Neon Genesis Evangelion/Rei Ayanami

Rei Ayanami
Neon Genesis Evangelion
Actors	Megumi Hayashibara Amanda Winn Lee (English)
First Appearance	1x01 - Angel Attack
Last Appearance	End of Evangelion
Series Billing	Main Cast
Episode Count	-

Rei Ayanami is the First Child and pilot of EVA-00.

Basic Information

Rei is the first pilot shown, and in many ways she is the polar opposite of Asuka. Asuka is violent, prideful, and emotional, but Rei is serene, withdrawn, and mysterious. The only person she really seems to connect with is Shinji's father Gendou. Her origins are unclear.

Character History

It is ultimately revealed that Rei is a genetic construct created by NERV; there's a small army of Rei-clones hidden in the bowels of NERV HQ. However, only one of them actually has a "soul" at any given time, and the rest are un-activated "shells" used in the Dummy Plug system for remote-piloting Eva units. It's doubtful that there was ever an original "Rei Ayanami" who actually existed. It is widely believed that she's really a clone of Shinji's dead mother. Rather, mostly a clone, as sections of Angel DNA have actually been added to Rei's genetic structure to make her part Angel. Because of this, Rei is central to Genduo's plan to bring about Third Impact through the Human Instrumentality Project. There have actually been three Rei's that figure prominently into the show; the first was killed by Ritsuko's vengful mother years ago when she realized that Gendou was using her. The Rei that Shinji first meets is the second one. After Rei II dies self-destructing Eva-00 to destroy an Angel, Rei III is activated. Rei III is used by Gendou to bring about Third Impact by merging herself with Lilith. Visions of Rei/Lilith then appear to everyone on the planet, then morph into the person they most care about as the person dissolves into LCL Fluid. AFter talking with Rei/Lilith, Shinki ultimately rejects this form of existence.