Asuka Langley Soryu

"Just to let you know, Asuka wasn't the most open-hearted character I've met. When I act Asuka's part, I try to synchronize myself with her 400%. But every time I tried to draw myself in closer synchronization, Asuka would never allow herself to synch with me. Even in the end, she would never step across the line and draw closer to me. One day, I figured out that there was a wall in Asuka's heart."

–Yūko Miyamura[28]

Yūko Miyamura voices Asuka's character in all her appearances in the original series, and the later films, spin-offs, video games,[29][30] and the Rebuild of Evangelion film series. The only exception is an introspective scene from the twenty-second episode, when other female members of the cast replace the character's voice during a metaphysical sequence.[31] She had originally auditioned for the role of Rei,[32] but staff felt her voice was too energetic, so she was offered Asuka instead.[33]

According to Miyamura, Asuka's dubbing proved difficult. She said she wished to "erase Evangelion" and forget her experience with it.[34] Towards the end of the first broadcast, Miyamura suffered from bulimia and found herself in a disastrous psychic state, similar to that of Asuka's character.[35] After the release of the movie The End of Evangelion (1997) she said, "I think I had a kamikaze feeling during the voice-over".[36] The voice actress identified herself so much with the character she took a conversation course in German, decided some of the character's lines, and Asuka's details, such as the cloth puppet in the shape of a monkey featured in her childhood flashbacks.[37][38] One of her ideas was the German sentences Asuka utters in the twenty-second episode of the series in a telephone conversation with her stepmother.[39]

When dubbing the last scene of The End of Evangelion, in which Shinji strangles Asuka, Shinji's voice actress Megumi Ogata physically imitated his gesture and strangled her colleague. Because of her agitation, Ogata squeezed her neck too hard, risking having her not properly recite the rest of the film's lines.[40] With Ogata's gesture, Miyamura could finally produce realistic sounds of strangulation and thanked her colleague for her availability.[41] Anno based the scene on an incident that happened to one of his female friends. She was strangled by a malicious man, but when she was about to be killed, she stroked him for no reason. When the man stopped squeezing her neck, the woman regained a cold attitude,[42] speaking the words that Asuka would have said to Shinji in the original script: "I can't stand the idea of being killed by someone like you" (あんたなんかに殺されるのは真っ平よ).[43][44]

Dissatisfied with Miyamura's interpretation, Anno asked her to imagine a stranger sneaking into her room, who could rape her at any time, but who prefers to masturbate by watching her sleep. The director asked her what she would say about this if she woke up suddenly, noticing what had happened. Miyamura, disgusted by the scene, replied saying "Kimochi warui" (気持ち 悪い, "How disgusting" or "I feel sick"). After the conversation, Anno changed the line by echoing the voice actress's reaction.[45]

Further difficulties arose during the dubbing sessions for the film Evangelion: 3.0 You Can (Not) Redo (2012), the third installment of the Rebuild saga, set fourteen years after the previous movies. According to Miyamura, the scenario gave her "very confused feelings" and "a constant feeling of light-headedness". Hideaki Anno did not explain the plot and setting of the film to her, complicating her work.[46] At the beginning, however, she didn't want to go back to dubbing the Rebuild and she was scared, given the suffering caused by The End of Evangelion.[47] Even after finishing the final film of the saga, Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Time (2021), Miyamura stated: "I felt like a mother to Asuka at times. I cannot watch End of Evangelion even now because it's too painful."[33] Recording for Thrice Upon a Time was less stressful, but also taxing due to the many delays and revisions in production.[48] At the end of the recording, Anno thanked her for playing the role of Asuka for twenty-five years; Miyamura furthermore noted Anno and Kazuya Tsurumaki orientated her far more than before.[48]

