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Asuka Langley Soryu is the Second Children, the designated pilot of Evangelion Unit-02.

Name
See also: Character Name Origins

Asuka is named after two warships, one Japanese, the Aircraft Carrier Soryu, the other U.S., the USS Langley. For more information on how Asuka and the other characters were named, see Character Name Origins. Asuka's surname is spelled differently from the name of the warship Soryu(蒼龍). The warship's name literally means "Green Dragon", but Asuka's name contains characters for "All" and "flow/flux/current/stream". No explanation has been given for the difference in name. Although the change could have been because "Green Dragon" would be a rather fantastical surname, Japanese surnames with the character for "dragon" in them exist. Adding to the mystery, aside from Ritsuko Akagi all the other characters share the same Kanji in their surnames as the warships they were named after, making their names at least as improbable.

Asuka's Japanese surname comes from the Japanese WWII aircraft carrier Soryu. Her middle name comes from the American aircraft carrier Langley, also from WWII, while her mother's surname refers to the nearly completed Nazi German aircraft carrier  Graf Zeppelin.

Her first name comes from Saki Asuka, who is the main character of a Japanese manga "SuperGirl Asuka", 超少女明日香, Cho-Shojo Asuka, written by Shinji Wada. Her mother's first name, "Kyoko", also comes from that manga's character Kyoko Aoi. A brief shot from the Episode 26 alternate universe sequence shows the words "Ikari" and "Asuka" under an umbrella. Asuka is shown here as 明日香 - using the same Kanji as Wada's heroine, with the meanings of "clear/bright/to understand";"day,sun,date";"fragrant incense" respectively.

This particular rendering of her name - in the original Neon Genesis Evangelion TV series, no less - is unique, because all canonical materials render Asuka's given name in Katakana as アスカ, consistent with the Katakana rendering of all Evangelion characters' given names. The use of Katakana given names is seen at numerous points in the series - in ID cards or on-screen information on individuals - and is consistent throughout. This consistency is repeated in the New Theatrical Edition where Asuka Shikinami Langley has her given name rendered as アスカ, same as her original series counterpart.

Given that Asuka's canonical name in all other materials is in Katakana, the most likely explanation is that Asuka's name being written in kanji is only applicable within the alternate universe scenario seen in Episode 26, as a meta-instance of the rules and established details of the original series being pushed aside. If this is meant to be intentional and not an oversight or blooper by one of the animators, it makes Asuka the only member of the main cast for whom the Kanji in her given name is given in any universe or continuity. In the absence of further details confirming this, this one instance of Kanji being used for a character's given name remains anomalous, if fascinating.

Early Life
Asuka is 1/4 Japanese and 1/4 German (from her mother Kyoko Zeppelin Soryu's side), although her nationality is American, as is, apparently, her father's. When Asuka was very young — prior to her selection as an Evangelion pilot — her mother was involved in a contact experiment with Evangelion Unit-02 and lost her mind as a result, thinking that a rag doll was her daughter and ignoring Asuka. At the same time, Asuka's father proceeded to have an affair with Kyoko's doctor. Kyoko eventually turned suicidal, and asked Asuka to die with her, which Asuka agreed to, as she was too young to understand what her mother asked of her and believed it was the only way she could convince Kyoko to be her mother again. After being selected as an Evangelion pilot at a very young age, an overjoyed Asuka rushed to tell her mother, only to be devastated on finding that her mother had committed suicide, having hanged the doll in Asuka's place. At Kyoko's funeral, Asuka refused to cry, declaring she would have to look out for herself now. Following Kyoko's death, her father married his mistress. Asuka's new stepmother initially tried to bond with Asuka, but she ended up being discouraged as she found the young girl's overly serious disposition for her age and coldness towards her to be somewhat disturbing, and the two have kept each other at a mutual distance ever since. Her mother's death and her father's infidelity and remarriage have left deep scars on Asuka's psyche.

Until some point in 2015, Asuka lived in Germany, where she met Misato Katsuragi and Ryoji Kaji.

