Nerv staff Gendo Ikari is Nerv's supreme commander, husband of Yui Ikari, and father of Shinji, with whom he has a difficult relationship. Gendo conducts the Adam Project and the Human Instrumentality Project. He has cold, pragmatic, and calculating mannerisms, displaying a distant attitude toward his subordinates; only Fuyutsuki seems to understand his thoughts. Gendo's attitude leads him to use any means necessary to achieve his personal goals, embarking on romantic and sexual relationships with Dr. Naoko Akagi and her daughter Ritsuko. Gendo leads the Instrumentality Project in hopes of reuniting with his wife Yui, who died in a mysterious accident years ago. Gendo is also the main antagonist of
Rebuild of Evangelion, and in particular
Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Time (2021). The character was originally conceived as a modern version of
Victor Frankenstein; he was inspired by the personal experiences of the series' staff members, reflecting the absent and emotionally detached Japanese father figure.
Neon Genesis Evangelion director
Hideaki Anno's father was also an influence on Gendo; Anno also took inspiration from
psychoanalysis concepts, especially the Freudian
Oedipus complex. Gendo ranked in several polls about the most attractive male characters, but reviewers also had negative opinions of him; they criticized his abusive and manipulative ways. Gendo's role in
Rebuild has been more positively received, especially in the final installment. His image has also been described as "one of the most easily recognizable images of anime on the internet"; his joined-hands pose, which fans named the Gendo pose, has been parodied in subsequent anime and manga.
Misato Katsuragi is the captain of the Nerv Operations Department and Shinji's guardian. Due to her childhood trauma, she has developed a frivolous, exuberant, and extroverted personality and leads a sloppy, messy lifestyle. Misato's affectionate personality sometimes causes her to prioritize her human feelings over her duty as a Nerv employee, and her job provokes internal conflict and causes her to make difficult choices. In the
Rebuild saga, Misato is the captain of Wille, an organization created to destroy Nerv. For the character, the staff took inspiration from
Fujiko Mine of
Lupin III, Japanese writer
Aya Sugimoto, and
Usagi Tsukino of
Sailor Moon, with whom she shares a voice actor. Mitsuishi described Misato as a lonely, insecure woman who tries to hide "the darkness and loneliness she harbors deep in her heart". Writer Dennis Redmond speculated that Misato may be based on Nadia Arwol from
The Secret of Blue Water, while Akio Nagatomi of The Animé Café compared her to Kazumi Amano from
Gunbuster. Misato has ranked high in popularity polls and has generally had a positive reception. Reviewers appreciated her tenacity, endearment, and psychology; deeming her realistic and underrated.
Kozo Fuyutsuki is Nerv's deputy commander. After obtaining a professorship as a teacher of metaphysical biology at
Kyoto University, in 1999 he met Yui Ikari, a promising student at the same institute. Around this time, he met Yui's boyfriend Gendo, of whom he was immediately suspicious. After the Second Impact, the
United Nations called upon Kozo to conduct a formal investigation into the event. Kozo met Gendo again, reinforcing his suspicions about him. Kozo began to think that he and a mysterious organization named Seele may be responsible for the catastrophe and the deaths of billions of people. In 2003, Kozo continued to independently investigate the matter; having arrived at the Artificial Evolution Laboratory, he threatened to publicly disclose the truth he discovered, but Gendo led him to Central Dogma, where he met Dr. Naoko Akagi and learned of Gehirn, the association in which they both secretly operate. Gendo asked Kozo to collaborate with him to build the new history of mankind; for unknown reasons, Kozo accepted and later became Gendo's close associate. Although Kozo shares Nerv's basic objectives, he occasionally shows he does not approve of its means. He has a balanced character and does not panic in dramatic situations. Despite his role as a deputy, he maintains an affectionate personality and a humane approach to his subordinates, including the pilots. In
The End of Evangelion, a vision of Yui Ikari appears to Kozo during Instrumentality and he smiles to welcome her; he serenely watches the process while waiting to reunite with the woman he never stopped loving. Kozo's last name Fuyutsuki comes from the of
the same name. and one of the main developers of the Evangelion units. In 2005, during college, Ritsuko met and befriended Misato Katsuragi, as well as her boyfriend Kaji, whom Ritsuko considered annoying. In 2008, after completing her studies at Tokyo-2, Ritsuko joined Gehirn Research Center as the head of Project E. Following her transfer to the special agency Nerv, Ritsuko became responsible for the management of the Magi supercomputer. At Nerv, Ritsuko comes into close contact with her mother's lover Gendo Ikari, learning secret information that is withheld from almost all other members of the organization. Ritsuko is rational, and has a strong sense of discipline and detached judgment. She finds it difficult to reconcile these sides of her character, which are often a source of violent, emotional contrasts. Ritsuko shows great determination and indifference, and hesitates to talk about herself, even with longtime friends, which ultimately fractures her friendship with Misato by the end of the series. Despite her rational and reserved exterior, she is sensitive, expressive, and passionate. At the beginning of her university career, Ritsuko dyed her hair blonde to differentiate herself from her mother Naoko. She later fell in love with Gendo Ikari, with whom she entered a secret romantic relationship and offered him her scientific skills and body. Ritsuko is jealous of Rei, the center of Gendo's attention, and feeling used and betrayed, she carries out reckless acts of revenge against him. In
The End of Evangelion, Ritsuko is no longer able to manage her feelings of love and hate; she attempts to destroy Nerv's headquarters, uttering the phrase "Mom, do you want to die with me?". However, the Casper computer, in which Naoko's personality is imprinted, refuses the command to self-destruct, and Gendo shoots Ritsuko dead.