During the recording of the feature film, she had to dub a scene in which Asuka screams in pain as she pulls an anti-Angel seal from her eye. When she recorded, the drawings for the sequence had not yet been completed, so she imagined the scenes involved, listening to the director's explanations and trying to do her best to feel the required sensations. Screaming, she tried to use all her imagination and pretended to stab herself, as if flesh were being torn from her. The support of Megumi Ogata, Shinji's voice actress who was already used to screaming in other Evangelion scenes, also helped her in the process.[48] The last thing asked of her was to write the character's full name in cursive herself to be used in the film. She had lived in Australia for the past two decades, but was still unsure of how to write "Langley".[49] Miyamura also played Soryu and Shikinami as two different people,[50] but both with a strong desire to be better.[47][51] Before the COVID-19 pandemic, her sessions were already finished; later, some points were resumed and re-recorded, so there was no precise prediction as to when the work would be finished.[52] She still had difficulties in understanding the story, and had taken the habit of reading fan-made analysis.[53][54]

Asuka is voiced by Tiffany Grant in English in the ADV films dub, and Stephanie McKeon in the Netflix dub.[55] Grant felt playing Asuka was "refreshing", as "she says the most horrible things to people, things that you'd like to say to people and can't get away with".[56] Grant stated she greatly identified with the character, to the point of Asuka becoming a part of her: "She's kinda like my kid sister, which is why I feel the need to stick up for her".[57] Grant also met Miyamura in conventions in the early 2000s and, discussing their experiences portraying Asuka, Miyamura rekindled their shared love and concern for the character's happiness.[58]

Asuka Langley Soryu was born on December 4, 2001.[59] She is the daughter of Dr. Soryu Kyoko Zeppelin, an employee of a research center named Gehirn. She is of Japanese and German descent and has U.S. citizenship.[1] In 2005[60] her mother participates in a contact experiment with Unit 02, but, because of an accident, she suffers a severe mental breakdown, becoming permanently hospitalized. These injuries render her unable to recognize her child. Asuka is deeply hurt by her mother's behavior, who speaks to a doll believing it to be her daughter. After some time, Asuka is chosen as the Second Child and Eva-02's official pilot.[61][62] Hoping that her selection could lead her mother to pay attention to her again, she excitedly runs to her room to announce the news, finding her mother's corpse hanging from the ceiling.[60] Shocked and traumatized by her mother's suicide, Asuka adopts self-affirmation as the only reason to be, participating in training sessions to become a pilot and meet other people's expectations.[63]

Her custody is assigned to Ryoji Kaji, towards whom she is infatuated. At fourteen, after graduating from a German university, Asuka leaves there, accompanied by Kaji and Unit 02, on board a United Nations aircraft carrier escorted by numerous warships to protect the Eva. During the trip, she meets Shinji Ikari, Third Child and pilot of Unit 01, and her new classmates Tōji and Kensuke. The United Nations fleet is then attacked by Gaghiel, the sixth Angel.[64] Recognizing this event as a good chance to demonstrate her skills, Asuka independently activates her Eva, coercing Shinji into joining her in the cockpit.[65] Despite struggling to work together, and the Eva not yet being equipped to operate underwater, the two children destroy the enemy. She is later placed in class 2-A of Tokyo-3 first municipal middle school,[66] living with Shinji under Misato Katsuragi's care.[67][68] She teases Shinji continuously about his passivity and perceived lack of manliness, but gradually comes to respect and like him as they fight Angels together. She is rarely able to express these feelings. However, following a series of Angel battles where Shinji outperforms her, she grows increasingly unable to continue to suppress her traumatized psyche, drastically lowering her pilot skills.[69][70] This comes to a head when the Angel Arael attacks; Asuka, burdened by her continually worsening performance in tests, tries to attack the Angel alone, but is overwhelmed by the Angel's attack, a beam that penetrates her mental barrier and forces her to relive her darkest memories.[71]

In the battle with the next Angel, Armisael, she cannot activate the Evangelion.[72] As a result of this, Asuka loses all will to live, runs away and goes to the home of her friend Hikari Horaki,[73][74] spending time aimlessly roaming the streets of Tokyo-3. She is eventually found by Nerv personnel, naked and starving in the bathtub of a ruined building. The main series ends with her lying in a hospital bed in a catatonic state.[75][76]