Arrival in Tokyo-3
Main articles: Episode 8, Episode 9

Asuka and Eva 02 are transported from Germany to Japan by the Pacific Fleet. Upon meeting (and attempting to impress) her former handler and the first children, she isn't impressed by Shinji (in fact, she seems very annoyed when Kaji praises Shinji's first battle in the lunchroom) but changes her mind when Kaji tells her he achieved 40% synchronization on his first battle. Right after that, Asuka feels the need to bring Shinji with her and show him the Eva-02 while talking about the Eva's capabilities. During this demonstration, they hear an explosion, and quickly get to the deck to see what was the cause, upon realizing that it's caused by an Angel she mutters to herself that it's her "chance" and drags Shinji along with her to sortie on Eva-02, forcing him to wear one of her plugsuits, as the two manage to eventually defeat the angel.

After failing to defeat Israfel the first time, on a suggestion of Kaji's, Asuka moves in with Misato and Shinji in Misato's Apartment to properly train for a coordinated double attack on the angel. After initial difficulties coming to a proper unison with Shinji, Asuka is "persuaded" to improve when faced with the prospect of Rei taking her place. After rigorous practice, Asuka and Shinji manage to defeat the Angel. At the end of the battle, Asuka and Shinji start arguing, and Shinji unwittingly ends up confessing he tried to kiss her while she was asleep.

Ace pilot and schoolgirl
Main Articles Episode 10, Episode 11, Episode 12, Episode 13, Episode 14

Asuka participates in Nerv's attempt to capture Sandalphon, descending in a magma filled crevice in Eva-02 using D-Type Equipment. The operation is aborted when the Angel awakens, and with some quick thinking, Asuka is able to defeat it by subjecting it to thermal shock using her equipment's cooling fluid. Asuka narrowly escapes falling into the abyss when Eva-02's cables fray, but she's caught in time by Shinji in Eva-01. Asuka will later recall this rescue during Arael's mind probe.

During the blackout, Shinji, Asuka and Rei have to manually infiltrate Nerv HQ, with Asuka assuming the self appointed leadership of their party. Asuka tries to tease Rei for being the commander's favourite, but is angered when Rei does not respond. Along the way, the trio discover that the ninth angel Matarael is attacking the base. When Shinji asks what the Angel's are and why they are attacking, Asuka remarks that they have to fight back at the strange beings attacking them. Eventually reaching the Eva Cages, All three Evangelions sortie under emergency power. Upon encountering the Angel's acid attack, and with their power supplies running low Asuka devises a plan to defeat it, placing herself in the most dangerous "offence" position during this. The plan works and Matarael is defeated, with Asuka regarding her debt to Shinji's earlier rescue repaid.

Asuka is irritated by Shinji's improving synchronization scores, though they remain behind her own. When Tokyo-3 is attacked from orbit by the 10th angel Sahaquiel, Misato orders all three Evangelions sortie in order to catch the Angel as it falls; Asuka openly disapproves of the reckless nature of the operation -- though puts on a show with Shinji afters Misato promises them a steak dinner. Before the operation begins, in response to his question, Asuka tells Shinji that she pilots her Evangelion to display her talents to the world. During Sahaquiel's attack, after Eva-01 catches the angel first, Eva-00 and Eva-02 arrive to dispatch it, with Asuka delivering the killing blow with her Prog knife. After the battle, when Shinji tells Misato that he pilots the Eva for his father's praise, Asuka regard this as a silly reason for piloting.

Asuka takes part in the tests with the simulation bodies in the Pribnow Box along with Shinji and Rei. During the tests, the 11th angel Ireul infiltrates the Pribnow Box and attacks, and Asuka and the other pilots are ejected. Nerv deals with the angel without using the Evangelions, while the pilots are left alone in their plugs for the duration, much to Asuka's irritation.

Asuka does not take part in the Eva cross-synch tests in Episode 14. When she asks why, Misato convinces her that she wouldn't want to pilot any other Eva but Eva-02 anyway -- though Misato does not tell her Eva-02 is not in fact interchangeable at all. After Eva-00's accident during the tests, Asuka wonders what kind of girl Rei really is.

