Angels
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"Making something... Nurturing something is really great. You can see and learn so many things from the process." |
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"The story presented to the public was just a cover-up." |
Angel (使徒, shito) is an ambiguous term that has various meanings within the Evangelion mythos depending on context.
As most commonly used in the show and elsewhere, the word "Angel" refers to any of Adam's fifteen children, who Nerv must systematically destroy over the course of the story. Adam itself (the designated "First Angel") is occasionally included with its offspring when speaking of Angels collectively.[1]
The matter is complicated when it becomes apparent that the "rivals" of Adam and its children, Lilith and the Lilin (mankind), are counted among the Angels[2][3], as well.
Contents
Usages of the word "Angel" in Neon Genesis Evangelion.
The term "Angel" is rather varied, referring at various times to all human beings in the expanded definition of the term (This includes Seeds of Life, Adam's progeny and mankind). Seele's list of Angels includes the Seeds of Life, Adam and Lilith as the first and second Angels, with the progeny of Adam as Angels three to sixteen and Kaworu Nagisa, the human vessel of Adam's soul, as the seventeenth Angel.
Adam's children
Unleashed from the white moon during Second Impact, the Angels were scattered about the Earth, (at least one ended up in orbit), and began a 15 year incubation period. The series opens with the first of Adam's children (The third Angel, Sachiel, attacking Tokyo-3). Should any of the Angels succeed in reaching Adam (or Lilith), mankind would be destroyed in a destructive Third Impact. It is the task of the Evangelions and their pilots to defeat the Angels. Both Gendo Ikari's and Seele's plans call for the destruction of the Angels. Angels are composed of Particle-wave Matter.
Biology
Blood Type
Dump for now; then re-organize.
- (In episode-03)For the first time, an Angel is described as having "Pattern: Blood Type Blue". "Blue" is the "blood type pattern" associated with Angels, however what exactly this scan means is never elaborated upon.
- Blood Type: Blue, the type associated with the Angels is a reference to the 1978 Japanese sci-fi movie "Blue Christmas", one of series creator Anno's favorite movies, which is also known as… "Blood Type: Blue".
List of Angels
This is a breakdown of all numbered Angels according to the three main Evangelion continuities.
Seele is thought to obtain the Angel names and ordinals from the Secret Dead Sea Scrolls. It is unclear why entities such as the Evangelions (copies of the Seeds) and Rei Ayanami (Lilith's "answer to" Tabris) are not included. Despite the apparent omission, they would also qualify as "Angels", under the more expansive definitive.
The two new Angels that will appear in Evangelion 2.0: You Can (Not) Advance are given a tentative placement in the list. According to a statement made by Gendo in Evangelion 1.0, seven Angels remain to be defeated after the Sixth (Ramiel).
| Thumbnail | Name | Description | Ordinal | ||
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| NGE | Manga | Rebuild | |||
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Adam | The first human on Earth. Progenitor of all "Angelic" Angels. | 1st | 1st | ? |
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Lilith | Progenitor of mankind (Lilin) and all other LCL-based organisms on Earth. | 2nd | 2nd | 2nd |
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Third Angel, New Angel #1 Fought Evangelion Unit-05 at Bethania Base.(Evangelion 2.0) | The mysterious Third Angel of the Rebuild continuity. All subsequent Angels have been shifted up one ordinal. | - | - | 3rd |
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Sachiel | First Angel to be encountered in the series. An amphibious humanoid Angel. | 3rd | 3rd | 4th |
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Shamshel | Arthropod-like Angel with deadly "whips of light". | 4th | 4th | 5th |
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Ramiel | Extremely powerful octahedral Angel with deadly particle beam and immensely strong A.T. Field. | 5th | 5th | 6th |
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Gaghiel | Aquatic Angel the size of an aircraft carrier. Uses sheer size, strength and bite force to wreak havoc with warships. | 6th | 6th | - |
