Asuka Langley Soryu
Encyclopedia
is a 14-year old fictional character from the Neon Genesis Evangelion franchise
. Within the series, she is designated as the Second Child and the pilot of the Evangelion Unit 02. Her surname is romanized as Soryu in the English manga
and Sohryu in the English version of the TV series, the English version of the movie, and on Gainax's website.
Asuka's surname comes from the Japanese World War II
aircraft carrier Soryu
, her German surname from the American World War II aircraft carrier Langley
, and her Rebuild surname from the Japanese World War II destroyer Shikinami. Her first name comes from Asuka Saki (砂姫 明日香, Saki Asuka), who is the main character of the Japanese comic, written by Shinji Wada
.
Character designer Yoshiyuki Sadamoto
explained that he “first designed an Asuka-type girl as the lead character” but felt it might be too similar to previous anime that he and Anno had worked on, such as Gunbuster
and Nadia
. He suggested to Anno that they change the lead character to a boy, which would be more in keeping with the robot genre.
As he and Anno progressed with designing the series, Sadamoto came to believe that Asuka would occupy the position of an “'idol' in the Eva world". He also described his belief that the relationship between Asuka and Shinji would be similar to the relationship between Jean and Nadia in the earlier Nadia. Asuka's personality, as well of those for the other characters, was designed so as to be understood at a glance.
Yuko Miyamura, Asuka's Japanese voice actress, noted that "Asuka wasn't the most open-hearted character I've ever met...every time I tried to draw myself in closer synchronization, Asuka would never allow herself to sync with 'me'... One day, I figured out that there was a wall in Asuka's heart". Much later, she stated that work on the series was "very hard" and that at times she had "wanted to erase Evangelion.
Tiffany Grant
, Asuka's English voice actress, felt that playing Asuka was "refreshing", as "she says the most horrible things to people, things that you'd like to say to people and can't get away with."
to live and spends much of the final episodes of the television series in a hospital bed in a catatonic state.
, as Japanese Strategic Self Defense Force invade NERV, Asuka is placed inside Unit-02, which is submerged in a lake within the Geofront, for her protection. As she is bombarded by depth charges, Asuka declares that she does not want to die and, in a moment of clarity, realizes that her mother's soul is within the Eva and has been protecting her all along. Her self-identity regained, she emerges and defeats the JSSDF before being confronted by the Mass Produced Evas. Though she successfully disables all nine opponents, Unit 02's power running out and the infinite power of the Mass Produced Evas' S² Engines (which allow them to remain functional despite being severely damaged or mutilated) finally allow them to eviscerate and dismember Unit 02 using their Lance of Longinus replicas. Shinji then is prepared to start Third Impact; in an indeterminate scene, he confronts Asuka, who argues with him and rejects his pleas for her to love him - at which point he begins to strangle her, and Third Impact/Instrumentality begins. After Shinji rejects Instrumentality, she appears beside Shinji in the film's final scene.
naming convention, and her holding the rank of captain. She is also no longer shows the same infatuation with Kaji, choosing to ignore an invitation to go on a trip with him until Misato forced her to go. In addition, she is the test pilot for Evangelion Unit 03, instead of Toji, but she manages to survive the Evangelion's possession by an Angel.
Asuka also appears in many manga series based on the anime, including Neon Genesis Evangelion
by Yoshiyuki Sadamoto
. The events in this manga series mirror those of the anime with some divergences apparent. Asuka appears as a main character in the series and is depicted, for the most part, similar to her anime counterpart. Asuka appears in various other manga spin-offs including the Shinji Ikari Raising Project and Neon Genesis Evangelion: Campus Apocalypse with varying changes to her personality and characterization.
Asuka also makes appearances in various video games alongside other Evangelion characters such as in Neon Genesis Evangelion for the Nintendo 64
as well as the popular cross-over video game franchise Super Robot Wars
, where she often butts heads with the equally hot-headed and intelligent Kouji Kabuto, the pilot of Mazinger Z
and Mazinkaiser
. She is also implied to have developed crushes on famous heroes such as Char Aznable
(in the guise of Quattro Bageena) and Amuro Ray
. However, in Super Robot Wars Alpha, Asuka jealously seizes a bouquet of roses from Shinji meant for Lynn Minmay. In Super Robot Wars Alpha 3
, she snaps Shinji out of his depressed state during the battle with the Mass Produced Evas by declaring that she could not be with someone who'd simply lie down and die.
poll from March 2010, Asuka was voted as the third most popular female anime character from the 1990s. The June 2010 issue of Newtype
ranked Asuka Langley Shikinami #8 in its monthly top 10 character survey. One reviewer describes her fatal flaw as "excessive Pride", noting that her mother goes insane after taking a test pilot experience on herself just as Asuka suffers a mental breakdown or contamination when challenging the 16th Angel herself. Pete Harcoff of Anime Critic described Asuka as providing much of the comic relief, while also being an "annoying snot".