Descent and Arael's mind invasion
Main articles: Episode 15, Episode 18, Episode 19, Episode 22, Episode 23, Episode 24

While Misato and Kaji are out at a wedding, Asuka asks Shinji if he wants to kiss, claiming she is bored. Due to Asuka and Shinji's respective interpersonal difficulties the kiss does not go well, and despite her overt reaction, Asuka is secretly deeply disappointed by Shinji's awkward reaction. This disappointment is compounded when Asuka smells Misato's lavender perfume on Kaji after he brings her home. It is very possible that the failure of the kiss and the feeling of "losing" Kaji are among the primary factors that lead to her sync ratio and capacity as a pilot gradually decay, further increasing her anguish and making her issues more apparent.

Shortly before the attack of Leliel, Shinji surpasses Asuka in sync ratio, an event which leaves Asuka stewing in barely restrained anger. The battles of Bardiel and Zeruel both end for Asuka in her being defeated while being outshined by Unit 01, something which further erodes her confidence and sanity. Asuka also becomes increasingly aware and ultimately jealous of Shinji and Rei's close relationship, eventually expressing a perceived defeat to Rei when she spots her and Shinji having a casual conversation. Asuka also starts having increasingly frequent anger breakdowns, something which does not go unnoticed by Misato, who admits to Ritsuko that she considers placing Shinji and Asuka in separating housing.

When Arael attacks, Asuka and Eva-02 are trapped by a beam of light from the Angel which proceeds to invade Asuka's mind. Asuka is forced to confront her relationships with Kaji, Shinji, and with herself with devastating consequences. When Rei defeats the Angel with the Lance of Longinus, Asuka is recovered, Shinji tries hesitantly to comfort Asuka, but she is furious by having been saved by Rei, which is yet another perceived humiliation for her. In the aftermath of Arael's attack, Asuka avoids returning to the Katsuragi household for extended periods of time, instead staying at Hikari's house, where she does nothing but play video games all day.

The lingering effects of Arael psychic attack finally becomes apparent during the attack of Armisael. Asuka's sync ration by this point is so low that she is send out as backup for Rei, though only with the hope that Eva-02 might be able to act as a decoy. Asuka, however, is by this point so deeply depressed that she is unable to making the Eva move even in the slightest, necessitating her immediate retrieval from the field.

Later, Shinji informs Asuka about Kaji's death, which seems to be what finally pushes her over the edge and makes her run away from home (similar to Shinji in episode 4) only to be found naked and malnourished in an abandoned apartment by Nerv agents seven days later.

For her own safety, Asuka is interned in the Geofront's hospital, and placed under an artificial coma in hospital room 303.

The End of Evangelion
Shinji, in a stage of deep sorrow and depression over Kaworu's death at his hands, visits the sedated Asuka in the Geofront hospital, being too afraid to turn to Misato or Rei. He attempts desperately, but fruitlessly, to wake Asuka, and in his attempt he ends up ripping her shirt open and expose her breasts. He then goes on to masturbate to the sight.

When the JSSDF attack NERV, Misato realizes that Asuka will be a high-priority target for the invaders and has her placed inside Eva-02 on the bottom of the Geofront lake to keep her out of their reach. No longer sedated, Asuka eventually returns to consciousness and is surprised to find herself inside the Eva. Just then the JSSDF, having located the Eva, attempts an attack with depth charges, the explosions from which sends Asuka into a panic. Asuka starts repeatedly declaring that she refuses to die, and as she does so, she hears Kyoko's voice inside the Eva, telling her not to give up, and realises that her mother was inside the Evangelion all along and makes contact with her soul. A reinvigorated Asuka proceeds to reactivate the Eva, and rises from the lake engaging the the JSSDF force in battle and later defeat all of the Mass Production Evangelions single handedly. However, Eva-02 is eventually defeated when its power runs out and it is impaled through the left eye by a replica of the Lance of Longinus. The horde of Mass Production Evas, able to reactivate themselves with their S2 engines proceeds to brutally rip Eva-02 apart, with Asuka feeling all the pain. The Mass Production Evas eventually pauses their attack and takes to the skies, leaving a decrepit and mostly broken Eva-02 behind. Despite the pain and the state of Eva-02, Asuka manages through pure persistence and rage to force the Eva into berserk mode, as she determinedly reaches for the Mass Production Eva in the sky, swearing repeatedly she will kill them all. But in response, the Mass Production Evas each throw their replica spear into Eva 02, killing Asuka inside.

