Evangelion: Innocence

Evangelion:Innocence.

Rei Ayanami

What am I ? Who am I ? I am me... but then, who are you ?

The first time I saw Ayanami, I was drawn to her. I don't know why, perhaps it was because she didn't fit in with the others, and I could sympathise with that. She always seemed vacant, as if she couldn't understand human nature. Who is she? What is she? This is one of the biggest mysteries in Evangelion, and I will try my best to give my interpretation of the answers.

Rei first appears on the scene at Nerv (at this time it was still Gehirn) in 2005 at the age of 4. The girl's red eyes were wide and happy, and she was actually smiling. She was introduced to the Akagi women as Rei Ayanami, the child of one of Commander Ikari's acquaintances. Ikari explained he was taking care of her, although his deceased wife Yui had left him a son (Shinji) who was sent to live with his Uncle and Aunt. Dr. Naoko Akagi (Ritsuko's mother) was suspicious of the child, and so searched for any records of Ayanami Rei. Her details were erased.

That same day, Rei was wondering about Gehirn headquarters, when she entered Dr. Akagi's workstation. It was here she called Naoko an "old hag" and claimed the Commander was the one who originally called her that. Naoko then realised Rei was similar in some way to Yui Ikari. In a fit of rage, the doctor strangled the girl to death, and then committed her own suicide.

At the beginning of the series, we see an injured Ayanami, 14 years of age. She was wrapped in bandages and obviously in pain after an accident involving the reactivation of Prototype Eva Unit 00. During this incident, Eva 00 went berserk, and tried to kill Commander Ikari (or was it Dr. Akagi?). The umbilical cable was cut, special bakelite was dropped on the Eva to freeze it, and the entry plug was ejected. Gendou ran into the cage, and forced open the super heated hatch of the entry plug with his bare hands to save Rei. He scarred his hands and broke his glasses, and the same glasses are Rei's most treasured possession. In fact, Commander Ikari is the only person Rei can open up to.

Little by little throughout the series, information regarding Rei is revealed. To sum it up briefly, Rei is a creation of human science - the same science which provoked the angel attacks in the first place. She has DNA of both Lilith (the giant crucified within Central Dogma) and Yui Ikari (what was salvaged after the first synchronisation test with Unit 1). All together there have been three Reis. The first is the child who was killed by Naoko Akagi. The second, the designated pilot of Unit 00, was alone and confused, and kept to herself. Slowly she learned how to relate to Shinji, as they had a common self value: nothing (The word 'Rei' in Japanese actually means 'zero'). Because of this developing bond, she sacrificed her life, Eva 00, and subsequently Tokyo-3, to save Shinji from the contaminating 16th angel, Armisael. Rei III had learned the feeling of loneliness from the angel which had contaminated Rei II. She had realised the purpose for her existance: to be used as Gendou Ikari's doll. At the critical stage of Instrumentality, she rejected Ikari, and made her very first self-motivated act. Rei merged with Lilith on her own, and gave the future to Shinji instead out of her own judgement.

In my opinion, Rei is the most beautiful character of the series. And I don't mean that in a physical sense, although I would kill for the red eyes/blue hair combo! ^_^ In a social sense, she differs from the normal, she exists completely without being pressured by her peers, she is totally oblivious to what anyone thinks of her. Ayanami is also loyal, and can be trusted with anything, as she is not corrupt in any way by society. And she doesn't like meat! She doesn't even suffer periods. Her only setback is she probably has never experienced fun before, like a "normal" kid. Thats what you might think, anyway. She doesn't understand happiness. But life can't always be rosy, and Rei doesn't waste time seeking false happiness like others. She is down to earth, but not materialistic, as she knows her existance is worth basically nothing. The most beautiful thing about her is the fact that she has the strength to accept the harsh reality that would otherwise leave Misato and Asuka screaming.

Well, that's my primary analysis for now.. its more like brief thoughts on the subject. Expect to see this page re-done sometime in the future! Please remember that this is my opinion only, I didn't copy this from existing sites. Originality please, people! But if you wish to use this for your own pages, please title it something like "Medea's Rei Ayanami" or "Ayanami by Medea". Thanks!

If you have any questions or comments, tell me !

And now, Ayanami Rei according to the Red Cross Booklet:

[First Children]

It means Ayanami Rei, the first suitable person picked by the Marduk organisation. She acts as the "experimented" for all experiments related to E-Plan like the start-up experiment of EVA etc. She participated in real battles as the dedicated pilot of EVA-00, and completed many ambush operations against the Angels.

[Ayanami Rei]

The First Child. The dedicated pilot of EVA-00. A young girl who apparently lacks emotions. Her body was actually salvaged from what was left behind of Yui's body inside EVA, and a lot of body copies were later prepared in the Terminal Dogma so that when one Rei dies she could be replaced by another. The present Rei is the third one. The first was killed by Dr.Akagi Naoko; the second was killed in her battle against the 16th Angel. Although the personalities of these 3 Rei are different from each other, this is due to the environment. Their soul is one and the same. Also, it seems that this soul was somehow derived from Lilith. At the final stage of the Complementation Program, she betrayed Gendou, returned to Lilith out of her own judgement and handed the future to Gendou's son -- Ikari Shinji. Birth date unknown.