Neon Genesis Evangelion glossary

This is a glossary of terms from the Neon Genesis Evangelion franchise.

Equipment and Weapons
Various equipment has been made by Nerv in order for the Evas to function properly.

Equipment types
Various types of equipment have been made for the Eva to help defeat the angels. Different types of equipment include A type, B-type, D-type, and G-type. A-type equipment was introduced in the Rebuild of Evangelion series, when a Nerv officer described the rocket pack on Eva-Unit 02 as "A-type" equipment. B-type equipment is the standard equipment of the Eva Units. Not suitable for combat in extreme conditions or under water, as shown in the episode 08. D-type equipment is a thick, heat-resistant armor used for sending Evas into extreme conditions. It resembles an old-fashioned diving suit and is fitted with coolant circulation systems. Unit 02 was equipped with the D-type equipment when it entered a volcano in episode 10. G-type equipment was introduced in the Rebuild of Evangelion series as sniping equipment for the Eva Unit 01.

A10 nerve clip
The A10 nerve clips are brain-computer interface devices worn by Eva pilots on their heads which aid in synchronization with the Evas. The Evangelion are controlled mainly by linking with the cranial nerves of the pilot. Of these, the most important is this A^10 nerve. ... It is associated with higher order brain functions such as memory, cognizance and the execution of movement, and with emotions such as anxiety, fear, happiness and pleasure. In addition, it is also said to play an important role in affection between parent and child, and between lovers.

In Yoshiyuki Sadamoto's introduction to the bonus materials at the end of vol. 1 of the manga, he writes: "On the floor of the midbrain is the ventral tegmental system, that neurobiologists call region A10. Cells soaked in dopamine, certain emotions are processed here: such as the thoughts of two lovers - or a parent and a child. And it is the synchronization of the threads and bundles of A10 that splice pilot and Eva together; to become one entity, to fight. In other words, the power of love drives this weapon of mass destruction."

Asuka near-constantly wears hers, during her daily life and at school. In the Rebuild she is shown wearing what appears to be larger versions of them along with the test suit.

Dummy plug
The dummy plugs are artificial pilots (they emulate a pilot's thought processes and send signals to the Eva). All the regular Eva units are eventually fitted so they can be operated with either the pilot or the dummy plug. There are two known types of dummy plugs, those loaded with the personal data of Rei Ayanami and those with the personal data of Kaworu Nagisa (the latter was used in the mass production Evangelions).

Among the original Evas, Unit 01 is the only one incompatible with the DPS, which is methodically rejected at every activation attempt after the first one. [EDIT] The DPS is not the Drive:A device behind the throne, because that is in all of the Eva units (seen in Unit 00 when Rei sacrifices it against the ring-shaped angel that changes to look like her in order to save Shinji. She turns around in the seat and pulls a handle, the drive then displays "DRIVE A> MODE: D".)

In the second Rebuild of Evangelion movie, the Dummy System is labelled as DMSYS and is an expanding control unit that covers the pilot, blocking their view and clamping down on their two joysticks, preventing the pilot from moving them. Eva-01 in Dummy mode also did not display any of the outside world to the pilot inside the EVA. The Dummy Plug system was built in Nerv's Golgotha base and deployed to Tokyo-3 prior to the delivery of Eva-03.

Entry plug
The entry plugs are long, cylindrical structures with rounded ends which contain the cockpits for the Evangelions. A pilot enters a plug through a hatch in its center; once the hatch is sealed, the plug is filled with LCL. The plugs are heavily armored and equipped with parachutes and rockets to aid in escape from a badly damaged Eva.

Control from within the entry plugs for activation of the Evas usually consists of voice-commands in conjunction with mental thought, although this is usually done remotely by Nerv personnel. Apparatuses found within the entry plug include two distinctly designed hand-triggers which are used for simple, but delicate, finger movements, such as using firearms. The screens that show the external environment surround the pilot and are picked up by cameras mounted on the Eva's head, and from the eyes of the Eva itself. They also display other information, and are apparently three-dimensional projections. Smaller images can be superimposed over the environmental views for communication between pilots and/or the command station in Central Dogma.

Core
The core is the red spherical object that is seen in most of the Angels. Damaging the core would be sufficient enough to kill the Angel. Cores can be penetrated by progressive knives or by a sufficiently powerful blow in a small area. It was shown in episode 19 that Unit 01 possess a core as well; however, Zeruel's cutting "arms" fail to penetrate it. Unit 00 is shown to have a core in the Director's Cut of episode 23. Other Evas in the anime are not visibly shown to have cores except for the the mass-produced Evas.

However, in the second Rebuild of Evangelion series, Eva-02 is shown to have a core being removed from it as it is placed into deep storage by Nerv after Unit 03 is delivered to Tokyo-3.

AT Field
AT Field is short for "Absolute Terror Field." While in the series the characters always refer to it as "AT Field," the opening credits show the complete expression. At the beginning of the series, the AT Field is shown as a barrier that the Angels can erect, which is impervious to almost all conventional weapons. The N² bomb can penetrate the AT Fields of some Angels, causing moderate damage that can be regenerated in a matter of hours or days, depending on the Angel in question. Certain Angels are completely unaffected by N² bombs. The Evas can also generate their own AT Fields, and can use them to neutralize the Angels' AT Fields through destructive interference. In the Rebuild, Unit 01 reconstitutes his left arm using a physical manifestation of its AT Field.

Toward the climax of the series, it is revealed that every being has an AT Field, and that it is the literal wall that separates one's identity from other egos and external reality, and which supports one's having a separate existence from others. Thus, it is also the cause of loneliness and pain, and can be related to the so-called "Hedgehog's dilemma" exhibited by main character Shinji Ikari &mdash; whereby a person feels (psychological) pain from loneliness, yet paradoxically, the closer he/she gets to someone else (emotionally), the more he/she is 'hurt'.

At the climax of The End of Evangelion, after the Third Impact, the re-awakened Lilith produces a massive Anti-AT Field that neutralizes the AT Fields of all human beings, thus returning them to an undifferentiated state &mdash; the "Sea of LCL", a primordial soup of sorts, containing the unseparated consciousness of the entire human race.