Newtype magazine compared Ritsuko to previous Anno characters, such as Kazumi Amano from
Gunbuster and Electra from
Nadia.
Ryoji Kaji is a member of Nerv's Special Investigations Department. During college, he met Misato Katsuragi and Ritsuko Akagi. He later enters into a romantic relationship and cohabitation with Misato, which was broken off two years later. When Ryoji joined Nerv, he was transferred to Germany and appointed as Asuka's guardian. In 2015, he traveled with Asuka to Japan and met his former university friends. During the trip, he secretly carried the embryo of Adam, the first Angel, and delivered it to Gendo Ikari. For Gendo, Ryoji sabotages the Jet Alone, a robot built by Nerv's rival chemical industry community. Ryoji works at the Investigations Department of the Japanese Government Ministry of Internal Affairs and is also assigned by Seele to monitor Gendo Ikari. Ryoji is a spy under the pay of three organizations, which Gendo is aware of, but he seems to benefit the most from his presence. Although the motive for Ryoji's actions remains unknown, he tries to find the truth about Nerv's real objectives. After the battle against the Angel Zeruel, one of Ryoji's informants betrays him and a third man assassinates him. Ryoji bequeaths the results of his investigations to Misato. Some fan theories about the identity of his murderer arose; starting from the twentieth episode, many fans thought Misato, who takes a gun in the scene before his murder, is responsible, but the main staff falsified this theory, saying the responsible party would be found among the members of Seele or the secret services. To avoid misunderstanding, some scenes of the director's cut version of the series were changed. The character was inspired by Captain Foster from the television series
UFO.
Makoto Hyuga is one of Nerv's main operators who, from the command bridge, follows and controls all operations of the Eva units. He assists Major Misato Katsuragi in the strategic planning of the battles against the Angels. 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 Katsuragi, due to his skills and ability to gather secret information. On some occasions, Makoto acts rashly and seems to have feelings for Misato. Although Makoto is aware of his feelings, which are not reciprocated, he continues to assist Misato and launches into dangerous situations to help her. In
The End of Evangelion, Misato appears to him during Instrumentality, and a mixed expression of terror and pleasure is visible on his face. His last name is derived from the Imperial Japanese Navy battleship
of the same name. Hideaki Anno said he does not remember why he named the character Makoto, but says a possible influence may have been the novel
Shinsengumi Keppuroku by
Ryōtarō Shiba. for whom she feels a sense of veneration as she faithfully carries out her directives. Although she is a diligent and competent assistant, she is emotionally immature, and Ritsuko accuses her of excessive idealism. Maya's scrupulous character makes her feel aversion to the Dummy System, which she considers to be inhuman. During bloody wartime confrontations, Maya feels revulsion or vomits. Over the course of the series, it is implied that Maya gradually develops feelings beyond professional respect for her
senpai which turns into
sapphic love. For the names
Maya and
Ibuki, Anno took inspiration from two cruisers of the Imperial Japanese Navy and a commander in the series
Return of Ultraman. Shigeru is realistic, serious, professional, and emotionally detached. He keeps his life and private life private and does not socialize much with his colleagues, although he has good relations with them. At work, Shigeru is calm and calculating. Shigeru is a big fan of music and plays guitar. In
The End of Evangelion, during Instrumentality, Shigeru is terrified at the sight of Rei Ayanami's clones. As his colleagues transform into LCL, an expression of terror is visible on his face, and Rei does not take on the appearance of any of his loved ones; according to the book
The Essential Evangelion Chronicle, this is because he "has never loved another person". His last name is derived 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. is a fan of military life, and often plays survivor games when he is alone in the countryside. Like his classmates Shinji Ikari, Toji Suzuhara, Rei Ayanami, and Hikari Horaki, Kensuke is motherless. Some dialogue in the seventeenth episode suggests that his father is part of the Nerv administration, either in its research department or general affairs division. Along with the rest of the school, he moves to another place after Tokyo-3 is destroyed.
