Neon Genesis Evangelion
The year is 2015, and over half of the Earth's population is dead, victims of the first attack by a mysterious race of beings known as the "Angels." To save what remains of Mankind, the human race must now place its trust in the mysterious NERV agency and its awesome avatars, the giant bio-mechanical Evangelions. Humanoid in form, these monstrous creations are the only force on Earth that can break through the Angels' Absolute Terror Fields (or the ATF) long enough to literally tackle the massive invaders in bloody hand to hand combat. However, even with these technological miracles, the odds are still stacked against Humanity, for only a handful of teenagers are capable of piloting an Evangelion, each of whom was born exactly nine months after the Angels' first attack. Was accelerated evolution responsible for the providential birth of these unexpected saviors, or are there much darker forces at work in the depths of NERV? Biblical prophecy, savage human drama and blistering hi-tech battle action collide in a spectacular orgy of violence and destruction in the multiple award winning NEON GENESIS EVANGELION.
Shinji Ikari is 14 years old, the "Third Child" and pilot of Evangelion Unit 01. When he arrives at NERV Headquarters, Tokyo-3 in the first episode of Neon Genesis Evangelion, it has been ten years since he has seen his father, Gendo Ikari. On the same day, an Angel attacks the city. His father's absence, coupled with the death of his mother when he was very young, has forced Shinji to develop an odd sort of self-sufficiency but left him unable to relate well to others. Despite his seeming calm when piloting Evangelion Unit 01, Shinji is given to bouts of paralyzing fear followed by fits of berserk rage. He is strongly attracted to the mysterious Rei Ayanami, though he does not know why. He is often referred to as the Third Child.
Asuka Langley Soryu, "Second Child" and pilot of Evangelion Unit 02. Like Rei Ayanami, Asuka has undergone special training. She is three-quarters German and one-quarter Japanese. Born and raised in the United States, Asuka hates to lose at anything. She is referred to as The Second Child (The Second Qualifier). As the series develops, we find out that Asuka's outside personality was meant to mask her own true feelings about herself, her family and everyone around her. Asuka feels almost the same way as Shinji does: lonely.
Rei Ayanami, "First Child" and pilot of Evangelion Unit 00. Rei has been undergoing special training since the Evangelion Development Project began. She suffered serious injuries that occurred during a re-activation testing. Rei is a girl of a few words and has considerable difficulty in expressing emotion.
