Evangelion (mecha)

In the Neon Genesis Evangelion franchise, Evangelion (エヴァンゲリオン, Evangerion) (also referred to as Evas or EVA), are the fictional cyborgs piloted by the Children chosen by the Marduk Institute (a front company of Seele). The Evas were created by Nerv. Their principal purpose is defending Tokyo-3 from the Angels. The Evas were designed by Ikuto Yamashita and series director Hideaki Anno.

Characteristics

The Evas were designed similarly to the Japanese folklore creature Oni.^[1] Although they were originally assumed to be giant humanoid robots, the Evas are actually cyborgs, integrating a mostly biological being with a substantial mechanical infrastructure, including a capsule called an "entry plug" in which the pilot sits and controls the Eva's actions, though the extent of this control can waver. The only people who can pilot Evas are fourteen-year-olds whose mothers have died after the Second Impact, who are chosen by the Marduk Institute and designated in numeral order as "children" (i.e. First Child, Second Child). The reason of this is not explained for some time, until it is revealed that the souls of the pilots' mothers are integrated with the Evas to enable a psychic link between the two. Once connected to the Eva, the entry plug is filled with a translucent, breathable liquid known as LCL, which allows the pilots to electrochemically control the Evas. LCL is repeatedly mentioned to smell like blood and revealed later on to be derived from the blood of the second Angel, Lilith. The pilots wear uniforms called plug suits and devices called interface headsets on their heads to achieve better synchronization with the Eva. Although the Evas wear armor, their most significant defense is the Absolute Terror Field (AT Field for short), a form of force field which protects the Eva from all forms of conventional damage and can be used to disrupt an Angel's AT field.

All the Evangelions but one are derived from the first Angel, Adam (in the Book of Genesis, Eve is created from one of Adam's ribs). Unit 01 is unique in having been born from the second Angel, Lilith. With these revelations, the true purpose of their armor is also revealed - it is actually to constrain and control their movements. Based on production sketches from Evangelion 1.0 Complete Records Collection, the Evas are 80 meters tall; this presumably applies to the humanoid angels as well.^[2]

To power their massive frames, they use internal batteries, an umbilical cable, or an S² engine. Auxiliary batteries can be attached to extend an Eva's unplugged endurance. The Evas are controlled through their psychic link to the pilot via a combination of hand controls in the entry plug and direct nerve impulses that link to the pilot's plug suit and interface headset. The pilot's link with the Eva is expressed in a "synchronization ratio". The higher the synchronization, the greater the command over the Eva. A high synchronization permits direct feedback, including the ability for a pilot to directly experience pain induced by any damage against the Eva. This is the reason why the pilots often undergo routine synchronization tests, in order to measure how well the pilots are able to synchronize with the souls that are bonded within the Evas. The Evas can also be controlled by an autopilot system, the Dummy Plugs, which are based on the thought patterns of either Rei Ayanami or Kaworu Nagisa. Evas can also lose control in certain circumstances and go "berserk", such as when the pilot is under extreme stress.

The Evas fight with their arms and legs, but they can also wield and use a wide variety of giant conventional weapons. Additionally, each Eva has a retractable bladed weapon known as a "Progressive Knife" in their shoulder blade.

Prototype Units

Failed Units

Nerv has made numerous failed attempts to create a working Eva. The remains of these failed Evas are hidden in one of the lowest levels of Nerv headquarters. Most of these failed Evas' organic structures have rotted away, leaving little more than an armored head connected to a spine, often with an incomplete number of limbs and many of the skeletons are badly warped. They have the word "reject" painted on their heads in large red letters.^[3] In the original version, the failed Eva prototypes were laid out on a massive empty floor, with what remained of their limbs carefully matched up with their spines and other body parts, and then circled by chalk marks. The New Production Cut shows the original concept with remaining body parts of dozens of failed Evas are thrown into a series of waste pits in the ground.^[4] Some Eva rejects can also be seen in The End of Evangelion, suspended vertically by the heads.

