NHK's Evangelion mega poll results (2020)

[Joseki]

Voting on NHK's website ran from March 27 to April 29. The poll respondents were 57.5% male and 42.5% female. 31.1% of respondents were aged 19 or under, 24.2% were in their 20s, 21.9% were in their 30s, 14.8% were in their 40s, 7.1% were in their 50s, and 0.9% were in their 60s.

https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/intere ... ll/.159641

Favorite Character

1. Asuka Shikinami Langley
2. Kaworu Nagisa
3. Rei Ayanami
4. Shinji Ikari
5. Misato Katsuragi
6. Mari Makinami Illustrious
7. Kaji Ruoji
8. Pen-Pen
9. Maya Ibuki
10. Gendo Ikari
11. Ritsuko Akagi
12. Kozo Fuyutsuki
13. Toji Suzuhara
14. Yui Ikari
15. Hikari Horaki
16. Shigeru Aoba
17. Sakura Suzuhara
18. Shiro Tokita
19. Makoto Hyuga
20. Kensuke Aida

Favorite Evangelion

1. Evangelion Unit-01
2. Evangelion Unit-01 Awakened
3. Evangelion Mark.06
4. Evangelion Unit-02
5. Evangelion 13
6. Evangelion Unit-02 Beast Mode
7. Evangelion Unit-05
8. Evangelion Unit-03
9. Evangelion Unit-00
10. Evangelion Unit-08β

Favorite Angel

1. 6th Angel
2. Kaworu Nagisa
3. 10th Angel
4. 4th Angel
5. 7th Angel
6. 8th Angel
7. 9th Angel
8. 12th Angel
9. 11th Angel
10. 7th Angel NTE

Favorite Dialogue

1. You won't die. I'll protect you. (Rei)
2. I think you should smile. (Shinji)
3. I mustn't run away I mustn't run away I mustn't run away I mustn't run away... (Shinji)
4. This was an adult kiss. We'll do the rest once you come back. (Misato)
5. I feel sick. (Asuka)
6. I'm the lowest of the low. (Shinji)
7. Singing is great. Singing enriches the soul. It's the crowning achievement of the civilization that the Lilin created. Don't you feel the same? Shinji Ikari? (Kaworu)
8. Give me Ayanami back! (Shinji)
9. Bathing is the laundry of life. (Misato)
10. Are you an idiot? Of course I'm gonna finish it off with Unit-02! (Asuka)
11. Come now, the promised time has come, Ikari Shinji-kun. This time, I'll be sure to bring you happiness. (Kaworu)
12. Father! I'm the pilot of Evangelion Unit-01, Shinji Ikari! (Shinji)
13. Next time, service, service~ (Misato)
14. Go for it, Shinji-kun! Don't do this for someone else! Do this for your own desires! (Misato)
15. I was born to meet you. (Kaworu)
16. Shinji-kun, I can do nothing but water here. But for you, I bet there is the thing which YOU can do and only you can do. Nobody forces you. Think by yourself and decide by yourself what you should do now. Well, I wish you no regret. (Kaji)
17. I mustn't run away I mustn't run away I mustn't run away
18. Shit!! Even without the cable... I still have 12,000 plates of special armor... and my AT Field! I can't lose! Not against you!! (Asuka)
19. Shinji-kun, you just need to find peace and a place to call your own. Fate will surely guide you. Don't look at me like that. We'll meet again, Shinji-kun. (Kaworu)
20. I don't know, but... I feel warm around Ikari-kun. I want to feel warm towards him, as well. I think I want to feel warm about him getting along with Commander Ikari. (Rei)
21. I may have been born to meet you (Kaworu)
22. Congratulations
23. I don't care what happens to me. I don't care what happens to the world. But at least Ayanami... At least I will save Ayanami! (Shinji)
24. I love you. (Kaworu)
25. Garlic ramen without pork (Rei)
26. A.T. Field at maximum! Even if Ikari-kun won't pilot Eva, it's alright! Therefore... (Rei)
27. Stop talking like a spoiled brat! You're still alive, aren't you? So, do all you can to keep yourself alive, and then die afterwards! (Misato)
28. Are you stupid?! Why were you unaware of this crucial situation? (Asuka)
29. I'll kill you... Kill... kill... kill you... Kill... I'll kill you... I'll kill you all... (Asuka)
30. However, no sin is beyond redemption. There is always hope. Always. (Kaworu)

https://www.famitsu.com/news/202005/16198567.html

Really there are so many lines (100) and I don't really know how to translate them with Google Translate

