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Asuka Langley Soryu (惣流・アスカ・ラングレー, Sōryū Asuka Rangurē, IPA: [soːɾʲɯː asɯ̥ka ɾaŋɡɯɾeː]) is a fictional character from the Neon Genesis Evangelion franchise created by Gainax. She first appears in the original anime series, and also appears in the franchise's animated feature films and related media, including video games, the Rebuild of Evangelion films, and the manga adaptation by Yoshiyuki Sadamoto. In Japanese, Yūko Miyamura voices Asuka in all her animated appearances and merchandise. In English, Tiffany Grant voices her in the ADV Films dub and Stephanie McKeon voices her in the Netflix dub. Within the franchise, Asuka is designated as the Second Child and the pilot of a giant mecha named Evangelion Unit-02 to fight against enemies known as Angels for the special agency Nerv. Because of childhood trauma, she has developed a competitive and outgoing character to get noticed by other people and affirm her own self. In the Rebuild of Evangelion films, her Japanese surname is changed to Shikinami (式波) and she differs significantly in her background and characterization from her TV series incarnation. Series creator and director Hideaki Anno originally proposed her as the main protagonist of the series. Character designer Yoshiyuki Sadamoto asked Anno to include a male main character instead, downgrading her to the role of co-protagonist with Shinji Ikari. Anno based her psychology on his personality, bringing his moods into the character, acting instinctively and without having thought about how the character would evolve. During the first broadcast of the series, he changed his plans, creating an evolutionary parable in which Asuka becomes more dramatic and suffers, intentionally going against the expectations of the fans. The Japanese voice actress Miyamura was also influential, deciding some details and some of Asuka's lines. Asuka maintained a high ranking in the series' popularity polls and has appeared in surveys to decide the most popular anime characters in Japan. Merchandising based on her has also been released, particularly action figures, which became highly popular. Some critics took issue with her hubris and her personality, judging these as tiresome and arrogant; others appreciated her realism and complex psychological introspection. Asuka is also one of the most successful and influential examples of the tsundere stereotype, characteristic of grumpy and arrogant characters with a fragile hidden side, helping to define its characteristics. Conception In the early design stages of the Neon Genesis Evangelion anime, creator and director Hideaki Anno proposed including a girl similar to Asuka as the protagonist. Character designer Yoshiyuki Sadamoto proved reluctant to accept the idea of a female character in the lead role after Gainax's previous works like Gunbuster and Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water; he said: "A robot should be piloted by a trained person, whether it is a woman or not makes no difference, but I cannot understand why a girl should pilot a robot". He thus asked the director to use a boy in the role of main character, downgrading Asuka to the role of female co-protagonist. He modeled the relationship between her and the male protagonist Shinji Ikari taking inspiration from Nadia and Jean from The Secret of Blue Water. Asuka should have represented "[Shinji's] desire for the female sex", as opposed to Rei Ayanami's "motherhood", and should have been the idol of Neon Genesis Evangelion. Anno also thought of her as Nadia La Arwal from The Secret of Blue Water with a different hairstyle. In the initial project, Asuka was described as "a determined girl" who adapts to the situation in which she finds herself, passionate about video games and "aspires to become like Ryoji Kaji". In the nineteenth episode, she would have had to be seriously injured in her attempt to protect Shinji, who would have thus "proved his worth" trying to save her. For the character's name, Anno took inspiration from Asuka Saki (砂姫 明日香, Saki Asuka), the protagonist of the manga Super Girl Asuka (超少女明日香, Chō Shōjo Asuka), written by Shinji Wada; for the surname, he merged the names of two ships used in the Second World War, the Japanese World War II aircraft carrier Soryu and the American aircraft carrier Langley. Despite her multi-ethnic origins, the staff made Asuka's skin the same color as that of Rei Ayanami. For the German language terms used in the scenes with Asuka, staff asked for help from an American employee of Gainax, Michael House, who exploited his basic knowledge of the language, acquired in high school, and a Japanese-German dictionary from a local library. According to Anime News Network's May Callum, Gainax did not pay attention to the dialogue's German grammar, believing the series would never be successful enough to be watched by native German speakers. For Asuka's psychology, Anno relied on his personality, as with the other characters in the series. Staff originally inserted her after the first six episodes to lighten the tones of the series. She was presented with an exhilarating personality without foreshadowing her eventual depressing moments in the latter half. Anno said that he didn't intend to go "that far" at first and that he didn't completely grasp the character of Asuka until he made her "Are you stupid?" (あんたバカ?, Anta baka?) catchphrase, with which the character was definitively born. During the series's first airing, the director began to criticize otaku, Japanese obsessed animation fans, accusing them of being excessively closed and introverted; therefore, he changed the atmosphere of the second half of the series, making the plot darker, violent, and introspective. Asuka's story reflected the changes: although she had been introduced in an essentially positive role, her character became increasingly dramatic and introverted, going against the expectations and the pleasure principle of anime fans. In the twenty-second episode, Anno focused on Asuka's emotional situation, harassed by her first menstrual cycle, but not considering himself capable of exploring such a feminine theme, he condensed everything into a single scene. Miyamura's interpretation was also important for Asuka's characterization. During the production of the last episodes he inserted scenes in which he represented Asuka with simple hand-drawn sketches, remaining satisfied with the result, saying: "After having drawn Asuka with a marker, as soon as Yuko Miyamura gave it her voice, it was more Asuka than ever". Furthermore, the author's original intent was to insert a long live action segment for the film The End of Evangelion (1997) centered on the character. The original segment focused on a normal day of Asuka, who would wake up in an apartment after drinking and spend the night with Tōji Suzuhara, with whom she would embark on a sexual and sentimental relationship. Misato Katsuragi would have been the roommate in the apartment next to her; Rei Ayanami would h.... Discover the Kim Langley popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Kim Langley books.