Jet Alone
Jet Alone is a nuclear-powered, unmanned robot created by an independent corporation for the Japanese government with the intention of supplanting the Evangelion units. Unlike the Evas, Jet Alone has an on-board nuclear reactor, so it can function without external power for 150 days. However, its control systems were tampered with by agents of Nerv and the unit's first public demonstration nearly ended in a nuclear disaster. The project remained unsuccessful after the incident.

Introduced in episode 7, Jet Alone's creators insulted the Evas and Nerv. When Ritsuko publicly questions the creator of Jet Alone about the safety of Jet Alone using a nuclear reactor as a power source and of its overall combat effectiveness, the creator states "It's better than a machine that won't work for more than 5 minutes and forcing its pilot to undergo intense mental instability." He then went on to show top secret photos of Unit 01 going berserk, claiming that Jet Alone, being unmanned and armed with a supercomputer that rivals the Magi to calculate its combat decisions, would never do such a thing. He then reveals to the world the existence of the AT Field that Nerv had managed to emulate from the Angels, stating it would not take long to figure out themselves how to install it on future Jet Alone units (an impossibility given the biological source of an AT Field).

Ritsuko, obviously embarrassed, apparently sabotaged Jet Alone's program, and when it activates it does not stop walking and its cooling system fails, leaving it continuously running to a nearby city just minutes from a reactor meltdown. Misato decides to have Shinji carry her into it with Unit 01 so she can manually shut off its reactor. She fails to do so, but Ritsuko's sabotage program reactivated the coolant system and shut Jet Alone down automatically just short of detonation.

Due to the public embarrassment, the Jet Alone Project was ended.

Jet Alone's name comes from the robot Jet Jaguar, from the 1973 kaiju film Godzilla vs. Megalon. Jet Jaguar was a robot whose design was chosen from submissions from the public, and when it was initially announced, its name was Red Alone. Jet Alone is a combination of the two names.

Lance of Longinus
The Lance of Longinus is an artifact of great power, and is the only weapon that is specially designed to pierce any AT Field. It resembles a long red spear (Evangelion-sized) that forks near the middle, the two shafts first twisting around themselves to form a helix and then becoming straight. In the director's cut of episode 22, the Lance's forks twist into a spiral shape just before it strikes Arael's AT Field. The Lance also takes on a different, double-forked shape in The End of Evangelion.

The Lance was used in a "contact experiment" with Adam, which caused the Angel's awakening and the Second Impact. In episode 12, the Lance was recovered from the new "dead sea" (the remnants of Antarctica) to be used to control Lilith. The Lance was used as a last resort weapon to attack the fifteenth Angel, Arael, which was in orbit and outside the direct reach of the Evas or any other terrestrial weaponry but it ended up being lost from Nerv when, in destroying the Angel, it reached escape velocity and became lodged in lunar orbit and planted itself into the moon's surface (specifically, in Walter crater); it returned in The End of Evangelion, moments before the Third Impact. The Lance is a key piece to the process of Instrumentality. Artificial versions of the Lance are used as the primary weapon for the mass-production Evas, and also feature prominently in the Instrumentality.

According to the spin off PlayStation 2 video game Neon Genesis Evangelion 2's classified information, the Angels Adam and Lilith that originated from Seeds of Life created by a god-like ancient extraterrestrial species known as "First Ancestral Race". A Lance of Longinus was sent along by the First Ancestral Race inside of both the black and white egg that Adam and Lilith were sent by in, in order to control them if they went against their goals. The Lance of Longinus appearing in the series is the one that was paired with Adam, and recovered from Antarctica. The Lance of Longinus paired with Lilith is presumed to have been lost or destroyed when Lilith's Black Moon collided with Earth during First Impact. (See "Terms from outside of the main series" for more details).

In the Rebuild of Evangelion, the classic forked lance is shown impaling Lilith in Central Dogma, just before the battle with Ramiel. Another Lance is shown in 2.0 with a bladed head. It was thrown by evangelion Mark.06, piercing Unit 01 after the credits, stopping Unit 01 transformation and Third Impact. It is currently unknown what the origin of this Lance is.

The name "Lance of Longinus" originally refers to a Christian mythological object, also called the Spear of Destiny, which is supposedly the spear that a Roman soldier (Longinus) used to pierce Jesus Christ's side after he was crucified. In the original Japanese, the weapon was referred to as the "Spear of Longinus."

Note: There is some discrepancy as to whether the proper name is "Lance of Longinus" or "Spear of Longinus", as Japanese does not differentiate "spear" or "lance," instead using an all encompassing word (槍, yari). In the manga adaptation, it is called the "Spear of Longinus."

LCL
LCL is a yellow-tinted, translucent liquid used to mentally link a pilot with the Evangelion and supply oxygen directly to the lungs when breathed, similar to liquid breathing. Its properties can be altered when it is electrically charged; this includes turning the liquid colorless. It may also help in protecting a pilot from mental attacks and physical shocks. LCL may also be compared to the amniotic fluid in the mother's womb; many of the mother references that the main character has in the story take place in LCL. Shinji mentions that the cockpit smells of blood when filled with LCL; this is because LCL is the blood of Lilith, the captured second Angel held in Terminal Dogma. ; also, there is a lake of LCL beneath Lilith. The "dossier" sections of the manga claim that LCL stands for link connect liquid, but this definition was denied in the Red Cross Book.

In The End of Evangelion, it is shown that all humans are composed of LCL, and only given form as separate entities by their own individual AT Fields. Hence, when an individual's AT Field collapses, the body formed by said AT Field dissolves back into LCL.

Magi supercomputer system


The bio-computer system designed by Dr. Naoko Akagi for Gehirn. It consists of three interconnected supercomputers, which are named for the traditional names of the Magi who visited Jesus at his birth and are imprinted with different aspects of Akagi's personality through a process she invented. Melchior is the aspect of Akagi as a scientist, Balthasar is the aspect of Akagi as a mother, and Casper is the aspect of Akagi as a woman.

The MAGI supercomputers are used to run Nerv HQ, and in effect, actually "govern" Tokyo-3; the three supercomputers vote amongst themselves to decide on actions for the city, with unanimity required for certain actions like self-destruction (although if two Magi disagree and the third is undecided Nerv personnel will decide what to do). The original set of 3 Magi, which collectively make up the "Magi 01" system, are located at Nerv's First Branch in the Geo-Front. However the various other branches also have their own sets of Magi supercomputers (3 in each set) labeled Magi 02-Magi 06. Magi 02 is located in Matsushiro, Japan(part of the city of Nagano). Magi 03 is located in Berlin, Germany, Magi 04 is located in Boston, Massachusetts, USA (On the MIT,  campus), Magi 05 is located in  Hamburg, Germany, and Magi 06 in Beijing, China.

