Chapter Summaries

EVA Unit-04’s S2 Engine malfunctioned during its startup checks, causing an explosion and opening a rift that swallowed the unit and its surroundings. At NERV Headquarters, SEELE confronted Gendo Ikari over the incident and ordered him to take custody of EVA Unit-03.

• EVA Unit-04’s core reactor exceeded its critical pressure during final startup checks in Nevada.
• The runaway S2 Engine exploded, opening a rift to the Dirac Sea that consumed EVA Unit-04 and the surrounding area.
• SEELE accused Gendo Ikari of incompetence after the reported Angel invasion of Headquarters and questioned his account of the incident.
• SEELE noted the loss of EVA Unit-04 and EVA Unit-05, then told Gendo that EVA Unit-03 would be entrusted to him.

SEELE discussed obtaining the Dummy System’s core data, while Shinji Ikari and the others learned that the system had arrived at the base. Shinji rejected Ritsuko Akagi’s suggestion to test it with Unit-01 and said he needed to visit his mother.

• The Obelisks regrouped at Neuschwanstein Castle and revealed they had obtained the Dummy System’s core data despite failing to capture the Third Child or recover the Womb Angel research data.
• A week later, Shinji Ikari, Asuka, and Rei Ayanami discussed whose memories they had seen after the Horror Angel damaged the mental signal relay during Simulated Body tests.
• Ryoji Kaji and Ritsuko Akagi explained that the Dummy System could control an EVA without a pilot and had been developed and tested at the Golgotha base.
• Asuka objected to the system, while Misato Katsuragi worried about letting an automated system control an EVA.
• Ritsuko Akagi proposed testing the Dummy Device with Unit-01, but Shinji Ikari refused and said he needed to visit his mother.

Gendo Ikari and Kozo Fuyutsuki discussed the Dummy Plug System, Shinji Ikari, and their plans for Unit-01. At Yui Ikari’s gravestone, Shinji confronted Gendo, while Misato Katsuragi visited her own mother’s grave nearby.

• Kozo Fuyutsuki told Gendo Ikari that Unit-03’s handover date was set and the Dummy Plug System was complete.
• Gendo Ikari and Kozo Fuyutsuki discussed using the Dummy Plug System and awakening Unit-01 to counter SEELE’s plans for Unit-06.
• Gendo Ikari said he would visit Yui Ikari’s gravestone the next day.
• Shinji Ikari placed daisies at Yui Ikari’s gravestone and challenged Gendo Ikari about avoiding him.
• Gendo Ikari explained why he visited Yui Ikari’s grave, while Misato Katsuragi stood by her mother’s gravestone nearby.

Shinji confronted Gendo at Yui Ikari’s grave about the Dummy System, the cloned pilots, and his suspicions that Yui’s soul was inside Unit-01. Gendo sought Shinji’s answer about his goal, but Shinji refused to decide, barred the Dummy System from Unit-01, and prepared to beat Gendo before he left.

• Shinji and Gendo visited Yui Ikari’s empty grave and discussed their memories of her.
• Shinji accused Gendo of sending the Dummy System to replace pilots, and Gendo admitted that Ayanami and Shikinami were clones designed to pilot EVAs.
• Shinji rejected Gendo’s threats and said he had not decided how to answer Gendo’s goal.
• Shinji inferred that Yui’s soul was inside Unit-01 and promised not to let the Dummy System into it.
• As Gendo headed for the UN fighter jet, Shinji called him back and said he wanted to give him a beating.

Gendo Ikari and Kozo Fuyutsuki discussed Shinji’s refusal of the Dummy System and the newly organized Marduk Plan, while Misato Katsuragi and Ritsuko Akagi learned that EVA Unit-04 had destroyed Nevada’s Second Branch. At the dormitory, Rei Ayanami learned to cook with Shinji, and Asuka decided to join them while insisting she was cooking for Hikari.

• Gendo Ikari told Kozo Fuyutsuki that Shinji had rejected the Dummy System but would keep fighting for Unit-01, and they agreed the outcome benefited their plans.
• Kozo Fuyutsuki revealed that the Marduk Plan had been added to MAGI at the highest clearance level, giving Gendo access to its Angel Modification and Control research.
• Misato Katsuragi learned from Ritsuko Akagi that EVA Unit-04 had been destroyed along with Nevada’s Second Branch in an explosion that erased everything within ninety kilometers.
• Shinji Ikari taught Rei Ayanami to make tempura, and Rei said she wanted to cook for him herself.
• Asuka joined the cooking lesson and claimed she wanted to make food for Hikari.