Simulation bodies

Three incomplete Evangelion units are kept in the Pribnow Box in Nerv headquarters. They are unarmored, have no legs or cores, and have numerous cables exiting the neck instead of actual heads.^[5] These units are used as training simulators and are eventually infected by the eleventh Angel, Iruel.^[6]

Rebuild of Evangelion 1.0 reveals that the firing range training simulator uses a simulation body, as opposed to the anime or manga which show Unit 01 directly attached to simulation equipment. This simulation body appears to be an apparatus that consists of portions of the skeleton and nervous system of an Evangelion, but without any means of actual movement except for two small devices on the front of the head.

EVA Unit 00

Unit 00 (零号機, Zerogōki),^[6] is the Prototype, the first successful Evangelion, and is piloted by the First Child, Rei Ayanami. The head design is similar to that of the previous failed attempts, with a single round optic in the center. Unit 00 is the only one of the original Evas that is never seen without its armor (Unit 02 was revealed in End of Evangelion, and Unit 01 on multiple occasions) or opening its mouth; thus the appearance of its organic body is unknown.

Unit 00 was initially colored yellow like the previous prototypes, but its armor was damaged beyond repair by the Angel Ramiel and has since been refitted with blue armor plating in addition to other alterations made in order to make it more suitable for combat conditions, including shoulder "Blades" similar in appearance to the ones on Units 01 and 02. Because it is a prototype, Unit 00 cannot be fitted with D-type equipment. Unit 00 is also equipped with retro rockets as shown in the fight against Matarael. The true nature of the soul inside Unit 00 is never specified, but it is implied to be directly connected to Rei in some fashion. Popular theories include the soul of Rei I, or Naoko Akagi. Unit 00 was destroyed when Rei self-destructed the Eva in order to destroy the sixteenth Angel, Armisael.

In the Rebuild of Evangelion series, Unit 00 design stays with its initial yellow color along with more white and gray. In the second film, Unit 00 was the Eva SEELE recommended be placed in storage upon the arrival of Unit 03, as the Vatican treaty states that no country can have more than three active Evangelion units at one time but Gendo Ikari chose to place Unit 02 in storage instead. Against the 10th Angel, Unit 00 was absorbed after the point-blank detonation of an N² Missile and its identification code was used by the Angel to disable Central Dogma's defenses.

EVA Unit 01

Unit 01 (初号機, Shogōki) was created in the Third Annex of Gehirn's Artificial Evolution Laboratory in Hakone and is piloted by Shinji Ikari (with Dummy Plug as backup pilots). It is the first and the only Evangelion to be created from Lilith, the Second Angel, instead of Adam, the First Angel, from whom all the other Evangelions were created. Concept art for the TV series reveals that Unit 01's body was grown from biomass cultivated from Lilith's legs (the reason why her legs are missing throughout the show). Despite this fact, Unit 01 bears no real morphological difference from the other Evangelion units, possessing a core (unlike Lilith) and exaggerated proportions similar to Adam and the other Evas. Unit 01's armor is primarily purple; some components are colored neon green, light blue, orange, and black. Its helmet bears the signature unicorn-like single horn, and a 'frill', giving an appearance reminiscent of a ceratopsian dinosaur. The horn and the glowing eyes also gives the Evangelion a rather demonic appearance. It also has a distinctive chest plate resembling pectoral muscles, as opposed to the regular V-shaped chest plate the other evangelions have. The humanoid entity beneath the armor has light brown skin, two emerald-green eyes, four small nostrils positioned, flat white teeth resembling that of humans, and red blood. It has the best battle record of all the Evangelions. It is a notorious berserker, and frequently acts independently, without the instructions of a pilot and without any apparent power source, moving freely even when the internal power source was depleted. The Eva will also take action to protect its pilot while sometimes servicing other interests. The Eva's resident soul, Yui Ikari (Shinji's mother), appears to be responsible for such events, in an attempt to protect her son. In such berserk incidents, the Eva goes into a 'battle rage', characterized by inhuman savageness and animal-like behavior. In the height of its berserk state, Unit 01 also demonstrates angelic abilities such as regeneration (repairing its damaged arm in a matter of seconds in battle against Sachiel and Zeruel), forming angelic cross shaped energy explosions, as well as manifesting a powerful AT Field for offensive purposes. It is the only Eva to have gone berserk in direct combat, inflicting fatal damage to Sachiel before it self-detonates, ripping apart Leliel and savagely mauling Zeruel. Shinji is clearly not responsible for these events, having blacked out in the first two berserk episodes and having dissolved into LCL after reaching a synchronization level of 400% during the battle with Zeruel. A similar state of battle rage, displaying heightened physical power and savageness, can be achieved when the Eva is controlled by the Dummy System, though this does not qualify as a genuine berserk incident. Unit 01 is called the "Test Type", in reference to its unusual method of creation.

