Kaworu Nagisa

Kaworu Nagisa (Japanese: 渚 カヲル, Hepburn: Nagisa Kaworu), real name Tabris (タブリス, Taburisu), is a fictional character from the Neon Genesis Evangelion franchise created by Gainax. In the original television series, he is the pilot of a giant mecha named Evangelion Unit 02 for the special agency Nerv, as well as the seventeenth and final member of the Angels which threaten humanity and that Nerv is meant to fight. When he arrives at Nerv, he meets Eva-01 pilot Shinji Ikari, showing great affection towards him. After revealing his nature as an Angel to Shinji, he asks him to kill him to allow humanity to survive.

The character, originally conceived by Gainax as a cat controlling a boy, was supposed to appear in the series' twenty-second episode. After several changes, director Hideaki Anno and screenwriter Akio Satsukawa decided on him being the last Angel, and he was included in the twenty-fourth episode, "The Beginning and the End, or 'Knockin' on Heaven's Door'". He later re-appears in subsequent works in the franchise, including the Rebuild of Evangelion films, video games, the original net animation Petit Eva: Evangelion@School, and the manga adaptation by Yoshiyuki Sadamoto. His role is notably significantly expanded in Evangelion: 3.0 You Can (Not) Redo, the third film of the Rebuild saga.

Although he only appears in a single episode of the original series, Kaworu significantly alters the narrative, in particular Shinji's character, and proved popular with audiences and animation enthusiasts, topping popularity polls. An ambiguous character by design, Kaworu's nature both narratively and thematically has been widely debated, and he polarized critics, with some disliking his ambiguity and the romantic undertones of his relationship with Shinji, while others praised his personality, finding him to be open, affectionate and sociable. His prominent role in Evangelion 3.0 also attracted attention, with reviewers generally appreciating his relationship with Shinji. Merchandise based on Kaworu has been released, particularly action figures.