Kaworu Nagisa
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| Neon Genesis Evangelion character | |
| Kaworu Nagisa / Tabris | |
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| Age | 15 (?) |
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| Birthday | September 13, 2000 (according to his data) |
| Gender | Male |
| Relation(s) | Other Kaworus?: (SEELE Dummy Plug system) Hosts the soul of the first angel, Adam |
| Seiyū | Akira Ishida |
| Voice actor | Kyle Sturdivant (original dub) Aaron Krohn (movies) Greg Ayres ("Director's Cut" episodes) |
| List of all Neon Genesis Evangelion characters... | |
Kaworu Nagisa (渚 カヲル Nagisa Kaworu?) is a fictional character from the anime Neon Genesis Evangelion and The End of Evangelion movie.
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[edit] Description
Kaworu is the Fifth Child (Fifth Children in the Japanese versions) and the seventeenth Angel, Tabris. He is sent to NERV by SEELE as a replacement pilot for Unit 02 after Asuka's synchronization ratio falls below usability. He later breaks into Terminal Dogma to return to Adam, but after he discovers the being there is actually Lilith, he permits Shinji to destroy him.
It is strongly implied that Kaworu is to SEELE what Rei Ayanami is to NERV. It is stated that he was born on the day of Second Impact, leading some to conclude that he is not an artificial creation like Rei; yet the fact that the Mass Production Evas bear the word "Kaworu" on their dummy plugs suggests that there are "spare Kaworus" just as there are "spare Reis" in the NERV dummy system. There is some speculation that Kaworu holds the soul of Adam, while Rei holds the soul of Lilith (In the director's cut of episode 24, SEELE say that the soul of Adam exists inside Kaworu.). Finally, speculation exists that because the two of them appear to be albino (both have extremely pale skin and red eyes), then they must have been created through the same process — either through cloning, direct descent from their respective "parent" Angels, or a combination of the two.
One of the major points of contention among fans comes from a statement Kaworu makes just before asking Shinji to kill him. Kaworu says that only one being can survive the coming destruction and that one of them must die. He then goes on to insist that Shinji is not the one who should perish. The statement is believed by most fans to be the explanation behind the Angel attacks, namely that the Angels were either trying to return to Adam (which is apparently their nature) or trying to make contact with Lilith (which would allow that particular Angel to become the subject of Third Impact). If Misato's statement is true that Angels are paths that human evolution could have taken and that the war against the Angels is mankind's war against his rejected form, then the Angels' aggression toward humans in an attempt to be the first to implement Third Impact is an allegory for the competitive nature of evolution itself — as all life forms are trying to reach the same goal, but only one is allowed to obtain it.
Kaworu makes a rather more notable appearance in The End of Evangelion, appearing with Rei inside Shinji's mind as the Human Instrumentality Project is being initiated. At first, when the giant Lilith/Rei appears to Shinji, he is frightened by it. Lilith/Rei, then, transforms into Kaworu in order to let Shinji decide the fate of Third Impact. Kaworu, along with Rei, argues with Shinji in regards to the case of humanity and in favor of individualism and free choice (specifically, in favor of Shinji rejecting Instrumentality). In one of the last scenes, Yui Ikari and Professor Fuyutsuki continue the dialogue started by Rei and Kaworu, drawing some interesting parallels — especially when one takes into account the parallels between Rei and Yui, as well as the relationship between Yui and Fuyutsuki prior to Second Impact.
His surname "Nagisa" comes from the Japanese word "渚 nagisa", meaning "waterside" or "shore," concerned with sea; hence, it is an ironic and possibly intentional complement to the "波 nami", or "wave," in Rei Ayanami's name, and, perhaps, a referrence to the song "From the Dazzling Sea" (眩惑の海から, Genwaku no umi kara), describing the experience of birth by the newborn child (the womb is referred to as あなたの海, anata no umi, meaning "your sea", referring to the mother). It also comes from Japanese movie director Nagisa Oshima (大島渚). Adding to these, the character "渚", when divided, can be read "シ者 shi-sha". The title of episode 24 is "Saigo no shisha 最後のシ者 The last shisha". "シ者" includes two Japanese words "shisha" (the character "シ" only represents the sound "shi"). The first shisha is "使者"; a messenger, or an apostle (an apostle is usually translated for "使徒 shito" into Japanese). The last one is "死者"; the dead.