During Third Impact, Asuka features heavily in Shinji's experiences in Complementation.

After Third Impact, during One More Final, Asuka ends up alongside Shinji on a beach, seemingly unconscious and with a bandaged right arm and left eye. Shinji starts to strangle her. However, Asuka stops him with a gentle caress of her hand across Shinji's cheek. Shinji begins to sob into her chest and after a few seconds she looks directly at him. She breaks the silence by simply saying "Kimochi warui." meaning "How disgusting." and the movie ends.

Education
Asuka graduated college despite being a minor, although what degree she received is not stated. She is attending school with the rest of the children in order to learn kanji.

Personality
The series' creators have described Asuka as a girl "who seeks to put herself above all others" : in the very first scene Asuka appears in, she is standing on the control tower of the aircraft carrier, physically standing high above the landing pad where Shinji, Misato & Co. exit their helicopter transport. This also occurs later in this same episode, when Asuka feels driven to show off Eva 02 to Shinji, and is compelled to stand on top of Eva-02 to look down on Shinji far below. Also, when Asuka initially finds Shinji and orders him to come see Eva-02 with her, she is standing at the top of an escalator he is riding.

As an Eva pilot
As a consequence of these needs, Asuka loves to pilot an Evangelion for the positive attention she receives, but beyond that, Asuka seems to have a genuine zest for piloting, because it makes her feel powerful. Asuka is so proud of being a pilot that she constantly wears her Interface Headset, even when in a swimming pool or at a hot springs bath. However, because Asuka does not pilot out of a pure warrior’s spirit, she is trapped in the same bind that Shinji Ikari is, of being unable to have an identity separate from an Evangelion.

Asuka is the character with the most consistent "color scheme" in the series. Her Plug suit, Interface Headset, Evangelion, and hair are all red. This might be meant to symbolize her temperamental, passionate personality or to solidify the sense of identity she needs from her Eva. This can be further supported by the fact that she is also the only Children whose number designation matches with her Evangelion's.

Asuka is so identified with piloting that the loss to Zeruel in Episode 19 devastates her. This, followed by a mind-rape from Arael that forced Asuka to relive childhood trauma, and then being rescued by Rei Ayanami, whom she despised, started a breakdown that lead to a nearly comatose state in which she cared about nothing.

With her mother
After her contact experiment with Evangelion Unit-02, Kyoko Zeppelin Soryu went insane and eventually committed suicide. Before Kyoko killed herself, she would talk to a doll that she thought was Asuka and ask her daughter to die with her, as Asuka's father wanted neither of them. On the day she was chosen to be an Eva pilot, the young Asuka opened the door to see that Kyoko had hanged herself along with the doll. When her mother told Asuka that she was not wanted, and so should die with her, it might have been the impetus for Asuka’s entire teenage personality, as she certainly tries to make people "notice" her, and also to assert her independence and adulthood.

Much of Asuka's obsession with being seen as an adult and fear and hatred of dolls, also stems from her experiences with her mother. When Kyoko asked Asuka to die with her, Asuka, at the time, being both too young to fully understand what was asked of her and desperate for Kyoko to acknowledge her as her daughter, agreed to the request, begging Kyoko to be her mother again while doing so. It is obvious that Asuka has later come to realize the implications of Kyoko's request, and felt deeply disturbed and powerless about how easily and readily she agreed to it; how she at that very moment was her "mommy's doll", so obedient to and depended on another person that she was willing to give up her life without a second thought. As a result, Asuka has come to resent the idea of being so beholden to anyone again and has become obsessed with being an independent adult who thinks only for herself in order to shield herself from ever ending up in a similar situation again.

