Saying that Evangelion is a tad confusing is like saying the human instrumentality program was a tad convoluted. There’s just so much going on. So much that gets left unsaid. So there’s no blaming a fan or casual viewer that just doesn’t get exactly what’s going on. There are plenty of questions that come to mind, but let’s spend some time focused on humanity’s greatest weapon, the Evangelion (or EVAs). Developed by NERV, these beings (definitely not mechs, but we’ll get to that) are humankind’s only real option against the angels that descend like sentient, infuriated nuclear bombs bent on planetary devastation.
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10 EVAs Wired In A Wireless World
In a world with lightning-fast computers the size of the palm of a hand, wireless internet that gets beamed through the house, and children that pilot giant mech-like creatures to save the world from alien (or not so alien, as it turns out) beings trying to destroy the world, you’d think, at the very least, that these mechs wouldn’t have to maneuver around hundreds and hundreds of meters of wire. While it is technically possible to operate an EVA without the use of a cord, their power only lasts very briefly. Depending on how far into what timeline viewers happen to find themselves.
9 They Have More In Common With Wolverine Than A Gundam
Casual viewers and anime fans alike may be susceptible to making a mistake for which they will be ridiculed until the 3rd Impact. EVAs are not, repeat, ARE NOT mechs. If anything, they’re much more similar to giant armor-wearing titans with little to no sentience and a hole in their spine. Which is to say that EVAs (with the exception of Unit-01) are all made through the truly horrifying process of (essentially) cloning Adam, the progenitor of the angels, and combining them with a unique mixture of technology, biology, and a little something extra.
While the EVAs don’t necessarily regenerate as fast as Wolverine, they are capable of regrowing (or reattaching) limbs. Not as effective as Marvel’s most angry Canadian, but certainly no Gundam to be sure. Add that with the number of experiments they've both gone through and a tendency to go berserk. A match made in heaven. Or a messed up lab someplace on Earth. Whichever.
8 Their Armor Does More Than Protect Them
While the armor does go a long way towards protecting the human-like flesh of the EVAs and the pilots within them, as stated earlier, EVAs have fairly significant regenerative abilities. This means that the armor that surrounds most of their bodies isn’t really necessary for their protection. Key-word: their. The armor is actually used as binding that control and inhibit the EVA. Much like the umbilical cords and power restraints, this armor is yet another failsafe designed to keep these massive tools of destruction in line.
7 They’re Made For More Than Just Fighting
The EVAs may be humanity’s last and best hope against the angels that continually attack, but they’re made for more than just violently dominating the angels. The EVAs were actually designed by SEELE, a secret organization within NERV, and were actually just a tool designed to initiate the Third Impact which they believe will lead to Human Instrumentality.
Essentially, all souls would be gathered into Lilith’s egg and create one living being. The individual would no longer exist. Depending on which timeline you follow, SEELE actually only plans on unifying themselves and bonding with an EVA, creating an undying god made with human souls. Essentially, this means leaving the rest of humanity to figure it out on whatever is left of the planet.
6 EVAs Are Grown From Samples Of Adam
While it may initially seem as though EVAs and Angels are complete opposites, locked in a battle for the fate of the world, they actually have a lot in common. Angels may come in some freaky and complex shapes uniquely designed to do more and more damage, and EVAs may just look like armor-covered giant lanky humans, but they actually come from the same source, Adam. As the progenitor of the angels, after his discovery, Adam was taken in by NERV to study. And much, much more. Eventually, NERV was able to create human-piloted humanoid artificial angels. Otherwise known as EVA or Evangelion.
5 Except For Unit-01
That’s right. All of the EVAs were created using the same source that brought forth all of the other angels, Adam. All of the EVAs except for Unit-01. Shinji Ikari’s Unit-01 is the only EVA born of Lilith. As such, Unit-01 has some unique capabilities.
While other EVAs (up until the mass-produced EVAs) require an umbilical cord, Unit-01 is the only one that can roam untethered. That is, however, only after it brutalizes the fourteenth angel, Zeruel, and devouring/ assimilating its S2 engine. Unit-01 also regularly acts on its own to protect Shinji or other interests.
4 EVAs Contain A Human Soul
While EVAs are large, capable weapons of mass destruction, they aren’t naturally gifted at love. Or having a soul. Both of which are required to sync a Human Pilot with a gigantic cybernetic death machine. So through the contact experiment, Gendo Ikari began the process of bonding human souls to lifeless EVAs. In fact, Yui Ikari, Gendo’s wife/ Shinji’s mother, was so dedicated to the process that she willingly bonded her soul to Unit-01’s core. While it appeared to be an accident to bystanders, Yui purposefully chose to bond with Unit-01 and when her body turned to LCL fluid her soul found a home within the EVA.
3 They Are Tuned To Specific Individuals
With a human soul bonded to the core of an EVA, picking the pilot is a relatively simple process. Just find the child that was left behind. This means that every child seen piloting an EVA has not only lost their mother, but they (for the most part, unknowingly) fight with them.
While Rei’s Unit-00 does not hold the soul of Rei’s mother (as Rei is a clone), it does contain half of Lilith’s soul. The other half being used to fill Rei (who, coincidentally enough, was created using the salvaged remnants of Yui Ikari).
2 Design Based On The Japanese Oni
While many Manga and Anime fans may find it easy to draw comparisons between EVAs and other contemporary designs of mechs, they’d actually have to look much further back to find the original inspiration. The EVAs design was actually based on the Oni from Japanese folklore. The Oni look, which can be translated as “demon” or “ogre”, was meant to make the EVAs look larger than life. As designer Ikuto Yamashita put it, the EVAs were meant to look like “ a giant just barely under the control of mankind”.
1 The Pilots Feel Everything
It’s pretty plain to see that throughout the course of the anime (manga, films, games, etc.) the pilots of the EVAs are in a significant amount of pain as the EVAs they operate take damage. It is, however, important to note that while the pilots are experiencing a sort of empathetic phantom pain, they are not actually injured. Although, there are certain circumstances under which pilots may incur injuries. Situations like a decapitation, a savaging of their EVAs body, or extremely high-level synchronization, can even kill the pilot inside the cockpit.
NEXT: 10 Hilarious Evangelion Memes That Only True Fans Will Understand
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