Chapter Summaries

After dying in a truck accident, Shinji Ikari was reborn and later traveled to Tokyo-3, where a giant attacked the town. As Misato Katsuragi faced the destruction, Shinji appeared before her amid a seemingly protective sanctuary.

• The boy was struck by a truck, woke as a baby, and was named Shinji Ikari by his parents.
• Fourteen years later, Shinji arrived in Tokyo-3 carrying Misato Katsuragi’s photograph and waiting for her to meet him.
• Shinji spotted a giant rampaging near the town and watched it draw the United Nations Forces into battle.
• Misato drove through the collapsing town as the giant and failed conventional weapons caused widespread destruction.
• Shinji appeared beside Misato’s car, introduced himself, and held up Misato’s photograph.

The United Nations Forces failed to stop the Angel Shamshel Sachiel, even after launching an N2 Mine, while Gendo Ikari waited for them to recognize their powerlessness. Shinji Ikari and Misato Katsuragi survived the blast and continued toward Tokyo-3, where Shinji said he was looking forward to facing the Angel.

• The United Nations Forces' attacks failed to penetrate the Angel's AT Field, and the Angel destroyed several fighter jets with beams of light.
• Gendo Ikari told Kozo Fuyutsuki that NERV would act only after the United Nations Forces' final weapon proved futile.
• The United Nations Forces detonated an N2 Mine as Shinji Ikari and Misato Katsuragi drove toward Tokyo-3, flipping their Renault but leaving them without serious injuries.
• Misato Katsuragi told Shinji Ikari that the Angel was called Shamshel Sachiel and explained why he had been brought to Tokyo-3.
• Shinji Ikari compared the coming confrontation to a trial before reaching the Divine Throne and said he was looking forward to it.

After the Fourth Angel survived the UN’s N2 Mine and continued toward Tokyo-3, Gendo Ikari took command of the defense. Misato Katsuragi brought Shinji Ikari to NERV, where he said he had come to save humanity, and Ritsuko Akagi met him.

• The Fourth Angel regenerated after the N2 Mine blast, and Fuyutsuki and Gendo discussed the Angel’s power as it advanced toward Tokyo-3.
• The UN generals transferred command of the operation to Gendo, who said NERV had been established to handle the threat.
• Ritsuko waited for the Third Child while NERV staff prepared the enormous unit and mounted weapons on it.
• Misato brought Shinji through the underground facilities and asked why he had come to NERV; Shinji said it was his duty to save the world.
• Ritsuko met Shinji at the elevator and remarked that he looked different from his photograph.

Shinji Ikari met Ritsuko Akagi and saw EVA-Unit-01, believing their encounter was fated. When an attack shook NERV headquarters, Gendo Ikari ordered Rei awakened, but Shinji claimed the chance to pilot Unit-01 for himself.

• Misato Katsuragi and Ritsuko Akagi discussed how Shinji Ikari differed from their expectations, and Ritsuko introduced herself to him.
• After a level-one alert sounded, Ritsuko took Shinji to see EVA-Unit-01, and he felt they were destined to become one.
• Shinji insulted Gendo Ikari when they met, while Misato tried to get him to greet his father normally.
• NERV headquarters shook during an attack, and Gendo ordered Rei awakened so she could be deployed.
• Shinji helped Rei back onto her hospital bed and declared that he would pilot Unit-01 and save the world.

Shinji Ikari entered Unit-01 for his first battle with the Fourth Angel, and his synchronization rate soared to an unprecedented level. Unit-01 launched and confronted the Angel, which immediately unleashed a devastating beam that engulfed the EVA.

• Shinji Ikari entered Unit-01 and prepared for deployment while reciting holy verses.
• NERV technicians discovered Shinji's synchronization rate had passed 196.9% and kept climbing despite all systems appearing normal.
• Shinji Ikari felt a profound connection with Unit-01 as it launched toward the Fourth Angel.
• Shinji Ikari moved Unit-01 toward the Fourth Angel, which responded by firing a powerful white-and-violet beam that engulfed the EVA.

Shinji Ikari used Unit-01’s newly awakened powers to overpower the Fourth Angel, then destroyed its core after it regenerated and tried to engulf him. Unit-01 emerged victorious as the Angel’s red energy erupted over Tokyo-3.