With Shinji
Asuka is somewhat attracted to Shinji Ikari, although the Asuka-Shinji relationship is less of a straight romantic relationship and more the deconstruction of one. Asuka initially dismissed Shinji in Episode 08 as "boring" and then saw him as competition because of all the praise he was getting. When she heard of his surprisingly high initial synch rate, from Kaji, she feels compelled to show off Eva-02 and its production model features, and then to demonstrate her prowess first hand by dragging Shinji into battle with her. Following this, Asuka developed a level of friendship with Shinji that lasted until Episode 15, when Shinji refused to give her the physical intimacy she desired and even more so in Episode 16, when Shinji's synch rate surpassed Asuka's and directly threatened her sense of self-worth as a human being.

Asuka also showed frustration with Shinji’s accepting nature and reflexive apologies, often arguing with him and using her "Anta baka?" catchphrase on him, but Asuka also flirted with Shinji and was extremely hurt when he didn’t respond and give her the attention she deeply desires.

Episode 22 shows Asuka internally complaining about Shinji. "You won't do anything!" (After the "Wall of Jericho" sequence from Episode 09, in which Shinji didn’t take to her reverse psychology), "You won’t help me! (Shinji had actually saved Asuka from the volcano in Episode 10, but Asuka forgot about that) "You won’t even hold me!", (upset that Shinji didn't hold her while they kissed in Episode 15, although she was using Shinji as a substitute for Kaji). However, by the end of Episode 22, any romantic feelings that may have been between the two of them are lost, because Asuka is too deeply damaged by the attack and Shinji, traumatized by the events of the next two episodes, is left with only Asuka to go to for help despite being afraid of her.

With Rei
Asuka’s relationship with Rei Ayanami is also strained. Though it starts with Asuka often mocking Rei, later in the series Asuka acts blatantly hostile towards her, likely reflecting Asuka’s own deteriorating level of control. But the motivation is the same in either case: Asuka hates Rei because she’s the opposite of everything Asuka has tried to be. This antithesis is also spelled out thematically though re-occurring motifs. When Asuka makes her first appearance, she is standing facing the "camera" silhouetted against the Sun behind her, just as Rei is often seen against the moon. In addition, Asuka’s blue eyes and red hair are the inverse of Rei Ayanami’s blue hair and red eyes.

Asuka also sees Rei as mechanical and doll-like because of her tendency to do anything she is ordered to. When confronted in Episode 22, Rei admits that, if ordered, she would kill herself, which sends Asuka into a frenzy because of her traumatic childhood experience with dolls.

With Misato
It is made clear that Asuka views Misato as more a barricade stopping her from becoming an adult. She is constantly seen berating Misato for various things, ranging from her preferring Shinji to her messy apartment.

Asuka also shows jealousy for Misato's awkward relationship with Kaji. She expresses this to him before arriving in Tokyo-3 by dismissing her as boring, and is deeply disturbed when Kaji and Misato return in Episode 15, with Kaji smelling of Misato's lavender perfume.

With Others
Asuka tends to push people away, acting abrasive towards others if not snubbing them completely. She also tends to avoid relationships with boys of her own age (despite her popularity with them), possibly to enhance her own image of "maturity". For this same reason, Asuka prefers to chase after the adult Ryoji Kaji though he ignores her advances.

Episode 22 demonstrates that Asuka also tries to appear totally independent in order to distance herself from the sadness caused by her mother’s death, swearing that she would never cry again. Episode 25, however, reveals that Asuka really doesn’t want to be alone, that retreating from others didn’t cure her pain. Despite her outer strength, Asuka does not have inner happiness.

End of Evangelion
In Episode 25', Asuka appeared to have regained her power through contact with her mother’s soul, however, the extent of Asuka's control over Unit-02's actions is a matter of debate.

During pre-Third Impact Instrumentality, Asuka told Shinji that she knows how he masturbated by her bedside at the start of Episode 25', and told him to "Do it again like usual... I'll even stand here and watch." But she also said that if she couldn’t have Shinji all to herself, she didn’t want anything from him, indicating that she wanted to possess him utterly. In Pre-Instrumentality, Asuka also told Shinji to stay away--for all he ever did was hurt her--and accused him of only going to her for help because she was the person who would hurt him the least.

