Evangelion Imaginary

Evangelion Imaginary (エヴァンゲリオン・イマジナリー) is an entity appearing in the Rebuild of Evangelion movie series. It first appears in the Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon A Time movie, and is central to the conclusion of the story.

Profile
It is described by Gendo Ikari to be an Evangelion that is "imaginary and fictional, and does not exist in our world. Only humanity, who can believe equally in both fantasy and reality can perceive this EVA." It exists only in the Minus Space, the world of "the Gods" where the Golgotha Object also resides.

While its true appearance is unknown, the Evangelion Imaginary appears to Shinji Ikari as a "Black Lilith", also crucified, as its appearance is based on his memories of seeing the real Second Angel Lilith.

After absorbing the Spears of Longinus and Cassius, it takes on the form of a gigantic Rei, similar to the one seen in the End of Evangelion. This Rei form has detached body parts that can move separately - the head and hands are not directly connected to its torso, and the hands have some capacity to protect the head.

Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon A Time
After their battle in the Minus Space at the site of Second Impact, Gendo shows Shinji Evangelion Imaginary. Gendo explains the nature of the being, then witnesses it absorb the Spears of Cassius and Longinus, causing it to turn into a giant white Rei/Lilith and descend from the cross. This is the beginning of Additional Impact, where Evangelion Imaginary will re-create reality, and Gendo says that this is the only way to fulfill his wish.

After rising from the depths it sends out a giant wave which transforms the Failures of Infinity into headless, white humanoids, who begin converging in giant groups similar to the "souls" in End of Evangelion. While Misato is preparing the AAA Wunder and the Spear of Gaius for an attack, Mari, in EVA-08+09+10+11+12, observes wings erupting from the giant headless body.

Trivia

 * The "Imaginary" designation, taken with the Minus Space or anti-universe concept in the film, probably refers to the mathematical concept of imaginary numbers, expressed with the letter "i" or as the square root of -1 This set of "complex numbers" is used often in physics, including electromagnetism and quantum physics.

Evangelion Imaginary