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Ritsuko Akagi (赤木リツコ, Akagi Ritsuko?) is a fictional character from Rebuild of Evangelion film series. She is NERV's head scientist and is heavily involved in the repairs and maintenance of the Evangelions.
Profile[]
Ritsuko is a woman with short dyed blonde hair. Under her green eyes, which she occasionally uses glasses, she has a mole near her left eye. She wears her white coat when working. She wears pink diamond earrings as well as a red lipstick. Under her blouse, which she usually keeps open, she wears a blue shirt with a triangle indicating her rank in NERV. She wears a pencil skirt with black pantyhose.
After 14 years, Ritsuko's appearance has changed. Now she has very short hair, her face is also older. Her diamond-shaped earrings are changed to rectangular ones. She wears a sleeveless black turtleneck with a brown belt over it. She wears a long brown skirt over black pantyhose and long brown boots. In her hands she wears fingerless brown gloves and when needed, she wears a long green coat with a blue armband over it.
History[]
Evangelion: 1.0 You Are (Not) Alone[]
In Evangelion: 1.0 You Are (Not) Alone, Ritsuko Akagi is the head of the scientific department of NERV. The first activation test is done on Evangelion Unit-00 piloted by Rei Ayanami in the presence of Ritsuko and Gendo Ikari. At first the test seems satisfactory, but the Unit-00 quickly went berserk and tries to attack people in the observation room. The technicians manage to stop the Unit-00 but at the cost of severe injuries for Rei when the entry plug is ejected and falls in the ground.
When the Fourth Angel arrives. It was also on the same day that Shinji arrived at NERV at his father's request to pilot Evangelion Unit-01. She meets Shinji when he is lost in NERV Headquarters with Misato Katsuragi. The scientist leads them to Unit-01's cage. She introduces him to Unit-01 and the task he has to accomplish. Faced with Shinji's refusal to pilot, she orders the preparation of the Unit-01 for Rei. Ritsuko then witnesses an event she thought was impossible: Unit-01 moved on its own to protect Shinji from falling debris. A few moments later, the boy agrees to pilot and Ritsuko organizes the exit and the connection of the pilot to Evangelion. Everything goes smoothly and Unit-01 is sent to face Fourth Angel. Despite Ritsuko's instructions to Shinji on piloting the robot, the boy is quickly beaten by the Angel and the Unit-01 no longer shows signs of life. However, Unit-01 reactivates and Ritsuko quickly realizes that it is entering Berserk Mode. The fight is easily won in front of the astonished eyes of the members of the NERV.
Over the next few days, Ritsuko instructed Shinji in more in-depth piloting of the Evangelion. She teaches him the different functions and piloting mode as well as the refueling points, entry and exit present everywhere in Tokyo-3. Ritsuko is still in charge of Rei Ayanami. Regularly, she makes medical visits to check the condition of the pilot. She also performs scans of her anatomical structure. Besides her professional duties, she continues to have a friendly relationship with Misato. She sometimes dines at home or ends up in bars for a drink in the evening.
Evangelion: 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance[]
In Evangelion: 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance Ritsuko reunites with Ryoji Kaji. Together with Misato Katsuragi, she thus reformed the group of friends of their college days. Even though Ritsuko supports her friend Misato, especially during her promotion, at times she doubts her methods. The first tensions appear during the arrival of the Eighth Angel. Misato's plan to defeat him and halt his fall thanks to the Evangelions by determining the point of impact, a strategy with a 0.000001% chance of success according to Magi. Ritsuko gets angry at Misato's stubbornness.
In the following days, when Evangelion Unit-04 vanishes in the United States, destroying the NERV complex where it was located. The US requests that Evangelion Unit-03 be transferred to Japan to prevent any further incident. In accordance with the Vatican Treaty, NERV decides to suspend Unit-02 and chooses Rei as the pilot of Unit-03. Finally, Asuka decides to take her place. During the medical visit, Ritsuko helps Rei by lending her cellphone to call Asuka to thank her. Ritsuko is very content with Rei. She takes care of her injuries she gets while cooking in the kitchen. Ritsuko goes to the Unit-03 activation test as Chief Scientist, accompanied by Misato. Unfortunately, things did not go as planned since the Unit-03 was contaminated by the Ninth Angel during the travel between the two countries. The angel takes control of Unit-03 and causes an explosion at the test site, injuring Ritsuko in the head and Misato.
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Ritsuko and Misato surprised after Unit-01 got impaled
She wakes up a few hours later and notices the results of the mission to destroy Unit-03 by Unit-01 piloted by the Dummy System and not by Shinji who refuses to attack another Evangelion with a friend, even contaminated. The next day, he was expelled out of NERV for insubordination, forcing Ritsuko to reprogram Unit-01 to accommodate the Dummy Plug and to be piloted by Rei Ayanami. But, when the Tenth Angel arrives the same day, Unit-01 refuses to synchronize with the Dummy System. The enemy manages to reach the GeoFront and disable the Evangelion Unit-02. Rei, aboard Evangelion Unit-00', attempts a suicide attack that fails, allowing the Angel to assimilates the body of the Unit-00' and Rei. It enters the headquarters by piercing the defeensive walls. Fortunately, Shinji returns to pilot Unit-01 and is able to brings out the Angel outside. But Unit-01 is reaching the time limit. It is then that she reactivates herself and manages to defeat the Angel. The turn of events causes Unit-01 to transcend its form, initiating the Near Third Impact. Ritsuko, and the other members of NERV, witness the awakening. That's when the Evangelion Mark.06 arrives , piloted by Kaworu Nagisa, which stops the event.
Evangelion 3.0: You Can (Not) Redo[]
In Evangelion 3.0: You Can (Not) Redo, she is part of WILLE, and has a similar role to Fuyutsuki's (deputy commander), remaining in the shadow of Captain Katsuragi. Her hair is trimmed. She is also matured compared to previous movies. Although Ritsuko's tone and attitude towards Shinji is quite calm, detailingly explaining the reason why he is brought to WILLE, and returning Shinji's SDAT Player, she still contains hatred towards the latter, under the influence of Misato: she urges Misato to activate the DSS Choker to kill Shinji after the intervention of Evangelion Mark.09.
Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon A Time[]
Voice Actors[]
- Japanese: Yuriko Yamaguchi
- English: Colleen ClinkenbeardWP, Mary FaberWP (Amazon)
- French: Pascale Chemin, Olivia Dutron
- Italian: Liliana Sorrentino
- Portuguese (Brazil): Silvia Suzy Pereira
- Russian: Veronica Raitsiz (Reanimedia)
- Spanish (Spain): Maria Rosa Guillén
- Spanish (Latin America): Maru Guerrero (ZIMA), Noelia Socolovsky (Amazon)
- Catalan:
- German: Peggy Sander
- Hindi:
- Korean:
- Chinese (Taiwan):
Trivia[]
- Ritsuko's surname "Akagi" comes from the Japanese aircraft carrier AkagiWP, while her first name was borrowed from a childhood friend of series creator Hideaki Anno.[1]
References[]
- ↑ Evangelion character names; Translation of essay by Hideaki Anno about character name origins; includes a link to the original essay in Japanese.