Asuka's fight sequence against the Mass-Production Evangelions in The End of Evangelion was particularly well-received by critics who felt that it was her definitive moment, as otherwise she remains static for most of the film. Praise was also given to Tiffany Grant
for her role as Asuka's English voice actress. Mike Crandol of Anime News Network
stated that Grant was "her fiery old self as Asuka."
Theron Martin wrote that Asuka's portrayal in Evangelion: 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance is "distinct from the get-go," stating that she is even more anti-social than in the original anime series. Martin also wrote that despite seeming to be the "most socially adjusted Eva pilot in the TV series," the Asuka of Evangelion 2.0 "makes no pretenses about liking anyone" and that she "seems motivated as much by establishing herself in a future career path in NERV as she is by her personal pride." Eric Surrell also commented on Asuka's role in Evangelion: 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance, stating that "the arrival and sudden dismissal of Asuka was shocking and depressing, especially considering how integral she was to the original Evangelion."
Neon Genesis Evangelion franchise
The franchise is an umbrella of Japanese media properties generally owned by the anime studio Gainax. It has grossed over 150 billion yen since 1995. The central works of the franchise feature an apocalyptic mecha action story which revolves around the efforts by the paramilitary organization...
. Within the series, she is designated as the Second Child and the pilot of the Evangelion Unit 02. Her surname is romanized as Soryu in the English manga
Neon Genesis Evangelion (manga)
is a long-running manga series by Yoshiyuki Sadamoto and published by Kadokawa Shoten. It began in the February issue of Shōnen Ace in December 1994. It consists of 13 volumes, each composed of several "stages" or chapters...
and Sohryu in the English version of the TV series, the English version of the movie, and on Gainax's website.
Conception
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
aircraft carrier Soryu
Japanese aircraft carrier Soryu
was an aircraft carrier of the Imperial Japanese Navy. During the Second World War, she took part in the attack on Pearl Harbor, Wake Island, Port Darwin and raids in the Indian Ocean before being sunk at the Battle of Midway.-Design:...
, her German surname from the American World War II aircraft carrier Langley
USS Langley (CV-1)
USS Langley was the United States Navy's first aircraft carrier, converted in 1920 from the collier USS Jupiter , and also the U.S. Navy's first electrically propelled ship...
, and her Rebuild surname from the Japanese World War II destroyer Shikinami. Her first name comes from Asuka Saki (砂姫 明日香, Saki Asuka), who is the main character of the Japanese comic, written by Shinji Wada
Shinji Wada
was a Japanese manga artist in Kure, Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan, and best known for the creation of the Sukeban Deka franchise. He has been the cover artist for and had stories published in the bishōjo lolicon manga anthology series Petit Apple Pie....
.
Character designer Yoshiyuki Sadamoto
Yoshiyuki Sadamoto
is a Japanese character designer, manga artist, and one of the founding members of the Gainax anime studio. Before the studio was founded under the official name , he served as animator on the second animated project, the Daicon IV opening animation...
explained that he “first designed an Asuka-type girl as the lead character” but felt it might be too similar to previous anime that he and Anno had worked on, such as Gunbuster
Gunbuster
Gunbuster, known in Japan as is a six episode anime OVA series created by Gainax in 1988. It was the directorial debut of Hideaki Anno, best known as the director of Neon Genesis Evangelion. The title is a combination of the titles of classic tennis anime Aim for the Ace!, whose plot inspired...
and Nadia
Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water
is a Japanese animated television series inspired by the works of Jules Verne, particularly Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea and the exploits of Captain Nemo...
. He suggested to Anno that they change the lead character to a boy, which would be more in keeping with the robot genre.
As he and Anno progressed with designing the series, Sadamoto came to believe that Asuka would occupy the position of an “'idol' in the Eva world". He also described his belief that the relationship between Asuka and Shinji would be similar to the relationship between Jean and Nadia in the earlier Nadia. Asuka's personality, as well of those for the other characters, was designed so as to be understood at a glance.
Yuko Miyamura, Asuka's Japanese voice actress, noted that "Asuka wasn't the most open-hearted character I've ever met...every time I tried to draw myself in closer synchronization, Asuka would never allow herself to sync with 'me'... One day, I figured out that there was a wall in Asuka's heart". Much later, she stated that work on the series was "very hard" and that at times she had "wanted to erase Evangelion.
Tiffany Grant
Tiffany Grant
Tiffany Lynn Grant is an American voice actress and script writer who is known for her English-dubbing work with the former ADV Films on such anime films and television series as Neon Genesis Evangelion, in which she voiced the character Asuka Langley Soryu...