These other Magi appear in The End of Evangelion where as part of Seele's attack on Nerv they attempt to crack the original Magi, thereby controlling Nerv's security and forcing a surrender. Ritsuko Akagi thwarts the attempt, forcing Seele to dispatch the JSSDF special forces; she later attempts to activate Nerv headquarters' self-destruct mechanism, but Casper refuses the order and the self-destruct is not carried out. The Magi were previously targeted by Iruel in episode 13.

N² bomb
The N² bomb or N² mine is a clean "non-nuclear weapon"; it is as strong as a nuclear bomb and generates some electromagnetic interference but does not produce dangerous radiation or nuclear fallout. It is the most powerful "conventional" weapon used in the series (as opposed to the unconventional Evangelion units). The significant explosive force is capable of harming even an Angel; in fact, it is first seen when utilized against Sachiel during episode 01. However, it only succeeds in causing moderate damage that the Angel proceeded to regenerate. The N² bombs, while considered and attempted in several other missions, were only successful in harming one other Angel &mdash; Israfel, who took six days to regenerate. Over a dozen aerial N² weapons were deployed against Sahaquiel to little effect, being destroyed before reaching the target. A little over a thousand were produced, as the remaining 992 were to be airdropped against Leliel, but called off at the last second. Rei uses an N² mine in an attempt to destroy Zeruel while within the GeoFront, which only succeeds in damaging her own Eva since the Angel covered its core. One more N² weapon was used in The End of Evangelion to destroy Tokyo-3 and the roof of the Geofront.

Production notes of the series refer to the N² bombs as the P-bomb, leading to speculation that it might be some sort of positron-based antimatter weapon. Another possibility is that it is a highly efficient pure fusion bomb, with no fission tamper, and thus very little to no radioactive material left over from the reaction, though the initial reaction would produce much radiation.

The devices are apparently deployed in a number of configurations; in the series, there are N² aerial mines, air charges, depth charges and bombs.

The translation by ADV Films uses the term "N² mine," a translation of heiki (兵器), which can mean either "bomb" or "mine". It is not quite correct because conventional mines are not used in the same manner they are used in the series (for example, being dropped from planes and being used in suicide missions). There are different variants of N² bomb, such as aerial versions (used in episode 12) and depth-charge versions (used in episode 9). The confusion stems from that in the first episode, instead of simply dropping an N² bomb on the Angel Sachiel, a landmine-variant N² bomb is buried in its path. The term is always spelled as "N²" bomb, using a superscript "2", when the name appears in print on screen. However it is not pronounced "N squared" but simply "N two" in the series.

Plug suit
The plug suit is a form-fitting full body garment which the Eva pilots wear to aid in synchronization with their Evas. The suits are normally bulky but shrink to conform to the pilot's body through a mechanism housed in the wrists of the suits. The suits contain devices which help monitor the pilot's status and give medical aid, such as defibrillation or CPR. No two suits are alike: each suit bears its corresponding Eva's numerical designation on the chest and back and is roughly color-coordinated with that Eva.

In episode 10, Asuka wears a variant of her plug suit which is designed for pressure dissipation during the capture of Sandalphon. This suit expanded into a ball to provide additional thermal protection while Unit 02 was inside the volcano. In the Rebuild she wore another variant while being the test pilot for Unit 03.

Progressive knife
A combat knife, often referred to as a "prog knife", stored in the shoulder "wing" of the Evangelion that uses it. It works by vibrating particles at an extremely high frequency, which allows it to slice an object at the molecular level. Unit 02 has an advanced version: once the blade is broken, a button is pressed and another blade is extended from the handle. It resembles a utility knife with a multi-segmented, breakable blade, unlike Unit 01's giant Bowie knife. For "Evangelion: 1.0- You Are (Not) Alone", Unit-01's Progressive Knife has been redesigned into a switchblade, which automatically extends when it is removed from the left arm's utility wing. It has the same function as the original version seen in the series- the edge of the blade glows and whistles when activated.

Restraining bolts
In the Rebuild of Evangelion, the restraining bolts in an Evangelion are mounted into its shoulders and along its spine. They are designed to keep the Eva in "human form". Mari Illustrious released Eva-02's restraining bolts in a desperate attempt to defeat Zeruel; the action was described as an Eva "abandoning its humanity" and by Ritsuko as an Eva's second form. In this form, the Eva's motions become much more fluid and its body is more nimble and it appears to act in an almost "berserker" fashion, an Eva's destructive capabilities are also multiplied several times. Eva-02's "password" for releasing its restraining bolts is "The Beast".

S² Engine
The S², or "Super Solenoid Engine", is a limitless source of power originally found in the bodies of the Angels. The S² engine's operation is explained through the Super Solenoid Theory which was developed by Dr. Katsuragi, Misato Katsuragi's father. Being initially deprived of this kind of engine, the Evas must be always connected to an external power source and can only function for one minute to sixteen hours (depending of the Eva's level of activity) using only their internal battery. The terms "S² Organ" and "S² Engine" are interchangeable because the same Japanese word is used for both concepts.

An attempt was made to install an S² engine into Unit 04. When the S² engine test was initiated, "all the installations involved within a radius of 89km from the center vanished," resulting in the disappearance of Nerv-2 in the US. The Mass Production Evas, however, all have S² engines because they were to be part of the Instrumentality Project. In Evangelion 1.0 it is explained that the S² engine is what allows the Angels to take physical form in the dimension of the humans.

Umbilical cable
Evangelions have a massive energy requirement, so much so that for functions beyond pilot life support, their internal batteries' charge only lasts for a maximum of 5 minutes. To deploy Evas for longer periods of time, power cables referred to as "umbilical cables" are inserted into the Evas' backs. Spools containing umbilical cables are located throughout Tokyo-3, so if an Eva extends the cable to its maximum length, it can switch to another one. Evas are capable of reaching behind themselves to attach a new umbilical cable without external help. When Evas are deployed to areas other than Tokyo-3, portable sets of umbilical cables are brought along to connect them to an external power supply. Evas can be voluntarily disconnected from their umbilical cables to provide greater mobility, albeit knowing that they will only have 5 minutes of power. If an umbilical cable is severed during battle, the end plugged into the Eva's back will automatically eject from the Eva so as not to hinder its movements. The plugs located at the tips of umbilical cables contain small thruster rockets; when ejected, the thruster rockets fire just before hitting the ground, to lessen the damage both to the plug itself as well as to whatever is on the ground when the plug hits.