Upon savagely disfiguring the fourteenth angel, Zeruel, Unit 01 used one of Zeruel's arms to regenerate its severed left arm and proceeded to devour the Angel and absorb its S² Engine (which seemed to be used only at Unit 01's discretion, as the Eva was afterwards still shown to be sent into battle with an umbilical cable). By acquiring an S² Engine (the biblical Fruit of Life), it is stated that the Eva has become a being equal to God, possessing both the Fruit of Life and Knowledge.

In The End of Evangelion, Unit 01 goes berserk for the final time, destroying the Nerv HQ building with a cross-shaped energy blast and growing enormous orange 'Wings of Light'(also appearing in the TV series opening and similar to Adam's seen during Second Impact). From then on the resident soul of Yui Ikari seems to be in complete control of the Eva. SEELE attempts to use the Eva in order to perform the Human instrumentality project in place of Lilith, who has been rendered unusable due to the loss of the Spear of Longinus. The mass production Evangelions impale Unit 01 with spears similar to the Spear of Longinus, possibly in an attempt to open the Doors of Guf on the Eva's palms. Later Unit 01 and the MP Evas 'open' their S² Engines, forming a giant Sephirot in the sky, signaling the beginning of the Third Impact and creating an enormous explosion which completely exposes the Geofront's true form as the Black Moon, the Egg of Lilith. The original Spear of Longinus returns to Earth, merging with Unit 01 to form the 'Tree of Life', becoming a complete God with the power either save or destroy humanity. The Tree of Life is later absorbed by Lilith-Adam-Rei during Instrumentality. Near the end of the film, Eva 01 bursts out from the giant pupil of Lilith-Adam-Rei, roaring, and grows a complete set of twelve Wings of Light, then manipulates the Spear of Longinus to destroy the clone spears. At the conclusion, Unit 01 is left floating adrift in space, fossilized and still containing the soul of Yui Ikari, an eternal testament to the existence of humanity.

In the Rebuild of Evangelion series, Unit 01 sports more neon green highlights on the head, chest, abdomen, and arms. The progressive knife and its storage mechanism are also redesigned, but most of the armor has not changed. During its fight with Shamshel, the skin of the humanoid entity beneath the armor is revealed to a lighter color than in the series. During its battle with Zeruel, the Eva enters the 'awakened state' and undergoes several radical changes: the pilot's plug depth exceeds a value of 180, the 'Great Beyond Depth', at the risk of being unable to return to normal. While appearing to have gone berserk, the pilot still appears to retain full control over the Eva's actions. In addition, its neon green highlights turn glowing red along with the Eva's eyes. Most significant however is Unit 01's possession of Angelic abilities, including the manifestation of a halo, advanced AT-field manipulation to replace its lost arm with an ethereal one that can launch concussive blasts and the ability to release a powerful energy beam from its eyes, similar to the one used by the Angels but with much more devastating effects. After easily defeating Zeruel, the Eva undergoes several more changes, growing energy wings from its core and gaining the ability to bridge the entry plug to the Angel's core. After absorbing the Zeruel's core, Unit 01 undergoes a transformation into a glowing energy being, as a divine entity equal to God, a 'radiant giant' with 'wings of light' extending upwards into a vortex at the center of multi-colored concentric circles (confirmed in 3.0 as the Doors of Guf), similar to the Adams seen during Second Impact. The mere existence of the awakened Eva-01 triggers a phenomenon confirmed in Evangelion 3.0 to have been (Near) Third Impact. It also seems that the Eva's awakening triggered by Rei and Shinji seems to have been planned from the beginning by Gendo, Shinji's father. While the Impact is aborted by Kaworu Nagisa in the Mark.06 impaling Unit 01 with the Spear of Cassius, it still results in the devastation of the entire planet, prompting the UN to seal Unit 01 into a tesseract they subsequently launch into space where it remains for the next 14 years.

