Kaworu Nagisa

Kaworu Nagisa (Japanese: 渚 カヲル, Hepburn: Nagisa Kaoru), real name Tabris (タブリス, Taburisu), is a fictional character from the Neon Genesis Evangelion franchise. He is the Fifth Child and the seventeenth angel, Tabris. He is sent to Nerv by Seele as a replacement pilot for Unit 02 after Asuka Langley Soryu's synchronization ratio falls below usability. He later breaks into Terminal Dogma to return to Adam, but after he discovers the being there is actually Lilith, he permits Shinji Ikari to destroy him. He appears in The End of Evangelion during Third Impact, communicating with Shinji as Adam together with Rei as Lilith in regard to the choice of whether to accept or reject Instrumentality.

Kaworu Nagisa
Neon Genesis Evangelion character
First appearanceNeon Genesis Evangelion
Episode 24: "The Beginning and the End, or "Knockin' on Heaven's Door"
Created byHideaki Anno (Writer)
Yoshiyuki Sadamoto (Designer)
Voiced byJapanese:
Akira Ishida
English:
Kyle Sturdivant (Neon Genesis Evangelion)
Aaron Krohn (Death & Rebirth and The End of Evangelion)
Greg Ayres (Neon Genesis Evangelion Director's Cut)
Jerry Jewell (Rebuild of Evangelion)
Clifford Chapin (Neon Genesis Evangelion Netflix dub)
In-universe information
SpeciesAngel
TitleFifth Child

Despite his very small screentime in the series (first appearing two episodes only before the series' finale, and only mentioned in the following episode), Kaworu became a popular and recognizable character, partially due to his sex appeal.[1] A Newtype poll in 2010 ranked him the second most popular male anime character from the 1990s.[2]

Conception

Though appearing only in one of the final episodes of Evangelion, Hideaki Anno made character designer Yoshiyuki Sadamoto draw him in the opening video of the series for a brief frame although Anno believed there were minor changes until his actual appearance. Anno's idea with Kaworu was to make him as an idealized version of Shinji Ikari. In the initial stages, Kaworu was a child who carried around a cat.[3] The very first plot title was “The cat and the transfer student.” It was a story about transfer student carrying a cat coming to the school and so forth. As the staff went on with it, in episode 24, it had already moved away from the school. As a result, Anno believes Kaworu would have made minor appearances before his actual debut, but eventually cut down his role to one episode. Akira Ishida's performance as Kaworu's voice actor gave Anno a good impression, and Anno denied "carnal feelings" on Shinji's part.[4] Anno also considered expanding on his role in the Director's Cuts of Episode 24, but decided to prioritize clarifying Kaworu's connection to Seele.[5][6] In early designs, Kaworu was depicted as a school boy with a pet cat who could switch to an "Angel form".[7]

In the ninth volume of the manga, one of Sadamoto's artworks is a portrayal of Kaworu dressed in black and holding a black cat.[8] In the making of the manga, Sadamoto stated he had no clear understanding of Kaworu's real personality due to how he is presented as an antagonist, and characterized their relationship as written to be similar to a primary school student seeking admiration towards an older, middle school student.[9][10]

Kaworu was named by screenplay writer Akio Satsukawa.[6] Kaworu's surname "Nagisa" comes from the Japanese word nagisa (渚), meaning "waterside" or "shore", concerned with sea. It also comes from Japanese movie director Nagisa Oshima.[6] Adding to these, the character "渚", when divided, can be read shi-sha (シ者). The title of episode 24 is "The Last Shisha" (最後のシ者, Saigo no Shisha). "シ者" includes two Japanese words read as "shisha" (the character "シ" only represents the sound "shi"). The first is "messenger" or "apostle" (使者, shisha), while the other is "dead (person)" (死者).[6]

Gainax renders his name in Romaji as "Kaworu", according to the Japanese spelling using the archaic wo kana (ヲ), not "Kaoru" as would be given by most romanization schemes even for this spelling. The reasons for the difference in the naming have not been explicitly detailed by the series' creators; one theory is that the name is based on the original kana of the name Kaoru Genji, from The Tale of Genji.[6]

