Shinji Ikari
As the fourteen-year-old son of the most powerful man in the world, Shinji Ikari is a boy lost in loneliness. His mother's death and de facto abondonment have left him emotionallu uncertain, insecure, and frightened of himself and his world. This is the Messiah of the Gospel for the New Age, this is the pilot of Eva 01.
Misato Katsuragi
Misato Katsuragi wages a private war on doubt and terror. In the awful confusion of the battle against the Angels, she is NERV's unsung weapon. It is her courage, her sense of duty, and, ultimately, her humanity that holds together the battered minds and souls that defend Mankind.
Kensuke Aida
From giant mecha combat to daring covert operations, the imagination of Kensuke Aida is a playground like no other. To the outside world though, he's an average boy, perhaps a bit more preceptive than his classmates, but simply average. With the dramatic arrival of the Angels, the outside world begins to look a lot more like Kensuke's dreams, and piloting an Eva becomes the boy's one desire.
Eva Unit 01
Eva Unit 01 is man's only weapon against the awesome power of the Angels. Constructed under the top secret E-Plan, Unit 01 employs mysterious technology developed in the wake of the Second Impact. Only Yui Ikari knows the true nature of the beast within the machine, and with her death, the bio-mechanical giant has taken on the rage of a lost soul.
Angel #3 Sachiel
Appearing with all the devastation of divine wrath in the year 2015, Sachiel is the messenger of destruction. Hundreds of feet tall, the horrific monstrosity lumbers through the evacuated streets of Tokyo 3 to assault NERV's subterranean headquarters with suspicious accuracy. Brilliant beams of energy burst from the creature's outstretched palm decimating everything in its path.
Angel #4 Shamshel
With each successive Angel, the danger to mankind takes a new form. Evolving, adapting, learning from each battle, the next Angel will always be deadlier than his predecessors. Shamshel is no exception. Hugging the ground as it approaches, the Angel rears upright in combat. Its twin luminous tentacles lash out with irresistible force, effortlessly shearing away stone and steel.
Asuka Langley Sohryu
Asuka Langley Sohryu is a troubled whose flaming re hair is a sign of her burning anger. But her explosive emotional character masks an internal fragility. The ghosts of her past haunt her, driving her from the raging turmoil of the present. With Eva 02, she fights to quiet the voices.
Gendo Ikari
Gendo Ikari is one man at war with God. His heart is a vacuum inhospitable to the humanity he methodically drives from those around him. Divine judgement is at hand, and the visionary Ikari will not rest until man is no longer subject to Sacred Law. NERV is the club in his raised fist.
Ryoji Kaji
He doesn't belong to any single organization, and works to serve his own ends. However, he has an unquenchable thirst for the truth. He respects and honors those who are willing to fight for their own futures. Where is the truth that he's looking for? And, when will his thirst for answers be sated at last.
Eva Unit 02
The first "production model" Eva, Unit 02 was built and tested in Germany. Designed for mass production, it differs from Units 00 and 01 in a number of features, possessing one main optical lens, three sub-optical lenses, a cutter knif and blue body fluid. The development of special equipment like the D-type environment suit implies that future Evas will conform to Unit 02's standards.
Angel #5 Ramiel
A mobile fortress with a spore gun that attempted to invade the geo-front with a shielded drill from its lower body. It was stopped by EVA 01, which shot it with a nuclear positron-rifle in a long range attack. (Episodes 5 & 6)
Angel #6 Gaghiel
A submarine style Angel that attacked the United Nations Pacific fleet while it was transferring EVA Unit 02 from Germany (Episode 8).
Rei Ayanami
Enigmatic, isolated and yet strangely gentle. Rei Ayanami is the product of one man's struggle to govern the evolution of his species. Rei embraces his cause, and the man, as the validation for her existence. But the knowledge that she is a substitute for some thing, for some one, whispers to her from the void of her missing soul. She is the First Child, the future incarnate.
Kouzou Fuyutsuki
A taciturn man, gruff but not uncaring, Fuyutsuki has the unenviable job of NERV's second in command. As Commander Ikari's direct subordinate, he carries the responsibility of defence against the Angels. His knowledge of the Evangelion Unit's secret purpose allows him to remain calm and unflappable even in the midst of an attack.