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New Angel #2 | Incredibly large. The opponent in Evangelion Unit-02's debut battle.(Evangelion 2.0) | - | - | 7th |
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Israfel | Twin Angels capable of merging into one body and acting in concert even when independent. | 7th | 7th | - |
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Sandalphon | Rapidly matured while still in embryonic stage in volcano. Capable of withstanding extremes of temperature and pressure. Resembles the Cambrian predator Anomalocaris. | 8th | - | - |
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Matarael | Four-legged spider-like Angel that secretes acid from its ventral eye. | 9th | - | - |
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Sahaquiel | Monstrous Angel that wreaks havoc with satellites and threatens to destroy Tokyo-3 by falling on the city from low earth orbit. | 10th | 7th | 8th |
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Ireul | Microscopic Angel that appears deep inside Nerv Headquarters. Displays an astounding ability to hack into computer systems. | 11th | - | - |
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Leliel | Bizarre Angel with a black hole-like shadow body that exists in higher dimensions. | 12th | - | - |
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Bardiel | Has a physical structure similar to a slime fungus. Parasitizes and gains control over Evangelion Unit-03. | 13th | 8th | 9th |
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Zeruel | Extremely powerful Angel with strong A.T. Field and no shortage of destructive power. Meets an especially brutal fate. | 14th | 9th | 10th |
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Arael | Glowing suborbital birdlike Angel that probes minds from high above. | 15th | 10th | ? |
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Armisael | First appears as a glowing double helix. Capable of changing form and fusing with an Eva. | 16th | 11th | ? |
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Tabris | Ostensibly a fifteen year old human male. Vessel of Adam's soul. | 17th | 12th | ? |
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Lilin | Humans -- as we tend to think of them. | 18th | ? | ? |
Note on Translation
The characters in NGE are actually calling the Angels "Shito", which means "Apostle"; while the Japanese word normally used for the western concept of Angel is "Tenshi". However, this isn't a translation mistake on the part of NGE's U.S. distributors. The "Angel" designation is clearly seen in the show's opening and at various times within the show itself, and the word "Angel" was retained in the English version of the show at the request of the show's Japanese creators.
References
- ↑ Episode 12:
- Misato: "Destroying Angels is my duty."
Ritsuko: "Your duty? Don't make me laugh. This is for your own sake, isn't it? Your revenge against the Angels!" - Misato: "The only thing that was clear to me was I wanted to destroy the Angels who caused the Second Impact. So in order to do that, I joined Nerv."
- Misato: "Destroying Angels is my duty."
- ↑ Lilith's designation as the Second Angel is never provided in-show, although it can be reasonably deduced due to the fact that no Second Angel is ever named, and Lilith is never assigned an ordinal. Its status as Second Angel is stated outright in several supplemental canonical sources (including Bandai's collectible card game, the Classified Information, and Evangelion Chronicle). It is also stated directly in the Rebuild canon:
- Evangelion 1.0: You Are (Not) Alone. Misato (showing Shinji the giant in Central Dogma):
- "[This is] the bringer of life to this planet, and the agent of its extinction. The Second Angel, Lilith."
- Evangelion 1.0: You Are (Not) Alone. Misato (showing Shinji the giant in Central Dogma):
- ↑ Episode 26'. Misato: "Shinji-kun, we humans were born from the one called Lilith -- a source of life, just like Adam. We are the 18th Angel."
| Angels |
| Angels (general) |
| First and Second Angels (Seeds of Life): Adam | Lilith |
| Third to Seventeenth Angels (Adam's Children): |
| Sachiel | Shamshel | Ramiel | Gaghiel | Israfel | Sandalphon | Matarael | Sahaquiel |
| Ireul | Leliel | Bardiel | Zeruel | Arael | Armisael | Tabris |
| Eighteenth Angel: Lilin |
| Rebuild of Evangelion: ?Adams? | Lilith | 3rd Angel | 4th Angel | 5th Angel | 6th Angel | 7th Angel | 8th Angel | 9th Angel | 10th Angel | 11th Angel | 12th Angel | 1st/13th Angel |
| Other: Extracanonical Angels |
