Leliel

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Leliel (レリエル, Rerieru^?) (Hebrew: ליליאל) is the 12th Angel. Leliel only appears in the TV series. It is preceded by Ireul and succeeded by Bardiel.

Quick Answers

What is the significance of Leliel's existence in a pocket-dimension?

Leliel, recognized as the 12th Angel in Evangelion, dwells in a pocket-dimension, a realm comprehensible only through advanced physics. It manifests as a floating, distorted black and white sphere above Tokyo-3, but its true form is a shadow-like entity on the ground. Leliel's existence in this pocket-dimension is a key element of its character and function in the series.

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What is the meaning behind the name 'Leliel'?

In the context of the Evangelion series, 'Leliel' is the name of the 12th angel. The specific meaning of the name is not detailed in the series, but Leliel plays a key role, particularly in Eva episode 16.

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What unique characteristics does the 12th Angel, Leliel, possess in Evangelion?

Leliel, the 12th Angel in Evangelion, symbolizes the Angel of Night. It first appears in episode 16 of Neon Genesis Evangelion, following Ireul and preceding Bardiel. Leliel's attack form resembles Armisael, the original series' 16th angel. In the Rebuild of Evangelion film series, the 12th Angel is encapsulated within Eva.

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How does Leliel's appearance differ from other angels in Evangelion?

The 12th angel, Leliel, in Evangelion, is distinct in its appearance. It initially manifests as a floating sphere with a warped black and white pattern over Tokyo-3. However, its actual body resembles a ground shadow, existing in a pocket-dimension described by higher-order physics theories. This contrasts with angels like Ramiel, a huge floating crystalline octahedron, and Lilith, a vaguely shaped humanoid torso with white flesh.

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Profile

Leliel is an extremely bizarre entity that exists in a pocket-dimension explained only by higher-order physics theories (abstract mathematics). Initially, Leliel appears to be a floating sphere with a warped, black and white color pattern that suddenly appears over Tokyo-3. However, Leliel's real body is actually what appears to be a shadow on the ground. The manifestation of Leliel's body in our dimension is 680 meters wide but only 3 nanometers thick; the floating sphere is just the "shadow" it casts in our dimension. Because it possess an inverted A.T. Field, it can absorb any material from our dimension inside of its body, within which is a Dirac Sea.

History

Neon Genesis Evangelion

All three Evangelion Units are deployed against Leliel when it first appeared over Tokyo-3. Shinji charged ahead and fired at the floating sphere, thinking it was the Angel's real body, only to be sucked down into Leliel's real shadow-body which resulted in all communication being lost. Asuka barely escaped being sucked into Leliel as well, avoiding it by climbing onto a building. Rei fired several shots at the floating sphere with Unit-00's large sniper rifle, but this only succeeded in damaging nearby buildings.

NERV pulled back its forces, and Ritsuko explained the bizarre nature of the Angel. She proposed a plan whereby Unit-00 and Unit-02 would neutralize Leliel's A.T. Field with their own, and then the JSSDF would drop the remaining 992 N² bombs into its body. This would hopefully kill the Angel as well as recover Unit-01, regardless of whether in the process the plan would end up killing Shinji or not.

Against Misato's protests, Ritsuko's plan was given the go-ahead. Just as Unit-01's maximum life-support power time limit was reached, 16 hours later, the plan was about to be put into effect. However, just then the EVA went into "berserker mode" and despite having its battery power totally drained, savagely tore its way out of Leliel's body in a shower of blood, which also shattered its real shadow-body on the ground.

Trivia

• While within the Angel, Shinji experiences a bizarre internal psycho-analysis. It was in fact Leliel trying to contact Shinji's mind, not the Evangelion. Misato is actually directly asked about the possibility of Leliel trying to contact Shinji's mind in the following episode by SEELE, and she says it cannot really be determined what happened. Because most EVA fans have already seen evidence of Angels contacting EVA pilots (Episodes 22/23), it is probably safe to say that it was Leliel contacting Shinji's thoughts.
  • Kazuya Tsurumaki's interview in the Evangelion Theatrical Program makes it explicit: Shinji's younger self is, or was meant to be, Leliel talking to him. He says the following-

In addition, Leliel's striped appearance visually corresponds with the younger Shinji's striped shirt.

• In fact, Leliel‘s ”fake” body actually has a face, with stripes in the pattern of two bulging eyes, and a small mouth with sharp jaws. This face appears multiple times on its body.

References