Eva Unit 00
The first Eva to be successfully completed, Unit 00 is a prototype and is structurally less complex than Units 01 and 02, with a single optical lens. Unit 00's body was initially colored in the bright orange hues of a test model, but after it was destroyed by the Fifth Angel, its entire body was overhauled and repainted blue. Its final mission occurred during the 16th Angels' attack.
Seventh Angel Israphel
Originally spotted in the Kii peninsula, this Angel could separate and reunite its body. Acting on Kaji's advice, Misato created a plan to counter it, and it was destroyed by the synchronized attack of EVAs 01 and 02 (Episode 9).
Eighth Angel Sandalphon
Hatched from a chrysalis that was found in a lava pool on Mount Asama. It is similar in form to the ancient creature, Anomalocaris and can swim through magma at high speed (Episode 10).
Ninth Angel Matriel
This Angel looks like a huge spider. It tried to melt Tokyo-3's armor with a corrosive liquid, but was destroyed by EVA 00's pellet gun (Episode 11).
Ritsuko Akagi
Maintaining the facade of a cold and clinical scientist, Ritsuko Akagi seeks to compartmentalize, classify and dismiss the emotions that frighten her and threaten to shatter her self-image. As the daughter of a brilliant scientist, Ritsuko vies with the ghost of her mother in a never-ending battle, a battle she cannot win and will never confess.
Maya Ibuki
As Ritsuko's right-hand man, Maya is responsible for much of the monitoring of the Eva units during testing and combat. Although not quite was quick on a keyboard as her boss, she is nevertheless a computer expert in her own right. While quiet, she has definite opinions and is capable of holding her own.
Adam
In the year 2000, Adam appeared in the Antarctic. Seen only as a mysterious shape in a poorly developed photograph, the first Angel bears an uncanny resemblance to the Evangelion units. Contrary to the official story taught in schools, the Second Impact was caused not by a meteor striking the Earth, but by the explosion of this Angel during an investigation by a UN team.
Tenth Angel Sahaqiel
This Angel suddenly appeared over the Indian Ocean. It tried to attack by taking advantage of its unique body structure and mass, by falling towards it's target at a high speed under the protection of it's A.T. Field. But it was destroyed by EVAs 00, 01 and 02 (Episode 12).
11th Angel Ireul
Ireul, the eleventh Angel, was composed of nano-machines, each the size of a virus. It invaded Melchior, one of the three Magi supercomputers that control NERV Headquarters, and initiated a self-destruct sequence. Utilizing notes left by her mother, Ritsuko was able to reverse the process and stop the Angel.
Toji Suzuhara
Because his little sister was severely injured during the fight against the Third Angel, Toji is initially hostile to Shinji and the Evangelions. However, after he witnesses the turmoil that Shinji goes through while piloting, they become close friends. Brash and self-confident, Toji would be a perfect match for Second Child Asuka if they didn't hate each other so much. It is hard to say who was most surprised when Toji was determined to be the Fourth Child.
Hikari Horaki
Hikari is a bright, intelligent girl in the same school class as the Evangelion pilots. Despite her bossy nature and self-assurance as Class Representative, she is shy and uncertain when it comes to dealing with Toji, on whom she has a crush. After Asuka's arrival in Tokyo-3, they became close friends and routinely gang up on Shinji, Toji and Kensuke, whom they call the "Three Stooges".
Twelvth Angel Leliel
The Twelfth Angel appeared in the sky over Tokyo-3 with no warning. It subsequently enveloped Shinji and Unit 01, cutting them off from the outside world. Spheroid in shape, this Angel was only seen by its shadow. It generated an inverted AT Field that created a Sea of Dirac, an area of space describable only by abstract mathematics. Ritsuko theorized that this space might be connected to another universe. It was destroyed by an unilateral action of Eva Unit 01.
Nerv 02
NERV's Second Branch was located in the Nevada desert. While installing an experimental S2 engine in Unit 04, the entire facility, along with the Eva unit and all personnel simply vanished. Speculation is that a flaw or miscalculation during the installation of the new engine initiated a Sea of Dirac, similar to the one generated by the Twelfth Angel, which swallowed the site.
