Kaworu Nagisa

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Age	15
Birthday	2000/09/13
Seiyū	Akira Ishida

Kaworu Nagisa （渚カヲル) is Fifth Children and a replacement Eva pilot sent to Nerv HQ by Seele -- in fact the 17th and (supposedly) final Angel, designated "Tabris".

Biology

Unlike the Angels who came before him, Kaworu possesses a Lilim-shaped vessel. Exteriorly, his body seems to be no different physically from normal Lilim, save for its unusual pigmentation. However, it is, presumably, composed of the same unusual matter that characterizes Angels in general. It is impossible to say if he possesses such trademark features as the core and S² Engine.

Kaworu possesses the salvaged soul of Adam herself, and wields all of the power that comes with it. 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 L.C.L. Plant's locking mechanism.

Origins

During the mysterious Contact Experiment that occured shortly before Second Impact, a human "donor" made some kind of physical contact with Adam. The relevant flashback in Episode 21' includes the panicked announcement, "The DNA that dived into Adam has already undergone physical fusion!" The exact meaning of this is undisclosed, but details in Episode 24 -- such as Kaworu's "date of birth" (the day of Second Impact) and the way he identifies Adam as the "mother" from whom he was "born" -- heavily imply that Kaworu is a product of the experiment. If so, Kaworu is potentially (despite outward appearances) a hybrid entity that wavers somewhere between Adam and Homo sapiens on a genetic level.

Both the show and all official materials remain silent on the identity of the donor. Since "Kaworu Nagisa" is Japanese name, the donor was most likely a Japanese man. Barring a "random nobody", Dr. Katsuragi has been forwarded as the most probable suspect.

See also: Theory & Analysis: Kaworu's Origins.

Battle

Kaworu directly manipulated Evangelion Unit 02 from the outside and headed directly down to Terminal Dogma with the captured Eva. Shinji was sent down to fight in Evangelion Unit 01, fighting the commandeered Unit 02 with his progressive knife. After blocking out all communications with an A.T. Field barrier, Kaworu succeeded in reaching Terminal Dogma, only to discover that the giant crucified inside was not Adam, but Lilith. Unit 01 (With the probable assistance of Rei Ayanami and her A.T. Field) disabled Unit 02 and broke into Terminal Dogma. Kaworu accepted death and requested Shinji Ikari, the pilot, to kill him and let humanity live, a request that Shinji granted after a long hesitation.

Notes

• The name "Nagisa" is a pun. The Kanji character "Nagisa" consists of the Katakana "shi" and the Kanji "sha", forming the word "Shisha", or "messenger". Kaworu, after all, is the final messenger, and the word used for "Angel" in the original Japanese dub is "Shito", or "Apostle" (messenger of God).
• Kaworu, being the vessel for Adam's soul, is in effect Adam reborn as a human. By being both the First Angel (Adam, whose body was separated from her soul 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 being the "Mother of us all". As Kaworu is the vessel for Adam's soul, that paradoxically makes him his own mother.

• Kaworu appears humming the fourth movement of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, the same music that plays during his descent into Terminal Dogma and so serves as a leitmotif for his character. The Ninth Symphony itself is set to an adaptation Friedrich Schiller's Ode to Joy (An dem Freude, to Joy), a poem dedicated to the unity of all men under God.
  • The moment Kaworu opens the doors to Terminal Dogma is in synch with the music line "Und der Cherub steht vor Gott"- "And the Cherub (Angel) stood before God".

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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