In Rebuild of Evangelion 2.0, EVA 05 is seen using an overhead contact system as its power source, similar to the ones used on certain trains. The power cables from the shoulder pylons are inserted into the EVA's back. This is visible in the Revoltech model as well.

However, in the Rebuild of Evangelion movies, EVA Unit06 is operated without the need for external power and has no umbilical connections on its back. In the same scene, EVA 06 is seen with a halo above its head. Slightly earlier, EVA 01 also had a halo, which promptly transformed into a black hole. Ritsuko described this as EVA 01's transformation into an "energy condenser". Therefore, the halo could be EVA 06's power source.

Gehirn
Gehirn (brain) is Nerv's predecessor located inside the GeoFront and tasked with research and development of the Evangelion units and the Magi, amongst other things. Branch 3 is located in Germany. Two other branches are located in the USA, and one probably in China. A minor branch is located in Matsushiro, Japan. Many of its facilities and members (including prominently Gendo Ikari, Yui Ikari, Kōzō Fuyutsuki, Kyōko Zeppelin Soryu, and Ritsuko Akagi) would become Nerv personnel later. It was converted into Nerv shortly after Naoko Akagi's death and the MAGI were developed and made operational. The main characters would later see a "graveyard" filled with Gehirn's failed Evangelion prototypes, of which line of research Unit 00 and later Evangelions would be made.

Japanese Strategic Self Defense Forces (JSSDF)
The Japanese Strategic Self Defense Forces, or JSSDF, is a special branch of the Japan Self-Defense Forces formed following the outbreak of war after Second Impact. The JSSDF are capable of extended overseas deployment and utilize special weaponry, such as the N² mines and the long range positron rifle. Throughout the series, the JSSDF is shown to be a buffer between the Angels and Nerv, as well as providing ordnance and support to Nerv. However, in The End of Evangelion, the JSSDF are revealed as being tasked by Seele, through the UN and Japan, with the duty of invading the Nerv Geo-Front, killing all Nerv personnel found inside, seizing Central Dogma, and stopping Gendo Ikari before he can start the Third Impact. They carry out these orders with brutal, merciless efficiency, and seem to have no misgivings about turning on their former allies.

According to the Platinum DVD set's commentary track, the JSSDF was formed in 2003 when China and Vietnam went to war over the Nansha islands, as part of post-Second Impact global unrest.

Marduk Institute
The Marduk Institute is a shadowy advisory organization which reports to Seele's Human Instrumentality Project Committee; its function is to select Evangelion pilot candidates ("Children"). Ryoji Kaji investigates the Institute, and discovers that it consists of 108 front companies, and is actually controlled and staffed by Seele. During the course of the series it is revealed that all of the children in Shinji's class in school are potential Evangelion pilots, and were placed together by the Institute. The Institute seems to have a specific selection criteria: both Shinji and Asuka's mothers are dead, their souls bonded with the Evas that their children pilot; Rei has no parents; and the mothers of many other children in the class (such as Kensuke, Hikari and Toji (implied)) are dead or otherwise somehow missing.

The name for the institute is derived from the Babylonian god of the same name who is considered to be the head of the Babylonian pantheon.

Nerv
The UN Special Agency Nerv (nerve) is an organization led by Gendo Ikari and tasked with defending Earth against the Angels through use of the Evangelion units. It was formerly known as Gehirn, a UN Research Agency. It was reorganized into Nerv once Nerv HQ and Tokyo-3 became fully operational. There are several global branches of Nerv besides the main headquarters under Tokyo-3 itself.

The Nerv Logo is half a fig leaf covering its name, with the motto "God's In His Heaven... All's Right With The World" forming the quarter circle on the bottom. The motto comes from Robert Browning's poem "Pippa Passes".

In, Adam and Eve cover their "nakedness" with fig leaves. The fig leaf has covered nakedness in art and sculpture for hundreds of years, symbolically representing the guilt of original sin.

In the new Rebuild of Evangelion movie series, Nerv has a new symbol, an apple turned upside-down, with the fig-leaf from the old logo superimposed and interrupted by a wave of motion around the apple in a broken, downwards spiral motion. The original logo still appears in some scenes, however. NERV is also bound by the Vatican City treaty, which restricts the number of operational Evangelions a single country can control at any one time.

Seele
Seele ("soul", ) are the secret backers of Gehirn and later Nerv, who wish to implement the Human Instrumentality Project. This group, arguably the "true villains" of the series, consists of at least twelve prominent people. Five of them form the Instrumentality Committee, which directly oversees Nerv's progress, officially in the name of the UN. Its members are referred to as the "Old Men."

Seele is a secret organization, the real puppetmasters behind the United Nations. Its origins are shrouded in mystery; they would claim to have existed since ancient times, functioning as an Illuminati-like power cabal over most of the world's governments. This cannot be verified, but they have been operating since at least soon after World War II, when they acquired the secret sections of the Dead Sea Scrolls. The secret Dead Sea Scrolls predicted the arrival of the Angels and of Third Impact, and Seele began striving to develop means to defeat the Angels so that a human-centered Instrumentality process would proceed. Having decided that humanity as a whole had reached an evolutionary dead end, Seele seeks to bring about Instrumentality and unite all humans into one hyper-being, the next stage of existence.

In the series and The End of Evangelion, all meetings with Seele members are held by video conference. The Instrumentality Committee members are shown for their meetings, with each associated with a different color; however, for Seele meetings, images of large stone monoliths marked "Seele (member number) Sound Only" are projected instead of the images of the actual members. Seele's leader is Keel Lorenz, Seele 01. In the Director's Cut of episode 24 there is a scene in which 15 Seele monoliths are visible. This is the only instance where more than twelve are seen; it is unknown if this is an animation error.

The logo was changed for the Rebuild of Evangelion series to that of a snake curled around an apple in between the seven eyes. On the apple the name Seele is written, and beneath this the motto Überm Sternenzelt richtet Gott, wie wir gerichtet, a quote from the poem "Ode to Joy", which translates as "Above the starry-sky judges God, the way we judged". The poster also featured the subtitle "God's in his Heaven, all's right with the world".

