Evangelion Third Angel Sachiel
Sachiel is the first Angel shown in the Evangelion series and is designated as the Third Angel and named after the Angel of Water. It first appears emerging out of the ocean in Episode 1, but is not defeated until Episode 2. It is one of the Children of Adam and is the first Angel to appear after the Second Impact.
Physical Features
Among all of the Children of Adam, Sachiel is one of the most humanoid. It is similar in size to an Evangelion Unit, and has incredibly broad shoulders and long, exaggerated arms that are unusually thin when compared to the rest of its upper body. It has a mask with an elongated beak in place of a face. After it is damaged by an N2 mine, it grows a second mask that is similar to the original one, though its “beak” is remarkably shorter. The core of Sachiel is located in its chest and is partially protected by something that resembles a rib cage. Sachiel was designed by Yoshito Asari. Asari is a manga artist who also created LuCu LuCu, which would go on to be nominated for the 12th Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize in 2008.
Notable Abilities
Energy Manipulation: Sachiel is capable of producing energy beams through its hands, which are used to pierce through attacking aircraft and Evangelion Unit 01. When attacking Unit 01, this energy weapon acts almost like a pile driver. It is also able to shoot incredibly powerful energy projectiles that can cause massive explosions. These explosions often take the form of a cross.
A.T. Field: Like with all Angels, Sachiel can produce a powerful A.T. field that is capable of blocking all basic projectile-based weapons, which drew the ire of JSSDF officials before control was given to NERV. Sachiel also uses its A.T. field to levitate, essentially resulting in a jump, although it seems that little physical exertion is needed. Sachiel’s A.T. field is also used to defend against the berserk Evangelion Unit 01, though it is not as effective when compared to how it held up against regular projectile weapons.
Incredible Strength: When Evangelion Unit 01 is sent into battle, the inexperienced pilot Shinji fumbles around Tokyo-3, unable to properly control the Evangelion unit. Sachiel is able to catch Evangelion Unit 01 and restrains it from moving. The Angel then makes the muscles in its arms swell up to increase its size and strength, which gives Sachiel enough power to break the Unit’s arm by simply grasping it.
Physical Durability: Although it has an A.T. field to protect itself from regular projectiles like bullets and missiles, Sachiel is able to take an incredible amount of damage without being incapacitated. Before Evangelion Unit 01 is sent to fight the Angel, it is hit with an N2 (Non-Nuclear) land mine, which is supposed to be as strong as a nuclear blast without the dangers of nuclear fallout. Sachiel is left standing after the blast, although it does show some signs of damage.
Battle and Defeat
As this is the first Angel to appear since the Second Impact 15 years before the start of the story, NERV has yet to be given control of the operation to annihilate Sachiel. The JSSDF (Japanese Strategic Self Defense Force) attempts to defeat it with raw military power, using a barrage of bullets and missiles. When they realize that these weapons have no effect, the officials are left with no choice but to use their trump card, an N2 mine. Since the Angel is engulfed in the following explosion, they believe the Angel was annihilated. To their surprise, they find that the Angel is still standing after its monitoring equipment comes back online. The JSSDF relinquishes control to NERV and Evangelion Unit 01 is sent to fight Sachiel.
Evangelion Unit 01’s pilot, Shinji Ikari, is tasked with destroying Sachiel with absolutely no experience or training, which leads to him being grappled by Sachiel, resulting in the Unit taking significant damage. The damage triggers Evangelion Unit 01 to then goes berserk and begins wildly attacking and deflecting Sachiel’s attacks. The Angel produces a defensive A.T. field, but the crazed Evangelion Unit manages to physically tear through it with its hands and proceeds to attack Sachiel’s core. It goes so far as to tear off part of Sachiel’s rib cage to attempt to pierce the core, however, before it is fully able to do so, the Angel wraps itself around the Unit and self-destructs. While the Angel is left completely vaporized, the Evangelion Unit survives with insignificant damage caused by the blast.
Sachiel in Other Media
In the Evangelion 1.0 Rebuild movie, Sachiel makes a similar appearance. The main difference is when Sachiel makes a jump using an A.T field there is a glowing halo present above the Angel. Also in Evangelion 1.0 movie, Sachiel is stated as the Fourth Angel and not the Third Angel as in the original anime series. It did not make an appearance in the following Rebuild movies.