Naoko Akagi

Category:Gainax Characters
Category:Neon Genesis, Evangelion characters
Dr. Naoko Akagi was the mother of Ritsuko Akagi by an unknown father and the chief scientist of Gehirn, Nerv's predecessor organization, and designer of the Magi supercomputers, which she copied her own thought patterns onto. Naoko felt that the Magi represented the three aspects of her personality: herself as a scientist (Melchior), herself as a mother (Balthasar), and herself as a woman (Casper). She was also heavily involved in the creation of the Evangelion Project with Gendo Ikari.
== Profile ==
Naoko has the same good-natured but distant relationship with her daughter that Ritsuko has with others. Naoko has even admitted to leaving Ritsuko on her own for too long; she blames Ritsuko’s difficulty with men on this, and admits to herself that she acted like a mother only when it was convenient. Despite being very aware of her faults, there is no sign that Naoko ever tried to change them.
Naoko was sexually involved with Gendo Ikari after the death of Yui Ikari, though it is suggested that Naoko wanted Gendo before, as she described Yui’s disappearance as being exactly what she’d hoped for. Naoko seemed to accept that Gendo couldn’t forget about Yui and perhaps also that Gendo would have no deep attachment to her as a consequence.
However, Naoko still strangled the first Rei Ayanami when the child said that Gendo considered Naoko as an "old hag" and no longer useful (Rei’s resemblance to Yui might also have been a factor, as Yui’s face appears superimposed over Rei 1’s as she speaks to Naoko). This might indicate that Naoko was more strongly attached to Gendo than she appeared, enough to kill at the thought of his rejection, though sheer anger over being discarded might also have been part of Naoko’s motivation.
Naoko then died from a fall from the top of Central Dogma onto the Magi computers below. It is unknown if someone assassinated Naoko, though there is no suggestion of this. From the look of horror on her face after strangling Rei it seems that she was horrified enough at what she had done to take her own life (the manga adaptation by Yoshiyuki Sadamoto explicitly shows that Naoko committed suicide).
When Ritsuko Akagi tried to self-destruct the Magi in Episode 25', Casper, the "woman" aspect, rejected the command. The shocked Ritsuko interpreted this as Naoko choosing Gendo over her own daughter.
== Notes ==
* The "brain" seen inside the Magi system in Episode 13 is likely not Naoko’s literal brain, as her head would have been too damaged in the fall for the brain to remain intact.
* Naoko, like Ritsuko, is named after the famous Japanese aircraft carrier Akagi.
* "Naoko" comes from the name of a friend Hideaki Anno knew in elementary school.
* Some have considered Naoko the candidate for the mysterious soul in Evangelion Unit-00. Please see Eva-00's soul for more.