United Nations (UN)
The United Nations is the world intergovernmental organization which funds Nerv. Due to the Second Impact followed by series of warfare, the U.N. was heavily funded by superpowers (such as the United States and China) and other powerful organizations (like Seele), enabling it to mobilize a powerful military. The U.N. armed forces are made up of units from member nations, such as Japan's JSSDF.

Many traditional air force units are replaced with VTOL (Vertical Take-Off and Landing) fighters and bombers. The naval power of the U.N. is primarily made up of a mix of many different types of ships from many navies. The U.N. Pacific Fleet operates Iowa class battleships (United States Navy), Arleigh Burke class destroyers (United States Navy), Udaloy class destroyers (Russian Navy), Ticonderoga class cruisers (United States Navy), Admiral Kuznetsov class aircraft carriers (Russian Navy), and several United States Navy aircraft carriers, specifically the flagship of the fleet, the Nimitz class carrier USS Harry S. Truman (renamed Over the Rainbow in the anime). The U.N. aircraft carriers, such as Over the Rainbow, also carry a mix of both Russian and American naval aircraft, such as Sukhoi Su-33 fighters, Yakovlev Yak-38 VTOL fighters, EA-6 Prowler electronic warfare craft, and E-2 Hawkeye airborne early warning craft. It is a strong possibility that the United Nations possesses N² bombs as well as traditional stealth planes. Much of the U.N. forces remain unknown, but it is clear that their military reforms are significant.

Unlike Nerv and Seele, the United Nations still relies on a traditional military with conventional weapons. As observed in The End of Evangelion, much of the U.N. forces, both air and land, are unable to defeat an Eva.

First Impact
The First Impact, also called the Giant Impact, while never depicted in the series, is the asteroid impact that occurred around 4 billion years ago which caused the Moon to split from the Earth, shown in a document in the seventh episode of the series. Little to no detail is given on this event throughout the entire series.

In the spin off Playstation 2 video game Neon Genesis Evangelion 2, the "meteor" in question was in fact the Black Moon, carrying Lilith. When the Black Moon collided with Earth, it bounced and became the Moon, satellite of the Earth, while in the crash, a small part of it, containing Lilith, detached itself and was buried in the Earth, becoming the actual Black Moon, known as the GeoFront millions of years later. (See Terms from outside of the main series for more details).

The actual scientific theory of how Earth gained its moon, called the giant impact hypothesis, postulates that a planetoid called Theia, roughly the size of Mars, formed at one of Earth's Lagrangian points and then smashed into Earth I (the planet Earth before the First Impact), causing part of the smashed-together planets to separate and coalesce into the Moon.

Second Impact


The Second Impact is a cataclysm which followed the "contact experiment" conducted on Adam in Antarctica on September 13, 2000. The awakened and injured Angel created a strong "Anti-AT Field" which caused an explosion that melted the Antarctic ice cap and caused a shift of Earth's axis; climate changes and gigantic floods followed. Two billion people in the southern hemisphere were directly killed by the ensuing tsunamis. As a result of the subsequent chaos, wars broke out due to scarce food and resources, such as a war between India and Pakistan which started two days after the explosion. These conflicts spread all over the world, and were ended on February 14, 2001 by signing what would be later called "The Valentine Ceasefire." By the end of these events, the human population of earth was halved.

Vast environmental damage and global climate changes resulted from Second Impact and the rise in global sea levels. These effects were worldwide, but during the series we are only shown the immediate changes observed in Japan, where the elevated sea levels have caused many old coastal cities to be submerged. Also, Japan has become a country of perpetual summer weather. A subtle hint of this throughout the series is that cicadas are frequently heard in outdoor scenes, even though they would normally only appear in Japan during summer months. Fuyutsuki alludes to this when he mentions first meeting Gendo Ikari when "this country still had seasons" (before Second Impact), and that the loss of the seasons was the worst that Japan had suffered.

Officially, there was no Adam and no "contact experiment." According to the cover-up, the Second Impact was caused by the impact of a meteorite that was too small (about 10 cm) and too fast (95% of the speed of light) to be detected. This relativistic speed resulted in a massive explosion when the meteorite collided with Earth (a remarkably detailed description is shown briefly in the series in a text book). Considering the ancient meteorite impact which created Earth's Moon to be the "First" Impact, the public at large officially dubbed this disaster the "Second" Impact in keeping with the cover-up story of a meteorite impact. Several Nerv personnel (Ritsuko Akagi, etc.) know the true cause of the explosion but still refer to it as "Second Impact" for convenience.

In actuality, the "White Moon" of Adam had been discovered under Mount Markham in Antarctica, and an expedition was sent by Seele (under the auspices of the United Nations). The expedition then conducted activities to intentionally cause the Second Impact. The exact details of the experiment are unclear, but apparently Adam was fused with human DNA when he was pierced with the Spear of Longinus, causing Adam to generate an anti-AT Field, which made all Lilith-based (normal terrestrial) life on the continent revert to the primordial ooze of LCL: not even bacteria survived.

However, the "contact experiment" conducted by Dr. Katsuragi's team succeeded in Seele's true goal: reverting Adam to an embryonic form, more manageable from Nerv's perspective. There were only two survivors: Gendo, who departed the day before, and Misato Katsuragi, who was put into an entry plug-like survival pod by her father.

It is suggested that some individuals unassociated with Seele or its affiliate organizations became aware (or at least suspicious) of their cover-up, as demonstrated by Professor Kouzou Fuyutsuki. It is assumed that most of these people were silenced in one manner or another by Seele, although Fuyutsuki himself was recruited to Gehirn at the request of Gendo Ikari.

In the Rebuild of Evangelion film series, it is revealed that all the oceans of the Earth are now devoid of life except for small "marine reserves" and the ocean itself has become a blood-like substance following Adam's detonation.

Third Impact
Third Impact is the final event predicted in Seele's Dead Sea Scrolls; achieving the correct Third Impact is the ultimate objective of their efforts.

Third Impact is triggered by the union of Adam and Lilith, with the result being the creation of a supreme being that would succeed all existing life on Earth. The goal of Seele and Nerv is to prevent any of the Angels from instigating Third Impact so that humankind may do so instead, thus fulfilling the goal of the Human Instrumentality Project.

