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In Japan, the characters met with a favorable audience reception, becoming the subjects of merchandising articles and winning popularity polls. Critics had mixed feelings about their psychological depth; some reviewers appreciated their complexity and depth, and praised Anno's script, but others found the characters stereotypical or problematic, and did not appreciate the insistence on their weaknesses and characterization. The show's last two episodes proved controversial, since the plot is eclipsed by moments of introspection. Some of the main heroes, especially Rei Ayanami, inspired later anime series, creating or helping to spread new stereotypes in Japanese animated productions.
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In the show's fourteenth episode, Anno wanted to investigate Rei Ayanami, whom he felt he had not adequately explored and with whom he felt less affinity than the other characters. Running out of ideas, an acquaintance of Anno lent him a book on mental illness.[42] Since then, Anno tried to include more concepts from psychology and psychoanalysis into the show.[43] The show's main theme thus became the deepening of the human inner lives[44] and reflections on interpersonal communication are depicted through streams of consciousness of the protagonists.[45][46] Shinji's character was deepened through internal monologues, as in the sixteenth[47][48] and twentieth episodes.[49][50] The last episodes also suffered from the tight production schedule; they were made in a short time to meet the deadlines. In the twenty-fifth episode, the protagonists undergo a psychoanalysis session in a dark theater, retracing their childhoods through flashbacks.[51] By rewriting the script, Anno focused only on the psychology of the main characters[52] Shinji in particular,[53][54] completely abandoning the main plot and not offering a clear conclusion to the narrative of the anime.[55][56] He tried to deliver a message to and criticism of the otaku world and himself, as a long-time otaku.[57]
Rei Ayanami (綾波 レイ, Ayanami Rei) is a pilot who is assigned to command Evangelion Unit 00 as First Child. Her date of birth is unknown.[96] Rei is a taciturn,[97] shy girl who mechanically carries out any order from her superiors, even if it is particularly cruel. She is committed to fighting against the Angels as though the fight is the only point of connection between her and other people, making it her only reason for living. Rei minimizes contact with others;[98] the only exception being Gendo Ikari, to whom she is more open.[99] Rei is a clone who was created from the genes of Yui Ikari, Gendo's wife; every time Rei dies she is replaced by a new clone, making her aware of always being replaceable. As the show progresses, Rei slowly makes friends with Shinji, her colleague at Nerv and classmate, discovering human emotions and acquiring greater self-awareness.[100]
Asuka Langley Soryu (惣流アスカラングレー, Sōryū Asuka Rangurē, IPA: [soːɾʲɯː asɯ̥ka ɾaŋɡɯɾeː]) is a pilot who is assigned to command Evangelion Unit 02 as the Second Child.[118][119] She is a red-haired, blue-eyed, Japanese-German girl who was raised and educated in Germany.[120] Asuka is a child prodigy who graduated from college at a young age; she is brave, positive,[121] and enthusiastic about her role as a pilot but has a pronounced inferiority complex towards males.[122] With recent acquaintances, Asuka appears to be authoritarian.[123] Although she has a natural spontaneity, she suffers from mental problems, which alongside her excessive self-love make her lose the ability to pilot her Evangelion in the second half of the series. Asuka is attracted to her colleague Shinji Ikari, but as events progress she starts to develop ambivalent feelings towards him.[124] In the final episodes of the anime, Asuka develops a deep self-loathing and begins to feel anxiety at the idea of being alone,[125] in a framework similar to separation anxiety disorder.[126] In the Rebuild of Evangelion tetralogy, Asuka is renamed to Asuka Langley Shikinami and she is given the rank of Captain in the European Air Force.