, Asuka's English voice actress, felt that playing Asuka was "refreshing", as "she says the most horrible things to people, things that you'd like to say to people and can't get away with."
Neon Genesis Evangelion
Asuka is first introduced into the series in episode 8; with the arrival of Eva Unit 02 and the battle with the Angel Gaghiel, Asuka is shown as maintaining a high synchronization ratio and exceptional skills as an Eva pilot, being very aggressive and confident in battle. After first being defeated in battle by Zeruel, Asuka's self-confidence (and, correspondingly, her synch ratio and effectiveness as a pilot) begins to dwindle. This comes to a head in episode 22, when Arael appears and Asuka, burdened by increasingly poor results in synchronization tests, is infuriated by being ordered to serve as backup to Rei. She defies orders and tries to attack the Angel alone, but is overwhelmed by a psychological attack by the Angel, forcing her to relive her painful memories and resulting in a mental breakdown. She becomes incapable of piloting Unit 02, and since piloting Eva is the meaning of her life, Asuka loses the willWill (philosophy)
Will, in philosophical discussions, consonant with a common English usage, refers to a property of the mind, and an attribute of acts intentionally performed. Actions made according to a person's will are called "willing" or "voluntary" and sometimes pejoratively "willful"...
to live and spends much of the final episodes of the television series in a hospital bed in a catatonic state.
The End of Evangelion
In The End of EvangelionThe End of Evangelion
is a 1997 Japanese animated science fiction film written and directed by Hideaki Anno along with Kazuya Tsurumaki; it ended the anime releases in the Neon Genesis Evangelion franchise until the Rebuild of Evangelion tetralogy remakes were announced in 2006....
, as Japanese Strategic Self Defense Force invade NERV, Asuka is placed inside Unit-02, which is submerged in a lake within the Geofront, for her protection. As she is bombarded by depth charges, Asuka declares that she does not want to die and, in a moment of clarity, realizes that her mother's soul is within the Eva and has been protecting her all along. Her self-identity regained, she emerges and defeats the JSSDF before being confronted by the Mass Produced Evas. Though she successfully disables all nine opponents, Unit 02's power running out and the infinite power of the Mass Produced Evas' S² Engines (which allow them to remain functional despite being severely damaged or mutilated) finally allow them to eviscerate and dismember Unit 02 using their Lance of Longinus replicas. Shinji then is prepared to start Third Impact; in an indeterminate scene, he confronts Asuka, who argues with him and rejects his pleas for her to love him - at which point he begins to strangle her, and Third Impact/Instrumentality begins. After Shinji rejects Instrumentality, she appears beside Shinji in the film's final scene.
Rebuild of Evangelion
In the four-film re-imagining of the TV series, Asuka makes her first appearance in the second film, Evangelion: 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance. Several changes have been made to her character, such as her family name being changed from to , continuing the Japanese maritime vesselAyanami class destroyer
The Ayanami class of destroyers of the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force is the successor to the Harukaze class destroyer and with improved weaponry. This class's primary purpose is anti-submarine warfare...
naming convention, and her holding the rank of captain. She is also no longer shows the same infatuation with Kaji, choosing to ignore an invitation to go on a trip with him until Misato forced her to go. In addition, she is the test pilot for Evangelion Unit 03, instead of Toji, but she manages to survive the Evangelion's possession by an Angel.
In other media
Neon Genesis Evangelion (manga)
is a long-running manga series by Yoshiyuki Sadamoto and published by Kadokawa Shoten. It began in the February issue of Shōnen Ace in December 1994. It consists of 13 volumes, each composed of several "stages" or chapters...
by Yoshiyuki Sadamoto
Yoshiyuki Sadamoto
is a Japanese character designer, manga artist, and one of the founding members of the Gainax anime studio. Before the studio was founded under the official name , he served as animator on the second animated project, the Daicon IV opening animation...
. The events in this manga series mirror those of the anime with some divergences apparent. Asuka appears as a main character in the series and is depicted, for the most part, similar to her anime counterpart. Asuka appears in various other manga spin-offs including the Shinji Ikari Raising Project and Neon Genesis Evangelion: Campus Apocalypse with varying changes to her personality and characterization.
Asuka also makes appearances in various video games alongside other Evangelion characters such as in Neon Genesis Evangelion for the Nintendo 64
Nintendo 64
The , often referred to as N64, was Nintendo′s third home video game console for the international market. Named for its 64-bit CPU, it was released in June 1996 in Japan, September 1996 in North America, March 1997 in Europe and Australia, September 1997 in France and December 1997 in Brazil...
as well as the popular cross-over video game franchise Super Robot Wars
Super Robot Wars
is a series of tactical role-playing video games produced by Banpresto, which is now a Japanese division of Namco Bandai. The main feature of the franchise is having a story that crosses over several popular mecha anime, manga and video games, allowing characters and mecha from different titles to...