Third Impact occurs in both the television series and in The End of Evangelion; while the series only offers a few glimpses of Third Impact, focusing on the Complementation of Shinji Ikari, End offers a fuller and perhaps different account.

Before Third Impact Nerv and Seele turn on each other, and Gendo Ikari attempts to carry out his Third Impact, uniting Rei with Lilith, and his own self already possessing Adam. But after Gendo merges Adam with Rei, she rejects him. Instead of being reunited with Yui Ikari and gaining the godlike powers Gendo had been planning and seeking for so long, all humanity begins reverting to the egg of Lilith from which it came. The combination of Lilith (possessor of the Tree of Knowledge) & Adam (possessor of the Tree of Life) - in the guises of Rei Ayanami and Kaworu Nagisa - neutralizes the AT Fields of all human beings on Earth and absorbs their souls into her/himself. Shinji meanwhile has been placed at the head of the Kabbalah's Tree of Life, composed of himself in Unit-01 and 9 Mass-production Evas crucified with Lances of Longinus (each crucified Evangelion forming one of the Sefirot). Control of the power is placed in the hands of Shinji as the sacrifice and initiator of Third Impact. With the unification of Angels and Humans, god-like power is unlocked: "The Fruit of Life borne by the Angels, and the Fruit of Knowledge borne by human beings. Eva-01 has acquired both of these gifts, and so has become something to rival the power of God."

However, Shinji Ikari makes the fateful decision to reject Instrumentality, thus ending Third Impact. It is implied that any individuals with a strong sense of themselves and who choose to do may, eventually, reclaim human form (if they can "imagine themselves within their own heart").

In the second Rebuild of Evangelion, Unit 01 and Shinji started Third Impact using the Angel Zeruel, Shinji attempted to bond with the Angel's core to save Rei after she was assimilated. This desire and Angelic contact resulted in Unit 01 absorbing the Angel's core into itself and transforming into a near-godlike being. Ritsuko described it as "the birth of a new life form at the cost of the old ones". This Third Impact was stopped by a Lance of Longinus deployed by Kaworu and Unit 06 on their terrestrial descent.

Antarctica
Antarctica was Ground Zero for the Second Impact, during which it was destroyed; the continent is now completely submerged in a sea devoid of life, but with pillars of ice protruding through its red surface. Humans cannot survive here, and must be shielded behind thick barriers. It has become the true "Dead Sea"; not even microbial life survived the blast from Second Impact.

Black Moon
The Egg of Lilith &mdash; the empty "egg" from which all human (a.k.a. Lilim) souls originated. Buried beneath the surface of the Earth, it was used by Nerv as their base of operations (see GeoFront).

Central Dogma
Nerv's pyramid-like control center located inside the GeoFront. Terminal Dogma is directly below it. Central Dogma takes its name from the central dogma of molecular biology, which explains the concepts of translation and transcription of genetic information.

Central Dogma appears to be environmentally sealed due to it seemingly being unaffected by the GeoFront's rise into orbit.

GeoFront (Nerv HQ)
A spherical cavern, protected by 22 layers of armored bulkheads, located under Tokyo-3 and containing Nerv headquarters. This is later revealed to be the Egg of Lilith, from which humanity was born. Gendo Ikari reveals towards the end of the series that humanity didn't build the GeoFront, but instead found it pre-existing at its current location, and chose to build Tokyo-3 and Nerv HQ there, along with expanding some internal space through tunneling, to construct their base.

During Third Impact, Lilith's merging with Rei causes the GeoFront to rise into low Earth orbit (220 km, to be exact). When Instrumentality occurs, it serves as some kind of a reservoir for human souls before it is seemingly destroyed by Unit 01 when Shinji makes his decision.

Nerv branches
Various Nerv branches have been made in diferent parts of the world. All Nerv branches have different names than the Nerv branch in Tokyo-3. Nerv-01 is the first North American branch of Nerv located in Boston, Massachusetts. It is where Eva Unit 03 was created before being flown to Nerv headquarters, possibly in coordination with MIT where one of the Magi supercomputers was also held.

Nerv-02 is the second North American branch of Nerv. It is located somewhere in the Nevada Desert, possibly at Area 51. It vanished, along with 12,000 individuals and everything else in an 89 km radius, when Eva Unit 04's S² Engine was activated.

Nerv-03 (also known simply as "Nerv-Germany") is the branch of Nerv located in Germany. Eva Unit 02 was constructed here, and Asuka apparently trained here for some time, before both were transferred to the main Nerv branch at Tokyo-3. Its location is never specified; however, there are two Magi computers in Hamburg and Berlin.

The Rebuild of Evangelion films introduce new Nerv locations. A joint US/Russian base referred to as Nerv-Bethany was located under an area identified as Acheron. During the second film, the previously captured Third Angel escaped from Bethany and was destroyed by Eva-05 along with most of Acheron when Eva 05 self destructed outside the Bethany base. It appears to be located in the middle of a lake or sea. Nerv-Golgotha base was the location that the Dummy plug system was developed. At the time of its deployment to Tokyo-3, Golgotha had not performed any tests on the Dummy system. The second film also changes the location of Eva Unit 03's construction to the American Southwest.

Pribnow Box
This is a section of Nerv HQ where the three simulation bodies are kept. It is surrounded by thick "protein walls" which are later penetrated by the Angel Iruel. It is named after a section of the DNA strand of a prokaryotic organism.

Sea of LCL
The Sea of LCL is a world in which there are no AT Fields, human consciousness is not divided between different bodies, and the souls of all of humanity reside in a giant sea of primordial soup. It's the theoretical pinnacle of existence (according to Seele) and ultimate goal of the Human Instrumentality Project.

Terminal Dogma
The deepest level of the Nerv Headquarters (Level EE, according to the second Rebuild of Evangelion), where Lilith and the Lance of Longinus are kept. It is ostensibly locked to all but the highest members of Nerv (Gendo, Fuyutsuki, and Ritsuko); however Kaji gains entrance and shows Misato its contents shortly before the completion of his final mission. In the manga, Shinji accidentally comes across it at the same time Kaji and Misato do.

Lilith is stored in Terminal Dogma, crucified upon a massive red cross (similar to the one Unit 03 is transported on). It is also pierced through the torso with the Lance of Longinus, much like Jesus. The wound from the Lance has not healed and LCL seems to bleed from it. This has caused a small lake of LCL to form around the cross which functions as the reservoir for Nerv's LCL needs.