• Unit-01 blocked the Fourth Angel’s attack with an AT Field, and Shinji Ikari discovered it could also fire laser beams from its eyes.
• Unit-01 dodged the Angel’s light attacks, severed both its arms, and battered its heads with one of its severed limbs.
• When Unit-01’s blows met the Angel’s AT Field, Ritsuko Akagi told Shinji Ikari to neutralize it with Unit-01’s own field.
• The Fourth Angel regenerated its arms and heads, then expanded around Unit-01 as its energy surged.
• Unit-01 blasted the Fourth Angel away with its AT Field and shattered its red core with eye beams, triggering a massive explosion.

Shinji Ikari defeated the Fourth Angel, Shamshel, with Unit-01 and left NERV stunned by his overwhelming power. After waking in the lounge, he found Misato Katsuragi checking on him and Ritsuko Akagi questioning Misato’s request to let him stay at her home.

• Shinji Ikari recited the Book of Revelation as Unit-01 stood beneath the cross-shaped blast left by Shamshel’s defeat.
• Misato Katsuragi confirmed that Shinji was unharmed and announced that NERV had defeated the Fourth Angel, prompting the command center to cheer.
• Kozo Fuyutsuki praised Shinji’s performance, while Gendo Ikari recognized that the battle had gone differently than expected and felt Unit-01’s gaze judging him.
• Shinji Ikari dreamed of his mother, Yui Ikari, before waking in the lounge and finding Misato Katsuragi leaning close to check for injuries.
• Ritsuko Akagi confronted Misato Katsuragi about her application to let Shinji stay at her home, and Misato denied having ulterior motives.

Misato Katsuragi took Shinji Ikari to their new home in Tokyo-3 and explained why she had asked him to live with her. At NERV, Ritsuko Akagi reviewed data showing Shinji’s extraordinary synchronization and AT Field readings, then ordered his records classified at the highest clearance.

• Misato Katsuragi drove Shinji Ikari through the busy 7th Shinjuku District and told him they would live together.
• Shinji Ikari asked why Misato Katsuragi had arranged for him to live with her, and she thanked him for saving humanity and rescuing her.
• Shinji Ikari said he had agreed to pilot Unit-01 because he believed Misato Katsuragi was human.
• Ritsuko Akagi directed NERV’s cleanup and learned that Unit-01 had lost armor on its right hand but showed no other obvious damage.
• Maya Ibuki showed Ritsuko Akagi data revealing Shinji Ikari’s stable 333 percent synchronization rate and AT Field soul-matter density six times Shamshel’s.
• Ritsuko Akagi ordered Shinji Ikari’s records classified at the highest clearance and instructed Maya Ibuki to forward his data to the commander.

Gendo Ikari assured SEELE that the Angel's defeat and the EVA program remained on schedule, while Shinji Ikari and Misato Katsuragi returned to their new apartment with convenience-store food. Shinji discovered that Misato's home was already a mess.

• Ritsuko Akagi questioned Gendo Ikari about Shinji's mental state and the plan to resume Unit-00 testing, but Gendo dismissed her concern.
• Gendo Ikari met with SEELE and assured its members that the deviation caused by Shinji's defeat of Shamshel was controllable and that their scenario would proceed.
• SEELE discussed Shinji's role, the other EVA units, and the Human Instrumentality Project, and Gendo pledged to follow its scenario.
• Misato Katsuragi stopped at a convenience store, where Shinji Ikari bought meals and snacks for their return to the dormitory.
• Shinji Ikari and Misato Katsuragi entered their apartment and found it filthy with scattered clothes, empty beer containers, and snack wrappers.

Misato Katsuragi told Shinji Ikari about her father and joked about him acting as a father, then shared a beer with him. Later, Rei Ayanami woke in the NERV Medical Center with fragmented memories of Shinji Ikari and was told she could be discharged.

• Misato Katsuragi and Shinji Ikari cleaned her apartment together, and she told him how her father had abandoned her family before saving her during the Second Impact.
• Shinji Ikari claimed human laws did not apply to him as God and offered Misato Katsuragi a beer.
• Rei Ayanami dreamed of a mother holding a baby and recalled a boy pressing her back onto a hospital bed.
• A medical worker told Rei Ayanami she could be discharged and would resume synchronization tests with Unit-00 after another examination.
• Rei Ayanami murmured Shinji Ikari's name as unfamiliar memories lingered in her mind.

