Evangelion Sixth Angel Gaghiel
Gaghiel is a Child of Adam and is designated as the Sixth Angel named after the “Angel of the Fish”. It appears in Episode 8 of Neon Genesis Evangelion.
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. While it is approximately the same height of an Evangelion Unit unit, Gaghiel is many times longer - nearly as long as an aircraft carrier. The top side of this Angel has a sandy beige color, while the bottom 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 for designing this Angel. Maeda previously worked as a key animator for classic Studio Ghibli films like Castle in the Sky and Porco Rosso. He is also credited as an assistant mechanical designer for Escaflowne.
Notable Abilities
- Aquatic Combat: As an aquatic creature, Gaghiel possesses incredible capabilities when underwater. It is shown out-speeding a moving fleet of ships with incredible ease. It also has an equally impressive amount of maneuverability, making sharper turns than a battleship couldn’t even dream of making. Gaghiel is also shown to be capable of tearing through the UN’s fleet with its huge, powerful jaws that are lined with multiple rows of teeth, much like a shark’s. Its destructive power is aided by its sheer size as well, as it dwarfs Evangelion Unit 02 in comparison. While extremely proficient in water, Gaghiel seems to have few tools at its disposal when out of the water. Other Angels like Sachiel and Ramiel have energy projectiles that they can use, but it appears the Gaghiel has no such ability, and as such, only has its physical strength and A.T. field defense to work with.
Battle and Defeat
The battle between Evangelion Unit 02 and Gaghiel takes place out in the ocean as the unit (and pilot Asuka Langley Soryu) is being transported to Japan. Gaghiel quickly appears and begins attacking various ships in the UN’s fleet. It is mentioned that it seems like Gaghiel is searching for something in particular and it is implied that it is attempting to locate the embryonic Adam, which is secretly in Ryoji Kaji’s possession. The leader of the UN fleet attempts to destroy the Angel without the help of NERV and Evangelion Unit 02 but finds little progress being made. As Gaghiel continues its rampage, Asuka attempts to impress Shinji by showing off Eva-02, which she claims is the first official model of Evangelion Unit series, denouncing Eva-00 and Eva-01 as a prototype and a test model respectively. Asuka realizes that an Angel is attacking the fleet and, believing that she stumbled upon a chance to show off her skills as a pilot to Shinji and NERV, hands Shinji a spare plug suit and urges him to climb into her Unit’s entry plug with her.
Although the commander nor Misato ordered the launch of Evangelion Unit 02, Asuka took matters into her own hands and manually launched the unit and began hopping from ship to ship, causing significant collateral damage to each vessel along the way. The unit only has a limited amount of energy to run, so Asuka attempts to travel to the ship with the closest external power supply. Once the unit is plugged into a decent source of power, Gaghiel jumps out of the water to attack the unit, though Asuka had enough time to prepare herself. She did not, however, expect Gaghiel to be so massive, resulting in her Unit being knocked down and dragged into the ocean. Evangelion Unit 02 cannot move well in the sea with its current gear setup, while underwater is the Gaghiel’s preferred environment. This puts both Asuka and Shinji at an incredible disadvantage. Gaghiel bites the Evangelion Unit and begins pulling it deeper into the ocean. Misato quickly hatches a plan that essentially turns the Unit and its power cord into a lure and fishing line respectively. As the Evangelion Unit and Angel are physically reeled back up to the surface, Misato requests the cooperation of the commander of the fleet and asks for two battleships to be sacrificed and shoot the Angel at point-blank range once Asuka and Shinji manage to pry its mouth open exposing it’s core. The plan succeeds and the Angel is annihilated.
Gaghiel and Other Media
The Sixth Angel Gaghiel does not have any appearances in the Evangelion Rebuild movies.
In the official manga written by Yoshiyuki Sadamoto, Gaghiel is also omitted from the main storyline. In the original anime series, the battle with Gaghiel was the reason that characters Shinji and Asuka were to meet for the first time. In the manga however, the fight with Gaghiel was completed as a solo mission by Asuka and it is shown that only a reply of the battle was shown to Shinji. Shinji and Asuka were later to meet by coincidence at a game arcade.