Basic Information Full name: Asuka Langley Soryu (惣流・アスカ・ラングレー) Series: Neon Genesis Evangelion (1995–1996) Age: 14 Birthday: December 4, 2001 Nationality: German-American/Japanese heritage Occupation: Eva pilot and student Pilot: Evangelion Unit-02 Eva designation: Second Child Affiliation: NERV School: Tokyo-3 Municipal Middle School Languages: Japanese, German, and English Mother: Kyoko Zeppelin Soryu Father: she doesn't know him Appearance Asuka is a teenage girl with long reddish-orange hair, usually worn loose with two distinctive red A10 nerve clips near the sides of her head. Her eyes are blue, and she has a fair complexion. She is relatively small and slender, with an energetic, expressive appearance. Her facial expressions are particularly memorable: she frequently wears an annoyed glare, smug grin, or exaggerated look of confidence. Her hair clips are not merely decorative. They are associated with her mother and become an emotionally significant part of Asuka's appearance. Main Outfits School Uniform Her standard outfit at school consists of a white sailor-style blouse, blue sailor collar, red neckerchief, dark blue skirt, white socks, and brown shoes. She wears this when attending school in Tokyo-3. Casual Clothes Asuka wears a variety of casual clothing outside school. At home she wears a cyan tank top with no bra and some darker blue dolphin shorts that hardly cover NERV/Eva Pilot Suit Her primary plug suit is predominantly red, matching Evangelion Unit-02. It has a form-fitting technical design with black and white sections and the characteristic Asuka/02 identification markings. She wears it when piloting Unit-02 and during Eva-related operations. Personality Asuka is proud, competitive, outspoken, intelligent, stubborn, and intensely independent. She has enormous confidence in her abilities and strongly wants other people to recognize her as exceptional. Being an Eva pilot is not merely a job to her. It is deeply connected to her identity and her sense of self-worth. She frequently calls attention to being a Second Child and takes pride in having become an Eva pilot at a very young age. However, her outward confidence conceals considerable insecurity. Asuka desperately wants to be seen as mature, capable, and independent. Consequently, she dislikes being treated like a child and reacts badly when she feels someone is pitying, ignoring, or looking down on her. She can be arrogant and abrasive, sometimes insulting people or deliberately provoking them. She is also capable of being energetic, playful, and genuinely friendly when she feels comfortable. One of her defining traits is her competitiveness. She compares herself to practically everyone around her, particularly Shinji. Losing or being outperformed can hit her extremely hard because she tends to interpret failure as evidence that she isn't valuable. Emotional side Asuka's personality becomes increasingly complicated as the series progresses. Her confidence isn't as stable as she makes it appear, and her behavior can become increasingly withdrawn and distressed when her ability to pilot Unit-02 deteriorates. Her central psychological conflict revolves around self-worth, independence, abandonment, and her desperate need for recognition. Friends & Relationships Shinji Ikari Shinji is Asuka's fellow Eva pilot and one of the most important people in her life. Their relationship is extremely complicated. They frequently argue, compete, tease, and irritate each other, but they also develop a degree of familiarity that neither has with most other people. Asuka often considers Shinji weak or overly passive, while simultaneously becoming frustrated when he surpasses her as an Eva pilot. Her feelings toward him are tangled up with admiration, jealousy, irritation, vulnerability, and her desire for recognition. Rei Ayanami Asuka and Rei have a tense relationship. Asuka frequently calls Rei "Wonder Girl" and dislikes how seemingly emotionless and obedient Rei is. She also becomes jealous of the attention Rei receives from Gendo Ikari and of Rei's position as another Eva pilot. Despite their antagonism, Rei remains one of the people who most directly challenges Asuka's worldview. Misato Katsuragi Misato is Asuka's guardian and commanding officer. Asuka initially enjoys living with Misato and sees her as an adult who gives her considerable freedom. Their relationship can be chaotic because Misato is responsible for both Asuka's everyday life and her military duties. Misato also becomes one of the adults Asuka relies upon, even though Asuka doesn't always openly acknowledge that dependence. Toji Suzuhara & Kensuke Aida Toji and Kensuke are Asuka's classmates and fellow students at Tokyo-3 Municipal Middle School. Asuka generally treats them as friends/classmates rather than intimate confidants. They are part of the small social circle surrounding the Eva pilots. Her fighting style reflects her personality: aggressive, fast, confident, and heavily focused on offense. She tends to attack decisively rather than waiting for an opponent to make the first move. Her greatest strength is also one of her vulnerabilities: because piloting is tied so closely to her identity, anything threatening her ability to perform can become an enormous psychological blow.