Asuka Langley Soryu

Asuka Sōryū Langley was born on December 4, 2001.[9] She is the daughter of Dr. Sōryū Kyōko Zeppelin, an employee of a research center named Gehirn. She has German and Japanese blood and US citizenship.[10] In 2005, her mother participated in a contact experiment with Unit-02, but due to an accident, suffered a severe mental breakdown, becoming permanently hospitalized. The mental injuries incurred during the failed experiment also render her unable to recognize her own child. Asuka is deeply hurt by her mother's behavior, who speaks to a doll believing it to be her daughter. A while later, Asuka is chosen as the Second Child and Unit-02's official pilot.[11][12] Hoping that her selection could cause her mother to recognize her again, she excitedly runs to her room to announce the news, only to find her corpse hanging from the ceiling.[13] Shocked and traumatized by her mother's suicide, Asuka adopts her self-affirmation as the only reason to be, participating in countless training sessions in order to become a pilot and meet other people's expectations.[14]

At the age of fourteen, she graduates from her German university. Asuka leaves Germany soon after, accompanied by her guardian Ryoji Kaji and Unit-02, on board a United Nations aircraft carrier escorted by numerous warships there to protect the Eva. During the trip, she meets Shinji Ikari, Third Child and pilot of Unit-01, and her new classmates Toji and Kensuke. The UN fleet is then attacked by Gaghiel, the sixth angel.[15] Recognizing this event as a good chance to demonstrate her skills, Asuka independently decides to activate her Eva, coercing Shinji into joining her in the entry plug.[16] Despite struggling to work together and the Eva not yet being equipped to operate underwater, the two Children manage to destroy the enemy. On September 21, 2015[17] she is placed in class 2-A of Tokyo-3 first municipal middle school.[18] From episode 9 onwards, Asuka lives with Shinji under Misato Katsuragi's care and the two get to know each other better.[19][20] Asuka starts calling him "baka-Shinji", "stupid Shinji". She also continuously teases him about his passivity and perceived lack of manliness, but gradually comes to respect and like him as they fight Angels together, though she is rarely able to express these feelings. However, following a series of Angel battles in which Shinji outperforms her, she increasingly grows unable to continue to suppress her traumatized psyche, drastically lowering her sync ratio with Unit-02 in the process.[21][22] This comes to a head in episode 22, when the Angel Arael attacks and Asuka, burdened by her continually worsening performance in synchronization tests, is infuriated by being ordered to serve as backup to Rei. She defies this order and 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. As a result of this, Asuka loses all will to live and spends episode 23 aimlessly roaming the streets of Tokyo-3. In episode 24, she is found by Nerv personnel, naked and starving herself in the bathtub of a ruined building. The main series ends with her lying in a hospital bed in a catatonic state.[23][24]

In The End of Evangelion, as the Japanese Strategic Self-Defense Force invade Nerv headquarters, Asuka is placed inside Unit-02, which is then submerged in a lake within the Geofront, for her own protection. As she is bombarded by depth charges, Asuka wakes up, declares that she does not want to die, and, in a moment of clarity, realizes that her mother's soul is within the Eva and has been protecting her all along. Her self-identity regained, she emerges and defeats the JSSDF, before encountering the mass-produced Evas.[25] Though she successfully disables all nine opponents, Unit-02's power runs out and the near infinite power of the mass-produced Evas' S² Engines allow them to eviscerate and dismember Unit-02 using their Lance of Longinus replicas.[26] Seeing Asuka's destroyed Evangelion makes Shinji go into a frenzy, which eventually culminates in him starting Third Impact. Shinji and Asuka have an extended dream-like sequence inside Instrumentality. Asuka claims she can't stand the sight of him, but Shinji responds that it is because he is just like her. Shinji claims he wants to understand Asuka, but she refuses. Shinji is furious at this rejection, and lashes out by choking her.

After Shinji rejects Instrumentality, she is the second person to return some time after Shinji in the film's final scene, her injuries sustained in battle against the Mass-Produced Evas covered in bandages. Shinji begins to strangle the seemingly comatose Asuka, but stops when she caresses his face in a manner reminiscent of Yui's, Shinji's mother, earlier caress. She then says one of her most famous sentences: 'Kimochi warui' ("I feel sick" or "How disgusting") with a cold voice.

In the four-film re-imagining of the TV series Asuka makes her first appearance in the second film, Evangelion: 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance. Several changes have been made to her character, such as her family name being changed from Sōryū (惣流) to Shikinami (式波),[27] continuing the Japanese maritime vessel naming convention. Additionally, rather than her having a college degree, she holds the rank of captain in the European air force, as a fighter pilot.[28] She also doesn't share Sohryu's pediophobia, and no longer has the same infatuation with Kaji, choosing to ignore an invitation to go on a trip with him until Misato forces her to go. Shikinami is also more reserved than Sohryu, and doesn't form a friendship with Hikari. Shikinami arrives in Tokyo-3 defeating the 7th Angel by herself with ease. She introduces herself to Shinji, Toji and Kensuke but takes an immediate dislike to Rei. Asuka is seen playing with a hand puppet and telling herself she is special and has always been alone. Before fighting the 8th Angel, Asuka is unable to sleep due to anxiety, and she goes to Shinji's room and has a talk with him laying by his side, asking him why he pilots the Eva. Asuka attempts to learn how to cook in order to impress Shinji, but once she realizes Rei has been doing the same, Asuka asks her what Shinji means to her. Asuka has decided to be the test pilot of Evangelion Unit 03 in order to avoid Rei's party. Unit-03 is taken over by the 9th Angel, and Shinji refuses to engage it. Asuka survives Unit-03's destruction at the hands of the Dummy Plug system, but is last seen in urgent care.

