Kensuke Aida

In Neon Genesis Evangelion, Kensuke Aida (相田 ケンスケ Aida Kensuke) is a military otaku, who has a passion for all things post-apocalyptic. He is best friends with Tōji Suzuhara, with whom he shares a long friendship. He is quite eccentric and his greatest desire is to pilot an Evangelion unit.

Description

Kensuke befriends Shinji when he picks up him and Tōji in his EVA from the fight against the Fourth Angel, Shamshiel. After meeting Shinji, it is he who informs him of some events that happened in NERV. He constantly asks Shinji to pull the plug so he can be commissioned as a pilot, but Shinji doesn't pay much attention to him. In any case, Kensuke enjoys the privileges of having an EVA pilot as a friend, and takes advantage of his excursions with Shinji to record everything on video, knowing that he would do whatever it takes to achieve his mission. He even risk the life of him and his friend Tōji, whom he frequently manipulates.

Kensuke is motherless, as are Shinji, Hikari, Asuka and Tōji; and he also lives alone. His father works in a section of NERV and his son manages to get information when the opportunity comes his way. Kensuke is a fan of armory, especially the military, as well as a fan of everything related to Angels and EVAs; His hobby is camping in the mountains, staging war monologues where Kensuke himself shows a dramatic side to his personality.

Kensuke never leaves his video camera, with which he records EVA battles against Angels, or on other occasions, he spies on the girls in their dressing rooms, recording them or taking photos, which he sells to the other students in exchange for money. He also constantly reproaches Shinji for having so many pretty girls around her and for not treating Misato Katsuragi properly since both he and Tōji are attracted to her.

Like Tōji and Hikari, he is evacuated from Tokyo 3 when things start to get complicated. He is not heard from again.

In other media

Manga

Kensuke's role is pretty much the same, only in this one his shirt is undone and his hair is blonde. Also, he fails to be present in EVA-02's battle against the eighth Angel Gaghiel. Kensuke is attracted to the EVA 02 pilot Asuka and claims in the same way that Shinji already has too many privileges. Kensuke plans a party for Misato when she is promoted, being the host. He turned out to be a great cook; preparing congratulatory dinner: grilled meat with Wasabi.

Kensuke always wanted to be the pilot of EVA 03, even questioning Shinji violently to see if he had a chance. After the death of Tōji, the Third Child, he did not re-introduce himself to the school for several months, accompanied by Kaworu Nagisa. Seeing Shinji run away, it becomes clear to Kensuke that the two of them won't be friends like before. After the explosion of EVA 00, he leaves a message on Shinji's cell phone, saying goodbye, knowing that they will never see each other again. He seems to have found out about what happened to Tōji, and this could have affected him in such a way that he has decided to leave Tokyo 3 without looking again at the face of his friend Shinji. In the manga, Kaworu looks into Kensuke's eyes for a few seconds. He later stated: "Strange, something superhuman..."

Girlfriend of Steel 2

In the Neon genesis evangelion iron maiden 2nd manga, an adaptation of the video game Girlfriend of Steel 2 Kensuke is the pilot of EVA-04, and wears a mustard yellow Plug suit. He is also in love with Asuka, something that also happens in the original manga, because in this Kensuke feels attracted to the pilot. In the anime, the two don't get along often.

Kensuke confesses his feelings to Asuka asking her why Shinji and not him, however over time he begins to accept his role as a friend.

Neon Genesis Evangelion:Gakuen Datenroku

In this version, Kensuke is a guy who is a fan of video games and a Geek who is a fan of the supernatural at the same time. He speculates that the strange happenings at the school are a "divine handiwork" and it seems that some of his hobbies have been passed on to Tōji, who doesn't sleep because he is playing on the computer.

Kensuke recently encountered a man who claimed to be the member of a video game corporation. He proposes to the boy that he try one of his most recent creations and he accepts, skipping school to play.

Finally, the teacher Misato sends Tōji and Hikari to look for him, but upon arriving home, they and Kensuke's mother are surprised that the boy had disappeared, leaving only the window open. He is later seen wandering the streets by Tōji and Hikari, who follow him. Apparently an angel controls the boy with the aim of ending the angel hunters. Apparently if Kensuke had been possessed he would have to be killed, but "There is still hope" in the words of Kaworu. It would later be discovered that it was Kensuke who infected the NERV school computers with a Virus that was supposedly a game, apparently at the command of an Angel. At the end he is seen on a computer, where he is apparently summoned by an Angel.

Evangelion: 1.0 You Are (Not) Alone

Kensuke makes an appearance in the first installment of the new Rebuild of Evangelion film series. In these he fulfills the role he played in the first six chapters, but with less on-screen appearance. He never meets Shinji on the mountain when he escapes and in the end, he and Tōji leave Shinji a phone message encouraging him, which he hears before the battle against Ramiel.

Evangelion: 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance

Kensuke and Tōji are now very good friends with Shinji. They go together to the aquarium where apparently all the species that went extinct during the second impact live. In this installment, Kensuke seems to have less interest in piloting an EVA. He also asks Shinji to be the one to drive EVA 03 (Asuka being the one to do it). When Kensuke tells Shinji that Tōji's sister got out of the hospital, he tells her that she doesn't have to worry anymore. Probably, in this saga, Kensuke will have a certain role.

Other data

• In the unpublished scenes of Gospeln, the three friends form a band, being Kensuke the drummer.
• The EVA 03 unit has the colors of Tōji's clothing, if the colors of the EVA 04 unit are fixed well, they are those of Kensuke's uniform.