Misato Katsuragi

Misato Katsuragi (葛城 ミサト, Katsuragi Misato^?) is a fictional character belonging to the Neon Genesis Evangelion franchise. Misato is NERV's head of tactical operations, initially holding the rank of captain and later to major after being promoted. In Rebuild of Evangelion , her rank is Lieutenant Colonel.

At the beginning of the story, Misato is responsible for transporting Shinji Ikari to the NERV facility and is the one who convinces him to pilot unit Eva-01. Later, she decides to take Shinji in her apartment instead of him living alone, thus becoming her guardian. She also becomes Asuka Langley Sōryū's tutor. As the series progresses, Misato learns the truth behind the Human Instrumentation Project and unmasks Nerv and Seele's lies and deceit.

Conception

According to character designer Yoshiyuki Sadamoto, he found Misato's design the "most difficult to pull off'. Sadamoto wanted Misato to be a fashionable character, someone who constantly changed her clothes, but he found that his own lack of fashion sense made him unable to show it. Furthermore, he envisioned Misato as a 'loser girl'. that she would be promiscuous and not take things seriously.

Director Hideaki Anno described Misato as “a twenty-nine-year-old woman who lives life so lightly that she barely allows the possibility of human contact. She protects herself by maintaining superficial relationships and constantly running away." He has also described her as an adult version of Usagi Tsukino from Sailor Moon , a character with whom she shares the same voice actress and design. of hair.

The disparity between her professionalism at work and her carelessness at home, as well as her problems in her relationships with her father and Kaji, and the ambiguous nature of her relationship with Shinji, often tie her to psychological issues (which resemble Shinji's, which is why they both develop a sympathy for each other).

Like many characters in Evangelion, Misato was named after a ship; the Katsuragi, a World War II Japanese aircraft carrier. Her name is due to the heroine of the manga Aitsu by Minako Narita.