Yui Ikari

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Neon Genesis Evangelion character
Yui Ikari
Age	27, at time of disappearing
Birthday	1977 (March 30?)
Gender	Female
Relation(s)	Husband: Gendo Ikari Son: Shinji Ikari Genetic clone: Rei Ayanami? Soul-carrier: Unit 01
Seiyū	Megumi Hayashibara
Voice actor	Kim Sevier (original dub) Amanda Winn Lee (movies)
List of all Neon Genesis Evangelion characters...

Yui Ikari (碇ユイ Ikari Yui) is a fictional character from the anime Neon Genesis Evangelion and The End of Evangelion movie. She is Gendo's wife and Shinji's mother.

Contents 1 Description 2 Interpretation 3 Manga version 3.1 Adaptation by Sadamoto 3.2 Shinji Ikari Raising Project

[edit] Description

Yui's background is not covered in the series, but according to information provided in the "Neon Genesis Evangelion 2" PS2 game, she is the daughter of an influential member of SEELE, which explains why she had the backing of this powerful organization. She was a student of genetic engineering at Kyoto University, where she met her future husband Gendo and her mentor and trusted friend Kouzou Fuyutsuki. Afterwards, she joined the Artificial Evolution Laboratory (future GEHIRN) in Hakone, Japan, and played an integral role in Project E.

Despite Fuyutsuki's misgivings, Yui served as the test subject for the Contact Experiment of Unit 01 in 2004, saying that "everything happens as it must." She invited her son Shinji to GEHIRN to watch what would be her final moments: Yui "disappeared" during testing — leaving no body behind — and was proclaimed dead that same year after efforts to recover her failed. Although GEHIRN considered it an accident, it is arguably clear that what happened was Yui's intention. Living on as the soul of the Eva, she continues to ensure a "bright future" for Shinji and the rest of humanity, seeing to it personally that SEELE's scenario is never entirely fulfilled.

[edit] Interpretation

While Yui is not exactly an important character on her own, it is her relationships with those around her that make her key to the entire series.

Gendo's love for her is his entire motivation for going through with SEELE's Instrumentality Project.He misses her so longingly that he goes through with SEELE's plan in the hopes that, after being implemented, he would be able to be one with Yui again.

Shinji is equally affected by his mother. Her absence and Gendo's subsequent abandonment of Shinji is the reason behind his anti-social, non-confrontational nature. At the same time, her maternal protectiveness of Shinji as the soul of his Eva is solely responsible for Unit 01's being the formidable fighter it is. Also, many have noted that Shinji's relationship to his Eva is a physical manifestation of the Freudian Oedipus Complex: he longs for contact with his mother to the point that he wants to be inside her, and acts aggressively toward his father for trying to take his mother away from him.

[edit] Manga version

[edit] Adaptation by Sadamoto

In the manga, Yui's role is expanded slightly. In the aftermath of the fight with the Angel Zeruel, she appears inside Unit 01 and tried to convince Shinji to remain in Unit 01 with her. Initially, it seems to be working well: Shinji refuses to come out when attempts are made to retrieve him, forcing the contents of the Entry Plug to spill out. However, Rei starts to pray for Shinji's return, and Yui's face peels away to reveal that it is Unit 01 itself who has disguised itself as Yui to try to trap Shinji inside himself.

Upon seeing Unit 01's true self, a shocked Shinji then asks it to back off. A short struggle results. Then, a female form appears behind the disfigured body of Unit 01. Later, Shinji sees a scene from the past: His parents were under a tree, and Yui was breastfeeding an infant Shinji. After a short conversation with Gendo, Yui then notices her grown son and asks him to join her. Surprisingly, Shinji is unable to move, despite his desire to get close to his mother. Yui then convinces Shinji to leave the confines of 01 and go back to the world.

While the manga is in black and white, the cover of volume 8 depicts Yui with reddish-blonde hair and green eyes.

[edit] Shinji Ikari Raising Project

In this series, she's alive and well, being the head of research operations within NERV (taking over Ritsuko Akagi's place). Here, Rei becomes her distant relative.

She's shown to be a jovial mother and hardworking scientist, although she doesn't tolerate too much foolishness. (When Gendo shone his torch in a scary fashion during a blackout, Yui gave her husband a comical smack.)