is a fictional character from the Gainax-created media franchise Neon Genesis Evangelion. In the eponymous anime television series, Misato is head of the operations department of the special agency Nerv, and is in charge of directing and devising war strategies needed to defeat mysterious beings named Angels. Due to childhood emotional traumas, she developed a frivolous, exuberant character and a disordered lifestyle. The character also appears in the franchise's animated feature films and related media, including video games, the original net animation Petit Eva: Evangelion@School, the Rebuild of Evangelion films, and the manga adaptation by Yoshiyuki Sadamoto.
For the creation of the character, Neon Genesis Evangelion director Hideaki Anno took inspiration from his personality. Misato is also inspired by several real-life figures and other anime characters, including Usagi Tsukino from Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon. Critics have drawn parallels between Misato's characterization and concepts of philosophers and psychologists such as Carl Gustav Jung, Arthur Schopenhauer, and Friedrich Nietzsche; Misato's feelings for her father have been linked to Jung's Electra complex, her personal philosophy to Schopenhauer's hedgehog dilemma, and her psychology to the Dionysian spirit postulated by Nietzsche.
Misato has been widely popular with audiences and has appeared at the top of popularity polls. Some critics have contrasted her histrionic personality and sexual overtones with her 14-year-old subordinate and Evangelion protagonist Shinji Ikari; others have appreciated her spontaneity, tenacity, and endearment. She has also inspired merchandise and other subsequent anime characters.
Conception
The franchise's creator Hideaki Anno initially proposed to include a female protagonist in Neon Genesis Evangelion, a young woman similar to Asuka Langley Soryu accompanied by a female soldier in a "big sister" role similar to Kōichirō Ōta's character from Anno's previous work GunBuster. At the request of Yoshiyuki Sadamoto, the series' character designer, the initial scenario was changed and Shinji Ikari, a male character, became the protagonist; ideas for the "older sister" character went into what would become Misato. As with other Neon Genesis Evangelion characters, the character's name was inspired by a Japanese Imperial Navy ship, the aircraft carrier Katsuragi, and Misato Izumi, a female character from Minako Narita's manga Aitsu. To outline her personality, Anno took inspiration from Usagi Tsukino, the 14-year-old protagonist of the series Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon, thinking of Misato as an adult version of Usagi. Sadamoto also drew Misato taking his cue from Usagi's character design and picking up her hair. The characters' aesthetic similarities were emphasized by the choice of Kotono Mitsuishi, the original performer of Usagi, as Misato's voice actress.
For her facial features, the staff took inspiration from Fujiko Mine from the anime Lupin III and Japanese writer Aya Sugimoto. Sadamoto tried to give Misato a "girl next door" role; she was originally thought of as a fashion-conscious woman who constantly changes her clothing and apparently unsuited to military life; she was also conceived as emotional, stubborn and frivolous, and able, if forced by events, to sleep with all of the men at Nerv. The artist, inspired by the clothes worn by racers, decided to portray her with motorcyclist dresses. As a motoring enthusiast, he also poured his passion into the character, depicting her as an admirer of sports cars. It was his idea to equip her with a modified Renault Alpine A310, which Ikuto Yamashita designed, as a nod to the first episode of Lupin III, in which a Renault Alpine A110 appears. In the seventh episode, it was decided to have Misato drive a red Ferrari 328 GTS, and a Mazda Cosmo Sport 110 in the Rebuild of Evangelion series.
During the production of the series, Anno read romance novels written by women so he could better understand their feelings and make Misato's characterization more realistic. He also relied on his personality, as well as with all characters in the series. The staff also relied on Anno to create the room and the character's handwriting. Anno himself stated during the production of the series: "I don't know what will happen to Shinji, Misato or Rei. I don't know where life will take them. Because I don't know where life is taking the staff of the production."