Plot
At the turn of the millennium the inhabitants of Earth are nearly completely wiped out by a mysterious supposed meteorite strike on Antarctica. Roughly half the population dies as a direct result of the strike, and the rest are left to struggle for survival amidst the rising savage seas due to melting of the polar ice caps.

Now the year is 2015. As the remnants of the human race cower in subterranean cities, a deadly war is being waged for what is left of the planet, and for what lies there within. On one side are the mysterious alien beings known only as the Angels, on the other, the special agency NERV and mankind's last hope for survival; the awe-inspiring Evangelions.

Yet amongst the ongoing devastation, few weary individuals at NERV struggle to uncover and piece together the agency's long buried secrets and hidden agendas along with the mysteries surrounding the arrival of the Angels. Why was the Earth struck fifteen years ago? A mere simple unfortunate act of nature, or perhaps an act of vengeance instigated by beings more powerful than man. Why did NERV classify the Angel responsible for the first attack on Tokyo-3 as the third, not the first? And just why are the only qualified Eva pilots that of children born exactly nine months after the second impact that massacred over half the human race?

Characters-(note Spoilers up ahead)

• Rei Ayanami- Designated 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.
• Asuka Langley Soryu - Designated 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. Within her, Asuka feels almost the same way as Shinji: lonely.
• Shinji Ikari-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. Shinji Ikari -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 (The Third Evangelion pilot Qualifier).
• Kaoru Nagisa - Born on the same day as the Second Impact, little is known about Kaoru Nagisa. He suddenly appeared in Tokyo-3, sent by SEELE themselves to replace Asuka Langley Soryu who lost her ability to pilot the Evangelion Unit 02. Within days, Kaoru was able to surpass the 2 other children in terms of synch tests and was the highest synch pilot of Evangelion (he can actually choose his synch rate at will). His synch rate was high enough that he did not require to sit inside the entry plug to control the Evangelion.
• Touji Suzuhara- A classmate and close friend of Shinji Ikari, Touji is a hothead who is very direct in expressing his feelings.Touji's sister was hurt during Shinji's first fight inside the Evangelion, however, Touji has learned to forgive Shinji for this, and instead has become a close friend of Shinji.
• Kensuke Aida - Another close friend and classmate of Shinji. Kensuke always tags along with Touji and vice-versa. A military fanatic, Kensuke always carries his camera with him where ever he goes.
• Hikari Horaki- Hikari Horaki is also known as the Class Rep in Shinji's class. Hikari also became a close friend of Asuka Langely when Asuka arrived from Germany from NERV Branch 3.
• Yui Ikari - Little is known about Yui Ikari except for a few facts presented in the series.She was the student of Kouzou Fuyutski at the University of Tokyo. There, she also met Gendo who later became her husband. She was a very loving mother to Shinji and a wife to Gendo. However, during one of her experiments which was witnessed by Shinji first-hand, Yui Ikari was tragically killed while trying to connect with the Evangelion.She then was cloned by Gendo in the form of Rei Ayanami and explains Rei's resemblance to Shinji's mother.
• Pen-Pen - The other roommate of Shinji, Pen-Pen, is not to be mistaken for an Antarctic penguin. Pen-Pen is the new breed of Tropical Penguins.Pen-Pen was actually part of an experiment, but when they were ready to get rid of Pen-Pen, Misato felt sorry and took Pen-Pen home with her. Pen-Pen has learned to eat curry and drink beer. Because of the potential dangers that face Misato, Misato has in-trusted Hikari Horaki to take care of Pen-Pen.
• Ritsuko Akagi - Misato and Ritsuko have known each other since they were still in school. Ritsuko Akagi is the head of Evangelion Development Project, which means that she heads all things that are concerned with the increased ability of the Evangelions. Ritsuko's personality is cool and intellectual.
• Misato Katsuragi - Misato Katsuragi is the Evangelion pilots' main superior officer. Responsible for the operations of the whole NERV headquarters whenever the commander is not present, Misato has only one goal in life: to destroy the angels that killed her father during the Second Impact. During the course of the series, she becomes Shinji's guardian, a caretaker figure. An attractive woman with a cheerful, optimistic personality, Misato is also the only living human being to witness the Second Impact first hand and to have survived. She, in Fuyutski's terms, witnessed hell.
• Gendo Ikari - Supreme Commander of special agency, NERV. Simultaneously, Chief Director of the Evangelion Development Project. Above all, he is the father of Shinji Ikari. There is a great mystery surrounding the past and present of Gendo Ikari. He rarely appears on the mission deck and most of the time, he is away on another mission. His son, Shinji and he share a hateful relationship, especially after Yui Ikari, Shinji's mother, died when he was only four years old. Gendo was originally the designated leader of the Geihrin Project as well as the Human Instrumentality Project.
• Kouzou Fuyutski - One of the few people who actually know what is going on within the series of Evangelion. He, along with Gendo Ikari know if human fate is projected on the Dead Sea Scrolls. However, unlike Gendo, Kouzou has learned to be a little closer to the rest of the NERV staff than Gendo. However, he has learned to control himself when telling secrets about NERV and all that is behind it. Originally from the University of Tokyo, Fuyutski was the teacher of Yui Ikari and was commissioned by Gendo on Project Geihrin. An outwardly open, yet very secretive person.

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