At the beginning of Evangelion 3.0, the tesseract is stolen by WILLE who subsequently use the Evangelion as an energy source to power their flying battleship, the AAA Wunder. The Eva remains inside the Wunder for the rest of the film, never making a direct appearance.

Production Model Units

Production Model Eva Units have varying numbers of eyes. Unit 02 has four, Units 03 and 04 have two, and Units 05 through 13 have no visible eyes at all.

EVA Unit 02

Unit 02 (弐号機, Nigōki),^[6] built by Nerv Germany, is the first Production Model Eva. It is piloted by Asuka Langley Soryu and is the first Evangelion built specifically for combat. Unlike Unit 01, it only goes truly "berserk" once, just before its destruction. It has achieved an unusually high sync ratio with its pilot(s). The Eva's armor is primarily red with yellow and white on the arms and head. As a result of being constructed by Nerv Germany, and also as an accommodation for its three-quarters-German pilot, its default language setting is German. It is known to contain the maternal part of the soul of Asuka's mother. Unit 02 features a different progressive knife from earlier Eva units as well as an internal weapon rack in the right shoulder binder which fires dart-like weapons. In the new movie continuity, it used a row of spikes from its shoulder extension in the battle against Zeruel. It has dark blue skin and four orange eyes, first seen when the MP Evas tear it apart. These eyes are normally hidden by its head armor, with four green optical sensors handling vision. Its head armor is hinged in two places, allowing the eyes to be exposed when the Eva reaches a high synch ratio.

Unit 02 is damaged and incapacitated several times over the course of the series, and is finally destroyed in The End of Evangelion by the mass-produced Evas. Asuka was still highly synchronized with Unit 02 as it was destroyed, thus practically suffering every wound (the frames after the faux-Lance of Longinus is plunged just above the Eva's left eye show her bleeding profusely from her eye, a rapidly spreading bloodstain on her lower torso when the Eva is literally gutted, and then her arm splitting in synch with the Eva's as the faux-Lances are thrown into her). In the manga, Kaworu Nagisa piloted Unit 02 against Armisael since Asuka was left comatose after the battle with Arael. The weapon he used in the battle was a double-bladed chainsaw. Armisael partially merged with Unit 02 while it was still fusing with Unit 00 and Rei.

In the second Rebuild film, it is shown that Unit 02's helmet is redesigned to have what look like oni horns, and that its shoulder pylons are equipped with a pair of bladed weapons. It also sports more white in several places on its body. Of note, the Eva is able to open its mouth in Rebuild, which was not the case with the original. However, it seems to have lost the capability to partially 'open' its helmet to expose its organic eyes. Later in the film, Unit 02 is placed into storage in accordance with The Vatican Treaty- a law stating that no nation can have more than 3 Active Evas- and with Unit 03 arriving from America Gendo decided Unit 02 would be the mothballed Unit. Mari later hijacks Unit 02 to fight Zeruel, and in desperation, activates Unit 02's Beast Mode which significantly increases its combat ability and gives it a more feral appearance. However, Mari is unable to defeat the Angel and Unit 02 is severely damaged, losing its left arm and part of its head.

Unit 02 is featured prominently throughout Evangelion 3.0, appearing to be only partially repaired from the damage it sustained during the last film, being called Unit 02'(Dash) by Misato at the beginning. At the beginning of the film, Unit 02 is one of the two Evas that participate in the operation to hijack an inactive Unit 01 from low Earth orbit, with Unit 02's equipment consisting of a harpoon gun, a pair of massive rocket boosters several times larger than the Eva itself and a cocoon-like pair of ablative heat shields to withstand atmospheric reentry; the boosters are seen to utilize vernier thrusters but their primary function is to provide a ten second deorbit burn and are thus unusable for combat maneuvers. In the middle of Evangelion: 3.0 You Can (Not) Redo, it is modified into Unit-02'γ. Near the end of the film, Asuka is forced to engage "Mode 777 (Triple Seven)" against Mark 09, producing effects similar to Beast Mode but is eventually self-destructed to destroy Mark 09.

