NERV Personnel and Staff
The following is a list and description of important characters affiliated with the NERV headquarters, which is located in the GeoFront under Tokyo-3:
Commander Gendo Ikari
(Voiced by Fumihiko Tachiki (JP), Tristan MacAvery (ADV Films), and Ray Chase (Netflix)) Gendo Ikari is the leading commander of NERV HQ and the father of the protagonist Shinji Ikari. Before marrying Yui Ikari, he was known as Gendo Rokubungi. He is most known for his cold personality and ruthless desire to fulfill his goals. Gendo is also a part of SEELE, a secret organization that funds NERV and aims to cause the Third Impact to merge all of humanity into one entity. While Gendo may act distant toward most people, Rei Ayanami is an exception. He will risk physical injury for her well being, as seen after a failed experiment resulting in Rei being abruptly ejected from Evangelion Unit 00. This compassion may be a result of Rei’s origin, as she is an artificially created human based off of Yui.
Vice-Commander Kozo Fuyutsuki
(Voiced by Motomu Kiyokawa (JP), Guil Lunde (ADV Films), and JP Karliak(Netflix)) Kozo Fuyutsuki is the second in command at NERV HQ and often takes command when Gendo is away on other duties. When compared to Gendo, Kozo is more flexible as a commander. Before the Second Impact, he was a professor at Kyoto University, where he taught Yui Ikari. The two end up sharing a fairly close relationship for a student and teacher and Kozo admits to becoming fairly fond of Yui, although he doesn’t state this out loud. When Gendo announced that he is dating her, Kozo was visibly upset, despite his attempts to hide it.
Leader of Tactical Division: Misato Katsuragi
(Voiced by Kotono Mitsuishi (JP), Allison Keith (ADV Films), and Carrie Keranen (Netflix)) Misato Katsuragi is a Captain (and later a Major) that is in charge of directing Evangelion Units and their pilots during battle. She is also the effective guardian of both Shinji Ikari and Asuka Langley Soryu. Her goofy and laid-back personality at home is greatly contrasted by her stern and forceful nature seen when on duty. Although her commander takes precedent while at NERV, it is obvious that Misato cares deeply for the Eva pilots on a personal level, especially when it comes to Shinji.
Leader of Technical Division: Doctor Ritsuko Akagi
(Voiced by Yuriko Yamagushi (JP), Sue Ulu (ADV Films), and Erica Lindbeck (Netflix)) Ritsuko Akagi is the leading scientist of NERV and responsible for the development and maintenance of the Evangelion units. She is the daughter of Dr. Naoko Akagi, who designed NERV’s supercomputers that are collectively known as Magi. Because of her mother, Ritsuko has an intimate understanding of Magi and can interact with the system faster than anyone else. Misato Katsuragi and Ritsuko are close friends that met in college and are often seen conversing with one another when not on active duty. During a battle, there are times where the two disagree on which action to take, as their fields of experience lead to different solutions to a problem. As an expert on the mechanics and inner workings of Evangelion units and Angels, Ritsuko’s input can be very valuable when making an important decision.
First Lieutenants
NERV HQ has three members ranked as First Lieutenants. All three are designated as computer technicians and are in charge of relaying relevant information to Misato during an Angel attack.
Makoto Hyuga: (Voiced by Hiro Yuki (JP), Matt Greenfield (ADV Films), and Daniel MK Cohen (Netflix)) Misato’s right-hand-man. Although he is a trustworthy resource in battle, Misato also relies on him outside of an Angel attack as well. Makoto is also willing to go to great lengths for Misato as well, as he hacks into classified information to find details on Kaworu’s history.
Shigeru Aoba: (Voiced by Takehito Koyasu (JP), Shigeru (ADV Films), and Billy Kametz (Netflix)) While he gets along well with the other members of NERV, Shigeru is often portrayed as being a nihilist. He also enjoys playing the guitar and can be seen carrying a guitar case around outside of NERV.
Maya Ibuki: (Voiced by Miki Nagasawa (JP), Kendra Benham (ADV Films), and Christine Marie Cabanos (Netflix)) Acts similarly to an assistant for Misato, although she also seems to specialize in working with the Magi system and monitoring the condition of the Evangelion Units. She is a sensitive individual who doesn’t take violence well and often has to look away from the more gruesome battles. Ibuki is also a pacifist, as she refuses to shoot intruders invading the NERV facility in End of Evangelion.
Ryoji Kaji
(Voiced by Koichi Yamadera (JP), Aaron Krohn (ADV Films), and Greg Chun (Netflix)) Ryoji Kaji is a member of NERV. He began working in NERV’s branch in Germany, where he met Asuka. He also met Ritsuko and Misato in college and eventually got into an intimate relationship with Misato, although they broke up shortly after. Although he works at NERV, he is secretly working with other agencies in order to expose NERV’s secrets. Ryoji also has a secret melon patch that he tends to as a hobby.