Appearances

Neon Genesis Evangelion

Kaworu appears in the twenty-fourth episode of Neon Genesis Evangelion as a replacement pilot for Rei Ayanami and Asuka Langley Soryu, who are both unable to pilot their Evangelions. He meets remaining Evangelion pilot Shinji Ikari in the ruins of the battle with the preceding Angel, and talks to him about human cultural achievements, such as music. Kaworu and Shinji, who now feels he is devoid of any connections, quickly strike up a friendship; they share a public bath, and Shinji sleeps over at Kaworu's apartment, hesitant to go to his own home, as he is afraid of facing Misato and unaware that Asuka is no longer missing. Kaworu comments on the fragility of humans. The nature of Kaworu and Shinji's relationship is depicted in an ambiguous manner, as Kaworu uses the phrase sukitte (好きって) to describe his feelings for Shinji; the phrase can be used to denote anything from intimacy or friendship to love.[11][lower-alpha 1]

Misato Katsuragi is suspicious of the suddenness of Kaworu's arrival, his lack of background files, and his immediate high synchronization rates with Asuka's Unit 02, and later observes him meeting with SEELE. In the climax of the episode, NERV is alerted that Unit 02 has activated without a pilot and that Kaworu, who is identified as the Seventeenth and final Angel, is descending to Terminal Dogma to meet Adam. Shinji takes pursuit in Unit 01, but is hindered by Kaworu's AT Field and Unit 02. When Kaworu reaches Terminal Dogma, he realizes the imprisoned Angel is actually Lilith, and asks Shinji to kill him. Shinji reluctantly acquiesces, and crushes him with Unit 01's hand. Later, Shinji laments, but Misato tells him he did the right thing.[11]

The End of Evangelion

Kaworu appears during the initiation of the Human Instrumentality Project, sharing a body alongside Rei in a giant apparition of Lilith. Rei's disfigured appearance within Lilith terrifies the already traumatised Shinji, but Kaworu calms Shinji down. He is asked by Yui what he wishes for as Lilith returns to Rei's form and Shinji sees a woman's clutched breasts as he enters Instrumentality. Kaworu also appears to Shinji's father Gendo during Instrumentality alongside Rei and Gendo's wife Yui, as they accuse Gendo of running away through his emotional detachment from Shinji. As Instrumentality draws to a close, Kaworu and Rei ask Shinji about the future of humanity and whether Shinji wants to accept the process; Shinji rejects Instrumentality, saying that Rei and Kaworu are just "pretenses", but at least in reality, he would know his feelings were real.

Rebuild of Evangelion

Promotional materials for Rebuild of Evangelion showed prominent images of Kaworu in his plugsuit with the other Children.[12] In the first film, he briefly appears at the ending, in which he has a mysterious conversation with SEELE on the surface of the Moon. In the second film, Gendo and Fuyutsuki travel to the Moon to observe the construction of the Mark.06; much to Fuyutsuki's surprise, they see Kaworu sitting naked on top of the Eva in hard vacuum. He turns towards them and calls someone a father. In the end, Kaworu comes down from the Moon with the Mark.06 and impales Unit 01, aborting Third Impact as Kaji states that "Seele won't stand for this". Afterwards he says that the promised time has come and that this time he will bring Shinji happiness. The preview of the third film shows Kaworu confronting four other pilots in an unknown location.

In the third film, fourteen years after the second film, he appears to now be working for NERV. When Shinji arrives at NERV, Gendo tells him that he and Kaworu will be piloting Eva Unit-13. During Shinji's stay at NERV, he forms a friendship with Kaworu, who teaches him how to play the piano, and stargazes with him. Later when Shinji asked what had happened to the people he knew, Kaworu takes him to the ruins of Geofront and Tokyo-3, explaining that Shinji's awakening of Unit-01 was the "catalyst" of Third Impact and further decimated the world. He also reveals the aim of the ongoing Human Instrumentality Project: to kill all life on Earth, allowing for the creation of beings that bear the Fruit of Life.

When Fuyutsuki reveals about Yui Ayanami being inside Unit-01 and the Rei clones, Shinji has a mental breakdown. On the day of the operation, Shinji is unsure whether to follow Gendo's orders or Misato's plea to not pilot an Evangelion again, so Kaworu takes the choker off Shinji, which he claims was originally made for him, and wears it as a sign of trust. Later, Shinji and Kaworu pilot Unit-13 into Terminal Dogma as Kaworu claims they can use the Spears of Cassius and Longinus to undo Third Impact; Rei follows in Mark.09. When Unit-13 reaches Lilith's corpse, Kaworu realizes that both spears are similar and after a period unresponsive in deep thought as Mari and Asuka, who asks him if he trying to start another Impact, assault them and Kaworu pleads with Shinji to not remove them.

