutely ''required'' to pilot an Eva, as there are several occasions when there was no time and the pilot just hurried into the Eva without one, but an interface headset has almost ''always'' been worn every time someone has piloted an Eva.  However, the '''sole exceptions''' to this rule appear to be during the simulation plug test in [[Episode 13]] and [[Shinji Ikari]] not wearing his headset during [[The End of Evangelion]].  Both the plugsuit and the headset appear to greatly increase a pilot's ability to synchronize with an Eva, and the headset aides much more than the suit, but conceivably a pilot could synch without them.
An '''interface headset''' （インタフェイスヘッドセット, ''intāfēsu heddosetto''） is an device worn on the head of an [[Evangelion]] pilot.


Interface headsets give the appearance of being two small plastic devices placed on top of the head, one on either side.  The interface headset is actually one object: a thin wire "tiara" links the two larger pieces atop the head. The wire section is nestled beneath the pilot's hair and thus always obscured from view, making it appear as if the headset is comprised of two separate devices placed on top of the head.
The primary model of interface headset is composed of a thin, hairband-shaped wire linking two small pods. The wire section is nestled beneath the pilot's hair and is thus always obscured from view, making it appear as if the headset is comprised of two separate devices clipped on top of the head. The name suggests that the interface headset plays some role in the Eva-pilot interface, but exactly what is never elaborated upon.  


[[Asuka Langley Soryu]] near-constantly wears her Interface Headset, at home and while at [[Class 2-A|school]], because she is proud of her status as an Eva pilot and wants the whole world to know that she pilots an Evangelion.
The headsets used by [[Asuka Langley Soryu]], and by [[Asuka Shikinami Langley]] for her [[Evangelion Unit-03|Eva-03]] test, are both more similar to hair clips in form than the default model. [[Mari Makinami Illustrious]] also wears a unique model incorporated into a hairband. For both Asuka and Mari, the headset lies against different parts of the brain than the standard model, but whether this has any functional implications isn't known.


In Volume 1 of the [[Neon Genesis Evangelion (manga)|manga adaptation]] of the series by [[Yoshiyuki Sadamoto]], Sadamoto introduces the bonus materials section at the end of the volume by offering the explanation that:
During the course of the show, pilots have been sent into an Eva without a [[plugsuit]], whereas an interface headset has in most cases been worn, implying that it is a more critical piece of equipment. The only times the headsets are not used is during the  [[Simulation Bodies|simulation body]] tests in [[Episode 13]], and most notably by [[Shinji Ikari|Shinji]] during [[Eva-01|Eva-01's]] final sortie in the [[End of Evangelion]]. In both instances, the pilots do not display very much conscious control over the units in question. More mundanely, the entry plug holographic HUDs do not appear either.


:''"On the floor of the midbrain is the ventral tegmental system, that neurobiologists call region A<sup>10</sup>. Cells soaked in dopamine, certain emotions are processed here: such as the thoughts of two lovers - or a parent and a child. And it is the synchronization of the threads and bundles of A<sup>10</sup> that splice pilot and Eva together; to become one entity, to fight. In other words, the power of love drives this weapon of mass destruction."''
==="A10 Nerve Clips"===


==Notes==
The interface headset is better known in the English-speaking fan community by "A10 nerve clips" than by its official designation. The nickname is quite misleading, as not only is Asuka's headset the only one qualifying as "clips", nothing in the show or supplemental materials (including the frequently mis-cited theatrical booklets) suggests that they play a direct role in A10 nerve synchronization.
*Exactly what Interface Headsets are and how they function is never explicitly elaborated upon on-screen, but is from Gainax-released background material, such as the [[Red Cross Book]]. 
*Eva pilots are never seen putting on or taking off Interface Headsets during the entire series.  The wire tiara which actually connects the two larger pieces and supports them in place on top of the head is also never seen on-screen as a result (it is hidden under their hair when worn), but only in behind-the-scenes production sketches.  This has resulted in many fans assuming that the two plastic pieces clearly visible atop the head are somehow just "stuck" on the head, either with adhesive, by being attached like a hairclip, etc. when actually the entire thing is a single headset.  As these objects were never formally named on-screen, fans frequently refer to them as "A<sup>10</sup> nerve clips", because the description of them in the Red Cross Book says that they interact with the A10 nerve.  However, script production notes (released with the [[Renewal of Evangelion]] DVDs) clearly and repeatedly refer to the object as an "Interface Headset".


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[[Category:A to Z]]
[[Category:Terminology]]

Latest revision as of 14:43, 22 June 2013

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An interface headset （インタフェイスヘッドセット, intāfēsu heddosetto） is an device worn on the head of an Evangelion pilot.

The primary model of interface headset is composed of a thin, hairband-shaped wire linking two small pods. The wire section is nestled beneath the pilot's hair and is thus always obscured from view, making it appear as if the headset is comprised of two separate devices clipped on top of the head. The name suggests that the interface headset plays some role in the Eva-pilot interface, but exactly what is never elaborated upon.

The headsets used by Asuka Langley Soryu, and by Asuka Shikinami Langley for her Eva-03 test, are both more similar to hair clips in form than the default model. Mari Makinami Illustrious also wears a unique model incorporated into a hairband. For both Asuka and Mari, the headset lies against different parts of the brain than the standard model, but whether this has any functional implications isn't known.

During the course of the show, pilots have been sent into an Eva without a plugsuit, whereas an interface headset has in most cases been worn, implying that it is a more critical piece of equipment. The only times the headsets are not used is during the simulation body tests in Episode 13, and most notably by Shinji during Eva-01's final sortie in the End of Evangelion. In both instances, the pilots do not display very much conscious control over the units in question. More mundanely, the entry plug holographic HUDs do not appear either.

"A10 Nerve Clips"

The interface headset is better known in the English-speaking fan community by "A10 nerve clips" than by its official designation. The nickname is quite misleading, as not only is Asuka's headset the only one qualifying as "clips", nothing in the show or supplemental materials (including the frequently mis-cited theatrical booklets) suggests that they play a direct role in A10 nerve synchronization.

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