In the movie The End of Evangelion (1997), as the Japanese Strategic Self-Defense Force invades Nerv headquarters, Asuka is placed inside Unit 02, which is then submerged in a lake for her protection. As she is bombarded by depth charges, Asuka wakes up, declares she does not want to die, and, in a moment of clarity, feels her mother within the Eva.[77] Her self-identity regained, she emerges and defeats the Self-Defence Force, before encountering nine mechas named Mass-Production Evas.[78] Though she successfully disables all nine opponents, Eva-02's power runs out; the power of the mass-produced Evas allows them to eviscerate and dismember Unit 02.[79]

Seeing Asuka's destroyed Evangelion makes Shinji go into a frenzy, which eventually culminates in him starting a catastrophic event named the Third Impact. Shinji and Asuka have an extended dream-like sequence inside Instrumentality, a process in which the soul of humanity merges into one collective consciousness. Shinji claims he wants to understand her, but she refuses. He is furious at her rejection and lashes out by choking her. At the end of the process, Shinji rejects Instrumentality, and she returns after him in a new world. In the film's final scene, Shinji begins strangling Asuka, but stops when she caresses his face. Shinji breaks down crying and the film ends with Asuka disdainfully looking down on Shinji, saying simply, "How disgusting", before cutting to black.[80]

In the Rebuild of Evangelion saga, Asuka appears first in the second film, Evangelion: 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance (2009). Changes have been made to her character, such as her family name being changed from Sōryū (惣流) to Shikinami (式波),[81][82] continuing the Japanese maritime vessel naming convention. The name change resulted from a precise choice by Hideaki Anno, who said he had changed the background of the character.[83] Asuka Shikinami Langley, compared to her original counterpart, seems more open and vulnerable. Near the end of the film, for example, she confides in someone for the first time talking genuinely about her feelings with Misato.[84] She does not feel infatuated with Ryōji Kaji and maintains a more affectionate and peaceful relationship with Shinji.[85] Although she publicly rejects others, she becomes possessive of Shinji, feeling jealous for him and taking an interest in his feelings.[86][87]

During the production phase, screenwriter Yōji Enokido has added a night scene in which Asuka, feeling alone, enters her colleague's room without permission, sleeping next to him.[88] In the course of events, she also plays video games and tries to cook something for Shinji.[89] She is a captain of the European Air Force, faces the seventh Angel with her Eva-02, and is designated pilot of the Eva-03,[90] whereas in the original series this Eva was piloted by Tōji Suzuhara. Unit 03 is later contaminated by a parasitic-type Angel, Bardiel, and collides with Eva-01; Asuka survives, but is last seen in urgent care.[91]

In Evangelion: 3.0 You Can (Not) Redo (2012), the saga's third instalment, Asuka is initially part of the rescue operation for Eva-01, which is stranded in space, working together with Mari for an organization named Wille, which is dedicated to destroying Nerv. Convinced by Mari, she dons her old plugsuit in an attempt to get Shinji to recognize them.[lower-alpha 2] After fighting off an initial attack by Nerv, Asuka confronts Shinji in his holding cell and tells him fourteen years have passed. Asuka is chronologically twenty-eight years old, but has not physically aged due to what she calls the "curse of Eva"; she also wears an eyepatch that glows blue. Asuka, again supported by Mari, confronts Shinji and his co-pilot Kaworu Nagisa and eventually self-destructs her Eva during the fight. After the fight, she grabs Shinji's wrist, and they move along the ruins of Tokyo-3, followed by Rei Ayanami.[92]

In the final film, Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Time, Asuka guides Shinji and Rei before being picked up by Kensuke Aida. She lives in a place named Village-3 in Kensuke's house. She feels she is no longer human as a result of the changes to her body and lack of aging, growing indifferent to her well-being. In the course of the feature film she goes to check on Shinji's distraught and almost catatonic state in silence; Miyamura described hers as the attitude of a mother "who quietly leaves food in front of her son's room to see how he is doing when he is locked up in his room".[93] Shikinami eventually forces Shinji, completely helpless and no longer wanting to continue living, to eat by forcibly stuffing food into his mouth.[93]

