Neon Genesis Evangelion Proposal

The Neon Genesis Evangelion Proposal (新世紀エヴァンゲリオン企画書, Shin Seiki Evangerion Kikakusho) is a 35-page, full-color document created in 1993, 2 years before the show's TV airing, for promotional purposes. It is essentially a prototype for the series, complete with production illustrations; notes on theme and story; write-ups on characters, mecha, and setting; and short summaries for the planned twenty-six episodes.

33 of its pages are printed, as 6 cm x 8.5 cm thumbnails, in Neon Genesis Evangelion Newtype 100% Collection (with 33 and 34 omitted, and page 35 labeled as 33). All 35 are reprinted full-size in Evangelion Chronicle, as 35 separate pages, each with supplemental commentary on its opposite side.

Differences
Numerous changes would be made between the Proposal and the final version of the show. An incomplete listing follows:

Characters

 * Gendo has the title of "Professor" (kyouju), in addition to his rank as supreme commander of NERV.
 * Kensuke does not appear with glasses.
 * Fuyutsuki is 45 years old -- Gendo's junior rather than senior.
 * The council chairman is "Konrad Lorenz", rather than "Keel Lorenz". ("Konrad Lorenz" is actually, letter-for-letter, the name of a famous Austrian biologist.) His age is given as 67, whereas Keel's official age is "unknown".
 * No name is provided for the "hot springs penguin". The bird does, however, have an age (2 years) and a vestigial back-story involving bioengineered origins—neither provided in the anime canon, but the latter utilized in Sadamoto's manga.
 * The three NERV operators (Maya Ibuki, Makoto Hyuga, and Shigeru Aoba) are not present.

Evangelions

 * The Evangelions are recognizable, although the design work is still undergoing. Some of the armor layouts presented are very close to those seen in the final show. The Evas are more solidly-built than their anime counterparts.
 * Three design variations are presented for Unit-01: the "ceratopsian" (horn and "frill") look present in the final show; something resembling a prototype Unit-03 with the left "cheek" extending into a flattened, horizontally-oriented blade; and a version with two long horns projecting from above the eyes like twin feather crests.
 * Unit-01 is most commonly depicted in white armor. The trademark purple color scheme is nowhere to be seen.
 * Unit-00 is depicted in blue with shoulder pylons only. The actual head design is essentially that seen in the final show.
 * The only presented design for Unit-02 is entirely red and two-horned and and has nothing in common with the final save the basic color.
 * Unique Unit-05 and Unit-06 models are present, rather than a mass production Eva series.
 * The Evas' height is given as 40 meters. This is in contrast to the final figure, which has the Evas fluctuating between 40 and 200 meters depending on their surroundings.
 * Limitless power is obtained through a "positron engine" rather than the S² Engine.

Apostolos

 * Entities called shito (使徒) are present, but the "alternate version" of this is "Apostolo" (アポストロ) rather than "Angel". This is a much more literal approach, considering shito is the Japanese word reserved for the Biblical apostles. However, as in the final show, the Proposal's shito are all named after angels, not apostles.
 * There are twenty-eight Apostolos total.
 * Adam was excavated in the Dead Sea region (subsequently vaporized via Second Impact), not Antarctica. Adam is also explicitly referred to as "he". (The final show seems to contradict this by having Kaworu refer to Adam in maternal terms.)
 * A metallic Apostolo called Raziel attacks in Episode 01 rather than Sachiel.
 * Sachiel is present, although Yoshitoh Asari's final design bears scant resemblance to it, save for adherence to an "amphibious humanoid" motif.
 * Ramiel looks the same, except there is a "cut-out" triangle levitating above each of its eight faces.
 * The Sahaquiel of Proposal is completely different design-wise: essentially two super-destructive ribbons (a la Zeruel's arms) attached on either side of a disembodied Core.
 * A human-shaped Apostolo, the prototype of Kaworu Nagisa, appears earlier in the chronology. He is also accompanied by a pet cat (a detail Sadamoto apparently makes ironic reference to in his manga).
 * Arael's appearance is minimally different.
 * Designs are disclosed for the unused Shateiel and Turel.
 * The final Apostolo conflict involves the "twelve strongest", which descend from the Moon and (apparently) vaporize North America.
 * Cores seem to be variously depicted as red and blue.

Miscellany

 * The organizations SEELE and Gehirn are absent. (SEELE would not be created until sometime into the show's actual production.)
 * The Artificial Evolution Laboratory is a contemporary establishment, not something restricted to the backstory.
 * The First Ancestral Race are said to be prehistoric (possibly Terran?) lifeforms responsible for Adam and the Apostolos.
 * The ending involves "the ancient ruins of Arka"—a popular target of fan speculation.