Gainax renders his name in Romaji as "Kaworu," not "Kaoru" as would be given by most romanization schemes. This is because that "カヲル Ka-wo-ru" is derived by a one letter shift from "オワリ o-wa-ri" in Japanese Kana. "終わり owari" means "final" or "last." Finally, the name Kaworu Nagisa is a code to indicate "the last angel and the last dead". Interestingly enough, Kaworu and Nagisa are unisex names.
[edit] Implied homosexuality
Kaworu's interactions with Shinji have been a persistent topic of debate among fans of Evangelion since the series's first run. Shinji is unusually open, emotional, and physically receptive when around Kaworu, more so than with any of the other principal characters, while Kaworu treats him with kindness and a level of camaraderie that is completely unfamiliar to Shinji. In episode 24, Kaworu accompanies Shinji to a bath house. While sitting together in the bath, the boys display a remarkable degree of comfort around one another. At one point, Kaworu places his hand on Shinji's, and rather than hesitate or pull back (as he did in a previous episode, when Misato attempted to touch him), Shinji allows Kaworu's hand to linger on his own. In the English dub, Kaworu says "I love you" to Shinji shortly thereafter. The original Japanese dialogue uses the word "suki," which can be interpreted as "like" or "love." At the end of the bath house scene, Shinji tells Kaworu that he needs to go to bed, to which Kaworu asks, "With me?" Shinji is quick to decline Kaworu's offer, but he does spend the night at Kaworu's apartment, sleeping on the floor beside Kaworu's bed. Later, Shinji is devastated by his killing Kaworu, and remarks that Kaworu was the only person in his life to tell him that he was loved.
Some fans of the series have surmised from these interactions that there is some level of homoerotic attraction between Kaworu and Shinji. Other fans reject this view for a variety of reasons, believing that their relationship is merely one of unusually close friendship with complications caused by Kaworu being an Angel. This particular view is expanded in Yoshiyuki Sadamoto's manga adaption of Evangelion, as Kaworu appears to be greatly ignorant or uncaring of taboos regarding social interactions and male/male intimacy. However, in the manga Shinji is much more uneasy around Kaworu and confused about how to interact with him. Gainax itself has produced some mildly suggestive (though not explicit) official art of the two together, but has never officially endorsed the pairing of Shinji with Kaworu or with anyone else. Regardless of whether the two harbor any literal homosexual attraction to one another, speculation about their relationship is a common and pervasive topic of discussion among Evangelion fans. It is also referred to in largely comedic omake.
[edit] Manga version
[edit] Adaptation by Sadamoto
In this manga series, Kaworu is portrayed as a callous yet funny person, devoid of any feelings (besides smiling) or any knowledge of human norms, thus creating many comical situations. Also, some events concerning him were changed, and he appears earlier as well. In his first appearance in book 9, when Shinji met him, he was playing Beethoven's 9th Symphony on a piano in a bombed-out house. He plays a song that he hears and asks Shinji if he knows the name of the song, to which Shinji replies "the Ode to Joy." (In the anime, he was sitting on a rock by the sea, humming the tune of the same song.) In book 10, he begins to understand more about human emotions, and was slowly becoming intrigued by them.
At the end of volume nine of the English adaptation of the manga, an article written by the editor compares Kaworu to the character Satan ("not that Satan") of Mark Twain's novella, The Mysterious Stranger.
Another important difference in this manga is that Shinji does not like Kaworu off the bat. On their first meeting, he strangled a stray cat, and his cold reply to Shinji's question of "why" (Kaworu replied that it was euthanasia, since the cat would eventually simply starve to death) made Shinji feel that Kaworu was like Rei, as how she was when Shinji first saw her.