When Will's ship AAA Wunder arrives to pick-up Asuka, Shinji insists on going with her. During the final battle in Antarctica Asuka is forced to take off her eyepatch, releasing the ninth Angel contained within. She converts Eva-02 to a new form, but is absorbed by Eva-13. Inside, Asuka meets the original member of the Shikinami clone series she's a part of. Asuka is shown to have fought the other clones as a child before being selected as a pilot. Lamenting not having anyone to take care of her, Kensuke appears, dressed as her stuffed doll, and reassures her. Asuka is then present in an adult body, and Shinji thanks her for saying she liked him, and tells her he liked her as well, before him and Mari bid her farewell. In the final scene of the film, she is last seen on a train platform in a rebuilt world.[52][94]

During 3.0+1.0, Asuka confesses her feelings to Shinji by saying that she liked him; for Miyamura, the sentence would not imply that her love is over or that she now loves someone else, "but that she genuinely wanted to tell him that".[93] The actress also emphasized during the interviews that she did not interpret Kensuke and Asuka's relationship as romantic,[47] as Shikinami is still physically fourteen years old;[51] according to her, Kensuke would only be a sort of parental reference figure, and even Anno said that the character's last scene in Thrice Upon A Time is related to the image of Kensuke as a father figure for Shikinami.[51] According to her, "Kensuke is a warmth for those who are lonely or want to feel safe".[93] During production, a scene in which Kensuke shoots Asuka with a camera was thought to be a love scene; however, the voice actress also interpreted this love as paternal.[93] Tetsuya Iwanaga, Japanese interpreter of Kensuke, described his character as "a friend she's never quite been able to get rid of ever since middle school". In an interview, Iwanaga stated that he interpreted the scene in which Kensuke is seen disguised as Asuka's rag doll as a representation of him becoming "the prop that rescued Asuka".[95] Miyamura also voiced a scene in which Asuka says "baka Shinji?" as a "love letter" to everyone who supported the couple.[48][93]

In the Neon Genesis Evangelion manga, illustrated and written by Yoshiyuki Sadamoto, Asuka has a more immature character than her animated counterpart and her story is different; despite having a similar, familiar past, in the manga she was conceived through artificial fertilization,[8] as the result of an experiment in eugenics.[96] In her first actual battle against Gaghiel, whom she confronts alongside Shinji in the same Evangelion unit in the classic series, she fights alone, while Shinji later watches the recorded fight on a projector.[97] In the next battle, Asuka and Shinji fight, as in the classic series, against Angel Israfel together; Sadamoto conceived their dance training as akin to a "kiss", underlining their psychological connection.[8] Kotaku also noticed how much of their relationship is "absent", while she remains fixated on Kaji.[98] In the comic her fellow pilot Kaworu Nagisa is also introduced before and interacts with her, immediately arousing her antipathy.[99]

Further differences are presented in the last chapters of the manga, corresponding to the events of the movie The End of Evangelion. In the feature film, the Eva-02 is dismembered by the Eva Series before Shinji's arrival, while in the comic the Third Child intervenes in battle in her defense.[100] In the final chapter of the comic, following the failure of Instrumentality, Shinji lives in a world where it snows again in Japan and where people do not seem to have any memory of recent events. The Third Child, traveling on a train to his new school, meets a girl similar to Asuka.[101] According to Sadamoto, the Asuka-like girl is not concretely Asuka, but the symbol "of an attractive woman that Shinji can meet in the new world".[102]

In a scene from the last episode of the animated series, an alternate reality is presented with a completely different story than in the previous installments, where Asuka is a normal middle school student and a childhood friend of Shinji Ikari, the Evangelion units never existed, and Asuka did not experience any childhood trauma regarding her mother Kyōko.[103] A similar version of events can be found in Neon Genesis Evangelion: Angelic Days,[104][105] and the parody series Petit Eva: Evangelion@School,[106][107] where she behaves like a sister towards Shinji.[108] In Neon Genesis Evangelion: Campus Apocalypse, Asuka is a foreign exchange student, and uses a whip in battle.[109] She is also present in Neon Genesis Evangelion: Legend of the Piko Piko Middle School Students.[110] The simulation game Neon Genesis Evangelion: Ayanami Raising Project includes an expansion in its PlayStation 2 version that allows the player to take on the role of Asuka's guardian instead of Rei's. She is also available as a romantic option in Neon Genesis Evangelion: Girlfriend of Steel 2nd,[111][112] Neon Genesis Evangelion 2,[113] Neon Genesis Evangelion: Shinji Ikari Raising Project[114][115][116] and its manga adaptation.[117] In Neon Genesis Evangelion: Anima, Asuka is older, more stable and mature, having developed a strong friendship with Shinji and even Rei. Asuka also merges with her Eva unit turning into a hybrid named Crimson A1.[118]

