Evangelions
- Misato Katsuragi: "What in hell *is* an Eva?!"
Ritsuko Akagi: "It's a thing created by Man in Man's own image. I really can't describe it any other way".
Misato: ""Created by Man"?! You didn't create anything! You just copied something you found in the Antarctic! What was the original? That's what I want to know!"
Ritsuko: "This is not just a copy".
- Misato Katsuragi: "What in hell *is* an Eva?!"
An Evangelion (エヴァンゲリオン) is a giant cybernetic combat unit built by Nerv with the express purpose of defeating attacks by the Angels. At first glance, Evangelions (often called Evas for short) appear to be giant humanoid "robots". However, most of an Evangelion is actually organic -- with external armor hiding their true appearance.
Evas are (essentially) genetically-modified clones of the First Angel, Adam. After being "grown", they receive cybernetic implants, namely in the spine and upper torso, which allows humans to control them -- both in terms of manipulating ("piloting") them, and keeping their incredible power under control. The armor plating and mechanical implements grafted onto their bodies actually act first and foremost as "restraints", although exactly how this works is never elaborated upon.
As Adam-based beings, Evangelions are capable of generating an A.T. Field, a super-force field against which conventional attacks are useless. Due to the fact that an A.T. Field is the only thing that can neutralize another A.T. Field, the Evas are humanity's only means of combating the Angels.
Biology and Design
Evangelions are gigantic humanoid organic creatures. While their "normal" height appears to be around 40 meters, based on the relative size of the entry plugs and people next to Evas, this is not consistent within the series. There are several scenes where Evangelion height is exaggerated for dramatic effect, at times reaching a towering 200 meters in height.
While Evangelion hands are almost identical to normal human hands, Eva heads vary wildly in shape, with varying eye configurations. Some skulls from failed Evangelions, seen in Episode 25', look very humanlike, while others appear utterly alien. Evangelion Unit-01, Unit-02, and Unit-03 all have visible nostril holes on their helmets(Very small on Eva-01 and seen in very few cuts), their nostrils being placed high on the head and above the eyes.
Evangelion torsos resemble human torsos generally, but are greatly exaggerated in their proportions, with a highly pinched waist and excessively broad shoulders. The solar plexus region of every Eva has an exposed core, attached to the Eva with what appear like blood vessels or veinous tissue. As Evangelions are covered in armor and bindings, the core is not visible unless the armor above it is destroyed.
General design notes
Internal Power Limitations
Unlike Adam and the Angels, Evas do not have S2 Organs, and are not capable of continuous operation, or sustaining high power levels indefinitely, relying instead on external power supplied through an umbilical cable running into their back. This can be removed for greater mobility (or can be severed from battle damage), after which an Eva has to rely on internal battery power. Internal battery power is quoted as being able to supply power only for "one minute at maximum usage or a maximum of five minutes with gain", however the one-minute rule is either applied or ignored as a particular situation deems, apparently being applied in the battles with Gaghiel and Israfel, but being utterly ignored in the preceding battle with Shamshel. Extra batteries can be attached to Evas, on their shoulder pylons, which give them a greater operational time period. These are used when fighting Matariel during the blackout, but they are not seen again and neither is the extension of the time period specified.
Exactly how much electrical power is required by an Evangelion is never mentioned, although Eva-02 can operate normally when linked to the nuclear reactor of a Nimitz-class Aircraft Carrier. Eva-01, and for a brief interval, Eva-02, utterly ignore all power supply limitations when they go berserk. Even senior Nerv personnel like Dr. Akagi are clueless on how a berserk Eva can operate without any power supply at all, so an Evangelion either has some form of emergency power supply organ whose method of operation is not known to Nerv, or is simply animated by the raw energy of the soul within.
Abilities
Despite being 40 meters in height, or even more when the situation demands, an Evangelion shows incredible agility, capable of aerial acrobatics or even classical dance movements. In addition, their raw strength is fearsome to behold, an Eva being capable of dismembering some of the Angels or even a fellow Evangelion. Evas can leap over enormous distances, perform aerial drop-kicks, and, with A.T. Field assistance, sprint at extreme speeds.
Evangelions, like Angels, have an A.T. Field, and can use it to erode Angel A.T. Fields as well as using them as physical barriers to damage. Berserk Evangelion Units can use an A.T. Field offensively as well- a berserk Eva-01 savagely mauls Zeruel with an A.T. Field attack, and Asuka/Eva-02 in battle rage use an A.T. Field to destroy attacking JSSDF aircraft.
