2015: The Last Year of Ryohji Kaji

Title	2015: The Last Year of Ryohji Kaji
Author	Hiroshi Yamaguchi
Original Publication Date	June 1997
Publisher	Kadokawa Shoten
Pages	80
Dimensions	9 1/2" x 12"

2015: The Last Year of Ryohji Kaji is an Evangelion book that was released in June 1997. It was designed to be Kaji's journal that he kept throughout the Evangelion series, containing his thoughts and motives behind many of his actions. The book contains 30 CG color photos taken by him on his assignments, along with 16 of his written reports and thoughts, included in both Japanese and English translation. The collector's edition of the book was limited to only 2015 copies. (Note that throughout the article we refer to the spelling of Kaji's name as "Ryoji", slightly different from the spelling used in the book's title). 2015 was written by Hiroshi Yamaguchi, who is credited as the co-writer of episodes 16, 22 and 23 of Evangelion. The images are by Ichiro Kamei.

The Following are the translations of his reports:

A conversation with Ryoji Kaji through a certain channel

Undercover military bases are usually made underground. Am I wrong? At least in TV animations I used to watch. And so they dug here. "Undercover" doesn't fit the sunlight. And then?

Which one do you want to know?
The outline of the operation of Replenishing Mankind?
Or the truth of Second Impact?
Or the aim of the ANGEL?
Or the relationship between ADAM and LILITH and EVA?
Or the identity of the men called the committee?
Or that of what we call "the spear"?
Or the aim of Commander Ikari. Or. Or. Or. Or.

OK, that's enough. Cut it out. You must have got it.

As long as you have a secret, a question will chase it.

You'd better take what you see for the truth.

Am I wrong?

Well,...

Now it is my turn. What is the door for, opening or closing?

What do you think? Don't look at me like that.

This is a very important question for me. Especially in here, the deepest underground, there are so many doors.

Well, well, well. What do you think?

If you'd like to say, "I don't know" How about this instead? "The door should be opened by force." That's the reason. That's why I'm here.

From a note of Ryoji Kaji

Blue is the colour of the nerves
Purple is the colour of the priest costume
Red is the colour of the arteries
Dang, Dang, Dang
The colours come into my sight
The illumination of a gunfight
Grey is the colour of bombing
Taste of rust spreading in my mouth
Feeling rigid rocks beneath my feet
Dang, Dang, Dang
Drumming of primitive ages
Rhythm of insanity
Dance of the giants
Holding guns of madness
Dang, Dang, Dang
When humans were not humans
When they were neighbour of beasts
Memories were carved in their brain
With a knife of fury
Dang, Dang, Dang
The arms
Dang, Dang, Dang
The legs
Dang, Dang, Dang
The eyes
Dancing giants: coloured in blue, purple, and red
This is the village of the giants
There live the gods expelled from heaven's seats
Still is the sun shining above their heads

Ryoji Kaji's note

EVA-00 Prototype. It is produced as an experimental model, the first Evangelion. The operator Rei Ayanami. Out of control right after starting and temporarily suspended. After suspension back to the battle field and terribly damaged. Afterward fixed the equipment and colour coating, back again.

EVA-01 Test Type. The model produced with actual fighting in view. The operator, Shinji Ikari. Sent to the battle field immediately without testing. Even though a great deal of damage and out of control, succeeded in destroying the enemy.

EVA-02 The first production model. The operator, Asuka Langley Soryu. The model assembled in Germany.

There are some peculiarities to be mentioned about EVA-01. It made unbelievable results in actual fighting. Besides Commander Ikari's attachment and persistence, this model seems to be primarily protected. But it has been sent to fight so many times. Their intention unidentified. There is a possibility that they let it go out of control intentionally. We have to be careful about exchanging experiment between these Evas. Some doubts about choosing the operators. Keep an eye on the Marduk Institute.

P.S.: Check again the record of the accident of Gendou Ikari's wife, Yui.

