Evangelion Unit-08

Evangelion Production Model Custom Type-08α carries a Japanese designation that translates roughly to General-Purpose Humanoid Battle Weapon Android Evangelion Utility Model (WILLE Custom) Unit Eight Alpha. Within the Rebuild of Evangelion continuity it belongs to WILLE, and Mari Makinami Illustrious sits in its entry plug for every one of its appearances.

Pink dominates its armor, offset by white trim and small yellow accents. Though its silhouette follows the standard production model template, the custom build shows in the head: three horns sweep gently toward the rear of the helmet, and eight separate neon green eyes cluster across the faceplate.

WILLE obtains the unit through unexplained channels during the fourteen years that follow Near Third Impact. Its combat debut comes in Operation US, where it backs up the Evangelion Production Model-02'β in the attempt to seize the Tesseract confining Evangelion Unit-01, trading fire with the Evangelion Mark.04 swarm. Unable to climb into orbit itself, Unit-08α holds a supporting position, picking off Mark.04A targets with a sniper rifle before dropping back through the atmosphere.

The prequel manga EVANGELION 3.0 (-120 min.) adds context to the sortie: Misato Katsuragi intends for Mari to head the operation with Asuka in reserve, since Unit-08 is in better repair than Unit-02, but Mari pushes for Asuka to take point for Shinji's sake. Because the film grants the unit so little screen time, the full range of its capabilities goes undocumented; what is confirmed is its compatibility with support armaments such as the sniper rifle. Its story closes in Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon A Time, where it rises from the shoreline as Mari offers a farewell to the Final Evangelion before it vanishes from the world.

Mari Makinami Illustrious serves as the unit's only known pilot, operating it under the WILLE banner throughout the later Rebuild films.

The machine's design went through a dramatic revision during production. The preview attached to Evangelion: 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance teased a very different Unit-08: dark purple across the body, a pink visor recalling the Evangelion Mark.06, a halo, the ability to float, and a description as an awakened unit. That awakened machine turned out to be Evangelion 13 rather than Unit-08. In April 2021, designer Ikuto Yamashita shared a 2009 concept showing an early Unit-08 built around a dual entry plug system; the idea was scrapped because Evangelion 13 would carry one instead.