NERV sealed away Unit-02 under the Vatican Treaty as Unit-03 arrived from the United States for testing. Toji Suzuhara was not selected as a new Eligible, leaving Unit-03’s pilot uncertain as Sakura Suzuhara hoped Shinji would be injured and able to spend more time with her.

• Asuka protested the sealing of Unit-02, while Ritsuko Akagi explained that the Vatican Treaty required Japan to accept Unit-03.
• Gendo Ikari told Kozo Fuyutsuki he suspected Unit-04 had been deliberately destroyed to conceal the United Nations’ or SEELE’s control of new-energy technology.
• A United Nations transport aircraft delivered Unit-03 from the United States to the Matsushiro Test Site for testing.
• Sakura Suzuhara bought ice pops for Shinji Ikari, Toji Suzuhara, Hikari Horaki, and the other children.
• Toji Suzuhara apologized for failing the Eligible selection, and Hikari Horaki wondered whether Unit-03’s pilot would be chosen from the existing pilots.
• Sakura Suzuhara said she hoped Shinji Ikari would be hurt so he could stop piloting and spend more time with her, prompting Shinji to remark on her wish to Toji.

Rei Ayanami served a meal she had learned to cook from Shinji Ikari, and Ritsuko Akagi selected Asuka to pilot Unit-03 for its manned activation test. Ritsuko and Misato arrived at the Matsushiro test site, where preparations for the test proceeded without any problems.

• Rei Ayanami served dinner and fed Shinji Ikari while Ritsuko Akagi praised her cooking and Asuka watched with jealousy.
• Ritsuko Akagi chose Asuka to pilot Unit-03, and Asuka agreed to take part in the activation test.
• Shinji Ikari offered to watch the test, but Misato Katsuragi told him to stay behind and look after the NERV base.
• Ritsuko Akagi traveled to the Matsushiro test site, where Misato Katsuragi had already begun the preliminary preparations.
• The test crew confirmed the power connection, secured the Entry Plug, completed their checks, and began the countdown.

Asuka's experiment with Unit-03 turned into a catastrophic Angel incident that devastated the Matsushiro testing grounds. Shinji commanded NERV's response, but the infected Unit-03 escaped and resisted attempts to stop it.

• Asuka spoke with Misato before entering Unit-03 for the experiment, admitting she had begun to enjoy sharing her feelings with others.
• During the test, Asuka saw a red light and was overwhelmed by a strange vision as the cockpit flooded with scarlet light.
• Misato tried to abort the experiment, but blue flesh covered Asuka's Entry Plug and Unit-03 erupted with a powerful A.T. Field, destroying much of the testing grounds.
• At NERV Headquarters, Shinji ordered rescue personnel and the Third Unit to Matsushiro after learning of the explosion.
• Shinji identified the moving Unit-03 and ordered it stopped, but its ejection systems failed, and NERV confirmed the invasive tissue was an Angel.

Shinji Ikari and Rei Ayanami launched Unit-01 against the Thirteenth Angel, Hail Angel Bardiel, after it took over Unit-03 and left Asuka and others unaccounted for. The Hail Angel revealed powerful wings and a devastating beam attack, and Unit-01 charged toward it as Kozo Fuyutsuki urged the staff to analyze the threat.

• Shinji Ikari ordered Unit-03 decommissioned and identified it as the Thirteenth Angel, Hail Angel Bardiel, then prepared to deploy with Rei Ayanami.
• Shinji Ikari and Rei Ayanami spoke about their concern for Misato, Ritsuko, Asuka, and the others, and Rei asked whether she was important to him.
• Kozo Fuyutsuki took command as Shinji Ikari and Rei Ayanami deployed Unit-01 to the surface.
• The Hail Angel halted at the sight of Unit-01, then opened its back armor and formed glowing wings.
• The Hail Angel took to the sky and fired a blue beam through the defenses, but Unit-01 blocked it with its AT Field.
• Kozo Fuyutsuki ordered the Technical Department to analyze the Angel, while Unit-01 charged toward it to restrict its movements and rescue Asuka.

Shinji Ikari used Unit-01 to defeat the Thirteenth Angel, Hail Angel, who had parasitized Unit-03 and transformed its body. He extracted the Entry Plug and crushed Hail Angel’s core, leaving the pilot saved.

• Unit-01 overpowered Hail Angel and smashed them into the mountains despite their growing strength.
• Shinji used an AT Field to break Hail Angel’s resistance and discovered the Entry Plug entangled in blue flesh.
• Kozo Fuyutsuki told Shinji that Hail Angel had parasitized Unit-03’s core and altered the EVA to control it.
• Hail Angel grew red arms to restrain Unit-01, but Shinji drove off the parasite and pulled the Entry Plug free.
• Unit-01 kicked Hail Angel away, endured their regeneration and counterattack, then crushed their core through their back.

