Rei Ayanami

Rei Ayanami is a female anime and manga character who features in Neon Genesis Evangelion.

Biography

Neon Genesis Evangelion

Rei Ayanami (綾波 レイ, Ayanami Rei) was a female clone of Yui Ikari who was created by Gendo Ikari and Kozo Fuyutsuki. Yui Ikari had been a scientist who following an accident came to be fused into the body of Eva-01. An attempt was made to salvage her remains but this failed with instead a modified clone being created who had incorporated both the DNA and soul of the Second Angel Lilith. The reason for her creation was to establish a controllable link between Gendo Ikari and Lilith. However, she also served a secondary goal for Gendo who intended to use Rei to control the Human Instrumentality Project. Much of her origins were unknown or had been erased though it as shown that she was 14 years old in 2015. Officially, Rei was said to had been chosen by the Marduk Institute in order to serve as the First Child and to pilot Eva Unit-00 on behalf of NERV where under Commander Gendo Ikari she was to battle the Angels to protect humanity.

When Rei emerged from the shower naked, she seems completely unconcerned that Shinji can see her. Instead, she is upset that he is handling Gendo's Glasses. Even when he falls on top of her, she treats it as a minor annoyance, and asks him to please move. She then gets up and dresses in his presence quite casually. It should be kept in mind that this scene is the first time they actually spoke to each other. When Shinji later brings the event up in order to apologize Rei did not seem to care. This seems to show that Rei has so little experience with other people that she has no idea of the effect that her nudity might have upon a teenage boy.

Overview

Personality and attributes

Officially, Rei Ayanami was fourteen years old, but it was stated that all records of her background had been erased. To NERV, she was officially designated as the First Child as she was the first pilot who could operate an Evangelion.

Rei was socially withdrawn, seemingly emotionless, and rarely interacts with anyone, except for Gendo, to whom she initially displays loyalty but with whom she has a generally distant relationship. She lived by herself in a dull sparsely-furnished apartment in Tokyo-3. Toward the end of the series, Shinji comments that her apartment is very similar to the place where Ritsuko says Rei was born.

Being at least partially derived from the salvaged remains of his wife, Gendo has kept Rei very close to his side. Until Shinji becomes an Eva pilot, Gendo is the only one who is established to have shown Rei any act of kindness. Her memory of Gendo saving her after Unit 00 goes berserk during an activation test has been held cherished to her, so much so that she keeps his burnt glasses held in a case as a memento. Despite this, Rei claims to not pilot the EVA because of Gendo, but because it is her 'bond' with all people.

It was shown that she was only roused to anger in this episode when Shinji speaks disparagingly about his own father and Rei slapped him.

Powers and abilities

Rei Ayanami was a human clone who had the DNA of the Second Angel Lilith in her. However, this information was not widely known to people.

It was shown that Rei had died at least twice. On these occasions, she was apparently resurrected through the use of the Dummy Plug system and the tank of cloned bodies. Despite this process causing her to lose recent memories she was apparently able to recognize that she was her own third incarnation.

She had been trained to pilot one of the large Evangelion (エヴァンゲリオン[?]) mecha units.

Notes

• Rei Ayanami was created by Gainax, Hideaki Anno and Yoshiyuki Sadamoto where she featured in the setting of the Neon Genesis Evangelion universe.
• Like many of Evangelion's characters, Ayanami's surname comes from a Japanese World War II naval vessel, the [Fubuki-class destroyer Ayanami]. Her first name comes from the character Rei Hino of the anime and manga series Sailor Moon. This was done to get one of Sailor Moon's directors, Kunihiko Ikuhara, to work on Evangelion. Written in kanji, Rei (零) can also mean "zero", "null" and is a pun on her Evangelion 00. The band Kinniku Shōjo Tai's theme song Doko e demo ikeru kitte and its line "hotai de masshiro na shojo" (lit. "the white girl with bandages") inspired Sadamoto to draw Rei.
• Her English voice actor, Amanda Winn-Lee described her by saying, '"Rei is not totally devoid of personality, otherwise she would not be interesting."

Appearances

• Neon Genesis Evangelion:

External Links

• EvaWiki Entry
• Wikipedia Entry

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