Pen-Pen
Pen-Pen is an Erect-Crested penguin with enhanced intelligence, genetically adapted for warm water activity. He lives with Misato in a specially designed refrigerator complete with a light bulb that stays on when the door is closed. Pen-Pen has a habit of drinking beer with his meals, a predilection that may have been learned from his owner. One always has the feeling that Pen-Pen knows more about the Angels and what's going on than any penguin has a right to know.
Makota Hyuga
One of the three operators responsible for monitoring and tracking the Eva units during operations, Hyuga is a little on the nerdy. When not busy, he's apt to be found reading manga. Hyuga appears to have something of a thing for Misato, but unfortunately she appreciates his abilities in the control room, the feeling is not mutual.
Eva Unit 3
Evangelion Unit 03 was built at NERV's Second Branch in the US, and was shipped to Japan for the Fourth Child, Toji. During activation tests, however, the Thirteenth Angel attacked and took control of the Eva. In the ensuing battle, Unit 03 was heavil damaged, presumably beyond repair.
Thirteenth Angel Bardiel
During activation tests of Eva Unit 03, Bardiel attacked and took control of the Eva from NERV and its pilot. Subsequently, Eva Unit 03 became listed as the Thirteenth Angel and the remaining Eva Units were dispatched to destroy it. After Shinji refused to engage the rogue Eva with its human pilot, Commander Ikari ordered that control of Eva Unit 01 be given to the Maji. Despite Shinji's resistance, Bardiel is destroyed, but at what cost to the Fourth Child?
Fourteenth Angel Zereul
The Fourteenth Angel made a direct attack on NERV Headquarters in an effort to reach what lies buried beneath it. Although Asuka and Rei both sortied immediately, the Angel mad short work of them with its monofilament ribbons. It was not until a berserk and out of control Unit 01 appeared that the newest and deadliest Angel was defeated.
Shigeru Aoba
Aoba is the third of the NERV control room operators. Easy going and laid back, not much fazes him. In his spare time, he enjoys playing the guitar. He would seem to be the most well adjusted of all the NERV personnel.
Yui Ikari
Shinji's mother, Yui Ikari was a brilliant scientist, and a key member of the Evangelion development team until her unexplained disappearance during one of the first activation tests. While a college undergraduate, she was one of Fuyutsuki's students. Interestingly, "Ikari" is her family name. When she married Gendo Rokubungi, he assumed the last name of "Ikari" as well.
Naoko Akagi
A computer genius, Ritsuko's mother Naoko Akagi was responsible for the design and programming of the Magi computers that control NERV, and they were imprinted with her personality. She is supposed to have told her daughter that each of the computers is imbued with a different aspect of herself: as a scientist; as a mother; and as a woman. Although brilliant, Naoko had a very disturbed personality and died tragically.
Fifteenth Angel Arael
The Fifteenth Angel appeared in orbit, outside the range of most conventional weapons. It employed a psychic attack against Unit 02 and its pilot, Asuka, but was finally destroyed by Rei's use of the Lance of Longinus.
Sixteenth Angel Armisael
Appearing in the skies over Tokyo-3 as a coruscating ring of energy, the Sixteenth Angel was faced by Rei in Unit 00. When the Angel contracted around her began invading the Eva, Rei engaged Unit 00's self-destruction system, destroying both the Angel, and, unfortunately, herself.
Young Asuka
Asuka Langley Sohryu did not have the happiest of childhoods. While she was still young, her mother was institutionalized after the stress of working with the Evangelions caused her to lose touch with reality. After her mother's suicide, Asuka was raised by a grandmother who instructed her to never cry, creating the hard, brash Asuka who became an Eva pilot.
Seventeenth Angel Tabris
The last Angel took the form of a human boy, Kaworu Nagisa, the Fifth Child. Unlike previous Angels, Tabris did not attack immediately. Instead, he spent time with Shinji examining what it means to be human. In the end, however, Shinji was forced to destroy the Angel in order to save humanity.
Second Angel Lilith
What remains of the Second Angel can be found nailed to a cross in an underground vault beneath NERV. A mask decorated with Seele's coat of arms representing the seven eyes of Jehovah covers her face. She is the magnet and eventual goal of all Angel attacks. Lilith provides the material from which all Evangelion units are created.