Although Asuka was the first person to return to human form after Shinji rejected Instrumentality, it was unclear why she did this. She may have been motivated by a strong will to live, or merely a desire not to be so close to others’ souls, as one of her lines towards Shinji in Pre-Instrumentality was, "But, if I have to be with you, I'd rather die!"

Despite wearing bandages that coincide with her final battle injuries in the final scene of The End of Evangelion, the fact Asuka was able to move her right arm and caress Shinji's cheek suggests she imagined herself in her own heart as healed. Asuka caressing Shinji's cheek is a noted as a sign that she may have changed for the better.

Development
Asuka's Japanese surname comes from the japanese World War II aircraft carrier Japanese aircraft carrier Sōryū. Her German surname comes from the American aircraft carrier Langley, also from World War II, while her mother's name refers to the nearly completed Nazi German aircraft carrier Graf Zeppelin. "SuperGirl Asuka" (超少女明日香, Cho-Shojo Asuka) written by Shinji Wada (和田 慎二, Wada Shinji?).Her mother's first name, "Kyoko", also comes from that manga's character Kyoko Aoi (葵 今日子, Aoi Kyoko). "明日 Asu" means "tomorrow" and "今日 Kyo" means "today" in Japanese.



For her scenes featuring German terms, Anno asked for help from an American employee of Gainax, Michael House, who used high school knowledge of the language, and a Japanese-German dictionary from a local library. Gainax did not pay attention to the dialogues' German grammar, believing the series would never be successful enough to be distributed to native German speakers. Anno originally placed Asuka with a clear-cut personality, but the character rapidly gained his affection and he spontaneously started to develop her further. He says the character was truly born when he created the "Are you stupid?" line. Asuka eventually became his favorite character. Miyamura had originally auditioned for the role of Rei. Miyamura also designed Asuka's stuffed monkey doll.

Asuka's story reflected the changes in the latter half of the series: although she had been introduced in an essentially positive role, her character became increasingly dramatic and introverted, going against the expectations and the pleasure principle of anime fans. In the twenty-second episode, Anno focused on her troubled emotional state, harassed by her first menstrual cycle, but not considering himself capable of exploring such a delicate and feminine theme, he condensed everything into a single scene. Like other characters, Anno based Asuka on himself, and along Shinji and Misato, Anno considered Asuka as part of his conscious self. Anno felt difficulty in representing a female character, and liked to read romance novels written by women to better understand their feelings. His original intent was a long live action segment for the film: the original segment focused on Asuka. In the alternate universe, Shinji would never have existed; walking the streets of Tokyo-2, however, Asuka would hear his voice calling her, voiced by Anno. Sadamoto conceived their dance training in the manga as akin to a "kiss", underlining his psychological connection "with a girl he loves", in place of kiss scene in Episode 15. Asuka would be Shinji's symbol for his longing for the opposite sex, differently from Rei's "motherly" existence. Sadamoto: Like in the anime, Asuka will act like she is a "good girl," but have a second aspect to her personality. I think it would be good if I can make Asuka an existence that, to Shinji as a member of opposite sex, he can respect to a certain extent and feels longing for. Sometimes a friend, sometimes a rival, but sometimes a member of the opposite sex. [...] I decided not to do the kiss scene that was present in the anime as part of the storyline where Asuka and Shinji have to come together in unison in order to defeat the angel. From a boy's point of view, the first kiss is an enchanting incident. But if you start to think about what a kiss is, isn't it the first incident where you connect physically with the girl you love? But to me it is more real that before that psychological connection comes first. Moreover, I felt I could depict the psychological connection between fourteen-year-olds as being more pure than that between adults. For me, the scene depicted in the manga where they dance together to the music is something like a kiss. [...] Sadamoto: I think, if you take Asuka as being, for Shinji, a symbol of the longed-for opposite sex, Rei is "maternal." For one, it seems like she has the genetic material of Shinji's mother. For myself, if I am asked who between Asuka and Rei I like more, it is probably because somewhere in Rei there is something motherly, and when Shinji looks disheartened she "scolds" him ever so softly. Rei asks Shinji, "Are you running away again?" Quite often she says harsh things that really get down to the point. It would be ideal if a friend of his would say it, but for some reason that doesn't happen. That [action of Rei's] is because a mother will absolutely not abandon her child. I think that, for Shinji, Rei is that sort of motherly existence. - Sadamoto interview, Newtype 1997 As such, he decided to give Rei more room in the manga, emphasizing Rei's maternal role. Shinji Higuchi, one of the chief animators and Shinji's namesake, had a large part in animating Asuka's scenes and came to feel for her as a daughter. He felt very strange to be called "idiot" and later "brat" by her during recording