Shinji visited the injured Misato after Unit-03 was destroyed and learned that Asuka had been rescued but might have suffered mental contamination. Asuka woke from a nightmare about Unit-01 devouring her and whispered that Shinji had not come, only to hear him answer from the room.

• Shinji sat beside Misato's emergency treatment unit while rescue workers treated the survivors.
• Misato woke and asked about Ritsuko, Asuka, and Unit-03; Shinji told her Unit-03 had been an Angel and Asuka was physically unharmed but under isolation for possible mental contamination.
• Ritsuko joined Shinji and Misato and said the rescue work was nearly finished.
• Asuka dreamed that Unit-01 destroyed Unit-03 as she heard her own voice telling her she was weak and unwanted.
• Asuka woke in the hospital, clutched her sheets, and muttered that Shinji had not come.
• Shinji asked Asuka which idiot she meant.

Asuka woke in the hospital and spoke with Shinji, admitting that she envied his strength and was tired of always needing rescue. She asked whether his promise about the Promised Land still stood, then pulled him into a kiss.

• Shinji and Rei brought lunch bentos to Asuka after visiting Ritsuko and Misato, and Shinji stayed with Asuka when she woke.
• Asuka refused the food at first because she was embarrassed that Shinji had heard her calling for him in her sleep.
• Shinji confirmed that he had rescued Asuka by pulling her from her Entry Plug and annihilating the Thirteenth Angel.
• Asuka told Shinji that she envied his power and felt she was always the one who needed saving.
• Asuka asked whether Shinji still meant what he had said about the Promised Land, and he affirmed that his words would never pass away.
• Asuka grabbed Shinji's collar, kissed him, and pulled him down onto the bed.

After Asuka and Shinji Ikari shared an intimate moment in the hospital, Shinji noticed that Asuka’s eyes had glowed. Ritsuko Akagi explained that the Hail Angel had altered Asuka’s body, and Asuka agreed to cooperate with experiments to study the changes.

• Asuka rested in Shinji Ikari’s arms after eating his bento, then tried to hide her embarrassment about what had happened between them.
• Shinji Ikari told Asuka that her eyes had sparkled and glowed, prompting him to ask Ritsuko Akagi to examine her.
• Ritsuko Akagi told Asuka that the Hail Angel had modified her body and that she might evolve into a creature similar to an Angel, though she would not become the Thirteenth Angel.
• Asuka agreed to participate in experiments at the Technical Department, while Ritsuko Akagi warned that the changes’ effects were still uncertain.
• Ritsuko Akagi revealed that MAGI logs showed Asuka had requested new underwear and changed her bedsheets, making Asuka cry out in embarrassment.

Ritsuko Akagi told Asuka that piloting an EVA would accelerate her transformation into an Angel, so Shinji Ikari and Ritsuko decided to conceal her condition while she remained isolated at NERV. At dinner, Misato Katsuragi revealed that the higher-ups were sending a Fifth Eligible to pilot Unit-02, and Shinji suspected a connection to the Hail Angel incident.

• Ritsuko Akagi warned Asuka that she could become a full Angel and advised her to stop piloting an EVA.
• Shinji Ikari reassured Asuka and proposed keeping her mental contamination diagnosis in MAGI's records, and Ritsuko agreed to help conceal the situation.
• Asuka moved to the Technical Department's experimental area for temporary isolation.
• Rei Ayanami admitted she was angry after visiting the Medical Center, while Misato Katsuragi received a call from Ritsuko Akagi.
• Misato Katsuragi told Shinji Ikari and Rei Ayanami that the higher-ups were sending a Fifth Eligible to pilot Unit-02, and Shinji questioned whether they were tied to the Hail Angel incident.

After the Unit-03 incident passed without an investigation, Kaworu Nagisa arrived at NERV Headquarters and met Rei Ayanami and Shinji Ikari. His words hinted at a bond with both of them and a hope that Shinji’s future could change.

• A UN fighter jet from Europe landed at NERV Headquarters after the Unit-03 incident was quietly set aside.
• Kaworu Nagisa met Rei Ayanami on an escalator, identified himself as the Fifth Child, and said their souls did not belong on Earth.
• Rei Ayanami sensed that Kaworu Nagisa was an outsider like herself and felt her heart tighten when he mentioned Shinji Ikari.
• Kaworu Nagisa sensed Rei Ayanami’s bonds with Shinji Ikari, Unit-01, and Lilith, and said that he and Rei now shared the same choice: Shinji.
• Kaworu Nagisa met Shinji Ikari, asked whether he wanted a world without EVAs, and said they would become friends and that he would make Shinji happy.
• After returning to his room, Kaworu Nagisa wondered whether things would be different this time.