EVA Unit 03

Unit 03 (参号機, Sangōki) was built in the United States by Nerv First Branch in Massachusetts, USA, Evangelion Unit 03^[6] is one of two Units built with the Second Production Model design. It is the brother Unit of Unit 04 (Unit 3 and Unit 4 were the only Evangelion who were addressed as males during the series). The United States government insisted on having the rights to build Unit 03 and Unit 04. A few minor changes were made between the first and second Production Models. Unit 03's color was unique, with much darker plates than any other Eva.

The pilot assigned to it was Toji Suzuhara, but in transit to Japan, it was possessed by the thirteenth Angel, Bardiel, which appeared as a cloud. As Bardiel, it was savagely torn apart by Unit 01, after the control of Unit 01 was switched from Shinji to the Dummy Plug system, designed to simulate an artificial pilot on the basis of Rei Ayanami's thought patterns. Toji, the pilot, is severely injured in the anime, but in the manga he dies.

Unit-03 is also shown in the movie Evangelion 2.0: You Can (Not) Advance, with Asuka Langley Shikinami as the test pilot. She was put into quarantine due to possible contact with Bardiel and was confirmed to have been placed in a medically induced coma due to her injuries when the entry plug was crushed. In the teaser trailer for Evangelion 3.0 attached at the end of the 2nd Rebuild film, she is shown awoken from her coma with an eye patch covering her left eye.

Unit 03 sports a predominately black color scheme with white and red highlights and during its fight with Unit 01, it grows a separate pair of arms out of the top of its shoulders to help strangle Unit 01. Both the original and the Rebuild version of the Eva have grey eyes, as evidenced by freeze-frame play of their destruction.

EVA Unit 04

While EVA Unit 04 (四号機, Yongōki)^[7] never actually appears in the series, it still serves a function in the story. Unit 04 was constructed at the Second Branch of Nerv, a desert site in Nevada, USA, acting primarily as a test subject for S² Engine (provided by the Third Branch of Germany) experimentation. Unit 04 was destroyed along with the entire Second Branch and all facilities within an 89 km radius. The cause of the accident remains unknown. Nerv determined that the incident occurred when the S² Engine was being installed in the unit, and that there were numerous factors that could have led to the accident. The very nature of the destruction itself is unknown as well. One theory behind Unit 04's destruction, suggested by Ritsuko Akagi, is that the S² Engine had opened up a Dirac sea similar to the one that was believed to comprise the twelfth Angel, Leliel. Unit 04's design is virtually identical to that of Unit 03. According to Gainax material, this unit is silver in color, with black and red detail. While Unit 04 does not appear on-screen in the series, it does make appearances in the continuities of various Evangelion spin-offs and games. The pilot of Eva 04 is never specified in the series. In some spin-offs, Unit 04 is piloted by Kensuke Aida.

• In an official Evangelion pachinko machine in Japan (based specifically on the 2008 film "Evangelion 1.0: You Are (Not) Alone"), once you reach a certain level, there is a short animation featuring Unit-04.^{[citation needed]} The scene shows the 6th Angel Ramiel during an attack on Tokyo-3 (the footage is spliced in from the film). When it destroys some missile launching sites, Unit-04 suddenly appears floating over a hill, with Kaworu Nagisa controlling it by floating in front of its head. Ramiel fires, but Kaworu's AT Field protects Unit-04. The EVA then charges forward with the Lance of Longinus. Ramiel reshapes itself and fires again, but Unit-04 blocks the attack with a scaled-up riot shield (previously seen only in merchandise, never-onscreen because of its impracticality in favor of AT Fields). After Ramiel stops its attack, Unit-04 hurls the Lance of Longinus at the Angel, which penetrates its own Field, and destroys it in this single shot. Kaworu and Unit-04 are seen casually standing on top of a lake at the end of the video.
  • This video seems to be the only known officially-licensed appearance of Evangelion Unit-04, but does confirm, in a way, that its appearance is based on Evangelion Unit-03, and that its coloring is silver with black and red. (This video also establishes Unit-04 in the coloring scheme of the Rebuild films, and shares similar decorations.)

