An Evangelion (エヴァンゲリオン) is a giant humanoid being of near-godlike power, created by NERV from samples of the First Angel, Adam (although Unit-01 might be an exception). Evangelions were supposedly created to combat the Angel threat, although their most important function (and one of their greatest secrets) is to initiate Third Impact to evolve humanity further.
Despite being giant humans (in the series' broader definition of the term "human"), Evangelions are often mistaken for giant robots, but as early as Episode 02 Evangelion Unit-01 is seen without its helmet on, revealing that Evangelions are clearly not robots, but cyborgs, living organic creatures with cybernetic machine and computer components grafted onto them. They are also covered from head to toe in restraining metal plates that hide their true organic form and serve to keep them under NERV's control, and in part because they have pilots who sit in the cockpit-like Entry Plug.
Evangelions have been imbued with human souls. With the exception of Unit-00 and possibly the Mass Production Evas, that is always the soul of the pilot's mother.
Evas run off power from an umbilical cable, attached to a socket in the back of the artificial spine segment. How electrical energy is converted for the Eva's usage, or if the Eva indeed is capable of motion off raw electrical energy alone, is not elaborated in the show. If the cable is broken or disconnected (For increased speed and mobility), Evas have up to five minutes of Internal Battery power in reserve (Alternatively quoted as one minute at maximum and five minutes with gain- varying depending upon plot).
In the Rebuild continuity, while this remains the same for the first two movies, in 3.0, the technology for feeding energy to an Eva appears to have evolved, as Evas 02' and 08, appear to have small, portable batteries connected to their backs rather than cables, allowing them greater freedom of movement and quicker replacements, should their energy run out. On the other hand, some Evas, such as Mark.04, Mark.06, Mark.09 and Evangelion 13 appear to be completely autonomous, having apparently limitless energy, likely due to the presence of an S² Engine.
Also, in this continuity, more is revealed about the hardware embedded within the Evangelion units. There is 255 terabytes of memory available to the software used to run the Evangelion Provisional Unit-05. It is unknown, however, if this also applies to the other Eva units. More curiously, the colors used by the holographic display to show the various information, alerts, and so on, seems to be changeable via a control panel, as seen when Mari plays with this feature in her Evangelion Unit-08.
Defensively the Evas are fitted with 1200 pieces of special armor that is able to resist a low yield nuclear blastand can protect the Eva from conventional weapons, they are also capable of creating protective A.T. Fields as well as eroding the A.T. Fields of Angels, and have tremendous strength in addition. In complete contrast to their size and mass, Evas are capable of acrobatic feats like drop-kicks and enormous spinning leaps into the air. Performance rises with increased synchronization, and an Eva in battle rage can inflict crippling physical damage on an Angel or even another Evangelion, or cast its A.T. Field as an offensive weapon. The height of Eva capabilities is the Berserk mode, when the resident soul has taken control from the pilot. It is characterized by savage, animal-like behavior. A berserker Evangelion has greatly enhanced physical strength, and, at the height of berserker mode, can run without any electrical power at all.
Evangelions have weapons and other equipment loaded on for combat purposes. Evas have computerized targeting systems, Radar and Sonar, as well as assorted weaponry.
All Evangelions (With the exception of Unit-00 in its original armor) have a prog knife stored inside their left shoulder pylon, and Unit-02 has a spike launcher in its right shoulder pylon. Unit-00's shoulder pylons have a rocket system that allows the Eva to slow down when making large jumps (or presumably increases jump height as well).
The Evangelions were designed after a specific type of Japanese monster called "Oni", commonly translated into "demon" or "ogre". In the words of Anno himself.
"There's a monster in Japan called the Oni; it has two horns sticking out of its head and the overall image of the Eva is based on that. I also wanted to give the impression that beneath this ‘robot monster’ image is not so much a robot, but a giant human."