She also appears in the crossover Transformers x Evangelion, in the video games based on the original animated series and media not related to the Evangelion franchise, including Honkai Impact 3rd,[119] Monster Strike,[120] Super Robot Wars,[121] Tales of Zestiria,[122] Puzzle & Dragons,[123] Keri hime sweets, Summons Board,[124][125] Puyopuyo!! Quest[126] and in an official Shinkansen Henkei Robo Shinkalion cross-over episode.[127] In the Super Robot Wars franchise, she butts heads with Kouji Kabuto, the pilot of Mazinger Z and Mazinkaiser. It is also implied that she developed crushes on famous heroes such as Char Aznable and Amuro Ray, but proves jealous of Shinji, who crushes for Lynn Minmay of the Macross franchise.[128]

Website Otaku Kart described Asuka as "one of the most popular female characters in anime history".[222] She appeared in polls on best anime pilots[223][224] and female anime characters,[225][226][227] proving popular among both female and male audiences.[228][229] In 1996 she ranked third among the "most popular female characters of the moment" in the Anime Grand Prix survey by Animage magazine, behind Rei Ayanami and Hikaru Shido from Magic Knight Rayearth.[230] In 1997 and 1998 Anime Grand Prixes, she remained among the top ten female characters; in 1997 she ranked in fourth place, while in 1998 she ranked sixth.[231][232] Asuka also appeared in the magazine's monthly surveys, remaining in the top twenty in 1996,[233] 1997[234][235][236] and 1998 polls.[237][238][239] In 1999, Animage ranked her fortieth among the one hundred most popular anime characters.[240]

Her popularity increased after the release of the second Rebuild of Evangelion movie; in August and September 2009 she emerged in first place and remained the most popular female Neon Genesis Evangelion character in Newtype magazine popularity charts,[241][242] while in October she ranked tenth.[243] In a Newtype poll in March 2010, she was voted the third most popular female anime character from the 1990s, immediately after Rei Ayanami and Usagi Tsukino from Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon.[244]

In February 2015, almost twenty years after the show first aired, she emerged again on the magazine's charts in sixth place.[245] In 2017, she also ranked sixteenth among the characters Anime! Anime! site readers would "rather die than marry".[246] Her line "Are you stupid?" (あんたバカ?, Anta baka?) also became widely used among hardcore fans after her first appearance in the eighth episode.[247] In 2021, after the release of the final Rebuild film, Asuka ranked most popular female character in another Newtype poll.[248]

A fan cosplaying as Asuka in 2016

Asuka divided anime critics, receiving an ambivalent response. Negative reviews criticized her arrogant, surly and authoritarian character.[249][250][251] While appreciating her for providing "a good dose of comic relief" to Evangelion, Anime Critic Pete Harcoff described her as "an annoying snot".[252] Raphael See from T.H.E.M. Anime Reviews, who found Neon Genesis Evangelion's characterization "a little cliché, or just plain irritating at times", despised Asuka for her arrogant attitude.[253] Anime Reign writer Matthew Perez described her as initially "overly stuck up", but he also appreciated her evolution.[254] By contrast, IGN critic Ramsey Isler ranked her as the thirteenth greatest anime character of all time for the realism of her characterization, saying: "She's a tragic character, and a complete train wreck, but that is what makes her so compelling because we just can't help but watch this beautiful disaster unfold."[255] Comic Book Resources included her among the best anime female pilots,[256] describing her as "the best classic tsundere in shounen anime" and "one of the most fascinating characters in anime".[257][258]