Voice data left by Ryoji Kaji

One boy
I'll tell you a few things about him
This boy is always looking for something
He seems so at least to me
He stops once in a while
He hesitates
He meditates
He never wants anything
He just stops without reason
The boy asks me something
As if he wanted to be saved
As if he was trying to get relieved
Watermelons grow with water and the sunlight
Watermelons the only thing he's got
But no human grows
With only watermelon and sunlight
What else has to follow?
A language, supports, and opponents
A lonely boy has nothing
So he is asking for them
But
He is a boy to whom two unfortunate things belong
He has no way of asking
I have no way of teaching
Therefore
I can do nothing but water the watermelons
In front of his knees
The watermelon
This is the only thing I can choose
I know it is meaningless
The boy will find the way with his mind reckless
I strongly believe so

An extract from Ryoji Kaji's note

You see ruins everywhere
Shell mounds of ancient days the palace fallen into decay
The streets buried under clay
Gorgeous and enormous tumulus in the desert
To call the scar of human life a ruin
This place will be called so
TOKYO-3
What will be left?
Future generations will find a titanium complex huge gun stuck to the ground?
Will they know this is the sign of the giant fighters
Is it a complete misunderstanding?
No
It might be correct
This city belongs to the giants
Humans are subject to them?
The relationship of master and servant is easily converted
The truth fades earlier than the ruins
In hundreds, thousands, and millions of years
An obscure mass is going to break into pieces
Future generations can't do anything but guess
Only if they survive till then
You see ruins everywhere
Maybe all over the world sometimes later

Ryoji Kaji, an extract from an anonymous letter never posted

How long have I been away from writing a letter? I haven't seen my own handwriting for ages. It is so difficult like trying to pick up something fragile on a swinging boat. I don't know where I should begin. Am I afraid to start writing? I'm just trying to write to forget what I've seen. So I've made up my mind to write down only scraps of my own memory. EVA. These three letters from the word of the beginning. Perhaps it, I can tell now, might be the word of the ending. ADAM. That's a fragment of the truth. Tiny silver square box in my hand. It's so light as to hold easily with one hand. It is the weight of the truth. And it is the cost of my life spent there for several years. The boat swings again. The word swing away. With EVA and ADAM. I've never expected to see you again. I might have expected that it had finished by then. No! Here is the beginning of the end. I'm telling a lie even to myself. Dancing letters decorated with lies. If this letter were worth reading, the lies would be worth telling. It is so difficult like trying to get something fragile on a swinging boat. A liar can be a liar when he keeps his lie to his grave. So I decided to tell you a lie. I put this letter in the bottom of the baggage. Because no postman will come to pick it up.

A never posted letter by Ryoji Kaji

How many letters have I written like this
I got used to writing letters to nobody
Do I just want to leave something
The proof that I lived my life here
What am I to think like this?
Ridiculous!
This will be the last one
I always have a feeling of sinking down
I am in the swamp impossible to get out of
Who is dragging me down from the bottom
No, nobody is dragging
It is me who decide to step into the swamp
The truth I've seen can be worthy of my life?
Have I satisfied my soul?
Just a curiosity at the beginning
Not a sense of mission at all
But now I want to tell you the truth
I know this letter won't be sent to you
because I will never post it
Despite of it, I have tried to inform you
Do I want you to remember my existence?
Leave off talking to myself
It is meaningless
I'm just trying to take responsibility
I have to leave here now
I'll never write again

From the memo written by Ryoji Kaji

SACHIEL, the third ANGEL. The data partly not identified. No details given.
This is the first battle for NERV.
There is a trace of alteration in the record we obtained.

SHAMSHEL, the fourth ANGEL.
We've got the data of the monitor and it's duplication.
We will able to send you the record of the battle of EVA-01 against this one.

RAMIEL, the fifth ANGEL. We have identified it's fragment when it stopped.
Refer to the detailed chart of the Operation Yashima.
We have a report of the quality of AT field.

GAGHIEL, the sixth ANGEL. Identified by the naked eye.
We've got the information from U.N.
I'll send you some data of the battle of EVA-02 against it.

ISRAFEL, the seventh ANGEL. Identified by the marked eye.
We have a lot of data about him. They will be sent by means of 11-B.
We collected the samples of the components.

SANDALPHON, the eighth ANGEL.
We took it in still pictures when it was captured.
We haven't got any information of each stage of its evolution.

MATARAEL, the ninth ANGEL. Identified by the naked eye.
We got its new sample, taking advantage of electricity supply halt.
I'll send it after the data base out of it. Confirm the password again.