Despite Kaworu's and Asuka's pleas Shinji removes the spears, causing Lilith to explode into LCL. Mark.09 decapitates Mark.06 to release the Twelfth Angel, which is absorbed by Unit-13. The awakened Unit-13 flies out of the Geofront and rises into the sky, starting Fourth Impact. Kaworu reveals he is the First Angel, now "cast down" to the Thirteenth. The choker detects Unit-13's awakening and activates. To halt Fourth Impact, Kaworu allows the choker to kill him before Shinji's eyes, although this is only accomplished later by Mari ejecting Shinji manually from Unit-13. Before dying, he states that he and Shinji will meet again.

In other media

Kaworu makes appearances in various other media spin-offs of Neon Genesis Evangelion, including various audio dramas and music CDs and Yoshiyuki Sadamoto's adaptation of the anime. Here, Kaworu is portrayed as being ignorant of human emotions and taboos regarding social interaction and personal space, creating some comic relief. His role is very similar to his anime counterpart's although some details have been altered, such as his friendship with Shinji not being immediate or even non-existent, and Kaworu himself being often used in a comic relief manner. Aside from Sadamoto's manga, Kaworu also appears as a supporting character in other titles, such as Shinji Ikari Raising Project. In these manga appearances, Kaworu is typically portrayed in a lighter tone than in the series, with focus placed on his relationship with Shinji, usually competing for his attentions with Asuka and Rei. He is primarily used as comic relief in Raising Project but is only present in the very early chapters of the story and is absent thereafter.

Kaworu also appears in video games based on the Evangelion franchise, including the popular cross-over franchise Super Robot Wars. In the game's adaption of The End of Evangelion, Kaworu's spirit returns to take control of Unit-00 and aid Shinji in battle and help rescue Rei from inside Lilith. He also visits Nekki Basara and voices his approval of his music. He makes his final appearance during the final battle with Kaiser Ephes where he encourages the Eva pilots not give up.

Reception

Kaworu Nagisa was the second most popular male character in the 1997 Animage poll;[1] in 1998 he was ranked 6th.[13] In a Newtype poll from March 2010, Kaworu was voted as the second most popular male anime character from the 1990s,[2] after Shinji Ikari.

As a promotion for its 10th Anniversary Special Edition of Evangelion, ADV Films published a humorous bumper sticker which reads "KAWORU DIED FOR YOUR SINS" (カヲルはあなたの罪のために死んだ, Kaworu wa anata no tsumi no tame ni shinda).[14] Mania Entertainment's Chris Beveridge described Kaworu's death in the anime as an "extremely powerful moment" due to the fact that after a minute without dialogue, his head's shadow appears touching the water.[15] The bonus materials in volume nine of the English adaptation of the manga include an article written by editor Carl Gustav Horn comparing Kaworu to the character Satan in Mark Twain's novella The Mysterious Stranger.[8][16]

Critics liked Kaworu's role in the Rebuild of Evangelion films. Kotaku considered Kaworu's scenes with Shinji as the best parts from Evangelion 3.0 as through their interactions Anno is able to give a message to the viewers in regards to how much the plot of the Rebuild films has changed and comment how people have to accept change.[17] Japanator enjoyed how much more screen-time Kaworu gets in the film in comparison to the original television series as, sharing similar comments with Kotaku based on how his character represents hope for Shinji to redo things.[18] Anime News Network praised Kaworu's kindness in the film as the highlight of the storyline comparing this incarnation to the original Asuka who befriended Shinji as in both relationships, the pairs have to befriend each other as well as act coordinately, however noted that "his influence is meant to show us that Shinji is still a long, long way from self-acceptance" as he instead tries to find validation in Kaworu.[19] THEM Anime Reviews found Kaworu's personality and relationship with Shinji in 3.0 effective if it came as rushed, and how "Shinji is at his weakest and most fearful" in it.[20] Los Angeles Times considered Kaworu's introduction while playing a piano as important for the film due to how it represents the ideas that sins can be atoned for.[21]

In the 2019 dub of the series by Netflix, one of Kaworu's lines to Shinji was changed from ADV DVD's "I love you" to "I like you", also present in the VHS subtitles.[22] This generated controversy with some fans of the series who felt it altered their relationship and contributed to queer erasure. In an interview, Dan Kanemitsu, Khara's in-house translator, responsible for the updated Evangelion subtitles and other official Gainax and Khara translations including the Rebuild of Evangelion movies,[23][24] said it was not meant to contrast ADV's dub. Instead, Kanemitsu, who claims he consults the original creator when meaning is unclear or ambiguous, defended the importance of ambiguity, citing Anno's commentary about human relationships and the general ambiguity and open-endedness surrounding Evangelion as a whole,[25] something repeatedly defended by Anno, who has invited multiple interpretations of Evangelion while also generally denying explanations of his own,[26][27] and defended his commitment to accuracy.[28] It is not publicly available whether Khara has more closely supervised the new translation than the older ADV ones; however the director for the new English dub stated "Japan made all the casting decisions" through blind auditions, which was not the case with the previous ones.[29]