Interestingly, Sadamoto Yoshiyuki (the character designer of the series and the author of the manga) decided to parody Kaworu's perceived homosexuality by having him actually kiss Shinji in the manga. However, Kaworu only wanted to stop Shinji's nervous hyperventilation (apparently, by applying the same logic as breathing into a paper bag). A further point to note here is that Kaworu offered him half his bed to sleep on, which Shinji accepted. To add to the ambiguity, Kaworu was also seen to be unhappy when Shinji finally returned to Misato's apartment.
[edit] Shinji Ikari Raising Project
In this series, he's an agent sent by SEELE to infiltrate Shinji's school (much like the original). Here, he's helped by Ritsuko Akagi. In the series, he teases Shinji frequently, drawing Asuka's (and eventually, Rei's) ire. He's also implied to be the cause of a blackout at NERV (in a homage to the original outage in the anime).
[edit] Trivia
- Japanese actress Chiaki Kuriyama declared herself a big fan of Neon Genesis Evangelion and Kaworu Nagisa openly in a television program.[citation needed]
- Many names in Evangelion are allusions to other Japanese works; Kaworu may be named after Kaoru Genji, using the old way of spelling the name.
- Many fans believe Kaworu to be a representation of Jesus Christ. This is supported by his decision to martyr himself for the salvation of humankind, and can be further supported under the interpretation that his love for Shinji is not sexual, but divine. (i.e., a representation of the love between God and Man - a common theme in Judeo-Christian liturgy). Amusingly, ADV Films has published a humorous bumper sticker for its 10th Anniversary Special Edition of Evangelion, which reads "KAWORU DIED FOR YOUR SINS." (Japanese: カヲルはあなたの罪のために死んだ)
- Kaworu's seiyū Ishida Akira went on to voice Saburou Mutsumi in Sgt. Frog; this is made fun of in the anime by making his (and by extension, Sergeant Major Kururu's) appearance in the anime a parody of Kaworu's breaking and entering into Terminal Dogma in episode 24 of Evangelion, as well as other nods to Evangelion in Sgt. Frog's anime and manga. Ishida would also later voice Athrun Zala in the Mobile Suit Gundam SEED series, another major mecha anime. Interestingly, in Super Robot Wars Alpha 3 (where the characters of Gundam SEED makes their debut), both teens are featured. Also, both teens were close to the protagonists of their respective series (Shinji in Evangelion and Kira Yamato in Gundam SEED), and piloted red mechas.
- Despite his overall importance to the plot and the rampant fan speculation which continues to surround his character, in the original series Kaworu has less than 13 minutes of screen time (and this at the end of the series, in episode 24). Furthermore, during the last minute of this time, no dialogue or action occurs; it is quite literally a 'static' scene. He is, by comparison, introduced much earlier in the manga adaptation.
- Promotional materials for Rebuild of Evangelion include prominent images of Kaworu in his plugsuit with the other Children. It is possible that he will play a larger role in the reimagining, much as he has in the manga and several games.[citation needed]
| Neon Genesis Evangelion | |
|---|---|
| Creators: | Hideaki Anno • Yoshiyuki Sadamoto • Gainax |
| TV Series: | Neon Genesis Evangelion |
| Films: | Death and Rebirth • The End of Evangelion • Revival of Evangelion • Rebuild of Evangelion • Untitled Evangelion live action movie |
| Characters: | Asuka • Gendo • Kaworu • Misato • Rei • Ritsuko • Kaji • Shinji • Toji • Yui |
| Glossary: | Eva Units • Angels • Human Instrumentality Project • Timeline |
| Video Games: | Ayanami Raising Project • Girlfriend of Steel • Girlfriend of Steel 2 • Evangelion 64 • Shinji Ikari Raising Project • Shinji and Good Friends • Neon Genesis Evangelion 2 |
| Misc: | List of media and episodes • "A Cruel Angel's Thesis" • "Komm, süsser Tod" • Angelic Days manga • Red Cross Book • ReDeath • Topics |
