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Evangelion Unit-00 (零号機, Zerogōki?) is the first functional Evangelion unit created, serving as the prototype for the rest of the Eva series. Although never confirmed, the soul housed in Unit-00 is implied to belong to Rei I.
It was damaged during the battle with the fifth Angel, Ramiel, and later repaired to look and function more like a production model. It was destroyed during the battle with the sixteenth Angel, Armisael, when Rei activated Unit-00's self-destruct.
Overview
Unit-00 is the Prototype, the first successful Evangelion, and is piloted by the First Child, Rei Ayanami. The head design is similar to that of the previous failed attempts, but with only one eye. There are two domes on the top of the head, one white and one transparent green; their function (if any) is never revealed. Unit-00 is the only one of the original Evas that is never seen without its armor (Unit-02 was revealed in The End of Evangelion, and Unit-01 on multiple occasions) or opening its mouth; thus the appearance of its organic body is unknown.
Unit-00 was initially colored orange like the previous prototypes, but its armor was damaged beyond repair by the Angel Ramiel's particle beam. The subsequent repairs and upgrades included blue armor plating in addition to other alterations made in order to make it more suitable for combat conditions (it retains parts of the orange armor in the manga).
The upgrades to Unit-00's armor make it look more like the subsequent Evas, but there are still several differences or actual limitations. Shoulder pylons are added to the Unit's armor; though similar in appearance to the ones on Units 01 and 02, they are used to hold retro-rockets, as seen in the fight with the ninth Angel, Matarael. Because it is only the prototype, Unit-00 cannot be fitted with D-Type Equipment. The true nature of the soul inside Unit-00 is never specified, but it is implied to be directly connected to Rei in some fashion. Unit-00 was self-destructed by Rei in order to destroy the sixteenth Angel, Armisael.
Rebuild of Evangelion
In the Rebuild of Evangelion series, Unit-00 sports more white and gray, in the films, Unit-00 doesn't change its color and instead it remains yellow in color with the exception of gaining shoulder plates which may have the same purpose to that of Unit-01, Rei remains as the sole pilot of the EVA and in Evangelion: 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance the unit's demise comes even earlier to that of the original series. It should be noted that since EVA Mark.06 has dark blue coloration it may be the reason why developers chose to keep Unit-00's color as yellow.
In Evangelion: 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance，Zeruel consumed Unit-00 after Rei's Kamikaze attack, and transforms into a gigantic, pale-skinned female humanoid with its misshapen skull-mask trailing long black tendrils resembling hair (at least as long as the new Zeruel is tall) for a head. Shinji rescues Rei and lets her live in Unit-01. What happened to Unit-00 remains unknown after the battle.
Unit-00 does not appear in Evangelion 3.0: You Can (Not) Redo, however, it is briefly mentioned by Shinji when Evangelion Mark.09 attacks the AAA Wunder.
Neon Genesis Evangelion -ANIMA-
The Eva-00 Type-F as it appears in Evangelion -ANIMA-
In the ANIMA continuity, after the self-destruction of the unit during the battle against Armisael, its core was preserved and stored in Central Dogma. It was rebuilt using leftover parts from the original Unit-00 and F-Type parts and then repurposed as a specialized sniper unit : the Evangelion Unit-00 Type-F. Its right arm is replaced with the "Angel's Spine", a cannon which is able to shoot an A.T. Field to penetrate the opponent's own A.T. Field. The right leg is also replaced with a special pump-action prothesis, helping the unit to stabilize itself when it shoots.
Trivia
- "Zerogōki" does not follow the naming system used for the succeeding Evas. Under that system Unit-00 would have been enunciated as "Reigōki" in the series, giving both mecha and pilot (Rei Ayanami) practically the same name.