[Gendo'sPapa]

I had no idea Evangelion Mark 6 had such a following. The second favorite Eva after Unit 01. Wild.

[FelipeFritschF]

Zero surprises here. Even down to age and gender distribution, wow.

Then again, it's pretty obvious that Eva is *not* a cool underground 90s show in Japan at all.

[girlifyoudidnt]

Rest of the top 30 quotes.

9. Bathing is the laundry of life. (Misato)
11. Come now, the promised time has come, Ikari Shinji-kun. This time, I'll be sure to bring you happiness. (Kaworu)
12. Father! I'm the pilot of Evangelion Unit-01, Shinji Ikari! (Shinji)
13. Next time, service, service~ (Misato)
14. Go for it, Shinji-kun! Don't do this for someone else! Do this for your own desires! (Misato)
15. I was born to meet you. (Kaworu)
16. Shinji-kun, I can do nothing but water here. But for you, I bet there is the thing which YOU can do and only you can do. Nobody forces you. Think by yourself and decide by yourself what you should do now. Well, I wish you no regret. (Kaji)
17. I mustn't run away I mustn't run away I mustn't run away
18. Shit!! Even without the cable... I still have 12,000 plates of special armor... and my AT Field! I can't lose! Not against you!! (Asuka)
19. Shinji-kun, you just need to find peace and a place to call your own. Fate will surely guide you. Don't look at me like that. We'll meet again, Shinji-kun. (Kaworu)
20. I don't know, but... I feel warm around Ikari-kun. I want to feel warm towards him, as well. I think I want to feel warm about him getting along with Commander Ikari. (Rei)
21. I may have been born to meet you (Kaworu)
22. Congratulations
23. I don't care what happens to me. I don't care what happens to the world. But at least Ayanami... At least I will save Ayanami! (Shinji)
24. I love you. (Kaworu)
25. Garlic ramen without pork (Rei)
26. A.T. Field at maximum! Even if Ikari-kun won't pilot Eva, it's alright! Therefore... (Rei)
27. Stop talking like a spoiled brat! You're still alive, aren't you? So, do all you can to keep yourself alive, and then die afterwards! (Misato)
28. Are you stupid?! Why were you unaware of this crucial situation? (Asuka)
29. I'll kill you... Kill... kill... kill you... Kill... I'll kill you... I'll kill you all... (Asuka)
30. However, no sin is beyond redemption. There is always hope. Always. (Kaworu)

Plus a message from Asuka's VA, Yuko Miyamura.

tweet-body

— twitter-user (@username) date

[robersora]

So the Angel Numbering is from NTE, right?
12th Angel was the thing they found down in Terminal Dogma in Q, right? But what was 11th?


Interesting, also, that Asuka is now 1st place, specifically NTE Asuka... But might this point to a cultural shift in Otakudom in the last 25 years, or is the audience of Eva just different?

Also, Kaworu not being first place is a travesty I disavow, but he got 2nd place twice, so... I'll take what I get, lmao. (Japanese Fujoshi, I'm disappointed #snubbed)

Favorite dialogue:
Which translation should we use? I'm not familiar enough with the English translation either way, so here's my (very loose) takes on some lines...
#9 is "A bath drives off worries and sorrows" // "There is nothing like a bath to kick back and relax"
I have no idea when this was said, but I guess it's from Misato?