, where she often butts heads with the equally hot-headed and intelligent Kouji Kabuto, the pilot of Mazinger Z
Mazinger Z
, known briefly as Tranzor Z in United States, is a Super Robot manga and anime series created by Go Nagai. The first manga version was serialized in Shueisha Weekly Shōnen Jump from October 1972 to August 1973, and it later continued in Kodansha TV Magazine from October 1973 to September 1974. In...
and Mazinkaiser
Mazinkaiser
is an anime OVA series, inspired by Go Nagai's Mazinger series. The OVA follows Kouji Kabuto, Tetsuya Tsurugi and the rest of the "Mazinger Team" as they fight against Dr. Hell's Mechanical Beasts....
. She is also implied to have developed crushes on famous heroes such as Char Aznable
Char Aznable
, born is a fictional character from the Gundam franchise. He is originally one of the main antagonists in Mobile Suit Gundam and later becomes one of the protagonists of Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam. In his final appearance in Char's Counterattack, he assumes leadership of the Neo Zeon movement,...
(in the guise of Quattro Bageena) and Amuro Ray
Amuro Ray
is a fictional character from the anime series Mobile Suit Gundam and its sequels, Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam and Char's Counterattack, voiced by Tōru Furuya , Brad Swaile , Michael Lindsay and Matthew Erickson is a fictional character from the anime series Mobile Suit Gundam and its sequels, Mobile...
. However, in Super Robot Wars Alpha, Asuka jealously seizes a bouquet of roses from Shinji meant for Lynn Minmay. In Super Robot Wars Alpha 3
Super Robot Wars Alpha 3
for the PlayStation 2 is the last game in the Alpha series. The 3rd Super Robot Wars Alpha, or simply, Alpha 3, contains one of the largest casts to ever be placed together within a Super Robot Wars game...
, she snaps Shinji out of his depressed state during the battle with the Mass Produced Evas by declaring that she could not be with someone who'd simply lie down and die.
Reception
In a NewtypeNewtype (magazine)
is a monthly magazine publication originating from Japan, covering anime and manga . It was launched by publishing company Kadokawa Shoten on March 8, 1985 with its April issue, and has since seen regular release on the 10th of every month in its home country...
poll from March 2010, Asuka was voted as the third most popular female anime character from the 1990s. The June 2010 issue of Newtype
Newtype
A Newtype is theorized to be the next stage of human evolution in the fictional Gundam universe. This minor but groundbreaking metamorphosis is usually expressed as a heightened mental awareness, the result of an evolutionary adaptation to life in space....
ranked Asuka Langley Shikinami #8 in its monthly top 10 character survey. One reviewer describes her fatal flaw as "excessive Pride", noting that her mother goes insane after taking a test pilot experience on herself just as Asuka suffers a mental breakdown or contamination when challenging the 16th Angel herself. Pete Harcoff of Anime Critic described Asuka as providing much of the comic relief, while also being an "annoying snot".
Asuka's fight sequence against the Mass-Production Evangelions in The End of Evangelion was particularly well-received by critics who felt that it was her definitive moment, as otherwise she remains static for most of the film. Praise was also given to Tiffany Grant
Tiffany Grant
Tiffany Lynn Grant is an American voice actress and script writer who is known for her English-dubbing work with the former ADV Films on such anime films and television series as Neon Genesis Evangelion, in which she voiced the character Asuka Langley Soryu...
for her role as Asuka's English voice actress. Mike Crandol of Anime News Network
Anime News Network
Anime News Network is an anime industry news website that reports on the status of anime, manga, Japanese popular music and other otaku-related culture within North America, Australia and Japan. Additionally, it sometimes features similar happenings throughout the Anglosphere and elsewhere in the...
stated that Grant was "her fiery old self as Asuka."
Theron Martin wrote that Asuka's portrayal in Evangelion: 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance is "distinct from the get-go," stating that she is even more anti-social than in the original anime series. Martin also wrote that despite seeming to be the "most socially adjusted Eva pilot in the TV series," the Asuka of Evangelion 2.0 "makes no pretenses about liking anyone" and that she "seems motivated as much by establishing herself in a future career path in NERV as she is by her personal pride." Eric Surrell also commented on Asuka's role in Evangelion: 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance, stating that "the arrival and sudden dismissal of Asuka was shocking and depressing, especially considering how integral she was to the original Evangelion."
See also
- List of fictional child prodigies
- List of Neon Genesis Evangelion characters
- List of stock characters in military fiction