Evangelion Twelfth Angel Leliel

Leliel is a Child of Adam and is referred to as the Twelfth Angel named after the "Angel of the Night." He appears in Episode 16 of the Evangelion anime series.

Physical appearance

He could be considered one of the most abstract Angels in all of Evangelion . For starters, he appears out of nowhere and appears as a large, floating sphere with a set of black and white stripes. Leliel is the first Angel classified as having an orange color pattern , which concerns NERV as all previous Angels have been classified as having a blue pattern. The Magi system also fails to detect an AT field, something all Angels were supposed to have. These aren't the only things that make Leliel unique, however. When he is attacked, his spherical body disappears and his pattern turns blue, confirming that he is indeed an Angel. At the same time, a huge shadow appears beneath Shinji , and Evangelion Unit 01 begins to fade into darkness. All contact with the device is lost when he is completely engulfed, even though the device was connected to a power cable. After many hours of testing, Ritsuko announces that they have discovered that the shadow that swallowed Shinji is the Angel's true body, rather than the sphere they had previously targeted. She theorizes that Leliel's body may be connected to another universe, allowing it to absorb an incredible amount of matter with ease. The spherical entity, however, acts as a three-dimensional shadow cast by Leliel. Many of these characteristics run counter to the laws of physics as we know them, making saving Shinji nearly impossible.

Remarkable abilities

  • Three-Dimensional Shadow: While it cannot be fully explained by our current understanding of physics, the floating black and white sphere that was originally targeted by NERV and the Evangelion Units is described as a shadow. It is capable of disappearing when shot at, though bullets and other physical attacks would likely not harm it anyway, as it is projected from Leliel's actual body rather than being a part of it.

  • Pocket Dimension: When Leliel's true body, the black shadow that swallows Shinji, appears, it proves capable of making countless buildings in Tokyo-3 disappear. Ritsuko estimates that Leliel is nearly 700 meters wide, which covers an incredible amount of area. When this matter is "eaten" by Leliel, it is not destroyed, as Shinji is shown starving and panicking, but alive. Little of this dimension is shown, but Shinji momentarily powers up.Evangelion Unit 01's visual sensors and radar, however, show nothing, and Shinji can only see pure white. This may mean that this dimension contains a massive amount of space. While Leliel's core is never directly shown, it is possible that it is hidden within this pocket dimension, making it incredibly difficult to destroy by normal means.

  • Pilot Contact: While Shinji was trapped in the Angel, he underwent experiments that could be considered psychoanalysis. Misato believed that the Angel was trying to contact Shinji's mind and not Evangelion itself. This is unconfirmed, but later in the story, other Angels would exhibit this same trait of directly contacting a pilot.

Battle and defeat

Suddenly, NERV detects a spherical entity in Tokyo-3, and everyone begins scrambling to prepare the Evangelion Units for battle. It is decided that all three units will attempt to engage the entity. As the units begin to surround what they believe to be the Angel, Shinji becomes impatient and opens fire. The target disappears, and a shadow appears beneath Evangelion Unit 01, and the unit begins to sink into the ground. When it is completely submerged, all communications to and from the unit cease. Ritsuko estimates that Shinji should be able to survive for about 16 hours before the unit's life support systems begin to fail. Inside Evangelion Unit 01, Shinji is alive and well, though it appears his mental state is beginning to deteriorate. Aside from Leliel, NERV attempts a plan that uses a massive amount of N2 bombs to create a small possibility of recovering Shinji and the unit, though this method would result in large-scale destruction. This plan, however, is quickly put to rest, as Evangelion Unit 01 manages to go berserk while still inside the pocket dimension. This is not explicitly shown or stated, but it can be assumed that Leliel's core is located within her pocket dimension. Regardless, before the N2 barrage begins, the ground beneath Eva-00 and Eva-02 begins to crack, and Eva-01's arm bursts out of the black and white sphere, resulting in both the destruction of Leliel and the recovery of the Evangelion unit and its pilot, Shinji.

Leliel in other media

The Twelfth Angel, Leliel, does not appear in other media such as the Rebuild films or Yoshiyuki Sadamoto 's manga adaptation None