SAHAQUIEL, the tenth ANGEL.
There is only one picture taken with super telescopic lens.
It will be recorded by means of 57-F style.

IREUL, the eleventh ANGEL. The flock was identified by the naked eye.
The data are still locked up in NERV.
I'll send the records collected by myself.

LELIEL, the twelfth ANGEL.
EVA-01 went out of control again.
We got its data of restarting. But they are deficient.

BARDIEL, the thirteenth ANGEL.
We succeeded in getting 260 data from the site of the experimental faculties in Matsushiro.
I leave it to you to remove protection.

ZERUEL, the fourteenth ANGEL. Identified by the naked eye.
EVA-01. Revival and out of control
I'll send the movie data of the collecting operation. Thru 23-D
Next contact not fixed yet.

Untitled (handwriting on a piece of paper)

Seeing the scars of the battle
I almost feel dizzy
This is not only because of the burning sun
They say this town was made as a field only for the battle
So many skyscrapers
And everybody knows that
Each one of them is a spear and at the same time a shield
Far back in the past, man was trying to be God
And built a tower high enough to reach the sky
It, however, was broken down by the God
The Apostles
Those who have the names of the angels
They are faithful servants sent by the God
Human beings
Poor creatures
Why do they have to revel against God to satisfy their greed.
The scars of battle
A kind of dizziness, more like despair
I'm sure despair and death are waiting in the future
The human soul will never sing a song of the revival

An extract from the report by Ryoji Kaji

The duplication of ADAM and LILITH. Because they are duplications they have no 'soul' to control themselves. Therefore it is essential for them to have 'operator' as their soul. The operators exchangeable only between EVA-00 and EVA-01. The reason unidentified. The living objects given the same genes pattern of humans. Their aim seems to contact with 'ADAM'. It is thought that they share the same mind. Their forms and acting formations, however, have a great variety.

"The Absolute Terror Field" owned only by ANGEL and EVANGELION. Sense only the "maleficent contacts" and shut them out. Only the same kind of field can neutralize it. It might be a barrier formed by self-defence instinct.

Some doubts about commander Ikari's behaviour. Too many conflicts with "Replenishment Committee" that suggests the existence of two "The Operation of Replenishing". The details not clear yet. Commander Ikari suspected to have the connection with ADAM in underground. The chief of this committee is a man called KEEL. Confirmed the existence of the organization called "SEELE" behind it. The actual situation is under investigation. Connected to "the secret version of Dead Sea Scroll".

Re-investigate the relation between "Gendou Ikari and SEELE". Sneak into "Terminal Dogma". Try again to obtain "the Secret Data"

An extract from abandoned memos

EVA, the root of the mystery.
Amniotic fluid. LCL.
Peace of mind.
The smell of blood
NERV. Just a piece controlled by them.
The operation of Replenishing Mankind.
The whole picture of it is never known.
The CHILDREN, the kids.
MOTHER to cherish her son.
LILITH, ADAM's first wife and LILIM's mother.
Strategic Self-Defense Army.
Never hates to fight a desperate fight nor a war of slaughter.
Palette guns, piercing weapons.
The truth, a meaningless word here.
GEO FRONT, the promised land.
TOKYO-3, full armed city.
LONGINUS's spear, the only weapon to pierce God.
The past, never to return.
Entry plug, connected by force.
The ANGEL, man-like creatures.
Marduk Institute. A false image.
Cannibalism, the ceremony to take others into himself.
Umbilical Cable, the string to maintain life.
Mind too naive to form the basis.
SEELE, pulling strings behind the scenes.
The apostles, the messengers.
Second Impact, the contact with God.
Soul, belonging to humans.
Progressive Knife, the weapon to cut it down.
Self-hurting behaviour. Inferiority complex. Denial of the existence.
ADAM, the cause of the Second Impact.
Out of control, liberation of egos, awakening.
AT Field, protective wall.
FATHER to abandon his son.
Third Impact, the fact already scheduled.

