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Evangelion
This article has a collection of images to further represent its content. To see its gallery, visit SEELE (Rebuild)/Gallery.

This article is about the organization from the Rebuild of Evangelion film series. For the organization from Neon Genesis Evangelion TV series, see SEELE.

SEELE (ゼーレ?) was a mysterious group of beings shown in Rebuild of Evangelion film series to have significant influence over NERV.

Profile[]

SEELE's goal was to start the Human Intrumentality Project via an "impact" event. The project was meant to exterminate all life on Earth and replace it with lifeforms born with the "fruit of life". The Near Third Impact would have been Gendo Ikari's scenario of the project if it had succeeded, while the Fourth Impact was SEELE's scenario. SEELE's original plan was to resurrect Lilith, but that clearly failed. SEELE's back up plan also failed as Evangelion 13 was deactivated.

SEELE is shown to have major control of NERV and funds its operations. However, unlike the original anime they seem to have considerably less direct control over the ensuing events.

Operational History[]

Pre Near Third Impact[]

Almost nothing is known about the founding and early history of SEELE and its members, it's not even clear how old SEELE actually is and if their members are or were ever human to begin with. Despite the lack of information, it is clear that the main goal of SEELE is and likely always was to achieve human instrumentality as depicted by the Dead Sea Scrolls.

It's also likely that during this time, SEELE undertook various large and influential projects, including the establishment of NERV through the United Nations and the construction of various tools needed to realize their goals.

Post Near Third Impact[]

Following near third impact, SEELE became far more active and hands on with their oversight of NERV, ousting Gendo and Fuyutsuki as commander and deputy commander and replacing them with Kaworu Nagisa and Ryoji Kaji, two men under their influence whom they had control over. For an unspecified amount of time, Kaworu and Kaji lead NERV under the supervision of SEELE, however their reign wouldn't last long as Gendo and Fuyutski would regain their control of NERV. It's unclear whether they regained control of NERV before or after third impact or how they managed to do it.

At some point following the Near Third Impact, likely after Gendo and Fuyutski regained control of NERV, SEELE fell silent. Gendo explained to Kōzō Fuyutsuki that the Human Intrumentality Project would be enacted in accordance with the Dead Sea Scrolls, so there was no need for SEELE to speak. Presumably, SEELE was certain that with the failure of the Third Impact, the planned Fourth Impact would inevitably follow their designs and achieve their desired outcome, and therefore they had no need to relay further instructions.

Fourth Impact[]

Seeleshutdown

Each member of SEELE being deactivated during Fourth Impact.

As the Fourth Impact began, Fuyutsuki deactivated the SEELE monoliths one by one, killing them, while Gendo bade them farewell. Gendo reveals that SEELE were lifeforms (whether human or otherwise is not specified) gifted with the "fruit of knowledge" who altered the "shape" of their souls to be able to live indefinitely. SEELE apparently assisted human evolution through the ages by granting humans the gift of civilization. Gendo described shutting SEELE down as an act of respect and gratitude for SEELE's aid because their souls were being returned to their rightful place. SEELE 01, the last to be shut down, broke its silence and told Gendo that their wish for mankind had already come to pass, and expressed its final hope that the instrumentality of humanity would occur, along with the "peaceful purification of souls". Despite the certainty that their scenario would come to pass, the Fourth Impact was halted soon after SEELE is shut down.

As they were deactivated, the usually opaque black SEELE monoliths turned white and translucent. Each monolith revealed an anatomical diagram of a brain inside it, which flashed and faded as they were shut down.

Known Members[]

Senior Officers[]

Trivia[]

  • In the Rebuild of Evangelion film series, on the backs of the SEELE monoliths appears the symbol of the one-eyed pyramid (a symbol of providence, commonly taken as a symbol for the IlluminatiWP) surrounded by three checkered squares (a masonicWP symbol). Both of these groups are real-life secret societiesWP with supposedly great political power and influence over the world. This was likely added to make SEELE seem more similar to real world secret societies. Conspiracy theorists say that the Illuminati agenda is to unite the world under one government - a goal very similar to SEELE's. Media carrying Illuminati symbolism are considered by conspiracy theorists to be indicative of plans for world domination.
  • The logo was changed for the Rebuild of Evangelion film series to that of a snake curled around an apple in between the seven eyes. On the apple the name SEELE is written, and beneath this the motto "Überm Sternenzelt richtet Gott, wie wir gerichtet", a quote from the poem "Ode to Joy", which translates as "Above the starry firmament God judges, as we judged".[1] The poster also featured the subtitle "God's in his Heaven, all's right with the world". The curled snake is possibly an analogy to the serpent from the Bible, a symbol of from the snake that lured Eva (the name "Evangelion" is an extension of her name, as in the sense that Evangelion is a creation of man, as Eva was a creation of God) to eat the forbidden fruit, represented by an apple. The apple is likely a reference to the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and EvilWP from the Bible. The seven eyes are the same as the ones on the face of Lilith, the Second Angel, the progenitor of the human race Adam's first wife.
  • SEELE's membership appears to have been reduced, as there are only seven SEELE monoliths, as opposed to the twelve seen in the original series.
  • In the English subtitles for the Amazon releases of the Rebuild of Evangelion films, SEELE 01 is identified as "Kiel", but this name is not part of any spoken dialogue. In the original Evangelion series, SEELE 01 was a human named "Kiel Lorenz".
  • The emblem was redesigned by Yutaka IzubuchiWP[2] and Ikuto Yamashita.[3]
  • The illustration on the back of the monolith was a leftover from the TV series and it was illustrated by Mitsuo IsoWP.[4]

References[]

  1. WordReference Forums
  2. Evangelion: 1.0 You Are (Not) Alone - Complete Records Visual Story Edition - Setting Material Edition p. 243
  3. "Ikuto Yamashita came up with the new designs, which use an apple motif." The new NERV emblem will be a partially eaten Apple, while the SEELE one is composed of an apple and a serpent--a clear reference to Adam and Eve's exile from paradise. Religious symbols played a significant role in the original TV series, and they were responsible for much of the buzz surrounding it. - Newtype USA Feb 2007
  4. Evangelion: 1.0 You Are (Not) Alone - Complete Records Visual Story Edition - Setting Material Edition p. 243


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