Screen Rant ranked her among the best Neon Genesis Evangelion characters, praising her development.[259][260] According to critic Jay Telotte, Asuka is "the first credible multinational character" in the history of Japanese science fiction television.[261] Crunchyroll and Charapedia also praised her realism and personality.[221][262] Asuka's fight sequence against the Mass-Production Evangelions in The End of Evangelion was particularly well-received by critics,[263][264] while Tiffany Grant was praised for her role as Asuka's English voice actress by Mike Crandol of Anime News Network.[265]

Animation Insider reviewer Eric Surrell commented on Asuka's role in Evangelion: 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance (2009), the second installment of the Rebuild saga, stating that "the arrival and sudden dismissal of Asuka was shocking and depressing, especially considering how integral she was to the original Evangelion".[266] Slant Magazine's Simon Abrams, reviewing Evangelion: 2.0, responded negatively to Shinji and Asuka's new relationship, "which is unfortunate because that bond should have the opportunity to grow in its own time".[267] LA Weekly's Brian Miller appreciated her debut, praising Shinji's "downright charming" courtship.[268] The Fandom Post found the character neglected by Anno's script, given the lesser space devoted to her and Mari's introduction,[269] while Renan Fontes from Comic Book Resources judged Asuka Shikinami significantly less interesting than Langley.[270] UK Anime Network on the other hand found Rebuild's Asuka a more human and easier to empathize with character than the one of the classic series.[271] Website Otaku Revolution enjoyed the development and revelations about Asuka in Evangelion: 3.0+1.0, finding them "very fitting".[272] Geek Ireland praised the fact that the movie gives a sense of conclusion to Asuka, Shinji, and the other characters,[273] while Otaku Voice's A. Dean Kelly wrote that: "Everything about Asuka from 3.33 finally begins to make sense in this moment".[274]

Asuka-decorated taxi in Sapporo

Asuka's character has been used for merchandising items such as life-size figures,[275] action figures,[276][277] guitars,[278] clothes,[279][280] and underwear, some of which sold out immediately.[281][282] Her action figures proved successful.[283] According to Japanese writer Kazuhisa Fujie, Evangelion-related household items with the image of Asuka or other female characters of the series have become so popular that they have been put back on the market with a second edition.[284] Movic has also released a cassette drama featuring her and Shinji as part of its Animate series featuring other popular works.[285] On February 27, 1997, Kadokawa Shoten published a book dedicated to her entitled Asuka - Evangelion Photograph (ＡＳＵＫＡ－アスカ－ 新世紀エヴァンゲリオン文庫写真集).[286] In 2008, Broccoli released a video game entitled Shin Seiki Evangelion: Ayanami Ikusei Keikaku with Asuka Hokan Keikaku, in which the player takes on the task of looking after Asuka or Rei Ayanami.[287]

Japanese celebrities cosplayed her during concerts or tours, such as Haruka Shimazaki,[288] singer Hirona Murata[289] and Saki Inagaki.[290][291] Lai Pin-yu, a Taiwanese Democratic Progressive Party and Legislative Yuan member, held election rallies cosplaying Asuka, gaining popularity.[292] Asuka's character was parodied by Excel from Excel Saga[261] and some of her aesthetic and character traits inspired other female characters. Kotaku writer Richard Eisenbeins listed her as an example of the tsundere stereotype,[293] a term used to indicate grumpy, assertive and authoritarian characters that nonetheless possess a more gentle, empathetic and insecure side, hidden due to a stormy past or traumatic experiences. Anthony Gramuglia from Comic Book Resources identified her as one of the most popular and influential tsundere characters, comparing Asuna Yūki from Sword Art Online, Rin Tōsaka from Fate/stay night, Kyō Sōma from Fruits Basket and Taiga Aisaka from Toradora! to her.[294][295] Critics also compared Mai Shibamura from Gunparade March,[296] Michiru Kinushima from Plastic Memories[297] and D.Va from Overwatch game series to Asuka.[298]

Japanese band L'Arc-en-Ciel took inspiration from the character for their song "Anata".[299] Further references have been identified in other Japanese animated series, including Sayonara, Zetsubou-Sensei, Wotakoi: Love Is Hard for Otaku, Gurren Lagann, and Sword Art Online, in which a scene of her and Rei in an elevator from the twenty-second episode is parodied.[300]