Mr. Langley (ラングレー, Rangurē?) is a fictional character from the Neon Genesis Evangelion franchise. He is Asuka Langley Sohryu's father.
Personality[]
Langley, first name unknown, is a Caucasian American, considering Asuka is a quarter-Japanese, quarter-German (as Kyoko Zeppelin Sohryu, Asuka's mother, is half-German, half-Japanese) and has American citizenship.[1] Nonetheless, Asuka talks with her stepmother on the phone in German,[2] and is mentioned to have come from Germany before reaching Tokyo-3, so despite Kaji acting as her guardian, Langley likely speaks German and lives there. He is only seen for a brief moment in a flashback holding a child Asuka. He apparently has medium-length blond hair, as does Asuka's grandmother (uncertain from which side of the family), whom also appears in a flashback. Langley's infidelity seems to have driven a wedge between him and his daughter.
Though her stepmother did attempt to get close to Asuka, she was turned away by Asuka's defense mechanisms. It is ambiguous however how Langley feels towards Asuka, as he laments that Kyoko had abandoned Asuka even before, though later on he is oblivious or even indifferent to her. His later attempts to rekindle with Asuka are rebuffed. It's likely that, like his second wife, Langley did love his daughter but was gradually pushed away as she took on her self-imposed isolation. The reasoning for Asuka to have a guardian in Misato and later Kaji are never made explicit.
History[]
Neon Genesis Evangelion[]
Asuka's unidentified grandmother at Kyoko's funeral.
In or slightly before 2005,[3] Asuka watches her mentally sick mother Kyoko talking with the doll she thinks is Asuka herself. Kyoko says Langley doesn't want her anymore, and even that he hates her and has never loved her in the first place. Though Kyoko's state of mind makes her less than trustworthy, Asuka also overhears Langley talking with Kyoko's doctor.[4] He discusses the situation with her. The doctor laments Asuka's fate with Kyoko abandoning her. Langley notes Kyoko had already been absorbed in her research and had little time for their daughter, speculating Kyoko felt guilty over Asuka and was attempting to compensate. They discuss humans and dolls being similar, until the doctor points out she's also a human, and a woman. Langley and the doctor start having sex while Asuka sadly overhears.
Some time later, Langley talks with Asuka whom angrily tears apart a new monkey doll the doctor, now Asuka's stepmother, gave her as a gift. Though this is juxtaposed with the current Asuka, she replies she is no longer a child and will live by herself. Later still, she overhears them talking about Asuka and the difficulty her stepmother has had with approaching her due to her acting so independent, mature, and closed-off. She mentions it makes her uneasy and asks if Langley feels the same way, but he denies it and expresses some surprise at her uneasiness. Asuka's stepmother remarks she only became her mother due to marrying him, and though she could stop being her mother, Langley will always be her father. He agrees with forbearance.
In Other Media[]
Neon Genesis Evangelion manga[]
Mr. Langley's new wife, and their daughter, Asuka's adoptive mother and sister in the manga
In Neon Genesis Evangelion manga, Kyoko and her husband (not named as Langley) were unable to conceive, and divorced after having an affair. In the manga, he re-married and had a daughter, while Kyoko visited a sperm bank and was impregnated by an anonymous "elite donor". Kyoko tried to poison Asuka against her ex-husband's daughter, referring to her as "that girl",[5] but after the contact experiment this dissociation was transferred to Asuka's doll. At one point, Kyoko tried to strangle Asuka. In the manga, the funeral attendees imply clearly that the affair had been the ultimate motivation for her suicide, unlike in the original anime series. They later adopt Asuka, as Mr. Langley has no blood relations to Asuka in the manga.
Neon Genesis Evangelion: Angelic Days[]
Unlike with other continuities, it seems Langley is still married with Kyoko and has a good relationship with their daughter. He is only briefly mentioned as having a "similar job" to Ryoji Kaji.
Voice Actors[]
- Japanese: Toshihiko Seki
- English: John Tyson
- French:
- Italian:
- Portuguese (Brazil): Sérgio Corsetti, Cassiano Ávila (Netflix)
- Russian:
- Spanish (Spain):
- Spanish (Latin America): Rafael Rivera
- Catalan:
- German: Robert Glatzeder (Netflix)
- Hindi:
- Korean:
- Chinese (Simplified):
- Chinese (Traditional):
Trivia[]
- Like Asuka, his name comes from the USS LangleyWP, the US Navy's first aircraft carrier.[6]
References[]
- ↑ Death & Rebirth theatrical booklet
- ↑ Platinum Booklets - Episode Commentaries 21-26
- ↑ Death & Rebirth theatrical booklet - Timeline
- ↑ In a description of the flashback scene from the beginning of 22, the S² Works booklet designates the lady doctor as Langley's "mistress" ("aijin").
- ↑ Volume 9 of the manga features two characters that bear a strong visual similarity to Mari Makinami from the manga's bonus chapter, leading many fans to assume one of them was the same character as Mari Makinami Illustrious from the Rebuild of Evangelion films or somehow had links to her, with another theory being that Mari was Asuka's adoptive sister, impossible as the manga's Mari was already 16 years old in 1998, whereas Asuka's adoptive sister is still a child in 2005. Additionally, this chapter was written before the launch of even Evangelion: 1.0 You Are (Not) Alone, many years before Mari was so much as conceptualized, and her later appearance in the bonus chapter almost ten years later was denied as being purely fanservice, as Sadamoto had no involvement with Mari's character besides her design, said he "couldn't use her in the manga", and has repeatedly denied links between the manga and the Rebuild movies. Thus, Asuka's adoptive mother and sister in the manga are entirely different characters, and not Mari.
- ↑ Character Name Origins