Evangelion Twelfth Angel Leliel
Leliel is a Child of Adam and is designated as the Twelfth Angel named after the “Angel of the Night”. It appears in Episode 16 of the Evangelion anime series.
Physical Appearance
It could be considered one of the most abstract Angels in all of Evangelion. To begin, it appears out of thin air and appears as a large, floating sphere with an array of black and white stripes. Leliel is the first Angel that is categorized as having an orange pattern, which concerns NERV as all previous Angels were categorized as having a blue pattern. The Magi system also fails to detect an A.T. field, something that all Angels were assumed to have. These are not the only things that make Leliel unique, however. When it is attacked, its spherical body disappears and its pattern changes to blue, confirming that it is, in fact, an Angel. That same moment, an enormous shadow appears below Shinji and Evangelion Unit 01 begins to sink into the darkness. All contact with the unit is lost when it is completely engulfed, even though the unit was connected to a power cable. After many hours of testing, Ritsuko announces that they discovered that the shadow that swallowed Shinji is the true body of the Angel, rather than the sphere they had targeted previously. She hypothesizes that the Leliel’s body may be connected to another universe, which allows it to absorb an unbelievable amount of matter with ease. The spherical entity, however, acts as a three-dimensional shadow cast by Leliel. Many of these characteristics go against the laws of physics as we know them, making the act of rescuing Shinji seem nearly impossible.
Notable Abilities
Three-Dimensional Shadow: Although it cannot be entirely explained by our current understanding of physics, the black and white floating sphere that was originally targeted by NERV and the Evangelion Units is described as a shadow. It is capable of disappearing when fired at, though bullets and other physical attacks likely would not harm the “shadow” anyway, as it is cast by Leliel’s actual body rather than being a part of it.
Pocket Dimension: When the true body of Leliel, the dark shadow that swallows Shinji, appears, it is shown to be 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 hungry and in a panic, but alive. Not much of this dimension is shown, but Shinji does momentarily turn on Evangelion Unit 01’s visual sensors and radar, however, the radar shows nothing and Shinji can only see pure white. This may mean that this dimension has a massive amount of space within it. Although Leliel’s core is never directly shown, it may be possible that it is hidden within this pocket dimension, making it incredibly difficult to destroy by normal means.
Contact with Pilot: While Shinji was trapped in the Angel, he undergoes experiences of what can be thought of as a psycho-analysis. Misato had thoughts that the Angel was trying to make contact with Shinji’s mind and not the Evangelion itself. This is unconfirmed, but later in the story it will show other Angels with this same trait of directly making contact with a pilot.
Battle and Defeat
Out of nowhere, NERV detects a spherical entity in Tokyo-3 and everyone begins to scramble 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 is the Angel, Shinji becomes impatient and opens fire. The target disappears and a shadow appears underneath Evaangelion Unit 01 and the unit begins sinking 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 approximately 16 hours before the life support systems in Unit begins to fail. Inside Evangelion Unit 01, Shinji is indeed alive, though it appears that his mental state is beginning to deteriorate. Outside of 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 wide-scale destruction. This plan, however, is quickly put to rest, as Evangelion Unit 01 manages to go berserk while still inside the pocket dimension. It is not explicitly shown or stated, but it can be assumed that Leliel’s core is located within its pocket dimension. Either way, before the N2 barrage begins, the ground below Eva-00 and Eva-02 starts to crack and the arm of Eva-01 bursts out of the black and white sphere, resulting in both the destruction of Leliel and the recovery of both the Evangelion Unit and its pilot, Shinji.
Leliel in Other Media
The Twelfth Angel, Leliel does not make an appearance in other media such as the Rebuild Movies or Yoshiyuki Sadamoto’s manga adaptation.