10位
「あんたバカぁ？ 決まってるじゃない 2号機で あれをやっつけんのよ」
"Are you an idiot? Of course I'm gonna finish it off with Unit-02!"

11位
「さあ約束の時だ 碇シンジくん 今度こそ君だけは幸せにしてみせるよ」
Now the promised time has come, Ikari Shinji, this time for sure I will bring you your happiness.
(Kaworu lines are tricky af, it's very poetic, in a way... Too close and it sounds clumsy af, stray too far and it loses some meaning)

12位
「父さんっ！ 僕はっ エヴァンゲリオン初号機パイロット 碇シンジです！」
"Father! The pilot of Evangelion Unit 01 is me, Ikari Shinji!"

13位
「さぁて この次も サービスサービスぅ！」
Is Misato's line at the next Episode previews, lmao. Saabisu Saabisu!

14位
「いきなさい！ シンジくん 誰かのためじゃない！ あなた自身の願いのために！」
"Go for it! Don't do it for someone else! Do it for your own sake!" (my translation)
I remember this line being the pivotal line of Misato (being so beautifully mirrored in 3.33), so I looked up the OG English translation. And GOD DAMN is the English dub bad! They talk so unnatural and slowly... No wonder Khara couldn't bare looking at this travesty of a localization any longer... Sad that Dan Kanemitsu's translations come with it's own set of problems tho... I'm happy to be German, lmao.
They went with
"You can do it Shinji! Do it for yourself! Do it because this is what you want!"


15位
「楽しいよ 僕は君と会うために生まれてきたんだね」
"I'm glad - Like I was born to meet you" (I've added the like, cuz I don't know how to insert the slight uncertainty otherwise)


Oh
I was too slow, lol

[Justacrazyguy]

I can't believe Rei is in third place. My disgust is infinite.

[hui43210]

Very happy to see Japan has come to their senses and realize that Asuka and Karwou are far superior to that blue haired doll. Once they realize Misato is also superior, justice will prevail.

I also find it greatly amusing that my girl Sakura (with somewhere around 10 minutes screen time) is apparently more popular than Kensuke and Hyuga. Poor nerds.... And I honestly don't know who Shrio is, but he's also more popular.

[robersora]

^
lmao I didn't even notice that.
I mistook him for Hideki Tama, the cute Wunder technician, lol, but actually he's

the executive of a private company who gives a demonstration of the ill-fated Jet Alone project seen in Episode 07.

Thanks for being too lazy to do one Google search, provided me with a good laugh!

[kuribo-04]

Glad the best character ever created won.

[Reichu]

12th Angel was the thing they found down in Terminal Dogma in Q, right? But what was 11th?

There's no information whatsoever. It's like if "Evangelion Mark.07" was an option on the poll and people actually voted for it.

My favorite character was never even remotely popular *as a character*, so I don't get any grumbling rights, I suppose. It's so nice, not even having a voice that matters on the great stage of "moronic fan disputes". Also, insert a bitter rant here about how contests of popularity are insipid, and down with the normies, and etc. etc.

[FelipeFritschF]

It's worth noticing that these polls also reflect the current trends. In the 90s Rei would win no doubt, then Asuka slowly began to take the toll) top place during the 00s. Then Rei got popularity back after 2.0 in 2009 and lost a lot of prominence again after 3.0. Kaworu is even more specific because he faded somewhat (relative to other characters) and would usually be on 4th place (after Shinji) or sometimes even 5th after Misato. After 3.0 he exploded in popularity again and jumped to 2nd place. I remember Anno (or was it Tsurumaki?) said somewhere that Rei had simply lost her mystery over time. I must say I thought Mari might be a bit lower, though... I'm very interested to see how the next movie will affect future results.

