Ritsuko Akagi

Ritsuko Akagi
赤木 リツコ
Age	30
Birthday	November 21, 1985
Seiyū	Yuriko Yamaguchi

Ritsuko Akagi is Nerv's chief scientist, and is in command of the Technical branch of Nerv HQ, which is responsible for the research and development of the Evangelions, as well as their maintenance and repair.

Past

Ritsuko is daughter of famous Gehirn scientist Naoko Akagi, who headed the Evangelion project before her. Ritsuko met Misato Katsuragi in college at Tokyo-2, as well as Misato's boyfriend Ryoji Kaji. After graduating college, Ritsuko joined Gehirn, and worked directly under her mother Naoko at then under construction Tokyo-3. In many ways, Ritsuko is living in her mother's shadow.

Profile

In the present, Ritsuko first appears to have a good friendship with Misato, occasionally teasing her about her smaller shortcomings. Yet Ritsuko is avoidant when it comes to her own personal/emotional life, and under stress the two women grow farther apart instead of confining in each other, due to some ethical differences and Ritsuko knowing more about events and refusing to share.

Secretly, Ritsuko was involved in a sexual relationship with Gendo Ikari. Her situation repeated almost verbatim her mother’s relationship with him: growing jealous and later destructive towards the figure of Rei Ayanami, despite a period of initial emotional control.

This replay of the past is odd, considering that Ritsuko dyes her hair blonde, as indicated by flashbacks which show that during her teens, Ritsuko was a brunette like her mother. Ritsuko likely does this to distance herself from her mother, and once watched Gendo and Naoko with disapproval.

Besides this, Naoko and Ritsuko appeared to have a slightly strained relationship. Naoko apparently raised Ritsuko without what she felt was adequate supervision, which could be from where Ritsuko receives her tendency to be closed about her emotions, as well as to shoulder all burdens and responsibilities in a tense situation, as Ritsuko has been on her own for a long time

Naoko also blamed Ritusko’s difficulties with understanding the relationships between men and women (Ritsuko was appalled at Misato taking a week away from school with Kaji, and often comments on the perceived illogic between the interactions of men and women) on her being raised without men around. The identity of Ritsuko’s father remains unknown, and the only other family member mentioned is her grandmother (presumably from the maternal side).

It is unknown whether or not Ritsuko, like Naoko, accepted the emotional distances that would exist between her and Gendo, but it is likely.

Ritsuko’s particular attack on Rei might have been triggered when she was sent in place of Rei to Seele and put nude before them. In retaliation Ritsuko destroyed the Dummy System, insisting that what she’d really killed was Rei, her "rival".

During this time, Ritsuko’s normal calm demeanor degenerated into coldness, and she soon became suicidal, intending to take Gendo, Rei, and Nerv Headquarters with her in Episode 25'. But of the Magi, which Ritsuko had reprogrammed for self-destruction, Casper rejected the command, and the shocked Ritsuko saw it as Naoko choosing Gendo over her. Before he shot Ritsuko, Gendo said something to her that was never heard, but, eyes filling with tears, she called him a liar with her last words.

Though it is not seen onscreen or even named, Ritsuko has a cat which her grandmother took care of until it died. Ritsuko apparently visited her pet very seldom, and expressed a kind of numb surprise at its death, which also coincided with her breakdown. This possibly demonstrates Ritsuko’s detachment from deep relationships, not caring about something until it changes enormously. This is also suggested by Ritsuko’s grandmother telling Ritsuko to call her first next time.

In addition to owning a pet cat, Ritsuko has several cat-related knickknacks decorating her desk: a pair of cat figures (one black and one white), and a coffee mug (the same cat design on the latter can be seen in Episode 26). Kaji also once gave her a small trinket that he called "a cat souvenir" (Episode 15). This affinity for cats might have a symbolic relationship to Ritsuko’s own attempted independence, as the common image of cats is one of independence.

Though she is rarely shown smoking onscreen, Ritsuko apparently does it quite heavily, as she is often seen with ashtrays full of cigarette butts marked by her lipstick. This might be indicative of anxiety.

Notes

• Episode 01 reveals that Ritsuko's formal title at Nerv is "Chief of Project E, Dr. Ritsuko Akagi of the Bureau of Technology's First Division."
• Although Akagi is an actual Japanese surname, Ritsuko was named after the World War Two era Aircraft Carrier Akagi, which famously led the attack on Pearl Harbor, and was later sunk at the battle of Midway, along with Asuka's namesake, the carrier Soryu (and the carriers Kaga and Hiryu). The Soryu, Kaga, and Hiryu also participated in the Pearl Harbor attack.

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!

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