Age: Fourteen
Height: 5'7
Bloodtype: Blue
Occupation: Replacement Eva Pilot of 02
Hobbies: Unknown
Hair Color: Silver
Eye Color: Crimson
Parents: N/A
Race: Japanese/Angel
Family: N/A

Although Kaworu Nagisa was only in one episode of the series, and had only a brief appearance in the movies, his character is one of the most pivotal in terms of Evangelion's grand conclusion. It is true that he was an angel, but during the last fateful days of his existence, he learned that humanity ought not be destroyed, and might actually be worth saving.

Kaworu appears first in Episode 24, sitting on a rock humming Beethoven's 9th. Shinji, who if you recall has just gone through his own withdraw, is intrigued by this boy who seems to talk with him so earnestly and without hesitation. Shinji later discovers that Kaworu is a pilot like him, and works at NERV. One day Kaworu finds Shinji waiting for him at NERV, although Shinji denies this. At this point in the story, Shinji has no real desire to return home, not being very comfortable with either Misato or Asuka. So, he decides to stay with Kaworu and stay at his house.

Now, before this gets out of hand, the question everyone ponders must be addressed. No, I do not believe that either Kaworu or Shinji are gay. Evangelion, for all it's comedic sequences, is a very mature series. It must be realized that just because two guys are in the shower together or in the same room does not mean they are attracted sexually.

Kaworu can tell that Shinji is a troubled individual. Shinji's sincereness and vulnerability intrigue him. Although Kaworu is obviously very intelligent, he is naive, in both the social and political aspects of life. Someone like him is obviously not concerned about the social perspective of being seen in the shower and sleeping next to another guy. When he eventually says "I like you", that is all it means. He likes Shinji. He would not be influenced by the ideas that the viewers begin thinking about when watching these scenes.

The reason Shinji is so comfortable with Kaworu is probably because of all the problems he has been having with women. Rei confuses him, Asuka hates him, and he is alienated with Misato, especially now after Kaji has been killed. Shinji is very confused and is adrift in a sea of emotions and uncertainty. Kaworu is a stable and seemingly trustworthy support that Shinji confides himself in, which makes it all the more traumatic when it is discovered that Kaworu is indeed an angel.

When it comes to Kaworu's past and origins, there is very little information to work with. Most likely he was a clone like Rei, but the question of whether there was actually ever a real Kaworu that was born remains a mystery (the same dilemma can be applied to Rei for that matter). My guess would be that they were created totally artificially, and had no real parents. When you consider the extent to which Evangelion deals with the ideas of "mother", neither Rei not Kaworu ever had the kind of experiences that Shinji or Asuka did. The reason I am making so many comparisons between Kaworu and Rei is because they have so many similarities between them.

Kaworu once says to Rei that "You and I are alike". Rei subsequently wonders to herself "in what way?". Well, a general statement would seem to be that Rei is to Lilith as Kaworu is to Adam. Let us examine this in more detail: First off are the physical similarities. They both share the pair of crimson eyes, pale skin and face structure. Ordinarily this might be considered a coincidence, but there is more. Rei was created by Gendou from the DNA of Lilith. Likewise, Kaworu was created by SEELE from Adam's DNA. Rei has the soul of Lilith, while Kaworu has the soul of Adam.

One only needs to look as far as the dummy plug system to confirm these speculations. The Rei clones do not have souls, and have to rely on other souls inside them, like Lilith for the living Rei, or the souls in the Evangelion for the dummy plug Reis. Kaworu's clones are the base for the Mass-Production Eva's dummy plug system, and he relies on a soul just like Rei, except in his case it is Adam. That is why he was able to produce such an extraordinarily powerful AT Field while in Terminal Dogma, and why Rei was the only one who could counter it. It was really Adam and Lilith confronting each other.

It was mentioned earlier that Kaworu was naive in the political aspects of life. He was, in fact, played like a puppet by the major players in Episode 24 without even realizing what he was doing. It was SEELE who sent Kaworu to infiltrate NERV under the guise of a pilot to "advance the progress" of their plans. But what exactly does this mean? Well, recall first that Rei II was killed in battle only a short time ago, and SEELE did not know about the Rei clones. After learning that she was dead, SEELE thought that the soul of Lilith inside her would no doubt return to Lilith in Terminal Dogma. If Kaworu, who had the soul of Adam, could be tricked into merging with Lilith, then it would complete their goals saving a lot of time, effort and risk on their part.

But Kaworu was still an angel. How could SEELE convince an angel to help them with their plans for Human Completion? The answer is that Adam and Lilith are so similar, that they would make Kaworu think that THEY were helping HIM, by letting him reunite with Adam. This is the reason why many people think SEELE just want to destroy the world. They want Instrumentality as much as Gendou, but they had to go along with this lie in order to fool Kaworu into thinking they were in fact wishing to destroy the world.

But their plans failed. One thing they did not count on was Kaworu developing the human characteristics of affection and mercy. When Kaworu first approached Lilith (which he thought was Adam), he did not right away merge, but instead dwelled over whether or not he would destroy humanity. Because of his relationship with Shinji, and his time as a free person, he discovered the wonderful things that humanity had, such as music, art, and friendship. Although humans could be evil, there were redeeming qualities that he had probably never known about before, being a creation. It was those qualities that made humans worth saving.

And so, the destiny of humanity rests on his shoulders. And he hesitates, and allows Shinji to capture him. He realizes that he is about to die, but instead of struggling, he thanks Shinji for what pleasant experiences he has had. After a minute of dramatic stillness, Unit-01 closed it's fist and killed the angel Kaworu.

However, this was not the last that we see of him. Remember, when Big Lilith emerged in the movie, it also had the soul of Adam inside it from Gendou's hand. Which also means that Kaworu is a part of the entity as well. In Shinji's thoughts at the end of the movie, Kaworu and Rei reveal themselves as hope personified. This is a fitting description for Kaworu, who was sent out do destroy humanity, but during his mission, found the reasons for saving it.