Tokyo (Tokyo-1)
Tokyo-1 (the original Tokyo) is now a partially submerged ruin seen in the series. It was destroyed on September 20, 2000, seven days after Second Impact, when a nuclear bomb was dropped on it during the wars which broke out as a result of post-Second Impact tension. The destruction of Tokyo-1 resulted in the death of half a million people. An official document on the Second Impact is shown in the series for a brief moment. The Japanese Prime Minister also states in The End of Evangelion that he wants Tokyo-3 to be so utterly destroyed and made completely uninhabitable that "no one can touch it for the next 20 years... like old Tokyo."

The ruins of Old Tokyo were used as a testing site for the robot Jet Alone in episode 7.

Tokyo-2
Tokyo-2 is the capital of Japan, and was where the Japanese government relocated after Tokyo (Tokyo-1) was nuked in the chaos following Second Impact. Tokyo-2 was created in the location of today's Matsumoto City in Nagano prefecture. Construction began in 2001 and by early 2003 it had become the functional new capital city.

Tokyo-3
Tokyo-3 is located above the GeoFront, with buildings that can retract into the ground for safety, and other buildings that contain the launch ports and weapons caches for the Evas. It is projected to replace Tokyo-2 as capital of Japan, but was designed to intercept all incoming Angels to Japan. The city is defended by numerous missile stations around it. It was built in the location of pre-Impact Hakone.

Tokyo-3 was heavily damaged by the attack of the Angel Zeruel, though repairs on Nerv HQ and much of the city were worked on later. However, soon after this Rei was forced to self-destruct Unit 00 to destroy the Angel Armisael, destroying a large swath of the city. During the attack by JSSDF forces directed against Nerv by Seele in The End of Evangelion, the JSSDF dropped an N² bomb on Tokyo-3; what remained of the city was destroyed, and the GeoFront below was left open to the sky, though Nerv HQ (located deep beneath the area of the blast's effect) survived the explosion.

In Evangelion 2.0, Units 00 and 02 coordinated an N² missile attack on Zeruel while inside the geofront, the detonation of the N² bomb destroyed most of Tokyo-3. Eva-01's transformation after defeating Zeruel created a massive hole in the roof of the Geofront, through which Eva-06 descended after stopping Unit 01 from initiating Third Impact at the conclusion of that movie.

White Moon
The egg from which all Angels originated, located in Antarctica. This is where Adam laid dormant before self-destructing and being shrunk to an embryo because of an experiment of the Katsuragi Team, causing Second Impact. The "White Moon" was (according to deleted scenes from episode 21) actually another GeoFront cavern, exactly the same size as the Black Moon's GeoFront (which contained Lilith) located under Hakone (which Nerv HQ and Tokyo-3 were built around). According to Gendo, both the creation of the Black Moon cavern under Tokyo-3 and the White Moon in Antarctica date back to the exact same geological time period. An image of the White Moon from the day before Second Impact appeared on a computer screen; text on the computer stated that the White Moon was "possibly created at time of Giant Impact" (that is, First Impact), and "surface structure clearly artificial". It also seems to refer to the White Moon as GeoFront 01, which would suggest that Nerv knew about it all the time.

According to the Neon Genesis Evangelion 2, like the Black Moon containing Lilith, the White Moon was created as a vessel by the aliens known as the First Ancestral Race, one of many such vessels used to seed life on different planets (for what purpose is unknown). White Moons containing Adam-like creatures seeded some planets with Angel-like lifeforms, while Black Moons with Lilith-like creatures created human-like lifeforms on other planets. However, a White Moon and a Black Moon were never supposed to both seed life on the same planet, which ultimately put both humans and Angels in direct competition for control of Earth. (See "Terms from outside of the main series" for more details).

Children
Child is used to refer to each of the Eva pilots in the singular, at least in the English translation. (Shinji, is, for example the Third Child.) The Japanese script, however, uses the English word "Children" exclusively, e.g. the Third Children. The English language dub produced by ADV, however, uses the word Child rather than Children. In the audio commentary track of Evangelion: Death and Rebirth the translators stated that they made the change intentionally because "children" would have sounded unnatural. The translation of Evangelion 1.0 counterparts uses the term "Third Boy" for Shinji and follows a similar pattern for Rei.

Dead Sea Scrolls
The Dead Sea Scrolls are ancient Hebrew manuscripts found in the caves around Qumran between 1947 and 1956. In the world of Evangelion, there exists one or more of these scrolls whose existence was never revealed to the public and are currently held by Seele. Seele states that their pursuit of the Human Instrumentality Project, and all events occurring therein, is in accordance with an ambiguously-described "scenario" laid out in the Dead Sea Scrolls, predicting the Second Impact, the coming of the Angels, and the eventual Third Impact. According to the interviews in the spin off video game Neon Genesis Evangelion 2, the "Dead Sea Scrolls" are actually a manual left behind by the First Ancestral Race, the progenitor aliens that made Adam and Lilith, which explains how to de-activate a Seed of Life if it ever lands on a planet with another Seed. Seele, however, acquired it and then abused the knowledge it contained, to enact a scenario, Instrumentality, which would make them living gods.

Human Instrumentality Project
The Human Instrumentality Project (人類補完計画) is also known as The Human Enhancement Project or The Human Complementation Project.

Though the specifics of the project are largely mysterious and speculative, the Instrumentality Project is an operation initiated by Seele to instigate an artificial Third Impact in which all human physical life will end and the minds of all humans become united in a single soul. Nerv, the Evas, Adam, Lilith, and the Angels, along with Second Impact, all form part of Seele's skillful maneuvering to achieve this purpose. It could be said to be the project to turn humans into God, which is largely played out in The End of Evangelion, before Shinji decides to accept humans apart, and with different AT Fields. Metaphorically, this decision could be the "New Beginning" indicated by the series name, Neon Genesis Evangelion.

Project E
Project E is the project to create the Evangelion combat machine series that led to the formation of Nerv. It is also called the Adam Revival Project.

Tree of Life
The Kabbalah refers to the organization of the ten Sephiroth as the Tree of Life. Two versions of the Tree of Life are depicted in the opening credits, and a large diagram appears on the ceiling of Gendo's office. As part of Instrumentality's progress in The End of Evangelion, the mass-produced Evas gather around Unit 01 in a pattern which forms a Tree of Life.

