MENSCH

MENSCH (メンシュ) operates as a covert agency assembled to stop the Angels within the theatrical production Stage Evangelion Beyond; the word is German and translates to mankind. Its crest reworks the Vitruvian Man, Leonardo Da Vinci's famous figure study, into an organizational emblem, stamped with an inscription credited to Plato that calls conquering yourself the first and best of victories.

Director Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui supplied the emblem's original concept, wanting a design that would echo the look of the classic NERV insignia.

Within the play's timeline, Evangelion development is older than MENSCH itself. Kano drives the project as chief executive, drawing on two research streams: prior study of Sagata's Adam's Capsule and findings recovered from the craters investigated across the disaster area. Progress comes at terrible cost, with pilot recruitment among the hardest problems, and eleven years pass before the work is finished.

The completed fleet numbers four machines, designated Evangelion α, β, γ, and δ. All four operate at once, and none duplicates another; every unit follows a type of its own.

Command rests with Saneyuki Kano, Commander-in-Chief of the covert agency. Under him, Iori Kiryu heads the Strategic Operations Section, Etsuko Sakurai leads Technology Development, and Soshi Tomori serves among the crew.

Five pilots take the agency's Evangelions into battle: Mayu, Eri Akizuki, Toma Kano, Nawo Hasumi, and Hinata La Fayette Kojo.