Misato Katsuragi: Difference between revisions
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As the series progresses, Misato's role and relationship with Shinji grows up to be more than just a legal guardian and proceeds to be a rather complex one, although mainly of a family type of bond. | As the series progresses, Misato's role and relationship with Shinji grows up to be more than just a legal guardian and proceeds to be a rather complex one, although mainly of a family type of bond. | ||
==In Evangelion | ==In Rebuild of Evangelion == | ||
{{expand}} | {{expand}} | ||
Revision as of 02:53, 24 March 2014
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"Making something... Nurturing something is really great. You can see and learn so many things from the process." |
| Misato Katsuragi | |
| |
| 葛城 ミサト | |
| Rank / Title | Captain (01~11), Major (12+) |
|---|---|
| Affiliation(s) | Nerv (formerly Gehirn) |
| National Heritage | Japanese |
| Relations | Dr. Katsuragi (father), Ryoji Kaji (lover), Pen Pen (pet) |
| Age | 29 |
| Birthday | 12/08/1986 |
| Seiyū | Kotono Mitsuishi |
| Voice Actor | (English): Allison Keith (Italian): Stella Musy (series), Francesca Guadagno (movies) (Brazilian): Vanessa Alves (French): Laurence Bréheret (Spanish): Toni Rodríguez (German): Julia Kaufmann |
Misato Katsuragi[1] (葛城ミサト) is a Captain, and later a Major, at Nerv. She is in command of Nerv HQ's Tactical Operations branch, responsible for coordinating the Evangelions in actual combat (as opposed to the Science Division, headed by Misato's longtime friend Dr. Ritsuko Akagi). She is the daughter of Dr. Katsuragi, and the sole survivor of his expedition, otherwise wiped out as a result of Second Impact. As an adult, Misato is transferred to Tokyo-3 shortly before the Angels reappear. She takes Shinji Ikari, and later Asuka Langley Soryu, into her home. She also seems to have worked directly with Asuka in Germany[2]. She has a pet "hot springs penguin" named Pen Pen.
Summary
First week in Tokyo 3
We first see Misato when she comes to pick up Shinji and get him to safety right after he gets to witness Sachiel's formidable power. After deftly getting him out of danger in her car, she and Shinji introduce themselves to each other. After arriving in the Nerv facility, Misato tells Shinji she arrived here recently once they get lost. After being found by Ritsuko Akagi, she guides both Misato and Shinji towards Unit One's cage, where Gendo is waiting for Shinji. After Shinji refuses to pilot, Misato tries to support him and give him advice, but that doesn't do much for changing Shinji's decision.
Profile
Misato is described by Hideaki Anno as someone who "lives life so lightly as to barely allow the possibility of a human touch. She protects herself by having surface level relationships, and running away"[3] Misato does certainly seem to fear commitment, responsibility, and emotional disclosure.
In an interview, Anno also described Misato as an older Tsukino Usagi/Sailor Moon (whose hair is similar)[4].
The Misato first seen in the series appears to have two sides to her personality: at work she is a tough, competent Tactical Operations director, and at home she is a goofy, uninhibited person who likes skimpy clothing and knocking back beer after beer[5] in her messy apartment.
But the hidden Misato is a deeply troubled woman, with unresolved family and social issues. Part of this is due to trauma from being on the site of Second Impact but it has as much to do with her family life, particularly her father.
Despite being the head of Nerv's Tactical Operations division, Misato is apparently a relatively new arrival at Nerv HQ, as she gets lost on her way into the base, prompting Ritsuko to comment that she's "lost again". In the next episode, Misato says that she just moved to Tokyo-3 "the other day" and there are still unopened boxes in her apartment.
Misato's Relationships
With her Father
According to her, Misato’s father was very much like Gendo Ikari[6] in that he buried himself in work and shrank from human contact, but also like Shinji in that he was described as fragile and weak. Misato thought she hated her father, but then he saved her life during the Second Impact by placing her in an escape pod. With Dr. Katsuragi dead and no chance to explore what she saw as a sudden turn in their relationship, Misato was left both extremely ambivalent about her feelings for him and with a burning desire for revenge against the Angels. In Episode 12 Ritsuko even accuses her of putting her vengeance ahead of the fate of the world by concocting a mission that had virtually no chance of success.
With Kaji
When she met Ryoji Kaji in college, Misato was at first happy with him, but later dumped him by telling him she loved another person. Later on in the series (episode 15) she admits that this was a lie, and that actually she found that Kaji reminded her too much of her father, and fearing the implications of this, Misato fled from him.[7] It is also implied in Episode 25 that Misato was in some way afraid of the pleasure she felt with Kaji, because (among other reasons) she did not feel she deserved it.
In Episode 25 Misato also says that though she first wanted to be a "good child" for the sake of her mother, she grew sick of that, and wanted to stain herself and her reputation. She is asked if that’s why she slept with "that man" (presumably Kaji), but is unable to sort out her feelings. The other characters in Instrumentality call her disgusting, and Misato has also said that of herself, admitting using sex as an escape from reality and loneliness.
Despite the intimate nature of their relationship, Miasto and Kaji address each other rather formally, using their family names, Katsuragi and Kaji, rather than their personal names, Misato and Ryoji.[8]
After Kaji's death Misato switches from drinking beer to apparently equal amounts of canned coffee.