Shinji Ikari woke up beside Misato Katsuragi after they spent the previous day together, then teased her and met her penguin roommate, Pianpian. He planned to visit Unit-01 but stayed home with Misato, mentioning that he had been dreaming about his mother and might have seen her somewhere.

• Shinji Ikari woke from a dream about his mother and found Misato Katsuragi clinging to him in bed.
• Misato Katsuragi panicked that she would be sent to a military tribunal, but Shinji Ikari reassured her and took her to bathe.
• Shinji Ikari and Misato Katsuragi reheated convenience store food and greeted Pianpian, Misato Katsuragi's beer-drinking Hot Spring Penguin.
• Shinji Ikari said he wanted to visit Unit-01, but agreed to stay home with Misato Katsuragi.
• Shinji Ikari told Misato Katsuragi he had been dreaming about his mother and thought he might have seen her somewhere.

Shinji Ikari started school at Tokyo-3 First Middle School and met Rei Ayanami, whose face and name reminded him of his mother and his childhood. At lunch, a hostile classmate attacked him, and Shinji countered with a powerful kick.

• Shinji Ikari transferred into Class 2-A, introduced himself, and took the seat behind Rei Ayanami.
• Shinji recognized Rei's resemblance to his mother and wondered at the coincidence of her name.
• Shinji spent his first morning in ordinary classes before buying a yakisoba bun at lunch.
• A tracksuit-wearing classmate confronted Shinji and swung at him, with another boy in glasses following behind.
• Shinji stopped the punch and struck the tracksuit boy with a spinning back kick, sending him flying.

Shinji Ikari beat Toji Suzuhara and Kensuke Aida after learning they had confronted him over his part in saving Sakura Suzuhara. Back in class, he spoke with Rei Ayanami, questioned her connection to Gendo Ikari, and concluded that she was human but different from other people.

• Shinji Ikari kicked Toji Suzuhara across the campus and attacked him for bullying, then struck Kensuke Aida when he tried to explain.
• Shinji Ikari asked Kensuke Aida about Toji Suzuhara's little sister, Sakura Suzuhara, and said she and everyone else would have died if he had not acted.
• Shinji Ikari knocked out Kensuke Aida and Toji Suzuhara, then had their classmates take them to the infirmary.
• Shinji Ikari returned to class and greeted Rei Ayanami, who said she knew he was Gendo Ikari's son.
• Shinji Ikari said he disliked Gendo Ikari and asked Rei Ayanami why she seemed to defend him; Rei Ayanami asked why Shinji disliked Gendo.
• Shinji Ikari returned to his seat and decided Rei Ayanami was human, though different from other people.

Shinji Ikari learned that the Angels could trigger a Third Impact by reaching something beneath Tokyo-3, and Misato Katsuragi called him humanity’s last hope. At NERV, Ritsuko Akagi discovered that Shinji could use an AT Field with his human body, while preparations began for his EVA simulation training.

• Misato Katsuragi asked Shinji Ikari about his first day at school, and he admitted he had knocked out two classmates’ teeth after they threatened to beat him.
• Misato explained that the Angels’ target was hidden beneath Tokyo-3 and that contact with it would trigger the Third Impact.
• At NERV, Ritsuko Akagi prepared to calibrate a simulation system and questioned Shinji about using an AT Field at school.
• Shinji said he had always been able to deploy an AT Field as a human, and Ritsuko told him that this was highly unusual.
• Misato announced that Unit-01’s simulation training was nearly ready and teased Shinji about someone possibly overtaking him.

Shikinami Asuka Langley learned of Shinji Ikari’s remarkable victory over Shamshel and angrily vowed to surpass him. As Shinji began a new simulation, the system generated six virtual Angels for him to face.

• Asuka completed her EVA Unit-02 simulation with outstanding results at the NERV Hamburg Branch.
• The operations commander showed Asuka headquarters’ report of Shinji’s first EVA battle, including his 333% synchronization rate and three-minute victory over Shamshel.
• Asuka rejected the idea that Shinji was better than her and vowed to grind the rookie under her heel.
• Ritsuko and Misato discussed Asuka with Shinji as he entered his training cockpit.
• The simulation built a virtual Tokyo-3 around Shinji and produced six virtual Angels modeled after Shamshel.

