Arael

Arael
アラエル
Number	15th
Symbol	Birds
Appearance(s)	Episode 22
Defeated by	Evangelion Unit-00

Arael is the Fifteenth Angel.

Biology

Arael is a luminescent entity in the shape of a bird with multiple sets of wings, some of them completely dwarfing the central body. The core -- difficult to see due to Arael's brightness -- is held outside of the body between two smaller, "brachial" wings. It seems to be several times larger than an Evangelion, based on its size relative to the Spear of Longinus, though Arael and an Eva never physically meet directly. Arael utilizes what seems to be a specialized projection of its A.T. Field as a means of psychologically probing other beings. Due to the fact that the Angel appears in orbit and is fully stationary upon reaching its "vantage point", little more is known about its features or capabilities.

After Arael is pierced by the Spear of Longinus, its body breaks down and swirls into a vortex, finally vanishing in a pinpoint of light. An outburst of red blood is briefly visible upon the Spear's exit.

Battle

Arael first appeared suddenly in Earth orbit. Unlike the previous Angel Sahaquiel, which had previously appeared in orbit, Arael remained stationary in space, outside of the range of the Evangelions, and showed no signs of moving closer.

With an order forbidding the use of Evangelion Unit-01 after it absorbed the S² Engine from Zeruel, Eva Unit 00 and Unit 02 were launched to the surface of Tokyo-3 and tried to fire on Arael using their long-range particle-beam weapons. However, Arael was so far away in orbit that those shots which actually reached the Angel were of insufficient strength to penetrate its A.T. Field.

Arael then targeted Asuka in Eva-02 with a special beam, based on a projection of its A.T. Field, which psychically attacked Asuka. Arael "mind-raped" Asuka, forcibly replaying traumatic childhood memories in her mind to the point that she was incapacitated.

With the Eva's weapons useless against the Angel while it was in orbit, and unwilling to use Eva-01 against the Angel for fear that Shinji's mind would be compromised as well (and thus possibly compromising Unit 01), Gendo Ikari ordered Rei to use Eva-00 to retrieve the Spear of Longinus from Terminal Dogma where it was pinned into Lilith. Eva-00 then returned to the surface, and hurled the Spear of Longinus into the sky, with so much force that it broke escape velocity and reached Earth orbit. The Spear pierced Arael's A.T. Field and destroyed the Angel. However, the Spear escaped Earth's gravitational pull and entered lunar orbit, ultimately landing on the Moon.

Notes

• Since "Arael" literally means Light of God or Vision of God, it is probably no coincidence that the Angel glows so brightly and that its attack is a specialized beam of light. Arael is named for the patron angel of birds, evident in its avian-like design.
• It has been suggested that the "child-Asuka" that Asuka speaks to during her internal hallucination while on an abandoned playground, might actually be Arael taking on the form of Asuka as a child in order to try to communicate with her (similar to have Armisael later appears to Rei as an image of Rei herself). However, the scene is ambiguous, its not entirely clear what is happening: there is nothing overtly suggesting that the "child-Asuka" is Arael and not just Asuka's hallucination.

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