This science fiction anime was originally created by GAINAX and directed by Anno Hideaki.
A total of 26 episodes aired on TV Tokyo (TNX) from October 4, 1995 to March 27, 1996. The manga version preceded the anime, beginning with its February 1995 issue in Monthly Shonen Ace. Because the manga began first, many people believe the original work is the manga, but it is the anime that is actually the original. A remake titled "Evangelion: 3.0 You Can (Not) Redo" aired from 2007 to 2009, and is planned to consist of four parts.
This work depicts the battle between 14-year-old boys and girls who have become Evangelion pilots and the "Angels," with an emphasis on portraying emotions such as the relationships and various conflicts that arise.
In this article, we would like to introduce the existence of the "Angels," a key part of the work.
First Angel "Adam"
The name is said to be derived from Adam and Eve in the Old Testament.
A giant of light discovered in Antarctica, believed to be the cause of the Second Impact. Though believed to be sleeping deepest underground in Tokyo-3, in reality, his body was embedded in the right palm of Gendo Ikari, and his soul was given a body by SEELE and exists as Kaoru Nagisa. He is the origin of all Evangelions except Unit-01, and is said to be the "source of life" that gave birth to the 3rd through 17th Angels.
Second Angel "Lilith"
The name is said to be derived from Lilith, Adam's first wife in the Old Testament.
She is the being who gave birth to humanity, the Lilim, and is considered a different "source of life" from Adam. She is believed to have caused the First Impact and is crucified in the deepest part of the NERV headquarters (Terminal Dogma). While Evangelions are based on Adam, only Unit-01 is believed to have been created by Lilith. Furthermore, Lilith's soul was transferred to Rei Ayanami's body, giving Rei the key to the Human Instrumentality Project.
Third Angel "Sachiel"
The name Sachiel is said to be derived from Sachiel, the Judeo-Christian angel of water.
This is the Angel that Shinji Ikari fought for the first time while piloting Evangelion Unit-01, and the story begins with Sachiel's appearance. It is bipedal and uniquely human-like among the Angels. Cornered by Unit-01, Sachiel absorbs Unit-01 and self-destructs, ending the battle between Unit-01 and Sachiel.
Eva Unit-01 Goes Out of Control
Unit-01's head was damaged by Sachiel. Shinji lost consciousness, and Unit-01 went out of control.
The first time I saw the out of control scene, it had an overwhelming impact.
Ripping off an arm and relentlessly hammering the core is hardly the kind of fighting style you'd expect from a protagonist (lol). However, it's no exaggeration to say that these innovative scenes are one of the charms of Eva.
Fourth Angel "Shamshel"
The name comes from Shamshel, the Judeo-Christian angel of day.
It has a squid-like, snake-like appearance and moves through the air by flying.
It attacked approximately three weeks after the Sachiel attack, and Unit-01 destroyed its core with the Progressive Knife, rendering it inactive. Since it retained almost all of its original form except for its core, it was later captured by NERV and used as research material.
The Fifth Angel: Ramiel
The name Ramiel comes from the Judeo-Christian angel Ramiel, meaning "God's thunderbolt." Its diamond-shaped form makes it seem like an enemy at first glance, but it deploys a powerful A.T. field and fires a long-range, high-powered particle cannon at targets within range, making it difficult to get close.
The famous "Operation Yashima" scene, a mission to defeat Ramiel, involved concentrating all of Japan's power into a positron sniper rifle and destroying its core with ultra-long-range fire.
Also keep an eye out for Ramiel in the movie!
In the movie, Ramiel appears as the Sixth Angel. While already a powerful Angel in the anime, in the movie he becomes even more powerful, threatening humanity. He changes form depending on the situation and launches a variety of attacks. Those who saw the movie for the first time will be amazed by Ramiel's appearance. Thanks to advances in depiction technology and visuals, he has become a strikingly beautiful Angel.
The Sixth Angel "Gagiel"
The name "Gagiel" comes from the Judeo-Christian angel Gagiel, who governs fish.
This angel first appears when popular character Asuka Soryu Langley makes her appearance. Based on the angel of fish, it resembles a deep-sea fish, and battles take place both on and underwater. Asuka's Unit-02 pries open the mouth of the Angel, and two battleships fire simultaneously inside it, destroying it.
Seventh Angel "Israfel"
The name "Israfel" comes from the Islamic angel Israfel, who governs music.
Like Sachiel, this angel is bipedal and self-sustaining, repeatedly fusing and splitting. Even if one of its cores is destroyed, it quickly regenerates, making it an extremely troublesome angel whose cores must be destroyed simultaneously. After being defeated once, Shinji and his friends perfected a unison attack using Unit-01 and Unit-02, successfully defeating it in 62 seconds.
Innovative Battle Scene: "Unison Attack"
Because the name comes from the angel of music, the entire battle from start to finish is composed entirely of music, without any sound, making for a very cool and stylish battle scene.
During battle, the remaining time is displayed in the lower right corner, and only music plays for 62 seconds, with Israfel being defeated as soon as it hits 0. This battle scene was innovative and became a hot topic among fans at the time.