Shinji Ikari excelled in a simulated battle against Virtual Angels, impressing NERV’s staff and inspiring them with a biblical proclamation. After training, Ritsuko Akagi confronted Misato Katsuragi over her relationship with Shinji, then reminded him of Unit-00’s upcoming synchronization test.

• Shinji Ikari used Unit-01 to destroy the Virtual Angels in the simulation, quickly neutralizing their AT Fields.
• Misato Katsuragi praised Shinji’s performance, while Ritsuko Akagi teased her about getting along with him and planning a trip abroad together.
• After the simulation ended, Shinji emerged from Unit-01 and recited a passage about being protected through waters and fire, drawing the staff’s attention.
• Ritsuko Akagi accused Misato of improper conduct with Shinji, but Shinji declined her offer of legal assistance.
• Ritsuko Akagi ended the discussion by reminding Shinji that Unit-00’s second synchronization test was scheduled for the weekend.

Shinji Ikari enjoyed a peaceful school day while longing to pilot Unit-01 again, until an emergency brought Rei Ayanami to summon him. At NERV Headquarters, the Fifth Angel Shamshel appeared, and Misato Katsuragi ordered everyone to battle stations.

• Shinji Ikari noticed Rei Ayanami watching him from across a bridge.
• Shinji Ikari spent the morning at school and shared lunch with classmates who treated him like a revered figure.
• Shinji Ikari remembered his first battle in Unit-01 and longed to experience piloting it again.
• Rei Ayanami arrived at Shinji Ikari's classroom and summoned him during an evacuation alarm.
• Shinji Ikari encouraged Hikari Horaki to lead the students to shelter, then left with Rei Ayanami in a UN Heavy Fighter.
• Ritsuko Akagi identified the approaching Fifth Angel Shamshel, and Misato Katsuragi ordered NERV personnel to battle stations.

Tokyo-3 mobilized against the Fifth Angel, but its artillery failed to slow Shamshel, so Shinji Ikari deployed Unit-01. Toji Suzuhara and Kensuke Aida watched the Angel enter the city from Mount Takao as Shinji prepared to fight.

• Tokyo-3 retracted its buildings and opened fire on Shamshel, but the weapons could not halt its advance.
• Misato Katsuragi confirmed Shinji Ikari was ready to deploy and kept Rei Ayanami in reserve despite Ritsuko Akagi's concerns.
• Shinji Ikari entered Unit-01 and was launched to the surface after Misato gave the deployment order.
• Toji Suzuhara accompanied Kensuke Aida to Mount Takao, where they watched the Fifth Angel enter Tokyo-3.
• Kensuke Aida filmed as Shamshel rose upright amid the artillery fire.

Unit-01 emerged to confront the Fifth Angel, and Shinji Ikari overwhelmed it with a blade after tearing through its AT Field. As the Angel was badly wounded, NERV discussed improving Unit-01 based on the battle data.

• The Fifth Angel destroyed Tokyo-3's automated defenses while Kensuke Aida filmed the assault.
• Unit-01 emerged from its transport pod, and its AT Field made the Fifth Angel feel threatened.
• Shinji Ikari charged the Angel with a blade, broke through its AT Field, and smashed it into the ground.
• The Fifth Angel tried to escape by flying upward, but Unit-01 cut its body in half at the waist.
• Misato Katsuragi questioned Unit-01's lack of ranged weapons, and Ritsuko Akagi explained that the weapons would be ineffective and the battle would inform future upgrades.

Shinji Ikari and Unit-01 defeated the Fifth Angel after their synchronization rate surged, and they returned to Tokyo-3 beneath the Angel’s blood rain. At NERV Headquarters, doctors examined Shinji and uncovered unusual signs of accelerated physical health and slowed biological aging.

• Misato Katsuragi demanded updates on weapons and equipment, while Ritsuko Akagi said Commander Ikari would decide what information to share.
• Shinji Ikari endured the Fifth Angel’s scorching whips, reached a 369% synchronization rate, and hurled the Angel into a mountainside.
• Shinji Ikari and Unit-01 cut through the recovering Fifth Angel and split its core, killing it.
• Shinji Ikari and Unit-01 walked toward the city as the Angel’s blood fell over Tokyo-3.
• Ritsuko Akagi reviewed medical reports showing that Shinji Ikari had exceptional physical indicators and a biological age far below his chronological age.