Asuka Langley Soryu
| Asuka Langley Soryu | |
| |
| 惣流・アスカ・ラングレー | |
| Age | 13 |
|---|---|
| Birthday | 12/04/2001 |
| Seiyū | Yuko Miyamura |
Asuka Langley Soryu is the Second Children, designated pilot of Evangelion Unit-02. She is 1/4 Japanese and 1/4 German (from her mother Kyoko Zeppelin Soryu's side), although her nationality is American, as is, apparently, her father's. Until some point in 2015, Asuka lived in Germany, where she met Misato Katsuragi and Ryoji Kaji. After traveling to Japan with Kaji, Asuka moved in with Misato and Shinji Ikari and became one of the major characters in the series.
Contents
Profile
Asuka and Kyoko
After her Contact Experiment with Evangelion Unit-02 Kyoko Zeppelin Soryu went insane and committed suicide. Before Kyoko killed herself she would talk to a doll that she thought was Asuka and ask her daughter to die with her, as Asuka's father wanted neither of them. One day, the young Asuka opened the door to see that Kyoko had hung herself along with the doll.When her mother told Asuka that she was not wanted, and so should die with her, it might have been the impetus for Asuka’s entire teenage personality, as she certainly tries to make people "notice" her, and also to assert her independence and adulthood.
As an Eva pilot
As a consequence of these needs, Asuka loves to pilot an Evangelion because it gets people to pay attention to her, but beyond that, Asuka seems to have a genuine zest for piloting, that it makes her feel powerful. But because Asuka does not pilot out of a pure warrior’s spirit, she is trapped in the same bind that Shinji Ikari is, of being unable to have an identity separate from an Evangelion.
Asuka is so identified with piloting that the loss to Zeruel in Episode 19 devastates her. This, followed by a mind-rape from Arael that forced Asuka to relive childhood trauma, and then being rescued by Rei Ayanami, whom she despised, started a breakdown that lead to a nearly comatose state in which she cared about nothing.
Relationships with others
Asuka tends to push people away, acting abrasive towards others if not snubbing them completely. She also tends to avoid relationships with boys of her own age (despite her popularity with them), possibly to enhance her own image of "maturity". For this same reason, Asuka prefers to chase after the adult Ryoji Kaji though he ignores her advances. Asuka also attended college, despite being a minor. It is unknown what degree she received, but the concept of Asuka being a prodigy appears restricted to Episode 10 and Episode 11, and the rest of the show proceeds with nothing at all to show for the enormous intelligence her college degree implicates.
Episode 22 demonstrates that Asuka also tries to appear totally independent in order to distance herself from the sadness caused by her mother’s death, swearing that she would never cry again. Episode 25, however, reveals that Asuka really doesn’t want to be alone, that retreating from others didn’t cure her pain. Despite her outer strength, Asuka does not have inner happiness.
With Shinji
Asuka is attracted to Shinji Ikari, which appears to cause conflict in her. Initially Asuka seemed to view Shinji as competition in Episode 08 because of all the praise he was getting, and she tried hard to show off to him, even though Shinji didn’t act like competition. Following this, Asuka showed frustration with Shinji’s accepting nature and reflexive apologies, often arguing with him, but Asuka also flirted with Shinji and seemed disappointed when he didn’t respond.
While sometimes Asuka’s behavior towards Shinji can be viewed as standard romantic-comedy ribbing, there are darker undertones to it, as when she almost suffocates Shinji while she kisses him, by holding his nose shut at the same time (Episode 15). Episode 22, however, shows Asuka internally complaining of Shinji. "You won't do anything!" (after the "Wall of Jericho" sequence from Episode 09, in which Shinji didn’t take to her reverse psychology), "You won’t help me! (Ironically, Shinji saved Asuka from the volcano in Episode 10) "You won’t even hold me!", (upset that Shinji didn't hold her while they kissed in Episode 15), demonstrating the true nature of her feelings towards him.
With Rei
Asuka’s relationship with Rei Ayanami is also strained. Though it starts with Asuka often mocking Rei, later in the series Asuka acts blatantly hostile towards her, likely reflecting Asuka’s own deteriorating level of control. But the motivation is the same in either case: Asuka hates Rei because she’s the opposite of everything Asuka has tried to be. She also sees Rei as being a doll, only doing what's ordered. Rei herself even admitted that she'd die if ordered to. All of this upsets Asuka due to her traumatic childhood experience with dolls.
