WILLE


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WILLE (ヴィレ) (German for volition or 'the' will) is a new organization appearing in Evangelion: 3.0 You Can (Not) Redo, which serves as an opposing force to NERV and is dedicated to prevent future impacts.

Profile
Founded after a civil war within NERV a few months after Near Third Impact, WILLE was founded for the sole purpose of destroying NERV.

Based on the circumstances of the organizations creation, the WILLE is somewhat of a rookie team. Despite having Aoba, Hyuga, Maya, Ritsuko and Asuka as former members in their ranks, the rest of the team complains about Misato's choices as a leader and about the protocols and duties of each member. The bridge crew is extremely unsure of Misato's and their own abilities prior to the battle with the Nemesis Series, but after their victory, they seem somewhat more confident. It appears that Kaji Ryoji is connected to WILLE in some manner, as a bridge crew member references his description of Misato's reckless strategies.

It is stated by Ritsuko that the fleet is not properly equipped and has very little resources and supplies at the very beginning of the movie. Ritsuko also mentioned that WILLE had little understanding of AAA Wunder's capabilities as of yet. WILLE is made up of ex-NERV staff, remnants of the UN Government and Military Forces, civilian personnel and others.

Concerns on how WILLE acquired the AAA Wunder arise after the original designation for the Wunder, the NHG Buβe, is revealed. One theory suggests that the Wunder is salvaged from NERV during the 14-year timeskip, and NERV originally has four NHG airships. These may explain the similar appearance but different paintjob of the Wunder as other NHG series airships and WILLE's little understanding of the Wunder.

Founding and NERV Civil War
While not much is known about the founding of WILLE, it's clear that at some point after Near Third Impact, several NERV employees including Ryoji Kaji, Misato Katsuragi and Ritsuko Akagi began to plan a revolt against NERV and Gendo Ikari's plans for human instrumentality. Considering Kaji had been investigating various parts of NERV's operations, Kaji learning the truth about what Gendo and SEELE planned for humanity was likely the inciting action leading to the formation of WILLE. After its inception, WILLE spent some time preparing for their breakaway from NERV, ultimately culminating in a civil war between the NERV and WILLE factions during the early stages of Third Impact. During this battle, WILLE separatists indicated their allegiances by wearing blue bandanas and marking their vehicles with blue paint. During this battle, Kaji sacrificed himself to reduce the effects of the impact giving WILLE a fighting chance to stand up to NERV in the future.

As a result of the war, WILLE forces left the GeoFront taking with them the NHG Buβe, now renamed into the AAA Wunder, to serve as their base of operations with Evangelion Unit-02, and possibly Evangelion Unit-08 to serve as their main fighting force along with various other equipment, data and resources.

Operation US
Some time after the civil war and third impact, Operation US took place with the objective of recovering the sealed remains of Evangelion Unit-01 from Earth's orbit. Using what were referred to as "Pods", Evangelion Unit-02'β and Evangelion Unit-08α launched into space to facilitate the recovery.

Upon arriving at the target destination, its clear the target was not left undefended as one of NERV's Nemesis series Evangelion, the Evangelion Mark.04A begin to attack Unit-02. Working together, Unit-02 and Unit-08 destroyed the NERV Evangelion, however their battle shifted their orbits causing both units to fall back to Earth. With no other options, Unit-08 disengaged and descended to Earth. In a final attempt correct its orbit and recover Unit-01, Unit-02 used its grappling arm to grab and pull itself towards the target. Just as Unit-02 got a hold of the target, the Nemesis series Evangelion Mark.04B awoke and began to attack. With no ability to fight back and its support currently reentering the atmosphere, seemingly all hope was lost until Unit-01 reactivated, vaporizing the Nemesis series Evangelion with a beam of light cast from its eye before entering its state of slumber once more.

With no obstructions in the way, Unit-02 began its orbital reentry with Unit-01 with both eventually being recovered by WILLE at some unknown location on Earth.

Evangelion Pilots

 * Asuka Shikinami Langley -Pilot of Unit-02 and variants
 * Mari Makinami Illustrious - Pilot of Unit-08 and variants

Senior Officers

 * Misato Katsuragi - Commander
 * Ritsuko Akagi - Deputy Commander

Crew Members

 * Shigeru Aoba
 * Makoto Hyuga
 * Maya Ibuki
 * Koji Takao
 * Sumire Nagara
 * Hideki Tama
 * Midori Kitakami
 * Sakura Suzuhara

Evangelion Units

 * Evangelion Unit-02'β - Upgraded into Unit-02'y
 * Evangelion Unit-02'γ - Reconstructed into New Unit-02α
 * New Unit-02α (JA-02 Body Assemlby Cannibalized) - Destroyed by Evangelion 13
 * Evangelion Unit-08α|Evangelion Unit-08α - Upgraded into Unit-08β
 * Evangelion Unit-08β & 08β-ICC - Outfitted with ICC equipment before being upgraded into Unit-08y
 * Evangelion Unit-08γ IRUL Spec.

Evangelion Equipment

 * POD Booster - Used with Unit-02'β and Unit-08α during Operation US

Vechicles

 * Autonomous Assault Ark Wunder - Destroyed during formation of Spear of Gaius
 * Nekozame-class Orbital Assault Craft
 * DCLV Eagle (Deep-diving Core-ized environment resilient Landing Vehicle)

Munitions

 * N2 Bomb-loaded Converted Warship-tipped Space-to-space Guided Munition
 * Anti-AT Field Rounds

Other Combat Equipment

 * Launched Improved EVA-08γ Protection Specialized Custom Refitted Dedicated Defensive Warship
 * Launched New EVA-02α Protection Specialized Custom Reffited Dedicated Defensive Warship
 * Thermal and EM Protection Specialized Point-Defense Type Custom Refitted Dedicated Defensive Warship

Non-Combat Equipment

 * Angel-Sealing Hex Pillar
 * Life-form Seed Preservation Capsule - Launched into space
 * Shutdown Override Signal Plug - Destroyed by Evangelion 13

Etymology
"WILLE" is German for "will", "desire", or "intention." This makes it a philosophical counterpart to NERV, as nerves carry physical impulses that control muscles and sensation, while "will" is an abstract concept of higher brain functions.

In the Works of the philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer (who coined the "Hedgehog's Dilemma"), there is also the term "Wille zum Leben" (will to live) which is stated to control all behavior of a human being. (Schopenhauers main work is also called "Die Welt als Wille und Vorstellung", roughly translated as "The World as will and representation") The Philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche developed Schopenhauers concept into the concept of the "Wille zur Macht". ("will to power")(According to Nietzsche, the process of self sustaining of a living creature is no independent will, but a sign of the "Will to Power") There is also the Leni Riefenstahl movie "Triumph des Willens", whose title alludes to these philosophical concepts.

Trivia

 * The uniform and body armor of the armed escort that followed shinji in the opening of 3.0 closely resembles the special forces personnel of the JSSDF that attacked NERV in EoE.

WILLE


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Rebuild of Evangelion
WILLE