In a Newtype poll from March 2010, Asuka was voted as the third most popular female anime character from the 1990s. The June 2010 issue of Newtype ranked Asuka Shikinami Langley No. 8 in its monthly top 10 character survey. One reviewer describes her fatal flaw as "excessive Pride", noting that her mother goes insane after taking a test pilot experience on herself just as Asuka suffers a mental breakdown or contamination when challenging the 16th Angel herself. Mike Crandol, also of ANN, states that "Again it is Asuka that it is most interesting to consider in this [semi-romantic] light. Sensing a kindred soul beneath her aggressive exterior (or perhaps admiring the determination he lacks), Shinji comes to love her, but does not know how to express it. Likewise, it is hinted that Asuka has similarly romantic feelings for Shinji, but her ego prevents her from admitting it even to herself." Pete Harcoff of Anime Critic described Asuka as providing much of the comic relief, while also being an "annoying snot". IGN ranked her as the 13th greatest anime character of all time, saying that "On the surface, she's a simple character. ... But as the series progresses we see that her pride is a cover for deeper emotions and deep, deep psychological problems." Japanese critic Manabu Tsuribe considers that End of Evangelion was concluded by Shinji finding "an other" in her. For Hiroki Azuma, Asuka was the "symbol of the outside" in the world of Evangelion, taking Shinji away from his comfort zone in the "Nerv family", in contrast to Rei, who'd play an "imaginary healing" role, Asuka would be an independent person in reality. Japanese band speena wrote a song about their relationship, "ジレンマ" (Dillema), on her having a love/hate relationship with him despite her feelings.

Asuka was initially less successful and popular than Rei, however over time Rei's popularity gave in to Asuka's, particularly with the release of Evangelion 3.0. She is consistently ranked the most popular character in merchandising sales. Asuka is also credited as being highly influential in establishing the tsundere archetype in subsequent anime.

Manga Adaptation
Apart from having a different shade of hair color (more of a strawberry blonde), Asuka's personality and origins are vastly different from those seen in the anime. In the manga she is a test-tube baby, proud of being "The product of an elite sperm and an elite egg". She is also trained in the martial arts, and single-handedly beats up a group of thugs who threaten her and Shinji. Her family situation is also different- the issue of her father, Langley, is never brought up, but as in the anime, she does want her mother's attention and love. She was actually throttled by her dysfunctional mother, and later "reenacts" this with Shinji when hospitalized.

Unlike the anime, where Shinji develops romantic feelings for her very quickly, Sadamoto's Shinji thinks of Asuka as "a real bitch", and his relationship with her is one of with a disagreeable coworker but gradually evolves into something of a friend, with romantic feelings hinted toward the end. Similar to the anime, when they first meet in the manga, Shinji calls her "Soryu", and later "Asuka", her first name implying a greater degree of intimacy. However, after Kaworu's death, Shinji comes to visit Asuka in the hospital, similar to The End of Evangelion. He confesses his need for Asuka, saying, "The Asuka I want to protect isn't this empty shell!" She wakes up from her sedated state after this, and begins to choke Shinji, screaming about how she "hates everyone."

In Rebuild of Evangelion
Rebuildcontentstart Asuka's counterpart in Rebuild of Evangelion is Asuka Shikinami Langley, whose character develops in a markedly different manner from the original Asuka, aside from the change in name. Rebuildcontentend