Asuka Langley Soryu (Other Media)
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SPOILER WARNING! This article or section contains spoiler information from Evangelion media that has been recently released and/or is of limited distribution. Do not read any further if you do not want to spoil your experience of said media. |
Manga Adaption
Apart from having a different shade of hair color (more of a strawberry blonde), Asuka's personality and origins are vastly different from those seen in the anime, being given a far less sympathetic treatment. In the manga she is a test-tube baby, proud of being "The product of an elite sperm and an elite egg". She is also trained in the martial arts, and singlehandedly beats up a group of thugs who threaten her and Shinji. Her family situation is also different- the issue of her father, Langley, is never brought up, but as in the anime, she does want her mother's attention and love. She was actually throttled by her dysfunctional mother, and later "reenacts" this with Shinji when hospitalized.
Unlike the anime, where Shinji has romantic feelings for her, Sadamoto's Shinji thinks of Asuka as "a real bitch", and his relationship with her is one of with a disagreeable coworker but gradually evolves into something of a friend. Similar to the anime, when they first meet in the manga, Shinji calls her "Soryu", and later "Asuka", her first name implying a greater degree of intimacy. However, after Kaworu's death, Shinji comes to visit Asuka in the hospital, similar to The End of Evangelion. He confesses his need for Asuka, saying, "The Asuka I want to protect isn't this empty shell!" She wakes up from her sedated state after this, and begins to choke Shinji, screaming about how she "hates everyone."
Other Eva-based Manga
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"Making something... Nurturing something is really great. You can see and learn so many things from the process." |
Rebuild of Evangelion
Asuka appears in Evangelion 2.0: You Can (Not) Advance with her name modified to Asuka Langley Shikinami (式波・アスカ・ラングレー). The Shikinami is a World War II era Japanese destroyer whose name literally means "Spreading Waves" (it is pronounced "Shkee-nami" instead of "Sheeky-nami"). Her pilot designation is now "Second Girl" (rather than "Second Children") and she possesses the rank of Captain of the European Air Force.
Although her appearance is essentially unchanged from the TV series, her character and personality are noticeably different. Most notably, she talks to and plays with a hand puppet (while Asuka Soryu had a deep hatred of dolls) and is even seen cooking to try to impress Shinji. She does not express any interest in Kaji whatsoever and seems jealous that Shinji likes Rei. It is Asuka Shikinami, not Toji, who becomes the pilot of the ill-fated Eva-03, which is infected by Bardiel and ripped apart by the dummy system controlled Eva-01 in much the same way as in the TV series. She is declared to be dead, even though she is seen still alive and under heavy life support. Her fate at the end of the movie is unknown, although the preview for 3.0 implies that she will return, with an eyepatch over her left eye.