In the third film, Asuka is initially part of the rescue operation for Unit-01, which is stranded in space, and is now working together with Mari supporting her piloting Unit-08. After fighting off an initial attack by Nerv, Asuka confronts Shinji in his holding cell and tells him 14 years have passed. Asuka is biologically 28 years old but hasn't physically aged thanks to what she calls "The Curse of Eva", and she's wearing an eyepatch which glows blue with the same symbols as Shinji's DSS Choker.[29] Asuka, again supported by Mari, confronts Shinji and Kaworu in Terminal Dogma and is surprised to see Shinji piloting Unit-13. When Shinji pulls the Spears of Longinus out of Lilith's body and inadvertedly starts Fourth Impact, Asuka has her battery recharged and quickly moves in to protect the Wunder from Mark.09. Asuka activates "Code 777" and her Eva metamorphoses into a feline form, while Asuka herself grows fangs. Without time or energy to properly defeat Mark.09, Asuka self-destructs her Eva in order to save the Wunder. Later, an exhausted Asuka opens the hatch on Shinji's entry plug. Asuka briefly complains that Shinji didn't come to rescue her and is running away from his problems and, irritated at his lack of response, starts walking away, before turning back and extracting Shinji physically, as he refuses to move. Asuka grabs Shinji's wrist and they start moving along the ruins of Tokyo-3, followed by Rei.

Asuka on the cover of Volume 4 of the manga (Japanese printing).

Asuka also appears in many manga series based on the anime, including Neon Genesis Evangelion by Yoshiyuki Sadamoto. The events in this manga series mirror those of the anime with some divergences apparent. Asuka appears as a main character in the series and is depicted, for the most part, similar to her anime counterpart. Asuka appears in various other manga spin-offs including the Shinji Ikari Raising Project and Neon Genesis Evangelion: Campus Apocalypse with varying changes to her personality and characterization, including more romantic stories like Angelic Days. Asuka is usually more psychologically stable. Most of these portray Asuka as Shinji's childhood friend, similarly to the alternative universe from episode 26, and have her fight for Shinji's attentions with other characters, mainly Rei. She is older and more mature in Evangelion Anima, having developed a strong friendship with Shinji and even Rei.

Asuka also makes appearances in various video games alongside other Evangelion characters such as in Neon Genesis Evangelion for the Nintendo 64 as well as the popular cross-over video game franchise Super Robot Wars, where she often butts heads with the equally hot-headed and intelligent Kouji Kabuto, the pilot of Mazinger Z and Mazinkaiser. Asuka is a potential romantic option in all Evangelion videogames that include such an option, such as Girlfriend of Steel 2nd and Shinji Ikari Raising Project, often, but not always, alongside Rei and other characters. A number of official art and merchandising depicts her an Shinji in romantic situations, similar to other characters. She is also implied to have developed crushes on famous heroes such as Char Aznable (in the guise of Quattro Bageena) and Amuro Ray. However, in Super Robot Wars Alpha, Asuka jealously seizes a bouquet of roses from Shinji meant for Lynn Minmay. In Super Robot Wars Alpha 3 she snaps Shinji out of his depressed state during the battle with the Mass-Produced Evas by declaring that she could not be with someone who would simply lie down and die. Asuka also appears in the crossover Transformers x Evangelion. She piloted Ava-1 to intercept the Angel possessed Starscream calling himself Angel-scream, her Ava was scanned by the Autobot leader Optimus Prime and he gains her Ava's size and colors, she with the help of Optimus Prime and the other Autobots defeat Angel-scream[30]

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[69]

Asuka suffers from masculine protest,[70] an expression from Alfred Adler's individual psychology to indicate exaggeratedly masculine tendencies in some tired and rebellious women who protests against traditional female gender role. She sees her male peers merely as rivals and spectators of her abilities,[71] and suffers from a marked emotional complex for male sex, merging a so-called "radical rivalry" and a latent inferiority complex. Her masculine protest is reflected in her strong misandric tendencies, since she's dominated by the need to beat male peers with an obsessive self-affirmation desire. This leads her to continuously attack Shinji's virility,[72][73] directing both interest and open hostility at him.[74][75] Due to their intimate fragility and insecurities Shinji and Asuka are unable to effectively communicate with one another on an emotional level, despite their mutual latent interest.[76][77] Asuka's excessive pride prevents her from admitting—even to herself—that she feels something for Shinji,[78][79] and as events and battles progress her feelings of love and hate intensify and dominate her.[80][81] She kisses Shinji in the fifteenth episode,[82] but when he beats her in synchronization tests she begins to develop a profound inferiority complex towards him.[83] Despite her deep distrust toward most men, she has a deep sense of admiration for her guardian and senpai Ryōji Kaji.[84] Asuka is emotionally dependent on Kaji, since she has a strong subconscious desire to find a reference figure to rely on.[85] Asuka's infatuation also leads her to feel great jealousy for him and she eventually tries to seduce him.[86][87]

Asuka ostentatious self-love represents an act of psychological compensation in order to be recognized in the eyes of other people. After her mother's mental illness she represses her sadness and eventually decides to not cry anymore and behave like an adult with a reaction formation.[88] Her memories related to her past and her mother are repressed and removed from her consciousness during this phase.[89] In the last episodes, Asuka completely loses her self-confidence. She develops a deep disgust toward herself and suffers from separation anxiety.[90][91]