Evangelion Sixth Angel Gaghiel
Gaghiel is a Child of Adam and is referred to as the sixth angel named after the "Fish Angel". He appears in Episode 8 of Neon Genesis Evangelion: None
Physical appearance
This angel is unique in that it is the only purely aquatic angel. It takes the appearance of a massive fish-like creature with wide, flat fins that spread out similarly to a manta ray. Although roughly the same height as an Evangelion Unit, Gaghiel is several times longer—almost as long as an aircraft carrier. The topside of this angel is sandy beige in color, while the underside is colored a dark seaweed green. Gaghiel's core is located in its gigantic mouth, which has a defined tongue and several rows of teeth. Mahiro Maeda is credited with the design of this angel. Maeda previously worked as a key animator for classic Studio Ghibli films like Castle in the Sky and Red Pig. He is also credited as an assistant mechanical designer for Escaflowne None.
Remarkable abilities
- Aquatic Combat: As an aquatic creature, Gaghiel possesses incredible abilities underwater. He is seen outpacing a fleet of moving ships with incredible ease. He also possesses equally impressive maneuverability, making sharper turns than a battleship could even dream of. Gaghiel is also capable of tearing apart the UN fleet with his enormous, powerful jaws lined with multiple rows of teeth, much like a shark's. His destructive power is also enhanced by his size, as he dwarfs Evangelion Unit 02 in comparison. While extremely proficient in the water, Gaghiel appears to have few tools at his disposal outside of it. Other angels like Sachiel and Ramiel have energy projectiles they can use, but it appears that Gaghiel lacks such ability and, as such, only has his physical strength and AT field defense to work with.
Battle and defeat
The battle between Evangelion Unit 02 and Gaghiel takes place in the ocean as the unit (and pilot Asuka Langley Soryu ) is transported to Japan. Gaghiel soon appears and begins attacking various ships in the UN fleet. It is mentioned that it appears Gaghiel is searching for something in particular and it is implied that he is attempting to locate the Adam embryo, which is secretly in Ryoji Kaji's possession. The leader of the UN fleet attempts to destroy the Angel without the aid of NERV and Evangelion Unit 02, but finds that little progress is being made. As Gaghiel continues his rampage, Asuka attempts to impress Shinji by showing off Eva-02, which she claims is the first official model of the Evangelion Unit series, denouncing Eva-00 and Eva-01 as being a prototype and a test model respectively. Asuka realizes that an Angel is attacking the fleet and, believing she has stumbled upon a chance to show off her piloting skills to Shinji and NERV, gives Shinji a spare plug-in suit and urges him to climb into her unit's plug-in with her.
Although neither Commander nor Misato When Evangelion Unit 02 was launched, Asuka took matters into her own hands and manually launched the unit and began jumping from ship to ship, causing significant collateral damage to each ship along the way. The unit only has a limited amount of energy to function, so Asuka attempts to get to the ship with the nearest external power supply. Once the unit is plugged into a decent power source, Gaghiel jumps out of the water to attack the unit, despite Asuka having had enough time to prepare. She did not expect Gaghiel to be so massive, however, which resulted in her unit being knocked over and landing in the ocean. Evangelion Unit 02 cannot move well in the sea with its current equipment configuration, while the underwater environment is Gaghiel's preferred environment. This puts Asuka and Shinji at an incredibly disadvantage. Gaghiel bites the Evangelion Unit and begins dragging it deeper into the ocean. Misato quickly devises a plan that essentially turns the unit and its power cord into a decoy and a fishing line, respectively. As the Evangelion Unit and the Angel are physically brought to the surface, Misato requests the fleet commander's cooperation and requests that two battleships be sacrificed and fire on the Angel at point-blank range once Asuka and Shinji manage to pry open its mouth, exposing its core. The plan succeeds, and the Angel is annihilated.
Gaghiel and other media
The sixth angel Gaghiel does not appear in the Rebuild of Evangelion films.
In the official manga written by Yoshiyuki Sadamoto , Gaghiel is also omitted from the main story. In the original anime series, the battle with Gaghiel was the reason for the characters Shinji and Asuka to first meet. In the manga, however, the fight with Gaghiel was completed as a solo mission by Asuka, and it is shown that only a response from the battle was shown to Shinji. Shinji and Asuka later met by coincidence at a video arcade.
