Misato Katsuragi

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Neon Genesis Evangelion character
Misato Katsuragi
Age	29
Birthday	December 8, 1986
Gender	Female
Relation(s)	Father: Dr. Katsuragi Owner of: Pen Pen Guardian of: Shinji Ikari, Asuka Langley Soryu
Seiyū	Kotono Mitsuishi
Voice actor	Allison Keith
List of all Neon Genesis Evangelion characters...

Misato Katsuragi (葛城ミサト Katsuragi Misato) is a fictional character from the anime Neon Genesis Evangelion and The End of Evangelion movie. She is the head of operations at NERV, initially with the rank of captain. She is later promoted to major.

[edit] Description

At the beginning of the series, Misato first brings Shinji Ikari to NERV and encourages him to pilot the Eva Unit 01. She then chooses to have Shinji move in with her rather than live alone. In the manga, talking with Shinji at the train station after his first attempt to run away from NERV, Misato confesses to Shinji that she took him in not because she thought it was her duty to do so, but because she was lonely.

Misato was with her father, the leader of the Katsuragi Expedition to Antarctica, during the Second Impact which killed the entire expedition except Misato. Before he died, Misato's father placed 14-year-old Misato in a protective capsule (which looks like and is possibly the basis of the Entry Plugs) which saved her life. She has a deep scar on her chest from that incident, and became mute and refused social interaction for several years after. While grateful to her father for saving her life, she also admits to hating him, as he devoted his life to his work and neglected her and her mother. Her reason for joining NERV is related to her issues with her father. She always wears a cross pendant which her father put around her neck before sealing the protective capsule.

After her period of mute catatonia, her personality changed when she began to attend college, where she became more social and talkative (Ritsuko, whom she met in college, commented that she talks so much it's as if she's attempting to "make up for lost time."). At the time of the series, she is very extroverted (and some would say alcoholic). She exhibits great concern for the Eva pilots under her command; indeed, she is something of a surrogate mother to Shinji in particular, and after Asuka Langley Soryu arrives in Japan, she also lives with Misato. Misato also has a strong drive to fight the Angels.

Misato dated Ryoji Kaji during college (it is implied that not only did he take her virginity, but also that they once spent a whole week in bed doing nothing but having sex), but they had long broken up and do not see each other again until she flies out to the UN fleet ferrying Unit 02 and its pilot Asuka to Japan. After he returns to NERV headquarters, Kaji flirts with Misato, who constantly insults him ("You're stupid", "I hate you", and "Dating you was the biggest blemish of my life."). But they rekindle their romance after Misato confesses that she broke up with him because she realized that Kaji reminded her of her father. In the manga, however, she broke up with Kaji because she perceived him to be interested in her solely for sexual reasons since he doubted whether he was capable of true love.

She also uses Kaji to find out what Gendo's "true purpose" is. Kaji tries to "avoid the subject" by starting to have sex with Misato, but then gives her a capsule containing information on what she requested. This leads to Kaji's death, as he revealed classified information, betraying NERV. During this scene, Misato also suggests that she has never slept with anyone other than Kaji. Kaji leaves Misato a final phone message encouraging her to move on and not to hesitate, for the truth is with her. Misato breaks down in tears after hearing the message, making it obvious that she never stopped loving Kaji.

In The End of Evangelion, Misato saves Shinji's life by killing several soldiers under the command of the JSSDF (which in turn is under the command of SEELE) , and is ultimately shot in the back while rushing Shinji through a door to Unit 01's launch bay. She shrugs off the wound, then has an intense and emotional conversation with Shinji, attempting to jar him out of the suicidally defeatist emotional state he is in. She gives Shinji her (now bloodstained) pendant, as well as an adult kiss, with a promise to "do the rest" when he gets back. She then shoves Shinji into the elevator to the launch bay, and collapses once the doors close. She asks the (now dead) Kaji if she did "the right thing", and dies shortly thereafter as the entire area is detonated by the JSSDF. Her remains are then transformed into LCL, which presents the possibility that Misato was complemented and could return to Earth if she had the will to.

