Evangelion Unit 03 (Eva Unit-03)
Evangelion Unit 03 (often abbreviated as Eva-03) is the fourth functional Evangelion Unit and is designated as the second “Production” model, Eva-02 being the first. This does not mean that it should be considered the “final” version of Evangelion Units, however, as further experiments are performed on future units to further improve them (as with the S2 engine experiment with Eva-04). As a Production Model Unit, it can be assumed that it can be fitted with the same types of specialized equipment that Eva-02 can use, but this is not explicitly shown, as this Unit is destroyed before this capability can be shown. In fact, very little unique abilities of this Unit are shown, as its first appearance on the battlefield is also its last. The pilot designated to this unit is Toji Suzuhara, although he only complies with being an Evangelion pilot under the condition that his sister is transferred to NERV’s hospitals.
Description
Eva-03 was given a very dark shade of purple as its main color that contrasts well with the white accents found on its shoulders and arms. It is also a sister unit to Eva-04, as they have nearly identical designs and were both developed in the United States. Like Eva-01, it has two eyes that glow brightly when activated and a clearly defined upper and lower jaw that is able to be opened to reveal a mouth. This Unit also has shoulder pylons like Eva-01 and Eva-02 (as well as Eva-00 after its upgrade following the battle with Ramiel), although the weapons stored inside of them are not shown, if anything is stored in them at all. Due to being infected by the Thirteenth Angel Bardiel, hardly any of its unique abilities are shown, as the Angel takes control of the Unit immediately after its activation test. Once NERV Commander Gendo Ikari sees that the Unit is acting on its own, he orders Eva-03 to be reclassified as a part of the Thirteenth Angel and calls for it to be destroyed. In this parasitized state, it acts similarly to Eva-01 when it goes berserk. Eva-03 opens its mouth and lets out a scream, then begins attacking a nearby target using rather unorthodox methods. It is seen using its A.T. field to raise itself off of the ground to land on top of Eva-00 and pin the unit down, while it uses its incredibly elastic arms to choke Eva-01. These incredibly stretchy arms are shown to be incredibly flexible and have a surprisingly long reach that can extend at least the length of its whole body, although it is not known for certain whether this is a unique ability of Eva-03 or simply just a result of the parasitism caused by the Angel. All of the pilots show hesitation when attacking Eva-03, as Toji is still inside of it because the Bardiel prevented the entry plug from ejecting properly. Despite this, however, Gendo has control of Eva-01 switched to the Dummy Plug system, which proceeds to physically tear Eva-03 limb from limb, resulting in its death.
Although all Evangelion Units require a donor soul to function, the original owner of the soul used in Eva-03 is never explicitly mentioned, although the likelihood of the donor being Toji’s mother is fairly high. It is known that his mother had passed away previously, but the results and aftermath of her death are not explained to the same degree as Yui Ikari’s and Kyoko Zeppelin Soryu’s deaths were. The trend of Evangelion Units being given the souls of their pilot’s mother is shown through Eva-01 and Eva-02, and Toji’s mother being the donor for Eva-03 would only strengthen this theory (though Rei and Eva-00 would be an exception, as Rei has no mother because she is an artificially created human). If this trend does not apply, however, it is possible that Toji’s sister could be the donor, as we are never shown her character in the Neon Genesis Evangelion. This possibility would not exist in the Rebuild movies, however, as Toji’s sister is shown and even named in Evangelion: 3.0 You Can (Not) Redo.
In Other Media
In Evangelion 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance, Eva-03 reappears and plays a very similar role to that of Neon Genesis Evangelion. Its design is more or less the same, but with minor changes that align with those done on the other units. The main difference between Eva-03 from the original series and the Eva-03 from 2.0 is that Toji is not the person designated to be its pilot. In fact, Toji is not selected to be a pilot at all. The person that was chosen to test the unit after it arrived in Japan was Asuka, as Eva-02 had to be stored away in order to comply with international treaties. The rest of the encounter with Bardiel is generally the same, although the Angel itself is redesigned slightly.
Evangelion: Battle Orchestra
The PS2 and PSP game Evangelion: Battle Orchestra feature several playable characters that were previously unseen before (although these appearances would not be considered canon). One of these characters is an uninfected Eva-03. This version of the Unit is piloted by Toji and wields a pair of tonfa as weapons.
Links
Official Website for Evangelion: Battle Orchestra(Japanese Only) (Requires Adobe Flash)