End of Evangelion
In Episode 25' Asuka appeared to have regained her power through contact with her mother’s soul, but it is debatable as to how much Asuka was in control, and how much was Eva-02 acting independently.
During the beginnings of Pre-Instrumentality, Asuka told Shinji that she knows how he masturbated by her bedside at the start of Episode 25', and told him to "Do it again like usual... I'll even stand here and watch." But she also said that couldn’t have Shinji all to herself, she didn’t want anything from him, indicating that she wanted to possess him utterly. In Pre-Instrumentality, Asuka also told Shinji to stay away--for all he ever did was hurt her--and accused him of only going to her for help because she was the person who would hurt him the least.
Although Asuka was the first person to return to human form after Shinji rejected Instrumentality, it was unclear why she did this. She may have been motivated by a strong will to live, or merely a desire not to be so close to others’ souls, as one of her lines towards Shinji in Pre-Instrumentality was, "But, if I have to be with you, I'd rather die!"
Despite wearing bandages that coincide with her final battle injuries in the final scene of The End of Evangelion, the fact Asuka was able to move her right arm and caress Shinji's cheek suggests she imagined herself in her own heart as healed. Asuka caressing Shinji's cheek to begin with also suggests that her personality could change for the better.
In other 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 than a friend. However, after Kaworu's death, Shinji comes to visit Asuka in the hospital, similar to End of Evangelion. He confesses his love to her in a way, saying "The Asuka I want to protect isn't this empty shell!" She wakes up from her coma after this, and begins to choke Shinji, screaming about how she "hates everyone."
In other Eva-based Manga
Asuka in GoS2 manga, Ikari Shinji Raising Project, that school battle manga...
Asuka in Rebuild of Evangelion
The poster for Rebuild of Evangelion 2.0 lists Asuka's name as "Shikinami Asuka Langley", Shikinami being a World War Two era Japanese destroyer whose name literally means "Spreading Waves". The poster also mentions that while Asuka is still the "Second Girl" (Rebuild of Evangelion uses the terms "Boy" and "Girl" to refer to each of the children), she now has the rank of Captain.
Notes
- "Anta baka?" becomes a trademark line delivered by Asuka frequently, usually directed at Shinji. The best translation is "Are you stupid?". Throughout the series and movies, "Anta baka" is said 15 times, "baka" by itself is said 10 times and "baka Shinji" ("Stupid Shinji") is said 9 times.
- In Episode 08, Asuka's seiyu, Yuko Miyamura, noticeably struggles to pronounce Asuka's extended piece of German dialogue as she is starting up Eva-02. The English voice actress for Asuka, Tiffany Grant, quickly recites the German startup list much more fluidly. Aside from the fact that Tiffany Grant speaks German in real life, English and German are fairly closely related languages, while German is entirely alien to a speaker of Japanese. In the original Japanese track, Asuka actually speaks German only at two distinct points in the entire series: in Episode 08 when Asuka recites Eva 02's startup checklist, and later in Episode 22 when she has a phone conversation in German with her stepmother. For the English dub, Tiffany Grant (aided by her ability to speak German in real life) inserted many German words and phrases for Asuka to speak, not just in this episode but throughout the series in every episode in which she appears, to give a greater overall impression that Asuka is German but has learned to speak Japanese like everyone else.
- Asuka is the character with the most consistent "color scheme" in the series. Her Plug suit, Interface Headset, Evangelion, and hair are all red. This might be meant to symbolize her temperamental, passionate personality.
- Asuka is also the only Children whose number designation matches with her Evangelion's.
- Asuka’s blue eyes and red hair are the inverse of Rei Ayanami’s blue hair and red eyes, perhaps a reference to their opposite personalities.
- Going by Asuka's official birthday, she is actually 13 for the majority of the series, as opposed to 14 (the "official age" for Eva pilots). Curiously enough, her age is provided as 14 in official materials, even, in some instances, right in juxtaposition with her birthday (e.g., Evangelion Chronicle)!
- Asuka is named after two warships. Her Japanese surname comes from the Aircraft Carrier Soryu, which took part in the Pearl Harbor attack and was sunk at the Battle of Midway, along with sister vessel Hiryu and carriers Akagi (Ritsuko and Naoko's namesake) and Kaga. Her American surname (Her father's) is taken from the USS Langley, the first American aircraft carrier, which was sunk by Japanese air attack.
- "Asuka" is taken from Asuka Saki, the heroine of Shinji Wada’s manga Chou-Shoujo Asuka (Super Girl Asuka).
| 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 | 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 |