Since she is beautiful, gregarious, and sassy, Shinji's friends Kensuke and Toji develop quite a crush on Misato. Misato's subordinate, First Lieutenant Makoto Hyuga, also develops a deep crush for her. Makoto often risks his life and job by providing sensitive intel to Misato, and agrees to set NERV HQ to self-destruct when Tabris attacks. Misato is often regarded as the fans' favorite character in the series.^{[citation needed]} While on the job, Misato is very professional and capable (she takes out three JSSDF operatives, armed with rifles, in four seconds with her sidearm in The End of Evangelion). However when she gets home to her apartment, a more carefree side of her personality can be seen. Until Shinji's arrival, her living space was a complete mess. She cannot cook for herself and relies solely on instant food (she is often considered gross by Shinji and Ritsuko for combining food like ramen noodles and curry). She also drinks copious quantities of beer, and drinks one first thing in the morning to get her day started (later in the series she apparently switches to canned coffee as a supplicant.). She also smokes, though only occasionally and only during chaotic events.

Misato often plays the role of mediator between Shinji and Asuka, who constantly fight and argue. It seems that she has some sort of affinity to Shinji despite being over twice his age, but this aspect of their relationship is never really shown (apart from the "adult kiss" scene in The End of Evangelion; however, the context of the scene gives this action multiple possible meanings). More prominently, she frequently seems to display a sort of motherly affection and protectiveness of Shinji, as well as (to a lesser extent) the other Eva pilots. In part of her psychoanalytical scene in Episode 25, she expresses regret that she was not able to "be a mother for Shinji" in the end. (In the DVD commentary for The End of Evangelion, Amanda Winn Lee jokingly states to Misato that "...you cleaned his tonsils with your tongue! That's not a very 'motherly' thing to do!!") She comes off as a very sexual woman. In the first episode, included in the NERV materials Shinji is carrying is a picture of herself so he would recognize her when she came to pick him up. In the picture, she is wearing a fairly skimpy outfit with an arrow pointing to her breasts and a caption which is translated as "Pay attention" in the Platinum Edition subtitle and "note the cleavage" in the manga. She also appears to enjoy the attention from Shinji's classmates (especially Kensuke and Toji), which makes her seem very similar to Asuka.

[edit] Mental Health

Because of the disparity between her professionalism on the job and her slovenliness at home, some fans believe her to have AADD (adult attention-deficit disorder), in which case she can't organize her private life, but on the job she is very professional because of the so called hyperfocus. According to this theory, her "morning beer" and the other beers during the day (and later coffee) are her self-medication. Kaji also implies in one discussion that Misato suffers from night terrors, as he describes her as "sleeping uncomfortably." Like him, she also has mood swings which could be symptoms of bipolar disorder, though not of the same severity as he does. Some fans, however, think that Misato is supposed to be a caricature of the modern career woman rather than having AADD. Other fans believe that these traits are just idiosyncrasies of Misato's character, and not necessarily evidence of mental disorders or a commentary on the state of womankind. In this context, Misato is simply sloppy, tosses and turns when she sleeps, suffers from PMS-related mood swings like other women her age, and enjoys her beer. It should also be noted that many anime characters routinely enjoy alcohol, but are not portrayed as suffering from alcoholism, a condition that needs to be treated for the person to function in society.

Drinking is a common Japanese social activity, especially for businessmen. The stereotypical family model is the wife remaining home and taking care of the house and children, and the husband working, then going to a bar with co-workers after work before coming home late. So in a sense, a woman out drinking would be "just one of the guys." Liberated women who drink heavily do so to represent their autonomy. Unlike particularly American culture, which would view heavy drinking in a negative light, within the context of Japanese culture, these women's love of alcohol is neither a virtue nor a vice. Their drinking is an extension of their personalities and an expression of their desire to express and satiate their atypical female personalities. These women aren't exactly role models, but they're not reprehensible scoundrels either. They are women who disregard society's expectations of them and live the way they want to live.

[edit] Trivia

• Misato drives a bright blue Renault Alpine A310. She also carries an H&K USP as a sidearm. It is only seen a few times throughout the series, but she is revealed to be a crack shot with it.
• Like many characters in Evangelion, she was named for a ship. In Misato's case, it was the Katsuragi, an Unryū class WWII Japanese aircraft carrier.
• Misato is sometimes paired up with Shinji in fan fiction. This is usually associated with lemon fiction and can be considered a form of shotacon. Reasons for this pairing often include loneliness, sorrow, and desperation. Much of the remaining fiction is comparatively lighthearted in tone, and sometimes includes either Rei or Asuka (or both) in what amounts to a group relationship.
• In The End of Evangelion, for a brief instant Misato's body can be seen being torn apart as the room she had collapsed in is detonated. This is pointed out in the DVD commentary.