In addition, Evangelions are armed with all manner of weaponry, ranging from melee weapons such as the progressive knife and the spear-like sonic glaive to enlarged versions of assault rifles and rocket launchers. Conventional ranged weaponry, including artillery and missiles, is rarely effective against Angels due to their A.T. Fields, although the combination of neutralizing an Angel's A.T. Field before directly attacking has proven effective on several Angels.
One of the most destinctive features of the Evangelions are their "shoulder pylons"; large plates of armor which look like fins stick out of their shoulders, which seem to protect their necks and heads from blows from the side. The plyons are not part of the Eva itself but are part of the restraint system, actually extending around the arm. They also serve as attachment points for external batteries, and the left-hand pylon houses an Evangelion's progressive knife as well.
Evangelion Unit-00, the prototype, did not originally have shoulder pylons but was retrofitted with them while being repaired from severe damage incurred in Episode 06, and has retro-rockets fitted within its new pylons. Eva-02's right-hand pylon houses a spike launcher, which is used to gruesome effect in Episode 25'. Pylons can be removed, as seen during the synchronization experiments in Episode 14 when the pylons are removed to fit the Evas with wall-mounted restraints. Eva-01 bursts off her pylons in both Episodes 19 and 26', when attaining her true power levels. Mass Production Evangelion Units have no shoulder pylons, having retractable wings in their place instead.
Origin
The Evangelions are essentially clones of Adam's genetic material, created by Nerv, which then had cybernetic components grafted onto them. They were apparently using the recovered embryo of Adam as a genetic template.
How an Evangelion is created is not specified in detail but Evangelion Unit-01 is unique in being "made" from Lilith in some way. Whether Eva-01 is a clone of Lilith or whether Lilith was merely a "surrogate mother" with genetic material from Adam "gestated" within her is unspecified. The only clue we get to really explaining this statement is a still-shot flashed in Episode 23 of the creation of Eva Unit 01, in which it literally tears itself away from Lilith's lower body, leaving tattered ropes of flesh behind; a mockery of the natural birth process. It is heavily implied that this is how Lilith lost her legs; their biomass was used to form Eva 01.
- For more in-depth analysis, see "Theory & Analysis: Eva-01 and Lilith."
Piloting
Pilots are more or less dedicated exclusively to their particular Evangelion unit. A mutual compatability experiment in Episode 14 between Shinji and Rei was promising, but it came to an end when Eva-00 went berserk with Shinji inside.
Pilots use an Interface Headset and a Plug suit, and sit in an Entry Plug which extends through the back of the Eva and close to (or possibly into) the core. This allows the pilot to "synchronize" with the Eva's mind, controlling its basic movements as if they were the pilots' own just by thinking about them. More complex tasks such as handling weapons, etc. are performed using a set of handle-bar controls. Pilots also have computerized sights useable in a special drop-down scope, used for long-range, precision positron weapons. The Entry plug is filled with LCL to aid the synchronization.
How a pilot is chosen is not specified, but it appears that all prospective candidates must be 14 years old and have no living mother.
Naming system
They started counting with "Eva 00" instead of "Eva 01". There were actually many failed experimental prototypes before Eva Unit 00 but they didn't bother counting them. Eva 00 is the "Prototype" because it is the first successful Eva. Eva 01 is the "Test Type", possibly because it is the only one derived from Lilith. Eva 02 was the first "Production Model" Eva. Eva 03 and Eva 04 were sister units, identical copies; they are also called "Production Model" though there were some slight changes to the design (Production Model variant-B?). Finally came the Mass Production model Evangelions.
Brief mention of the -gouki system in Japanese.
Notes
- Evas are referred to as "copies" of Adam, and, in the Classified Information files, by the awkward phrase "clonal regenerations" (in reference to the "Adam Revival Project", or Project E). In real life use, "clone" means an exact genetic copy, which, considering the differences the Evas exhibit amongst themselves, they clearly cannot be.
- According to Ritsuko in Episode 01, the formal full name for the Evangelion Units (almost never actually used) is "Ultimate All-Purpose Humanoid Decisive Battle Weapon: Evangelion".
See Also:
This article bears the unpleasant designation of "Stub." This is a Bad Thing. Provide a great service to NGE fan-geeks everywhere by making it awesomer!
| Evangelions |
| Evangelions (general) |
| Failed Evangelion Prototypes | Simulation Bodies |
| Eva-00 | Eva-01 | Eva-02 | Eva-03 | Eva-04 | Mass Production Evangelions (Evas 05~13) |
| Rebuild of Evangelion: Mark.04 | Eva-05 | Mark.06 | Eva-08 | Mark.09 | Eva-13 |
| Eva 8+2 | Mass Production Evangelions | Failures of Infinity |
| Other: Extracanonical Evas |