BGM used: "Both of You, Dance Like You Want to Win"
The Eighth Angel "Sandalphon"
The name comes from Sandalphon, the Judeo-Christian angel who determines the gender of a fetus. It is discovered in its chrysalis stage, but emerges during the capture operation. Unit-02 is forced to fight in the magma, but receives a Progressive Knife from Unit-01 on the surface and successfully defeats it.
The 9th Angel "Matriel"
The name comes from Matriel, the Judeo-Christian angel of rain.
It has a spider-like appearance and secretes a powerful fluid from its eyes in an attempt to infiltrate NERV Headquarters.
This is the first battle scene in which Unit-01, Unit-00, and Unit-02 fight together, but they are defeated surprisingly easily.
The Tenth Angel "Sahaquiel"
The name Sahaquiel comes from Sahaquiel, the Judeo-Christian angel of the sky. It has an eye-like structure in the center and resembles a dividing cell. It attacks by detaching itself from space, but ultimately falls to attack. Three Evas blocked the attack, and Unit-00 repelled it by stabbing its core with the Progressive Knife.
The 11th Angel "Irohru"
The name "Irohru" comes from the Judeo-Christian angel of fear, Irohru. This microorganism-like angel appears as a stain on the wall of NERV Headquarters and hacks into the main computer, MAGI. Ritsuko manages to reverse the hack at the last moment, destroying it and destroying it. It's the only angel to be defeated without deploying Evas, and because it lacks a distinctive shape, it may not leave a lasting impression on many people.
The 12th Angel "Leliel"
The name "Leliel" comes from the Judeo-Christian angel of "night."
The black and white sphere is a shadow, and within it lies an imaginary space (Dirac sea), which is the main body. After being absorbed by Leliel, Unit-01 went berserk for the second time, destroying itself from the inside and emerging.
What is the Dirac sea...?
In relativistic quantum mechanics, this is a model in which the vacuum state is completely occupied by electrons with negative energy. This theory was proposed by theoretical physicist Paul Dirac.
In the Evangelion series, this refers to a space where protons and antiprotons appear, collide, and disappear from a void. It's also used to refer to a wormhole that connects to another universe.
The 13th Angel: Bardiel
The name comes from Bardiel, a fallen angel who appears in the First Book of Enoch and is the leader of 200 angels. A slimy, parasitic angel, it infects Eva Unit-03 and destroys Unit-00 and Unit-02. Shinji is confused by the fact that it's piloted, but at Gendo's command, he destroys it along with Unit-03 using a dummy plug. The pilot was his friend, Toji... It must have been quite a shocking scene.
The 14th Angel: Zeruel
The name comes from Zeruel, the Judeo-Christian angel of power.
As its name suggests, it is said to be the strongest of all the Angels, and it quickly destroys Unit-00 and Unit-02. Unit-01 was also defeated once, but after going berserk, it devoured Zeruel and annihilated it with unprecedented power.
This is the true form of Eva...
The out-of-control Eva takes on a human form, devouring the Angel in a truly impactful scene. It's a pretty gruesome scene, so it's no wonder Maya is tempted to return it. It absorbs the S2 engine itself and uses its own strength to free itself from the restraints...or rather, the armor plating...From this point on, the story begins to rapidly approach its core.
The 15th Angel "Arael"
The name comes from Arael, the Judeo-Christian angel who rules over birds.
This angel appears after defeating the strongest angel, Zeruel, and has a bird-like appearance, floating in satellite orbit. While it does not launch physical attacks, it uses rays to interfere with human minds and launch psychological attacks against Asuka. Unit-02 is forced to shut down and is unable to do anything due to the attack from space, but Rei pilots Unit-00 and throws the Spear of Longinus, repelling it. The battle scene featured the final chorus of "Messiah" (No. 53), "The Slaughtered Lamb," creating a truly memorable scene.
16th Angel "Armisael"
The name "Armisael" comes from the Judeo-Christian angel Armisael, who governs the womb. Shaped like a DNA double helix, this Angel seeks to invade and fuse with the mind.
Rei's mind was nearly eroded, but she managed to defeat it by causing Unit-00 to self-destruct.
17th Angel "Tabris"
The name "Tabris" comes from the Judeo-Christian guardian spirit of "free will." He is an angel artificially created by SEELE by giving Adam's soul a body, and is the true identity of Kaworu Nagisa, one of the Fifth Children. He infiltrates Terminal Dogma and attempts to contact Adam, but upon realizing that it is Lilith underground, he asks Shinji to kill him and is killed by Unit-01. During his debut scene, he hums Beethoven's Symphony No. 9, 4th Movement, "Ode to Joy," and since it continues to be used as background music thereafter, many people associate Kaworu Nagisa's theme song with "Ode to Joy." Despite being a hugely popular character, he only appears in the final episode, making his presence truly overwhelming.
Getting to know him makes it even more interesting! A comprehensive list of the unique angels
Did you enjoy this article?
This concludes our introduction to the angels that appear in "Neon Genesis Evangelion."
Most of the Angels' names are related to Judaism and Christianity, and their appearances and attack methods are also in line with these themes.
The more you learn about them, the more you'll want to know about them.
Evangelion is packed with many other fascinating facts.
For example, the 18th Angel is the Lilim, or humanity...
It's also said that reading the Old Testament will deepen your understanding of Eva.
If this piques your interest, be sure to research other topics.