[girlifyoudidnt]

In the Evangelion Forever book, there's the results of a character poll taken by a radio program that garnered 46,307 votes. It was done a month after EoE released in theaters, and results weren't too different from now.
1. Asuka
2. Kaworu
3. Shinji
4. Misato
5. Rei
6. Maya
7. Kaji
8. Gendo
9. Ritsuko
10. Pen Pen

tweet-body

— twitter-user (@username) date

[robersora]

huh, I guess Rei being so popular was just a meme then

[Derantor]

Certainly not. Otherwise, the best-girl-wars wouldn't have raged so long and so bitterly. EoE just gave Asuka much more cool stuff to do than it gave Rei, which might have influenced the polls - and my guess is that GNR and all that crazy stuff was not really Waifu material for her general following.

That Asuka would win out in the end was a foregone conclusion, though. Chad Furor Teutonicus beats Virgin Yamato Nadeshiko every time.

[FelipeFritschF]

Yes, there are plenty of other, and larger, polls representing Rei's popularity at the time. She *was* the Premium Girl after all. We can't just forget her gargantuan popularity and influence over the years. Gee, Anno himself directly points this out with Rei literally saying she's doing better than Asuka in these polls in After The End.

[Rei IV]

There's no information whatsoever. It's like if "Evangelion Mark.07" was an option on the poll and people actually voted for it.

My favorite character was never even remotely popular *as a character*, so I don't get any grumbling rights, I suppose. It's so nice, not even having a voice that matters on the great stage of "moronic fan disputes". Also, insert a bitter rant here about how contests of popularity are insipid, and down with the normies, and etc. etc.

And yet her other persona is number #1 on the Eva list.

My favorite Eva, Mark.09, both in its Impostor Unit-00 and Adam's Vessel forms doesn't even appear on the list of favorite Evas.

Kaworu, Asuka, and Rei's as favorite characters is so predictable.

[Joseki]

Voting on NHK's website ran from March 27 to April 29. The poll respondents were 57.5% male and 42.5% female. 31.1% of respondents were aged 19 or under, 24.2% were in their 20s, 21.9% were in their 30s, 14.8% were in their 40s, 7.1% were in their 50s, and 0.9% were in their 60s.

https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/intere ... ll/.159641

I also fixed the OP meanwhile, so that anime historian of the future can better read the data.

Thanks for the better translations everyone!

So the Angel Numbering is from NTE, right?
12th Angel was the thing they found down in Terminal Dogma in Q, right? But what was 11th?

Nope, it's the NGE numbering.

[girlifyoudidnt]

Found some more voter data from the poll.
Asuka
- 62.5% male, 37.5% female voters
- #1 voter group aged 19 and under, #2 group in their 20s, #3 group in their 30s
https://twitter.com/kiyokageh/status/12 ... 9080605697

Kaworu
- 25.7% male, 74.3% female voters
- #1 voter group aged 19 and under, #2 group in their 20s, #3 group in their 30s
https://twitter.com/ss_____68/status/12 ... 8628624385

Shinji
- 44.8% male, 55.2% female voters
- #1 voter group aged 19 and under, #2 group in their 20s, #3 group in their 30s
https://twitter.com/sctm_27/status/1261680045522743296

Will try and see if I can find Rei's data later.

The poll got 109,577 votes total, the least of any of the NHK anime polls so far, but it also had less days for voting than all of the others.

[FelipeFritschF]

Hm. For comparison's sake, the Eva Store poll from last year, which followed this one's patterns somewhat, probably got less than 5 thousand votes:

https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/intere ... ts/.143034

[girlifyoudidnt]

Found the full voter data stats, finally.