With Shinji
Misato's relationship with Shinji is a very multilayered one, with certain aspects of it being the subject of strong controversy.
Misato's first action regarding Shinji sending him a photograph of herself to let him know what she looked like when she picked him up: A humorously inappropriate (and revealing) photo of her wearing cutoff jeans and leaning forward in a tank top, winking at Shinji and giving him the V-sign (She also left a lipstick kiss on it). The Japanese writing on it translates as "To Shinji: I'll be picking you up, so wait for me, okay?" (apparently written in creator Hideaki Anno's own handwriting). Misato also punctuated the photo with the highly inappropriate message, "Pay attention!!" with an arrow pointing to her breasts. This could be an early indication of Misato's unusual personality even before she appears on screen.
As the series progresses, Misato's role and relationship with Shinji grows up to be more than just a legal guardian and proceeds to be a rather complex one, although mainly of a family type of bond.
In Rebuild of Evangelion
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|
"Making something... Nurturing something is really great. You can see and learn so many things from the process." |
| Misato Katsuragi (Rebuild) | |
Misato Katsuragi in 3.0  | |
| 葛城 ミサト | |
| Rank / Title | Lieutenant Colonel (1.0), Colonel (2.0) Captain(of the AAA Wunder) (3.0) |
|---|---|
| Affiliation(s) | Nerv Wille (3.0) |
| National Heritage | Japanese |
| Relations | Dr. Katsuragi (father), Pen Pen (pet) |
| Age | 29 43 (3.0) |
| Birthday | 12/08/1986 |
| Seiyū | Kotono Mitsuishi |
| Voice Actor | (English): Allison Keith (Italian): Francesca Guadagno (Brazilian): Vanessa Alves (French): Laurence Bréheret (Spanish): Toni Rodríguez (German): Julia Kaufmann |
Unlike her series counterpart, Misato knows that the giant in Terminal Dogma is Lilith, and even identifies it as such to Shinji.
Misato's rank in Evangelion 1.0 is "Lieutenant Colonel" while in Evangelion 2.0, she is promoted off-screen to "Colonel". This places her higher in Nerv's hierarchy (However, any officers outranking her, apart from Gendo and Fuyutsuki, are yet to appear). In Evangelion 3.0, Misato is the naval Captain of Wille's airborne flagship, the AAA Wunder. She wears her hair in a knot and speaks in a far sterner tone of voice, but otherwise appears to have aged little over the 14-year timeskip.
Misato in Other Media
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"Making something... Nurturing something is really great. You can see and learn so many things from the process." |
In the Manga
Notes
- Misato's ID card is fully visible in episode 25. Her age is listed as 29. Her blood type is AO (both the genotype "AA" and "AO" are indistinguishable as the "type A" phenotype). Her height is listed as 1.63m (5'4"). Her bust is 83cm (32.7 inches). Her waist, 59cm (23.2 inches). Her hip measurement is listed as 82cm (32.2 inches). Her weight is 47kg ( 103.4 pounds).
- According to Sadamoto, Misato is a car buff[Source needed], and her apartment is littered with several car magazines; Gainax character designer and animator Yoshiyuki Sadamoto is himself a car enthusiast. Misato's Car is Renault Alpine A310, and in the new Evangelion movies, she eventually drives a Mazda Cosmo.
- She has a faint scar running diagonally under her right breast. This scar was a result of an injury inflicted (presumably by flying shrapnel) while Misato was taken by her father to safety minutes before Second Impact.
Analysis
It is unknown why Misato was in Antarctica for Second Impact. One doesn't normally take one's daughter along on a classified and highly dangerous mission. Thus it has been speculated that perhaps she was intended to have some part in the experiment, especially as she is, at this time, approximately the same age as the pilots will be fifteen years later. However, there is no evidence presented in the show to support this theory. Also, Yui seemingly had no trouble bringing Shinji along for her Contact Experiment[9], so perhaps like her, Dr. Katsuragi wanted to show his child the "bright future".
References
- ↑ Misato is named after the Aircraft Carrier Katsuragi, which was built too late to enter World War II and scrapped before construction was complete. As in the case of Maya Ibuki, her name in Kanji is identical to that of the warship and the mountain it was named after. For more on how Misato and the other characters were named see Character Name Origins.
- ↑ in Episode 22 Asuka comments, "Oh, Misato's the person who was in Germany before you, Mr. Kaji."
- ↑ Hideaki Anno: What were we trying to make here?
- ↑ http://lists.onegeek.org/pipermail/oldeva/1997-November/002387.html
- ↑ The brand of beer that is Misato drinks is "Yebisu" which is actually a real-life brand of beer in Japan. When the series was originally broadcast in Japan, the TV network the series was airing on complained that they didn't want to advertise for Yebisu for free like this, so by Episode 2 the name was changed to the fictional "Yebichu" (named as a direct homage to the manga series, "Oruchuban (Ebichu)"). However, when the series was released on video and DVD the name "Yebisu" was restored.
- ↑ When Shinji says he doesn't get along with his father, Misato says he sounds just like her.
- ↑ The Kaji seen in the series doesn’t seem to relate to Misato’s descriptions of her father, a weak workaholic; perhaps this is an unseen side of Kaji.
- ↑ Misato only calls Kaji by his given name once, when she catches him sneaking into the LCL Production Plant, and, even then, only because she is addressing him formally by his full name and title.
- ↑ Episode 21
| 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 |