Relationship with Shinji

Like many other characters, Kaworu's interactions with Shinji have been a topic of debate among fans of Evangelion since the series' first run. Although Kaworu had a brief appearance for one episode in the original anime, he had a very prominent role in the Rebuild movie, Evangelion: 3.0 You Can (Not) Redo, in which he had a more developed relationship with Shinji. Kaworu's sexuality is ambiguous. Some videogames allow him to be a possible romantic option for Shinji as well as multiple female characters as in Shinji Ikari Raising Project though he sometimes has less scenes or no ending route like in Girlfriend of Steel 2. Spinoffs such as Angelic Days put him in a more comedic or romantic light though he still tends to have less space than other side characters, particularly Asuka or Rei, who receive the same treatment. Evangelion ANIMA also features a "Dark Kaworu" who hates humans and hates music.

Patrick Drazen's book Anime Explosion! The What? Why? & Wow! Of Japanese Animation expresses the view that Kaworu's offer of apparent love for Shinji is a tactic that Kaworu as the last Angel used to disarm Shinji.[30] In 1998 reviewer Kenneth Lee criticized Kaworu, saying: "...the element of homosexuality is perhaps the most disturbing, gratuitous, and unnecessary aspect that presents itself in episode 24...Ultimately, the homosexuality issue seems nothing more than cheap shock value tactics to stun generation X"; he considered the entire Shinji-Kaworu relationship "ludicrous and pathetically humorous".[31] Staff also indicates to not have been expecting Kaworu to provoke such a strong impression of that in the first place and attribute their lack of attention to this to the lack of time when making the later episodes.[32][33] Regardless, Gainax is clearly aware that the audience associates Kaworu with bishōnen tropes, and have produced artworks such as splash pages for their website in reference to Kaworu's ambiguity and the audience's reaction to the character.[34] This is not unique to Kaworu, however, as merchandising constantly pairs Asuka and Rei in a similar fashion, much like Shinji is often paired with Asuka or Rei, or Kaworu himself with Rei.[35][36][37] However, some believe that whether Kaworu, an Angel, actually has any concept of sexuality as he is presented in the series is unclear.[30] Mike Crandol regards Kaworu as being "representative of blind, total and unconditional love and acceptance, but like those things Kaworu turns out to not be real at all".[38]

Notes
  1. The ADV and Khara/Netflix translation of Neon Genesis Evangelion translates sukitte as "I like you," whereas the ADV DVD translates sukitte as "I love you."
gollark: So "not utopian".
gollark: It's not utopian or perfect, I know roughly how it works.
gollark: I mean, the... setting... not the location.
gollark: What?
gollark: I vaguely remember the setting being kind of insane.