Corresponding with Anno, Ikuto Yamashita worked to develop the design of the Evangelions (With the exception of the Mass Production Evangelions and the altered Unit-02 design used in End of Evangelion). In his words-
"So why did Evangelion wind up with that shape?" … The director instructed me to make, “the image of [an oni].” A giant just barely under the control of mankind. I get the feeling I've seen that correlation before … The image I had for the design concept was the fairy tale, Gulliver's Travels. Enormous Power Restrained. … What I came up with was a giant that looks like a relief on a wall. … I happily discarded the efficiency and feeling of giant size that you can guess at by sight alone. … after the designs were handed in, it caused a stir — even among the staff, positive and negative opinions were flying. And from here on out, I imagine it will cause a stir among comic readers and animation viewers."
The Evangelion Unit-01, being a "Test Type" Eva, has numerous features which are in trial stage and, therefore, are seen refined in later Evangelions.
First feature introduced with the Eva-01 is the Progressive Knife. Stored in its left shoulder pylon is a single PKN-01C Progressive Knife, a close-quarter combat weapon which is folded when stored. It is similar in both design and capabilities to a Evangelion-sized combat knife.
Another feature of the Eva-01, although it is more because of the nature of the soul inside the Eva (i.e. a mother wanting to protect her child), is the Berserk Mode, a mode where the Eva acts independently and without any apparent power source.
The Eva-01 is also equipped with the Dummy System, or DMYSYS, a special system which makes the Evangelion completely autonomous.
The last of its major features is its ability to awaken. In this form, all of the glowing green details turn red, the Eva gets a halo and its A.T. Field possibilities are greatly enhanced, far beyond the concepts previously seen (as seen when it grows an A.T. Field-made arm to replace its servered left arm). The awakening of the Eva eventually leads up to its transformation into a winged, three-eyed Giant of Light, suspiciously looking like one of the Adams.
Other features are the compatibility with the standard Evangelion weapons (such as Pallet Gun, etc..) as well as equipments, like the G-Type Equipment.
Evangelion Proto Type-00 the first successful Evangelion.
Eva-00's armor is primarily golden yellow with grey and white details all over its body.
The head design is quite boxy and singular. It has a single red sensor with no visible eyes whatsoever. It also has a transparent green, sensor-like dome (whether or not it's an actual sensor is not revealed) along with another screw head-like, yellow one on the top of its head.
The rest of its body armor is just a simple, standard Evangelion armor without any shoulder pylons. Its chest armor includes a V-shaped piece along with two rounded pieces that moves along with the Eva. Interestingly, both of the aspects of this chest armor are seen in the ones used on the Eva-01 (movable side pieces) and the Production Models (V-shaped piece).
Unit-00 undergoes a massive upgrade after the battle against the Sixth Angel in which it was heavily damaged. It has also been made more suitable for combat against the Angels.
The upgraded Unit-00, designated as Evangelion Proto Type-00. "Same Prototype Unit Zero (Revised)"), bears the exact same armor as the Production Model Evangelions, including a simpler V-shaped chest plate and shoulder pylons.
Evangelion Production Model-02 "General-Purpose Humanoid Battle Weapon Android Evangelion Utility Model Unit Two (Leading Mass-Production Model)") is the third Evangelion completed, as well as the first Production Model Evangelion ever made. Eva-02 is also the first Evangelion built specifically for combat against the Angels.
Notable design details will be carried on to the design for the subsequent Eva units, as well as the Unit-00'. The details are the reduced shoulder pylons and the sleeker and simpler chest plate. Eva-02's armor is mainly red, with white and yellow-orange details. The helmet of the unit bears four small green sensors, four nostrils in the middle of its "face" and a crescent-shaped piece on the forehead with four additional nostrils, forming two small horns.
Critically damaged by the Tenth Angel, it was salvaged.
The repaired Unit-02 first appears as the Evangelion Production Model-02'β. "General-Purpose Humanoid Battle Weapon Android Evangelion Utility Model Unit Two Revised Beta"). Its design remains relatively the same as the Eva-02 save for its head which now sports a new, grey lower jaw plate, as well as a plate on the right side of the helmet to replace the previous, now damaged, right sensors.
It is later upgraded as the Evangelion Production Model-02'γ "General-Purpose Humanoid Battle Weapon Android Evangelion Utility Model Unit Two Revised Gamma"). Its armor is more bulky overall, with more ornate plates and little glowing green details on its torso. Its left shoulder pylon has been removed as its left arm is now a prothesis.
SOURCE: Evangelion Fandom
SOURCE: Evangelion Fandom