Mass Production EVAs

These Evas appear in The End of Evangelion and were produced at seven different Nerv branches around the world, probably Germany (Third Branch), the United States (First Branch, Massachusetts), Japan (Matsushiro), the United Kingdom, France, Russia, and China. Units 05 and 06 were made in Germany; Unit 08 was produced in China. Seele had them produced as part of their backup plan for initiating Instrumentality, but only nine out of an envisioned twelve were completed. They are controlled directly by Seele via Dummy Plugs based on Kaworu Nagisa. In dialogue, they are referred to as the Eva Series (エヴァシリーズ, Evashirīzu).

Their physical build is different from previous Evas, being narrower in the chest and shoulders and wider in the hips, and apparently covered by the same reinforced plastic that coats the arms. The long jaws have red muscular lips, metal-plated teeth, a large grey tongue, and produce large quantities of saliva. They have no apparent eyes.^[8] Their heads overall have a similar shape to that of a whale. They are equipped with large, mechanical, avian-style wings that enable them to fly, and which can be fully retracted into the back. They also lack the shoulder-mounted armor "blades" which were characteristic of previous Evas. Their primary weapons are double-bladed Heavy Lances, which eventually transform into their true form, dark gray replicas of the Lance of Longinus. Additionally, the MP Evas consistently behave in an animal-like manner; they show formidable savagery, and circle Unit 02 in the air in a manner similar to vultures before descending to fight the Eva and tear it apart.

Each MP Eva contains an internal S² Engine, which grants them complete mobility (being freed from the umbilical cable) and no operational time limit.

In the alternate universe game Girlfriend of Steel 2, Kaworu Nagisa pilots Eva Unit 05, which is otherwise the same as the Mass Production units, except that the Dummy Plug is replaced by a standard entry plug.

Other

According to Misato, Unit 05 and Unit 06 were originally planned to be more or less a continuation of the production model design used for Units 02-04. However, when Seele began construction of the mass production model Eva Units 05-13, these plans were scrapped. The unfinished original Units 05 and 06 were scrapped for spare parts used to repair Units 00 and 02 after their fight with the Angel Zeruel. Various different EVA units have originated in spin-off games and other various media.

In the Battle Orchestra game two new EVA units are introduced. EVA Unit-Alpha (甲号機, Kōgōki) is a green colored EVA with distance-controlled gun barrels mounted on its shoulders (possibly inspired by the Psycommu System from the Gundam franchise), its pilot is unknown. EVA Unit-Beta (乙号機, Otsugōki), piloted by Kaworu Nagisa, is gold in color with wings and a katana. EVA Unit 04 appears as well, painted a different shade of silver and piloted by Kensuke Aida.

Units appearing in Rebuild of Evangelion

EVA Provisional Unit 05

The EVA Provisional Unit 05 (仮設五号機, Kasetsu Gogōki), piloted by Mari Illustrious Makinami, features in the opening of the second film in the Rebuild of Evangelion tetralogy and is held at the joint U.S./Russian Nerv Bethany Base. Unit-05 is designated as local specifications unit and less humanoid than the other Evas with a design that includes having shorter left and right arms that end in a pincer and a lance respectively, and instead of legs has four limbs that end in wheel like mechanisms. The Eva's torso is predominantly white with orange and gray areas; its limbs are a shade of green. Because of the inhuman design of the Eva, special tubes are attached to the wrists of the pilot's plug suit to help aid in movement and the pilot wears a helmet-like contraption. Rocket boosters and drills also feature in the design to help aid this speedy Eva once in action. It appears to lack an umbilical cord and gathers its energy from pantograph-like wires atop the shoulder pylons, which connect to the roofs of the tunnels of Bethany Base in Evangelion 2.0. The odd build is most likely due to its provisional status as moving on various terrains might be difficult. The Eva is solely sent into action against the previously released Third Angel which attempts to escape. The melee results in the destruction of the Angel, Unit 05 and Bethany base. Its designation as "Provisional" may be a reference to the EVA being launched despite Bethany base still waiting on several components for installation.