Hikari Horaki voiced Hikari in Japanese. is the head of class 2-A at Tokyo-3 Municipal Middle School. She has an older sister named Kodama and a younger sister named Nozomi. Hikari is grumpy, rigid, and rule-abiding but hides a sweet, patient side; she is caring and attentive to the needs of her sisters and friends. Hikari constantly taunts and reprimands her partner Toji Suzuhara, likely to repress her feelings of love towards him. Among the girls of 2-A, Hikari is the only one who can approach Asuka. In the series' final episodes, Hikari's companion goes through an emotional breakdown and Hikari remains close to her, hosting Asuka in her house, and showing her sincere and unconditional affection until the end. For the character's surname, Anno took inspiration from Murakami's novel
Ai to gensō no fascism;
Other characters Naoko Akagi is the mother and colleague of Dr. Ritsuko Akagi. Naoko is a world-renowned scientist and a member of the Gehirn Research Center, and knows the truth about Second Impact and the Eva creation project. Naoko embarked on a secret relationship with Gendo, Gehirn's commander-in-chief, while he was married to Yui. In 2008, Naoko completed the fundamental theory of the Magi System supercomputer, which was completed two years later. In the three Magi
biocomputers she developed, she digitally transcribed the main aspects of her personality; as a woman, as a scientist, and as a mother. Naoko later realized that Gendo was exploiting her for her talent as a scientist and researcher. but ignored the truth and continued the relationship. In 2010, Gendo arrived at the base with a child named Rei Ayanami, who resembles Yui. On the evening of her visit, Rei gets lost in Gehirn's control room and runs into Naoko, whom she calls an "old hag", which Gendo also called her. Naoko recognizes Yui's features in Rei's face, and in a fit of rage, she strangles Rei and then commits suicide by crashing into the Caspar computer. For the character's name, Hideaki Anno took inspiration from an old elementary-school company of his. and Gendo's wife. In 1999, when she was a student at Kyoto University, she met Professor Fuyutsuki and discussed research on artificial evolution with him. Later that year, she became romantically involved with Gendo, whom she married, to Fuyutsuki's disappointment. Later, Yui works with her husband at the Laboratory for Artificial Evolution. In 2004, at the age of twenty-seven, Yui willingly proposed herself as a subject in an experimental activation of Unit 01. During the test, Yui was killed in front of Gendo, the other members of the laboratory, and her son Shinji. Yui was absorbed by the humanoid and her body disappeared. Attempts to recover her were unsuccessful, and the case was dismissed as an accident but became public knowledge. In the series' final episodes and in
The End of Evangelion, however, it is revealed that the accident was the result of Yui's deliberate choice. Her soul is kept inside the unit, and she is occasionally able to aid Shinji by controlling its movements. In
The End of Evangelion, Yui's spirit gives Shinji the courage to choose his future and that of humanity, rejecting Instrumentality. Hideaki Anno chose the name Yui because it is similar to Rei's name; while means "zero" or "nothingness", can be translated as "only one". During the test, she suffered mental contamination and was psychologically damaged. After being hospitalized, Kyoko became unable to recognize Asuka and spoke to a cloth doll who she believed to be her daughter. In the meantime, Kyoko's husband begins an affair with another scientist. Shortly afterward, Asuka is chosen as the Second Child and pilot of Unit 02; Asuka, believing the event could induce her mother to recognize her again, runs to Kyoko's hospital room, only to find her body hanging from the ceiling. It is assumed that a part of Kyoko's soul or her maternal side remains within Eva-02. For the names
Zeppelin and
Sōryū, staff took inspiration from two warships—one German and the other Japanese—while the name Kyōko was inspired by a character in a comic book by
Shinji Wada. Multiple cybernetic components are grafted into his body, allowing him to have
vital energy despite his advanced age, being sixty-seven years old. Keel secretly manipulates the world's fate to see the Third Impact realized. Keel is of German nationality and has a calm, rational personality. For the character's name, the authors were inspired by biologist
Konrad Lorenz; is most likely the result of a biotechnology experiment and has a serial number on his collar. He seems to have a high
IQ, which allows him to bathe himself, understand human languages, read a newspaper, and live independently inside Misato's apartment. In the series' final episodes, Pen Pen is moved to a country house to live with the Horaki family. Yoshiyuki Sadamoto designed the character to meet the staff's request to include a being that could serve as the series mascot. Because the show is set in
Hakone, a town known for its hot springs, Pen Pen was at first conceived as a monkey, but the idea was considered unattractive and was discarded. Pen-Pen is possibly inspired by , a genetically modified penguin that appears in a 1986 anime of the same name.
Shiro Tokita is a representative of the Community of United Chemical Industries of Japan, which is mainly responsible for the construction of the Jet Alone, a humanoid robot developed to compete with the Nerv's Eva, about which he is privy to much secret information gained from espionage operations. Shiro appears only in the seventh episode of the series, in which he openly mocks the competitors' capabilities and ridicules the Evangelions in front of the project manager Ritsuko Akagi. During the activation experiment, the Jet Alone goes out of control, threatening to create a nuclear crisis. After initial hesitation, Tokita gives Misato Katsuragi the access code to activate the stop command. For the character's name, Anno drew from Murakami's
Ai to gensō no fascism; the seventh episode also features men named Manda and Yasugi, whose names are borrowed from the same novel. ==Other media==