Rei Ayanami
|
"Making something... Nurturing something is really great. You can see and learn so many things from the process." |
| Rei Ayanami | |
| |
| 綾波レイ | |
| Rank / Title | First Children (Rebuild): First Girl |
|---|---|
| Affiliation(s) | Nerv |
| National Heritage | Japanese |
| Relations | Yui Ikari (cloned from), Gendo Ikari (Nerv Commander), Shinji Ikari (son of Yui Ikari) |
| Age | 14 (biologically) |
| Birthday | Unknown |
| Seiyū | Megumi Hayashibara |
| Voice Actor | (English): Amanda Winn Lee (TV/Films), Brina Palencia (Rebuild) (Italian): Valentina Mari (Brazilian): Priscila Concépcion (French):Stéphanie Lafforgue (Spanish, Spain): Gaby Ugarte, (Spanish, Latin America): Circe Luna (German): Marie Bierstedt |
Rei Ayanami[1] is the First Child, designated pilot of Evangelion Unit-00.
Character Summary
Creation
Main articles: Episode 21, Episode 22, Episode 23
Rei Ayanami is a clone of Yui Ikari. On some level, she may also incorporate DNA from the Second Angel, Lilith, seeing as she is the vessel for Lilith's soul. Rei Ayanami was created sometime between the year 2004, and 2008, as suggested by her appearance in Episode 21. At this stage, she is a child capable of walking unaided, apparently around four years old in 2010. She is later seen in 2015 apparently aged 14. This would suggest that on some level, Commander Ikari has the ability to manipulate her growth. In Terminal Dogma, a large tank of spare Rei clones are maintained. These are referred to by Ritsuko Akagi as being 'Spare Parts' for the Dummy Plug system.
Rei's reason for creation was as a controllable link between Gendo Ikari, and Lilith. It appears to have been his intention to use Rei to control Human Instrumentality Project, and allow him to see Yui again in the End of Evangelion. The reason why the DNA of Yui Ikari was used is not explicitly stated. It may be due to Commander Ikari's desire to be with his wife once more, in whatever way possible.
Introduction and Injury
Main articles: Episode 1, Episode 2, Episode 3
The very first time we see Rei is Rei 3's appearance to Shinji on the street near the beginning of the episode. The first time we see Rei 2, the Rei we meet for most of the series, she is badly injured and wrapped in bandages. Rei is in so much pain that she has trouble even sitting up. This evokes a sense of sympathy in us and Shinji. An extra piece of animation showing Rei collapsed on the floor in this scene was added in Death.
We learn later that these injuries were caused during the activation experiment with Eva-00 which Gendo supervised. While Gendo was concerned enough for Rei's safety during the activation test to rescue her himself[2], he now treats her coldly when Kozo questions Gendo sending out Rei in Eva-01. It has been suggested that using Rei in this way was a ruse to get Shinji to pilot Eva-01 when Misato and Ritsuko couldn't convince him.
During episode 2, Rei is wheeled pass Shinji in a hospital bed, mirroring episode 1. Instead of vacantly staring up as she was in episode 1, Rei now glares at Shinji as she passes. In episode 3, Rei has crutches propped up against her school desk but isn't seen using them.
Living Conditions
Main article: Episode 5
During episode 5 we learn that Rei lives alone in her apartment, numbered 402. Her apartment is part of a large block of apartment buildings on the western edge of Tokyo-3 that is in the process of being demolished[3]. From this episode it becomes clear just how little Rei values her own personal space and comfort. When Rei emerges from the shower naked, she seems completely unconcerned that Shinji can see her. Instead, she is upset that he is handling Gendo's Glasses. Even when he falls on top of her, she treats it as a minor annoyance, and asks him to please move. She then gets up and dresses in his presence quite casually. It should be kept in mind that this scene is the first time they actually spoke to each other. When Shinji later brings the event up in order to apologize Rei doesn't seem to care. This seems to show that Rei has so little experience with other people that she has no idea of the effect that her nudity might have upon a teenage boy.[4] Rei is only roused to anger in this episode when Shinji speaks disparagingly about his own father and Rei slaps him.
Unit-00 Activation
Main articles: Episode 5, Episode 6
Rei participated in Eva-00's activation experiment in Test Facility 2. When the process of synchronization reached phase 3, approaching the absolute borderline, Eva-00 suddenly went berserk and the entry plug was auto-ejected. Rei was badly injured as a result of the ejection of the entry plug, her left arm and eye being damaged. This is when Rei obtains Gendo's glasses and this is the moment when we learn why Rei treasures them.
Just prior to the re-activation experiment, Rei smiles as she puts on her plugsuit, as she recalls when Gendo came to her aid during the failed activation experiment. In the manga, Gendo's glasses case is present on the bench next to Rei in this scene.
Rei takes Gendo's glasses with her into the Entry Plug during the re-activation experiment which helps to calm her and thus the re-activation experiment is successful. After the re-activation is complete, Rei tilts her head back in the entry plug and a number of air bubbles escape her mouth[5], this indicates that Rei had held her breath throughout the entire re-activation experiment, showing how nervous she was. Rei also takes Gendo's glasses with her into the entry plug prior to the fight with Ramiel, as she believed she was going to die during the battle.
Towards the end of episode 5, Rei curiously watches Shinji and Eva-01 as he moves out from the cage.
The End of Evangelion
Profile and Relationships with Other Characters
Item 1
Item 2
Item 3
References
- ↑ Rei is a pun on the Japanese word for "zero", and Ayanami is the name of a warship, the [Ayanami destroyer]. For more information on how Rei and the other characters were named, see Character Name Origins.
- ↑ Remember that Rei is actually part of a series of clones produced in Nerv HQ; the Rei we see here is actually the second Rei, or "Rei II". When one Rei dies, she can be replaced with another. So why would Gendo risk badly injuring his hands to save Rei if, by her own admission later in the series, she can be replaced?
- Gendo might be trying to keep up the charade that Rei is not a clone to the other Nerv personnel involved in the activation experiment; most of them do not know that she is a clone.
- Gendo might have just been swept up in the moment; he cares a great deal about Rei because of her connection to Yui, and might just not want to see any harm come to her even if she can be resurrected.
- ↑ When Shinji enters Rei's apartment, he notices that her floor is conspicuously dirty and badly scuffed by her shoes, before proceeding to take off his own shoes. In Japan, it is of course customary to take off one's shoes when entering a home, and this is a telltale sign to a Japanese audience (perhaps not quite as noticeable to a North American audience) that Rei is indifferent and aloof to her surroundings. Also, she apparently hasn't opened any of her mail in quite some time, but just lets her mailbox overflow. There is still blood on Rei's pillow from when she was injured. As she is not injured now, and wasn't wearing bandages even the day before, it appears that she just didn't bother to wash it.
- ↑ Similarly, it is possible that her Adamite counterpart, Kaworu, has no idea of how his suggestion that he and Shinji go to bed together might be interpreted.
- ↑ Rei appears unusually relaxed when sitting in the LCL of the Entry Plug, after the reactivation test ends. At several points throughout the series, Rei almost seems to "bathe" in LCL.
| 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 |