References
  1. 第19回アニメグランプリ　［1997年6月号］ (in Japanese). Animage.jp. Archived from the original on 2010-12-13. Retrieved 2009-07-19.
  2. "NT Research". Newtype. Kadokawa Shoten (4). March 2010.
  3. Neon Genesis Evangelion Proposal. Japan. 1993. p. 35. Retrieved 14 March 2019.
  4. "Shousetsu JUNE: Hideaki Anno". Magazine Magazine. April 1996. pp. 7–37. Cite magazine requires |magazine= (help)
  5. "Platinum Booklets - Episode Commentaries 21-26". EvaMonkey. Retrieved 13 March 2019.
  6. "Evangelion character names". Translation of essay by Hideaki Anno about character name origins; includes a link to the original essay in Japanese. Archived from the original on August 19, 2007. Retrieved August 19, 2007.
  7. NEWTYPE 100% COLLECTION: NEON GENESIS EVANGELION. 1997 Kadokawashoten. ISBN 4-04-852700-2. Partial translation Archived 2017-07-21 at the Wayback Machine.
  8. ISBN 1-59116-707-8
  9. Gainax; Sadamoto, Yoshiyuki (2008). Neon Genesis Evangelion. Viz Media. ISBN 978-1-4215-2029-2.
  10. ALL ABOUT KAWORU NAGISA A CHILD OF THE EVANGELION. Japan: Kadokawa. April 25, 2008. pp. 149–152. Retrieved 13 March 2019.
  11. Episode 24, "The Beginning and the End, or "Knockin' on Heaven's Door""
  12. Anime News Service, 9-6-06 (6:46PM EDT)---- Confirmed: "Evangelion Shin Gekijou Ban" Details
  13. Animage, June 1998
  14. EVA 10th Limited Edition
  15. Beveridge, Chris (January 24, 2002). "Neon Genesis Evangelion Collection 0:8". Mania Entertainment. Archived from the original on January 12, 2011. Retrieved December 12, 2009.
  16. Horn, Carl. "The Mysterious Stranger: The Anime, the Manga, and the Mark Twain Novella". EvaMonkey. Viz Media. Retrieved 10 March 2019.
  17. "Evangelion 3.0 is (Not) the Film You Were Expecting". Kotaku. Retrieved February 11, 2019.
  18. "Review: Evangelion: 3.0 You Can (Not) Redo". Japanator. Retrieved February 11, 2019.
  19. "Evangelion 3.33: You Can (Not) Redo Blu-Ray". Anime News Network. Retrieved February 11, 2019.
  20. "Evangelion 3.0: You Can (Not) Redo". THEM Anime Reviews. Retrieved February 11, 2019.
  21. "Review: 'Evangelion: 3.0 You Can (Not) Redo' a sleek anime mess". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 11, 2019.
  22. "Neon Genesis Evangelion VHS Complete Set 1-13 English Subtitles 13 Video Tapes • $129.99". PicClick. Retrieved 2019-06-28.
  23. "Kanemitsu's website". www.translativearts.com. Retrieved 2019-06-28.
  24. "Dan KANEMITSU - Anime News Network". www.animenewsnetwork.com. Retrieved 2019-06-28.
  25. "Japanese Fans, Official Translator Weigh in on Netflix Evangelion English Subtitle Debate". Anime News Network. Retrieved June 27, 2019.
  26. 庵野秀, 明; 大泉実, 成 (2014-11-20). 庵野秀明 スキゾ・エヴァンゲリオン. 太田出版.
  27. "CJAS Newsletter Archives -- In the Eyes of Hideaki Anno, Writer and Director of Evangelion". www.cjas.org. Retrieved 2019-06-28.
  28. 兼光ダニエル真 (2019-06-21). "While I am not in a position to refer specifically to the decision involved in the scene you described, in all my translation of any title, I have tried my best to be faithful to the original source material. Bar none". @dankanemitsu. Retrieved 2019-06-28.
  29. "Carrie Keranen on Twitter: "Japan made the casting decisions. All submissions were blind, no names attached. That gave everyone equal footing and allowed us to focus on the performances at hand."". web.archive.org. 2019-06-23. Archived from the original on 2019-06-23. Retrieved 2019-06-28.
  30. Drazen, Patrick (October 2002). '"A Very Pure Thing": Gay and Pseudo-Gay Themes' in Anime Explosion! The What, Why & Wow of Japanese Animation Berkeley, California: Stone Bridge Press p.95 ISBN 1-880656-72-8.
  31. "The fact that within a span of 14 minutes we are expected to believe that Shinji and Kaworu have transcended all boundaries and inhibitions to achieve an unearthly 'Love' and openness for each other is completely ludicrous and pathetically humorous...Yet, along comes Kaworu, who he's known for about 10 minutes and is a boy, no less, and Shinji seems completely accepting of Kaworu's open touches and fondles." "The Thin Veneer Known as "Evangelion"", ANN
  32. Schizo/Prano interview collection. Japan. 1997. ISBN 978-4872333152.
  33. NGE Storyboard Collection, vol 3-4. Japan: Fujimi Shobo. 1997. ISBN 978-4829173473.
  34. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00UTK5N8K/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_dp_ss_1?pf_rd_p=1944687622&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=B000J9Y6JS&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=12594XRGZZ1QQT8XD645
  35. "Der Mond: The Art of Neon Genesis Evangelion". www.amazon.com. Retrieved 2019-06-28.
  36. https://www.amazon.com/Vertex-Evangelion-Kaworu-Nagisa-Non-Scale/dp/B00M9Z404G/ref=pd_sim_sbs_21_5?ie=UTF8&dpID=41VbbXgh0HL&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL160_SR108%2C160_&refRID=05SVF5RCC5HT80WD98CC
  37. "Die Sterne". www.amazon.com. Retrieved 2019-06-28.
  38. http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/feature/2002-06-11
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