Evangelion Complementation Project
The project behind Renewal of Evangelion, the 10th anniversary new editions of NGE, and tie-in products.

Evangelion Proposal
Evangelion Proposal is a 30 page basic outline of the plot and key notions of Neon Genesis Evangelion, including concept art, that was developed as a sort of pitch-package for the series, in order to advertise it while Gainax was still developing it. While the characters and the frame of the story are basically the same, the plot developed in the document widely differs from the actual TV series, most notably concerning the ending. The proposal mentions several concepts that were never featured in the show but which resurfaced in explanatory documents published years after the series ended. The proposal was first released to the public as a subsection of the Newtype 100% Collection artbook, then republished in the Evangelion Chronicle guide to the series.

Project EVA
The project to create the TV show. Nearly every anime has an organization called "project," such as that of "Project AKIRA" or "Project D".

Country Crawler / Trident
The Country Crawlers / Tridents are the flight-capable giant robots the Japanese government builds as a backup plan against the EVAs, and are also piloted by 14-year-olds. They are equipped with 100 mm chin-mounted cannons. They can be seen in Girlfriend of Steel / Iron Maiden.

F-type equipment
Known as Ｆ型装備 in Japanese, F-type equipment appears in the game Neon Genesis Evangelion 2, as well as Super Robot Wars Alpha 3. This heavy-armored equipment is actually in direct conflict with the Evangelion's nature. This is because what was originally assumed to be armor was revealed by Ritsuko to be a restraint which kept the Evangelion units under control. From this came the idea of the 'A.T. Field Control Experiment.' The idea calls for an equipped system that would take the A.T. Field that a unit emits under normal circumstances and introduce a warping effect that would strengthen the unit's defenses. In this way, the requirement of the heavy armor was met without violating the spirit of the Evangelion system.

Boosting Unit 01's power dramatically, it's the UN's primary hand-to-hand combat tool. On the plus side, it reinforces the strength of Unit 01, but on the minus side, the increased weight slightly reduces its mobility. By deflecting the A.T. Field the unit normally emits, the armor can be used for defense or even extra power for jumping and propulsion.

The new shoulder pylons each contains a 'Progressive Dagger,' an improved Progressive Knife which is even bigger and longer. Each shoulder is also equipped with an electrical beam like launcher named 'Volt Launcher' or 'Impact Bolt,' an antiphase weapon with, along with devastating power, the ability to temporarily paralyze an enemy.

In addition to these, the extra weapons included with F-type equipment includes:
 * 'Dual saw': A handheld dual chainsaw.
 * 'Mastema' : An all-range weapon, the Mastema is a lightweight multi-weapon that includes a large-bore machine cannon, edges that can be used for slashing (Progressive Sword) and two cruise missiles with built-in N² warheads, making this a weapon of choice for both close-range and distance combat. Another fact is that this weapon is named after a fallen angel said to have brought much suffering on the human race.

Note that these weapons are not only limited to Unit 01 for use. They can be switched to the other Eva Units for their use.

In the episode featuring Jet Alone in the TV series, Unit 01 was referenced as being deployed using the F-type equipment, although it looks no different from the standard armor in this appearance. Closer inspection would reveal that Unit 01 has larger than usual shoulder packs. It can be assumed that the F-type equipment, apart from other uses, offers the units the ability to operate without the need of being connected via cable for longer periods.

First Ancestral Race
The First Ancestral Race is never mentioned in the series, but are described in the classified information files of the spin off video game Neon Genesis Evangelion 2. The First Ancestral Race (第一始祖民族) are the ancient god-like progenitor aliens who created Adam and Lilith, and thus, ultimately the creators of both the humans and the Angels. Billions of years ago, this race seeded life throughout the galaxy by sending Seeds of Life to many planets (their motivation is unknown). Seeds of Life called White Moons contained Adam-like creatures, who gave rise to Angel life forms on the planets they landed on. Seeds of Life called Black Moons contained Lilith-like creatures, who started normal terrestrial life, which evolved into human-like life forms. A Black Moon and a White Moon were never meant to land on the same planet, and thus Angels and humans were never meant to co-exist. Originally, the White Moon containing Adam landed on Earth. However, the Black Moon containing Lilith accidentally (and violently) collided into Earth, an event known as First Impact which created Earth's Moon. These aliens also created the Lance of Longinus, one of which was sent along with both Adam and Lilith as a means of controlling them (Lilith's Lance was destroyed when she crash-landed into Earth). They are also the true authors of the "Dead Sea Scrolls", which are actually a sort of manual on Seeds of Life sent along with each, and of the Spear of Longinus. While none of this is ever mentioned in the series, the White Moon of Adam in Antarctica, and the Black Moon of Lilith under Tokyo-3, are both described as "clearly artificial", as well as being "nearly identical", and that Gendo says that "an intelligence other than Mankind created the GeoFront".

Jet Alone Prime
Jet Alone Prime (also known as JA') is a further development of the Jet Alone project. This is found in the game Evangelion 2.

The JA that appeared in Episode 7 of TV series was the prototype model, and according to the setting, this unit with an onboard N² reactor was actually in development at the time.

Initially afraid of having an onboard fission reactor, but forced to meet the deadline for the public test, they fitted the prototype with a nuclear reactor taken from the "old system", which ends up running amok.

This model contained an onboard reactor was treated as experimental at the time. By coincidence, it slipped through the grasp of those who conspired to have it sabotaged, thus narrowly escaping disassembly.

The body of this robot, with its reactor, is slightly smaller than the original JA. But, it's still powerful and nimble, and in exchange for only having to equip a single cooling system, it consumes massive amounts of water, requiring the presence of a nearby water supply during periods of extended operation. Its weapons include a giant hammer and a ring attached to the wrist that emits an electrical discharge.

Magoroku-Exterminate Sword
Known as マゴロク・エクスターミネート・ソード in Japanese, the Magoroku-Exterminate Sword, or Magoroku-E Sword for short, is a giant (EVA-sized) Progressive Sword with a curved blade, like a Japanese katana. Normally, it is paired with another shorter 'Counter Sword' that has a pistol attached to it, resembling a gunblade.

These blades are commonly seen as an accessory to Unit 01 models and action figures, but were never shown in the series. However, they do appear in several video games, like Super Robot Wars MX and Super Robot Wars Alpha 3.