Makoto Hyuga (日向 マコト, Hyūga Makoto) is one of the main Nerv operators who, from the command bridge, follows and controls all operations of Eva units.[274] He assists Major Misato Katsuragi in the strategic planning of the battles against the Angels.[275] Makoto has a friendly, kind, and compassionate nature but he speaks his mind and is not intimidated, even in front of his superiors. Compared to his colleagues, Makoto is more confident with Major Katsuragi, due to his skills and his ability to gather secret information. On some occasions, Makoto acts rashly and seems to have feelings for Misato.[276][277] Although Makoto is aware of his feelings, which are not reciprocated, he continues to assist Misato and launches into dangerous actions to help her. In The End of Evangelion, during the Human Instrumentality, Misato appears to him, and a mixed expression of terror and pleasure is visible on his face.[278] His last name is taken from the Imperial Japanese Navy battleship of the same name. Hideaki Anno said he does not remember his reasons for naming the character Makoto but sais a possible influence may have been the novel Shinsengumi Keppuroku by Ryōtarō Shiba.[21]
Shigeru Aoba (青葉 シゲル, Aoba Shigeru) is, along with Makoto Hyuga and Maya Ibuki, one of the technical operators of the Operations Command Center at Nerv Headquarters.[283] Shigeru is realistic, serious,[284] professional, and emotionally detached. He is not in the habit of talking about himself or his private life and does not socialize with his colleagues, although he has good relations with them. At work, Shigeru is calm and calculating.[285] Shigeru is a big music fan and plays guitar.[286][287] In The End of Evangelion, during the Human Instrumentality, Shigeru is terrified by the sight of so many clones of Rei Ayanami. While his colleagues serenely transform into LCL, an expression of terror is visible on Shigeru's face and Rei does not take on the appearance of any of his loved ones; according to the book The Essential Evangelion Chronicle, an official volume, this is because he "has never loved another person".[288] His last name comes from the Japanese Imperial Navy cruiser of the same name; the name Shigeru was chosen to create a pun with Aoba Shigereru, a 1974 Japanese film that was directed by Kihachi Okamoto.[21]
Kensuke Aida (相田 ケンスケ, Aida Kensuke) is a student in class 2-A of the first municipal middle school in Tokyo-3. Kensuke has strong dialectical skills,[289][290] is a fan of military life[291][292] and often plays survivor games when he is alone in the countryside.[293] Like his classmates Shinji Ikari, Toji Suzuhara, Rei Ayanami, and Hikari Horaki, Kensuke is motherless.[294] Some of the dialogue in the seventeenth episode suggests his father is part of the Nerv administration, either in the research department or in the general affairs division. With the rest of the school, he moves to another place after the destruction of Tokyo-3.[295]
The protagonists of Neon Genesis Evangelion appeared on the covers of magazines specializing in anime and manga, such as Animage and Newtype, and the anime became the most-discussed product of the Japanese animation industry. Since the broadcast of the first episode at Comiket conventions, it appeared in the dōjin market,[464][465] attracting male and female audiences in equal numbers.[466][467] The Artifice's Justin Wu attributed the characters' success to several factors, such as Sadamoto's designs and the open-ended nature of the product, which is characterized by obscure points and facts that are left to viewers' interpretation and imagination; according to him, Neon Genesis Evangelion is a pivotal event in the history of merchandise, which became an important market.[468] According to Newtype magazine, after the anime's success; "hordes of otaku fllooded Akihabra in search of the enigmatic Rei Ayanami, and companies realized for the first time that catering to the geek crowd could be very profitable ... Akihabara itself has transformed from an 'electric town' famous for household appliances to the geek paradise it is today".[469] Such a high trade in figures, trading cards, and similar products began the moe phenomenon, in which the audience's attention is focused on empathy and attraction to the characters rather than the plot.[469][470] According to scholar Patrick Galbraith, Neon Genesis Evangelion began a massive growth in anime that focused on cute girls, causing the fanzine and figure markets to grow tenfold due to viewers' emotional response to the characters, with "[e]ntire fanzine conventions ... committed to the series and its characters".[471]
Another version of the character called Mari Makinami appears in the Extra Stage: Eden in Summer of the Neon Genesis Evangelion (manga). The manga author, Sadamoto, insists it is simply fanservice and not canon to the manga or the Rebuild films.[21]
She is a sixteen year old girl that has long hair and is usually seen wearing denim shorts, a short sleeve shirt and short boots. She also usually carries a bag with the things she uses in university. When she goes visit Kōzō Fuyutsuki office, she uses a white coat over her clothes with sleeves rolled up her elbows. After she and Yui Ikari talks in the office after chasing around the rats that got loose, Yui fixes her hair in pigtails and also gives her glasses to Mari. Making her similar to Mari Makinami Illustrious, but her body seems to be way less developed than her, mainly in her breasts area.
Mari (マリ[?]) is a fictional character from the Evangelion: ANIMA novel. She shares the same name as Mari Illustrious Makinami and looks like a young version of her, the two don't seem to be literally related. She pilots the US Evangelion/Wolfpac.