School Classmates
When Shinji Ikari attends school in Tokyo-3, he is assigned to class 2-A, as are the other Evangelion pilots Rei Ayanami and Asuka Langley Soryu. According to Ritsuko, all of the students in this class were secretly brought together as a pool of potential Evangelion pilots.
However, since Tokyo-3 is the center of many Angel attacks, many students decided to leave the school for their own safety. While there are a number of unnamed students other than the Evangelion pilots, there are a few characters that have important roles in the series.
Kensuke Aida
(Voiced by Tetsuya Iwanaga (JP), Kurt Stoll (ADV Films), and Benjamin Diskin (Netflix)) Kensuke is a very enthusiastic individual that is not afraid to assert his opinion. He is often seen carrying a camcorder and is an avid military paraphernalia enthusiast. He is long-time friends with Toji Suzuhara and eventually befriends Shinji after an unfortunate first encounter.
Kensuke’s eager nature is shown to get him and Toji into trouble at times, like when he decides to sneak out of the shelter they are staying at during an Angel attack to see an Evangelion Unit in action. The friendship between Shinji and Kensuke really took off after Shinji stumbles upon him camping in the wilderness to role-play a military scenario. They have a conversation, where Kensuke says that he’s jealous because Shinji gets to pilot an Evangelion Unit and lives with the attractive Misato Katsuragi.
Kensuke also mentions his desire to become an Evangelion pilot himself. Shinji replies by saying becoming a pilot would only worry his mother, although Kensuke says that his mother has passed away. Sharing this unfortunate trait with each other is possibly what helps kick start their friendship.
Kensuke’s desire to become an Evangelion pilot is seemingly unwavering, as he witnesses firsthand how catastrophic and stressful the life of a pilot is multiple times. The first time was when he and Toji were told to get into Shinji’s entry plug to keep them from safe from an Angel attack. The second was when Eva-03 was destroyed by Eva-01.
Toji Suzuhara
(Voiced by Tomokazu Seki (JP), Joe Pisano (ADV Films), and Johnny Yong Bosch (Netflix)) Toji Suzuhara is a goofy, yet stubborn individual. He has a sister that he cares for, although she is never shown in the original series. His first interaction with Shinji is a rather negative one, as he was angered that his sister was injured by debris caused by the battle between Evangelion Unit 01 and an Angel. Shinji was abruptly confronted and immediately punched twice by Toji out of frustration, although he would later come to regret this after he sees the nature of piloting an Eva with his own eyes. Toji tries to call Shinji to apologize but hangs up before he gets an answer. Afterward, Toji demands that Shinji hit him back once and refuses to let Shinji hold back or refuse.
Toji is also selected to become the Fourth Child, “Children” being the title given to an Eva pilot. Although Kensuke would not hesitate to accept, Toji is not so willing and only accepts on the condition that his sister is transferred to a hospital at NERV. At this point, he becomes incredibly somber, losing his playful side entirely. When it is revealed that the unit that he is piloting (Evangelion Unit 03) is infected by the Angel Bardiel, Shinji is ordered to destroy the unit, but refuses because he knows that someone is piloting it, despite not knowing who it is. Control of Eva-01 is switched to an A.I. and Shinji is forced to watch his Evangelion unit destroy both the unit itself and the entry plug that Toji is in. Toji decided to evacuate from Tokyo-3 shortly after.
Hikari Horaki
(Voiced by Junko Iwao (JP), Carol Amerson (ADV Films), and Abby Trott (Netflix)) Hikari is the class representative for Class 2-A. She is in charge of designating tasks to other students, keeping the classroom orderly, and leading the greeting the class gives to the teacher. Although her position as the leader of the class leads tends to make her seem fairly rigid, she admits to cooking for her family (which only consists of two sisters), which catches Toji off guard. Hikari also becomes good friends with Asuka. At one point, Asuka stays at Hikari’s house after running away from home because she was ashamed of herself. Hikari does her best to comfort Asuka, although it seems like there is not much she can do.
Mana Kirishima
Mana is a character that is not present in the original series or Evangelion movies. She is a limited character introduced in the Evangelion game, Girlfriend of Steel. In the game she is a transfer student to Shinji’s class with short hair like Rei and reddish-brown hair like Asuka. In the game, she quickly comes to make an impression on Shinji. Through storyline, the player finds out that she is not a regular girl but a spy from another organization sent to spy on NERV and the Evangelion pilots.