- "Unit-01" redirects here. For the Unit-01 of the Rebuild continuity, see Evangelion Unit-01 (Rebuild).
- This article has a collection of images to further represent its content. To see its gallery, visit Evangelion Unit-01/Gallery.
Evangelion Unit-01 (初号機, Shogōki?) is the first non-prototype Evangelion unit, and is referred to as the "Test Type". It houses the soul of Shinji's mother, Yui Ikari. It is the only EVA to be born from Lilith. Following its going berserker and eating of Zeruel's S² Engine, it was the only Evangelion able to go without an umbilical cable until the construction of the Mass Production Evangelions.
Overview
Created in the Third Annex of Gehirn's Artificial Evolution Laboratory in Hakone from 2003 to 2004 and deemed a functional Eva unit in 2014, Unit-01 is piloted by Shinji Ikari (with Rei Ayanami or a Rei dummy plug as backup pilots) and has the best battle record of all the Evangelions. It frequently acts independently (the "Berserk Mode"), without the instructions of a pilot and without any apparent power source. Unit-01 will also take action to protect its pilot while sometimes servicing other interests. The Eva's resident soul, Yui Ikari (Shinji's mother), appears to be responsible for such events. Unit-01 is called the "Test Type", perhaps because of the experimental way in which it was created: although Unit-01 seems to be an Adam-derived cybernetic organism like all other Evangelions, it is the sole Eva to have been born from Lilith.
.png){kind=link}
Evangelion Unit-01's hand exposed
Upon savagely disfiguring the fourteenth Angel, Zeruel, it proceeded to devour the Angel and assimilated its S² Engine, making Unit-01 the first physically complete Evangelion prior to the construction of the Mass Production units. The S² Engine seems to be used only at Unit-01's discretion; after acquiring it, the Eva is still sent into battle with an umbilical cable. Just before Unit-01 absorbed the S² Engine, it used one of Zeruel's arms to regenerate its severed left arm, demonstrating the Angelic ability of regeneration. The Mass Production models were also equipped with NERV-developed S² Engines but it is a common misconception that they also have the ability to regenerate (see entry below).
Unit-01's armor is primarily purple; some components are colored neon green, periwinkle blue, orange, and black. The helmet, with its prominent horn and "frill", is vaguely evocative of a ceratopsid dinosaur. The pectoral plates are different from those seen on any other Eva. The humanoid entity beneath the armor has light brown skin, two emerald-green eyes, four small nostrils positioned preorbitally, and red blood.
As a result of Third Impact, at the conclusion of The End of Evangelion, Unit-01 is left floating adrift in space, fossilized and still containing the soul of Yui Ikari, where it will outlast the sun and moon, as an eternal testament that the human race existed.
Neon Genesis Evangelion -ANIMA-
Eva-01 Type-F fighting against the Mass Production Evas
In the ANIMA continuity, during the Mass Production Evangelions' attack on the NERV Headquarters, the Evangelion Unit-01 sortied in battle equipped with the F-Type Equipment. However, the unexpected attack of the EVA0.0 (Quatre) critically damaged the unit to the point where Shinji was transformed into LCL and Yui had to pass on the full control over the unit to him, thus making him become one with Unit-01. This lead to the self-regeneration and the evolution of the Evangelion. The Unit-01 later sortied to confront the Angel Carrier as the new Super Evangelion.
Petit@Eva
In Petit Eva: Evangelion@School, Eva Unit-01 is shown as a human-sized robot and attends Nerv Academy along with Shinji, Asuka and the Rei sisters. Here, he is depicted as a banchō who likes to train. As seen in the first episode, he eats batteries. Another episode shows he has his own training area underneath the school.
Trivia
- The howl of the Unit-01 is actually the voice of Megumi Hayashibara, Yui Ikari's seiyū, pitched-down.