EVA Mark.06

Introduced in Rebuild of Evangelion, Mark.06 (マークシックス, Mākushikkusu) is first seen at the end of the first film and fully appears in the second film. It was initially designed with blue armor with a glowing red visor covering its eyes and head design similar to Unit 01. Underneath its armor, the Eva unit has dark gray skin decorated on the torso with a seven-eyed purple mask that is partially covered by a gray and red mask engraved with the words "Project Evangelion". In the 1.01 DVD release, Mark.06 has a glowing white halo. The narration states that it and its pilot "come down from the Moon". It is of SEELE's design who describe it as "the true Evangelion"; Gendo and Fuyutsuki had no hand in its creation.

In Evangelion 2.0, the unit's coloration is dark blue with gold highlights. It is piloted by Kaworu Nagisa. At the end of the film, Kaworu uses Mark.06 to throw a spear through Unit 01 (neutralizing it and stopping Third Impact) and descend from the Moon, after that declaring that he will make Shinji happy.

The unit briefly appears in Evangelion 3.0 where it is seen inactive and impaled in Terminal Dogma alongside Lilith. It was later revealed to have the Twelfth Angel sealed within it.

Interestingly, this is the first Unit in the franchise that doesn't use the official Japanese naming convention for Evangelions (number + gōki) but instead has an English designation phonetically transcribed into Japanese.

EVA Unit 08

First appeared in Evangelion 3.0, Evangelion Unit 08 (八号機, Hachigōki) is piloted by Mari Illustrious Makinami. The Unit seems similar to previous units, but the shoulder pylons are slightly different, and it appears to have thrusters on it. The head design is similar to the helmet of a suit of armor, with a protruding horn. Unlike its first depiction in the first teaser for the film, the Eva went through a significant redesign between films: while the teaser showed it having dark gray armor and a vaguely anchor-shaped pink visor, the final version - designated Unit-08α - has pink armor and a total of eight green eyes. Then partly through the movie, Unit-08α is modified by WILLE into Unit-08β, unlike Unit-08α, is not shaped like a typical production model. It is bulkier in hips, shoulders, and most notably in the torso. The plating on the chest, abdomen, and legs is far bulkier as well, and does not match the thin, sleek plating seen on most Evangelion units. Unlike Unit-08α, it also has large, pink guards around its forearms and wrists which add significantly to the bulk of the arms. Its coloring is largely the same, the most notable difference being that the pink portions of the shoulder pylons on Unit-08α are now white, as well as the arm colors being switched to a different order. At the beginning of the film, the Eva participates in the operation to hijack an inactive Unit 01 from low Earth orbit alongside Unit 02 but fails to achieve the required orbital speed, commencing atmospheric reentry after only a few minutes of spaceflight. While in suborbital flight, the Eva is armed with a cannon that appears to be an energy weapon similar in function to a sniper rifle. It is also armed with rocket boosters and a cocoon-like pair of ablative heat shields identical to Unit 02's.

EVA Mark 09

First appeared in Evangelion 3.0, Mark 09 is piloted by a Rei Ayanami clone. It has orange and white armor and a cyclopean head with a single red eye, closely resembling Unit 00. It is first seen in the operation where NERV kidnaps Shinji from WILLE, with the EVA losing its head during the skirmish. The missing head is not restored and near the end of the film the still headless Eva reappears, wielding a massive scythe to hold back Unit 02 and Unit 08 on its own. At the end of the film, it attempts to hijack control of the Wunder battleship with a number of luminescent blue organic tendrils sprouting from its legs, causing both the EVA's entry plug and the Wunder's bridge to turn black and display a large number of SEELE logos. The EVA also grows a new head closely resembling the Wunder's primary bridge while its armor changes to black. Even without a head, the EVA is capable of utilizing a ranged energy attack like many of the Angels. When the EVA is attacked by Unit-02γ, it is revealed that the entire EVA is made up of core material at this point, making all attacks that fail to destroy the entire body at once useless. It is finally destroyed by Unit-02γ's self-destruct. During various scenes, the EVA is specifically referred to as "Adams' [sic] Vessel" by multiple characters, along with a confirmation that the EVA used to be the Wunder's "former master" and that it is attempting to take control "back" from Unit 01.

