Dr. Katsuragi

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Age	Unknown
Birthday	Unknown
Seiyū	N/A

The mysterious Dr. Katsuragi (葛城博士) is Misato's father, a dedicated and brilliant scientist up until his death on September 13, 2000 (during Second Impact). He has one scarce, silent appearance in Episode 12's brief flashback.

Personal Life

Dr. Katsuragi became totally consumed by his research, eventually to the point that he came to completely neglect his responsibilities as a husband and a father. Due to his absence, his wife developed chronic depression, and Misato lived a joyless childhood of being a "good girl" who helped shoulder the burdens her father left behind. Katsuragi's friends described him as being "sensitive and delicate", but Misato rejects this notion, believing him to be no more than a weak person who ran away from reality.

At length, Katsuragi's wife resolved to divorce him, with Misato fully backing the decision. Perhaps indicative of his level of detatchment, this development shocked Katsuragi, and Misato seems justified in her claim that he "brought it upon himself".

Presumably, Katsuragi did not have primary custody of Misato. However, in 2000, Misato was present at the UN Base in Antartica, where Dr. Katsuragi was leading the eponymous Katsuragi Expedition. Why she was there is unknown: Did Katsuragi force her to accompany him despite the wishes of herself and her mother, or did something happen to his ex-wife, after which he accepted custody?

When the Contact Experiment with Adam (for which Katsuragi would have certainly been present) went awry, Katsuragi, rather than stay and attempt to help, appeared to abandon his team so that he might deliver Misato to her best chance for survival. He and Misato were evidently caught in some kind of explosion, and, judging from Katsuragi's level of injury relative to Misato, it is possible that he used his own body to shield her from harm. In spite of his extensive wounds, he stays alive long enough to place his daughter within the only intact emergency capsule: an action Misato terms his "sacrifice" even though he was doomed to die anyway.

Professional Life

Dr. Katsuragi was researching his controversial S² Engine Theory, a "Super Solenoid" device capable of harnessing nearly unlimited power. This resulted in him working with the mysterious Seele organization, and leading the expedition to Antartica to study Adam and her S² Engine, and carry out the "Contact Experiment" with Adam involving the Spear of Longinus.

It is not entirely clear if Dr. Katsuragi knew as much about what the contact experiment with Adam would result in, as Gendo and Chairman Keel did. Certainly, Katsuragi knew a grew deal about Adam. However, it is unknown just how involved in Gendo and Keel's plans he was. Katsuragi may not have known that Second Impact would result from the contact experiment (as Gendo did), or he may have thought that he had the situation under control. It does seem that after Adam awoke and was about to initiate Second Impact, Katsuragi tried as hard as he could to lessen the effects of the explosion. Whether Katsuragi knew that Seele's actions were based on prophesies in the Dead Sea Scrolls also remains a mystery.

Notes

• Dr. Katsuragi's full name is never revealed.
• Although he is completely silent in the original Japanese version, ADV chose to have him vocalize in their English language dub.
• It has been suggested that Dr. Katsuragi himself served as the donor for the Contact Experiment. See: Theory & Analysis: Kaworu's Origins.
• Katsuragi's final moment with Misato is directly paralleled in Episode 18 when Misato wakes up and finds Kaji by her side. The situation as a whole is also heavily paralleled with Misato and Shinji in Episode 25'.
• While Dr. Katsuragi looks at Misato for the last time, a drop of his blood falls and spatters onto her cheek. This is probably intended to represent a "tear of blood".
• Before he dies, he passes a pendant in the shape of a Greek cross on to Misato. No elaboration whatsoever is provided as to what this object meant to its original owner (i.e. if he was a practicing Christian or if it was just a good-luck charm), although it serves as a versatile symbol throughout the course of the series.
• A lingering shot of a tattered, blood-stained glove features in the classified footage shown at the beginning of Episode 21' and DEATH. This is, in fact, the missing part of Dr. Katsuragi's left-hand glove.
• Dr. Katsuragi seems to briefly stare at his left hand the moment before he collapses. Combined with the bloody glove and the closeup of his lacerated hand, this would make three instances of attention being drawn to that particular hand.
• According to Misato in Episode 15, her father was a member of Nerv, and she later joined that organization. Misato seems to have been summarizing, as Nerv didn't exist in 2000: the predecessor organization of "Nerv" was "Gehirn". Of course, Gehirn was essentially just renamed and reorganized into Nerv; Misato herself joined Gehirn a short time before it was reformed into Nerv, but she still refers to things "since I joined Nerv". It is not clear, though, if Gehirn existed in 2000 and Dr. Katsuragi was a member, or if he was a "member" of a United Nations research group which was itself a predecessor of Gehirn.

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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