Gendo Ikari and Fuyutsuki discussed Kaworu Nagisa’s arrival and the effort to remove Gendo from command of NERV. In the elevator, Asuka clashed with Rei before asking what she thought of Shinji.

• Fuyutsuki told Gendo that the Fifth Eligible had contacted Rei and Shinji, while NERV still could not establish Kaworu Nagisa’s past.
• Gendo revealed that SEELE had begun impeachment proceedings to replace him as NERV’s Commander-in-Chief, but unknown allies had delayed his removal.
• Gendo left Fuyutsuki to handle what came next.
• Asuka and Rei argued in the elevator about whether Asuka relied too much on EVA and whether Rei was a doll.
• Asuka took back her insult, then asked Rei what she thought of Shinji.

Asuka and Rei Ayanami discussed their feelings for Shinji Ikari and began to reconcile, while Ritsuko Akagi reviewed the group’s medical results. Asuka was cleared to leave the hospital after another week but remained unable to pilot Unit-02, and she invited Shinji to her room.

• Asuka pressed Rei Ayanami about her feelings for Shinji, and Rei admitted she liked him and wanted him to feel warm around her.
• Asuka insisted she was only accepting Rei because she pitied her, but she walked away without checking whether Rei followed.
• Ritsuko Akagi reviewed Rei’s training and Shinji’s ongoing transformation, then confirmed Misato Katsuragi showed no signs of pregnancy or a special embryo.
• Ritsuko told Asuka that the cell purification device was working and she could move back after another week of observation.
• Ritsuko said Asuka could not yet pilot Unit-02 because her Angel transformation was only being controlled, not cured, and advised her to take a vacation.
• Asuka kicked Shinji in the shin and whispered for him to come to her room later, and he nodded.

Rei Ayanami came to Shinji Ikari’s room because she could not sleep and confessed that she liked him. She kissed him and said she wanted to become someone who could sleep with him like Misato and Asuka.

• Rei Ayanami knocked on Shinji Ikari’s door and asked to come in because she could not sleep.
• Rei Ayanami told Shinji that Miss Misato said close people could sleep together, then got into bed beside him.
• Rei Ayanami admitted that she liked Shinji, and Shinji told her he liked her too.
• Rei Ayanami rejected Shinji’s attempt to kiss her and reflected on how her feelings for him differed from her feelings for Misato, Asuka, and Ritsuko.
• Rei Ayanami told Shinji she wanted to become someone who could sleep with him like Misato and Asuka, then leaned in and kissed him.

Shinji Ikari woke beside Rei Ayanami after their night together, while Rei underwent another life-support treatment and learned her fragile body had gained only five months. As Rei hurried to return to Shinji, an alarm announced an Angel breach and she sensed that their fate had reached a turning point.

• Shinji Ikari woke beside Rei Ayanami, and she declined breakfast, intent on staying with him instead.
• Asuka complained that she had missed Shinji Ikari's breakfast and ate in the base lounge with Misato Katsuragi.
• Ritsuko Akagi brought Rei Ayanami out of the culture tank and warned that the life-support system had extended her body's life by only five months.
• Rei Ayanami asked Ritsuko Akagi to help her stay with Ikari forever, and Ritsuko considered ways to stabilize her body.
• Alarms sounded in the laboratory, and Rei Ayanami and Ritsuko Akagi realized that an Angel appeared to have breached the base.

Maki took Unit-02 out of containment as the Fourteenth Angel, Power Angel Zeruel, attacked Tokyo-3 and broke through the city's defenses. Unit-02 deployed ahead of the other EVAs, but its pilot could not be contacted, and Unit-01 and Unit-00 failed to start.

• Maki put on her pink Plugsuit and released Unit-02 from containment.
• Kaworu Nagisa prepared for the coming descent while standing in Tokyo-3.
• Power Angel Zeruel breached the Odawara Defense Line and destroyed Tokyo-3's surface armor with a single attack.
• Misato Katsuragi ordered further attacks and prepared the EVAs, but conventional weapons, including N2 Missiles, failed to damage Zeruel.
• Unit-02 deployed unexpectedly, and Misato Katsuragi suspected Kaworu Nagisa was piloting it, but communications were cut off.
• Ritsuko Akagi reported that Unit-01 and Unit-00 had failed to start.