A note scribbled by Ryoji Kaji

One conjuncture
Every human has a shield to protect his soul
Against unbearable agony
Avoid facing the reality
To protect his ego and dignity
Against unidentified objects
The soul has an advanced filter
Strong enough to stop thinking
An example is Cocktail Party Effects
Unconscious choice
The soul greatly effects the body
An example is Placebo Effects
Sometimes it makes a solid shell to lock himself in
Sometimes it takes a terrifying action to fight against the enemy
Defence and offence at the same time
It is only meant to protect his own spirit
AT Field
Standing for
Absolute Terror Field
Sensing only maleficent military objects
The perfect wall to prevent from losing one's pride
It, however, repels and besides invades each other
Communication with others
One conjecture can be made
AT Field is a kind of wall of the soul

The record left in the digital recorder

"It is Second Impact that becomes the root and also the root of everything."

"You mean the root of 'The Operation of Replenishing Mankind'."

"I see."

"That's all I've got now. I'll send you more details later."

"If they know the revival and liberation of EVA-01. SEELE will take action."

"They are not so arrogant."

"I never expect the ANGEL would attack us in such a place."

"There is no doubt that the secret version of the Dead Sea Scroll really exists."

"Marduk Institute does not exist. It is NERV itself that is pulling the strings."

"I'm sure he is alive."

"Hi, you don't look so good, hangover?"

"They are the ANGEL, aren't they? I can't take care of my job anymore."

"It is good for you to grow something, huh?"

"You'd better check the cord number 7-0-7."

"It's ADAM."

"Somebody might have altered the data... very recently."

"Truth is always altered and full of lies."

"I don't see the good reason. This order is an official one."

"Please think carefully of the meaning of the word CHILDREN."

"I know Commander Ikari is using me."

"It's already been restored like this."

"Well, you can't help it"

"The fact is not one and only."

"Is this a part of your plot. Commander Ikari?"

From report of Ryoji Kaji

This was totally different from the battlefields I have ever known. I've seen Korea, Iran, Vietnam, Falkland Islands, and so on. No wonder there is a difference between them. You know the battlefields, where the people hurt each other and stain the ground with their blood. But this place is completely different. In here soldiers may seem human to you, but in fact they are not. The wall prevents anyone without an AT Field from coming over. You see neither tanks nor fighters. Throwing a dark shadow on your eyes, there goes a Giant. A multiple human-shaped fatal weapon; that is a humanoid called EVANGELION. The enemy are unidentified creatures with Angels' name. Seeing them fighting, it looks like a mad combative game. It is Pankration at the risk of the fate of the fate of human beings. TOKYO-3 is made a stage for the battle. We know there lived the slaves killing each other for fame. Are we insane spectators doomed to watch this sad and cruel game?

Message left in an answering machine left in a certain place

"... ... Katsuragi, it's me.
I'm sure you're listening to this message, after I caused you so much trouble.
Sorry.
Please tell Rit-chan "I'm sorry."
And there's one more thing to trouble you with.
I've been growing flowers.
I'd appreciate it if you could water the flowers for me.
Shinji-kun knows where they are.
Katsuragi, the truth is with you.
Don't hesitate. Move ahead!
If I can see you again, I will say the words that I could not say 8 years ago... Bye."

External Links

Carl Gustav Horn's essay on Eva books - includes info on 2015.

List of Official Publications

General: Newtype Film Books | Newtype 100% Collection | Movie Pamphlets | Eva Fan Club | Evangelion Chronicle

Production: Neon Genesis Evangelion Proposal | Evangelion Original | Storyboard Collections | Concept Design Collections

Sore o Nasumono: NGE Concept Design Works | Groundwork of Evangelion

Art Books: Der Mond | Die Sterne | Carmine | 2015: The Last Year of Ryohji Kaji | Photo Files (Adam & Eve) | Evangelion Chronicle Illustrations

Other: E-Mono | Evangelion RPG: The Nerv White Paper | Evangelion RPG: Angelic Advent | End of Evangelion: Boku to iu Shingou | It's A Miraculous Win| | All About Kaworu Nagisa: A Child of the Evangelion | Schizo/Parano

Rebuild of Evangelion

General: Movie Pamphlets | Groundwork of Evangelion | Evangelion the New Movies: Storyboards | Eva Extra

Eva 1.0: Evangelion 1.0: Entry File 1 | Evangelion 1.0 Complete Records Collection

Eva 2.0: Evangelion 2.0 Complete Records Collection