In the anime/manga series Neon Genesis Evangelion, the mechas piloted by Shinji Ikari, Rei Ayanami, Asuka Langley Soryu, and the other Children are called Evangelions, or simply Evas. The Evas were created by NERV for the purpose of defending Tokyo-3. They are all in the form of tall humanoid figures, with fearsome, animal-like masks. They are not actually simple mechanical giant robots, but are biomechanical and are mostly living parts. Their flesh is rarely seen, however, since they are always wearing full body armor.

The height of the Eva units changes from episode to episode, as one can see by comparing them to the buildings of Tokyo-3: sometime they are large enough to step over them, and other times they are far shorter. The height varies between 40 and 200 meters (130 to 650 feet). This inconsitency was used for dramatic effect by the animators, similar to the way in King Kong that Kong becomes larger as the movie goes on.

Later in the series it is revealed that the Evas are actually based on the first two Angels, Adam and Lilith, and that their armor is mostly to constrain their inherited immense power. Also, Units 00, 01, 02 all contain humans souls all supposedly trapped in that particular Eva by accident. Near the end of the series, it is revealed that the Dummy Plugs used to autopilot the Evas are actually made of Rei Ayanami and Kaworu Nagisa clones.

Prototype Evangelion Units

Evangelion pre-Unit 00

Several prototype models were made, all of which failed. These can be seen in the Evangelion graveyard. They all have orange armour. Most of these Evangelions' organic structures have rotted, and are little more than armoured skeletons. All have the word "reject" painted on their heads in large red letters.

Evangelion Unit 00

Piloted by Rei Ayanami. This is the only successful ProtoType Model. It was initially orange, but that armour was destroyed by the 5th Angel's particle beam and it was rebuilt with blue armour that matched the final armour design of the Production Type models. It has one eye, in the center of its head. It has gone berserk twice, both times lashing out at enemies of Naoko Akagi, which has prompted a theory that her soul was implanted in the Eva prototype. This theory is far from universally accepted, and the true nature of the soul inside Eva-00 is still the subject of heated debate. Made in Japan.

Test Type Evangelion Units

An action figure of Eva Unit 01.

There is only one Test Type Eva Unit. The Test Type unit is most similar to the Prototype units.

Evangelion Unit 01

Unit 01 is piloted by Shinji Ikari, and has the best battle record of all the Evangelions. It has been known to act without power and without pilot input (so called berserker mode), especially when Shinji's life is endangered. It is known to contain the soul of Yui Ikari, Shinji's mother. EVA-01 was built for Test purposes which involved exploring the limits of an Evangelion's capabilities -- helping NERV to uncover some of the mysteries of the Evangelion Model. Upon acquisition of the S2 organ from the 14th angel, Zeruel, EVA-01 became the first physically complete Evangelion. Able to remain active indefinitely without any outside power source, EVA-01 is essentially a complete clone of Lilith. It is purple and has two eyes. Built in Japan.

Production Type Evangelion Units

All production type Eva Units have two eyes bar Unit 02, and are otherwise identical to each other.

Evangelion Unit 02

Piloted by Asuka Langley Soryu. Evangelion Unit Two was the first Evangelion built specifically for battle situations. Combining the efficient construction plans of EVA-01 with an arsenal of concealed weaponry, EVA-02 is a walking tank intended to stand against the Angels. Colored red, and has a native language mode of German. Known to contain Asuka's mother's soul. It's blood appears to be blue in color, due to the fact that it was made from the Adam embryo, just like Angels. First Production Model, made by NERV Germany.

Evangelion Unit 03

Evangelion Unit Three is one of two Units built with the Second Production Model design. It is the sister Unit of EVA-04. A few minor changes were made between the first and second Production Models. Black production model Evangelion produced by NERV-01 in Massachusetts USA. The US government was very eager to offload this Eva after the explosion of Eva-04. In transit to Japan, it was possessed by Bardiel, the 13th Angel; see that page for more information.

Evangelion Unit 04

Evangelion Unit Four is the sister Unit of EVA-03. EVA-04 is never shown in any footage, but its story is told during discussion of EVA-03's transfer to Japan. EVA-04 was built in the United States and was intended to be the first Evangelion to be equipped with an S2 organ. EVA-04's S2 organ was taken from Shamshel--the Fourth Angel. It was destroyed when its S2 Engine exploded, also wiping out NERV-02 in Nevada USA, and all things for miles around (as seen from reconnaissance satellite), while undergoing initial S2 Engine testing. One scenario predicted by the MAGI states that the S2 Engine may have opened a Dirac sea similar to the one controlled by the 12th Angel. According to Gainax material, this unit is silver in color.

Mass Production Evangelions

An action figure of a mass-production Evangelion unit.

Evangelion Units 05 to 13, white in color, Mass production model. Produced by the G7 countries (Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States). They have wings, use artificial "Lances of Longinus" as primary weapons, and have mouths with teeth with big red lips, and no visible eyes. They all use the Dummy Plug system, with Kaworu's personality as their base. Each of them is equipped with a perfected S2 Engine, and all are capable of regenerating massive amounts of damage very quickly, even after the apparent destruction of their cores. These Evangelion units appear in End of Evangelion. Unit 05 and 06 were made in Germany.

Evangelion Unit 05

In the Alternate Universe "Girlfriend of Steel 2", Kaworu Nagisa pilots Eva Unit 05, which is otherwise the same as the Mass Production units, except that the dummy plug is an entry plug.