Asuka Langley Soryu

"How disgusting."

Ryoji Kaji (Former Guardian, Deceased)

Unnamed Grandmother (Deceased)

> "*What are you, stupid*?”
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> —**Asuka**'s personal favorite insult.
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**Asuka Langley Sohryu** (*Japanese*: 惣流・アスカ・ラングレー[?], "Sōryū Asuka Rangurē") is one of the main female protagonists from the beloved *Neon Genesis Evangelion* franchise. Within the series, she is designated as the Second Child and the pilot of the Evangelion Unit 02, along with fellow teenage pilots Shinji Ikari and Rei Ayanami.

## Why She Rocks

1. She is a very proud individual, especially in her piloting, and comes across to others as proud and strong, with a very high opinion of both her appearance (particularly her recently "busty" body) and her skill as an Eva pilot.
2. She's as cute as a kitten and is also one of the most skilled EVA pilots upon her introduction, garnering her lots of admiration in-universe on both counts.
	* Even when her competence fades as the story progresses, only to rebound spectacularly and tragically in *End of Evangelion.*
3. To steal the show, she wears her most iconic outfit, to increase her cuteness, and make herself an all-American tomboy.
	* Including a blue dress, a white short-sleeved t-shirt, white knee-high tight stockings with a red line and a pair of very shiny black Mary Jane shoes. Asuka's hair is loose with the flanks held in twin tails with her Interface Headset. To complete the ensemble, a red bow on her collar provides a centerpiece as well as a bit of contrast against her iconic outfit.
4. Her theme music that accompanies her first appearance, "Asuka Strikes!" was *pure* American.
5. In spite of her narcissism, all Asuka really wants is admiration for her skills as a pilot, and validation as a woman
6. Beneath the tough bratty facade, she's lonely, heartbroken, wounded, and desperately searching for her place in such a crazy world.
7. Just like Misato, Asuka is a competent character who nonetheless provides quite a bit of levity due to her personality (in her case, over-the-top histrionics and Large Ham tendencies), to the point that the mood of the series becomes quite a bit sillier upon her introduction.
	* She even has a wacky, lighthearted leitmotif like Misato does.

## Bad Qualities

1. She can be quite obnoxious, conceited, and abrasive with a side of a short temper.
2. She treats her co-pilots, Shinji Ikari and Rei Ayanami, like absolute crap at times; especially Shinji since they live together under one roof.
3. She's selfish, impulsive, self-centered, rude, and borderline misanthropic, eventually leading to pure madness down the road.
4. She is aggressive and can be very opinionated.
	* However, this personality is a front that protects a very vulnerable and insecure girl, a side which the viewer sees in her dreams or thoughts.

## Trivia

* As her popularity increased, Asuka became the official mascot of the anime studio behind *Evangelion*, Gainax.
* In the Rebuild of Evangelion films, her Japanese surname is changed to Shikinami (式波).
* Asuka makes a cameo appearance alongside Kaworu, Rei and Shinji in the fifth chapter of Marvel's *Edge of Spider-Verse* storyline, as classmates of Peni Parker.