SPOILER: Show

Fav Characters
20. Kensuke
Male: 57.1%
Female: 42.9%
Ages: 10s, 20s/30s, 40s
19. Hyuga
Male: 45.9%
Female: 54.1%
Ages: 30s, 10s, 20s
18. Shiro/Jet Alone guy
Male: 87.0%
Female: 13.0%
Ages: 10s, 20s, 30s
17. Sakura
Male: 91.6%
Female: 8.4%
Ages: 10s, 20s, 30s
16. Aoba
Male: 51.5%
Female: 48.5%
Ages: 10s, 20s, 30s
15. Hikari
Male: 81.7%
Female: 18.3%
Ages: 30s, 20s, 40s
14. Yui
Male: 70.7%
Female: 29.3%
Ages: 30s, 20s, 10s
13. Toji
Male: 62.4%
Female: 37.6%
Ages: 10s, 20s, 30s
12. Fuyutsuki
Male: 79.1%
Female: 20.9%
Ages: 10s, 20s, 30s
11. Ritsuko
Male: 38.7%
Female: 61.3%
Ages: 30s, 20s, 40s
10. Gendo
Male: 77.4%
Female: 22.6%
Ages: 10s, 40s, 20s
9. Maya
Male: 83.6%
Female: 16.4%
Ages: 30s, 40s, 20s
8. Pen Pen
Male: 53.7%
Female: 46.3%
Ages: 10s, 30s, 20s
7. Kaji
Male: 58.6%
Female: 41.4%
Ages: 30s, 40s, 10s/20s
6. Mari
Male: 69.4%
Female: 30.6%
Ages: 10s, 20s, 30s
5. Misato
Male: 56.8%
Female: 43.2%
Ages: 30s, 20s, 40s
4. Shinji
Male: 44.8%
Female: 55.2%
Ages: 10s, 20s, 30s
3. Rei
Male: 62.0%
Female: 38.0%
Ages: 10s, 20s, 30s
2. Kaworu
Male: 25.7%
Female: 74.3%
Ages: 1: 10s, 20s, 30s
1. Asuka
Male: 62.5%
Female: 37.5%
Ages: 10s, 20s, 30s

Fav Eva Unit
10. Evangelion Unit-08β
Male: 66.1%
Female: 33.9%
Ages: 10s, 20s, 30s
9. Evangelion Unit-00
Male: 59.5%
Female: 40.5%
Ages: 30s, 40s, 10s
8. Evangelion Unit-03
Male: 78.6%
Female: 21.4%
Ages: 10s, 30s, 20s
7. Evangelion Unit-05
Male: 82.6%
Female: 17.4%
Ages: 10s, 20s, 30s
6. Evangelion Unit-02 Beast Mode
Male: 59.2%
Female: 40.8%
Ages: 10s, 20s, 30s
5. Eva Mark 13
Male: 68.1%
Female: 31.9%
Ages: 10s, 20s, 30s
4. Evangelion Unit-02
Male: 56.9%
Female: 43.1%
Ages: 10s/30s, 20s, 40s
3. Eva Mark 6
Male: 57.3%
Female: 42.7%
Ages - 10s, 20s, 30s
2. Evangelion Unit-01 Awakened
Male: 75.7%
Female: 24.3%
Ages - 10s, 20s, 30s
Evangelion Unit-01
Male: 54.0%
Female: 46.0%
Ages: 10s/30s, 20s, 40s

Fav Angel
10. 7th Angel NTE
Male: 51.5%
Female: 48.5%
Ages - 10s, 20s, 30s
9. 11th Angel
Male: 70.7%
Female: 29.3%
Ages - 10s, 20s, 30s
8. 12th Angel
Male: 71.7%
Female: 28.3%
Ages: 10s, 20s, 30s
7. 9th Angel
Male: 69.5%
Female: 30.5%
Ages: 10s, 20s, 30s
6. 8th Angel
Male: 55.7%
Female: 44.3%
Ages: 10s, 20s, 30s
5. 7th Angel
Male: 64.8%
Female: 35.2%
Ages: 10s, 30s, 20s
4. 4th Angel
Male: 53.9%
Female: 46.1%
Ages: 10s, 30s, 20s
3. 10th Angel
Male: 83.0%
Female: 17.0%
Ages: 10s, 30s, 20s
2. Kaworu (Angel)
Male: 36.0%
Female: 64.0%
Ages - 10s, 20s, 30s
1. 6th Angel
Male: 66.0%
Female: 34.0%
Ages: 10s, 20s, 30s

Source: https://kimigaku.jp/archives/388/