EVA Unit 13

First appeared in Evangelion 3.0, Unit 13 (第13号機, Dai Jū-san-gōki) has an appearance near-identical to that of Unit 01, excluding having four eyes and arms. Its most distinctive feature is the Double Entry system of two entry plugs, with the two pilots capable of seeing each other as if they were in a single plug; either pilot is capable of controlling the EVA on their own, although both of them working in tandem is preferred. Unusually, the EVA does not appear to have an AT-field, instead using a number of remote-controlled drones called RS Hoppers to protect itself; these drones are each capable of deploying their own AT-field, can fly without any apparent means of propulsion and explode violently when damaged. Without these drones, the EVA does not appear to have any offensive weaponry but is immune to progressive blades and specialized anti-AT ammunition fired by Unit 08 fails to affect it whatsoever. The unit itself is also referred to as an "Adams" [sic], although the precise meaning of that term is left unclear. At the end of the film, Unit 13 is piloted by Shinji Ikari and Kaworu Nagisa who proceed to remove the two Spears of Longinus from Lilith, setting in motion a chain of events that cause the EVA to enter an "awakened" or "pseudo-evolved" form where it spontaneously emits light, sprouts a pair of wing-like protrusions from its shoulders and manifests a pair of concentric halos that allow it to fly at high speeds. In this state, the EVA proceeds to start Fourth Impact on its own before Kaworu commits suicide and Mari ejects Shinji's entry plug, making the EVA dormant once more. There is no umbilical cable socket on the EVA's back and it is unclear what power source it uses, if at all.

EVA Unit 8+2

Briefly mentioned in the first teaser for Evangelion FINAL, Unit 8+2 (8+2号機, Hachi Tasu Nigōki) appears to have a red and pink color scheme and is seen battling a large number of EVAs with a sword resembling the Magorox, an unused progressive sword design created by Ikuto Yamashita lead mecha designer for the original series and subsequently recycled in extended canon works. No further information about this EVA is known yet.

Mass Production EVAs

A large number of these Units appear in the first teaser for Evangelion FINAL, battling Unit 8+2. They have an identical head design to the Mark.06 but with dark green, almost gray armor. They are armed with Pallet Rifles, an Evangelion-sized bullpup assault rifle visually resembling a Steyr ACR and which used to be the standard-issue rifle for Evangelions in the original series but did not appear in Rebuild up to this point. Unlike the rifles in the series, these ones also have progressive knives crudely affixed onto them as a makeshift bayonet.

During Evangelion 3.0, a large number of Evangelion hands with these Units' color scheme and a pile of Pallet Rifles were briefly seen inside the ruined Nerv headquarters, implying the existence of an assembly line of sorts for these EVAs. No further information is known yet.

References

v t e Neon Genesis Evangelion Franchise Anime episodes Manga chapters Angelic Days Petit Eva: Evangelion@School Campus Apocalypse Films Death & Rebirth The End of Evangelion Rebuild of Evangelion 1.0 2.0 3.0 FINAL Video games Ayanami Raising Project Shinji Ikari Raising Project Iron Maiden 2nd Neon Genesis Evangelion 2 Shinji and Good Friends Battle Orchestra Misato Katsuragi's Reporting Plan Characters Shinji Ikari Rei Ayanami Asuka Langley Soryu Misato Katsuragi Gendo Ikari Kaworu Nagisa Related Evangelions Angels Themes Music "A Cruel Angel's Thesis" "Fly Me to the Moon" "Beautiful World" "Sakura Nagashi"