Strategic Defense Force Integrated Mechanic Soldier Type-4 "Akashima"

The Strategic Defense Force Integrated Mechanic Soldier Type-4, nicknamed Akashima after an old word for typhoon, debuts in the opening volume of the ANIMA novels. The JSSDF commissions it as a fresh answer to Angel-scale threats, drawing on technical assistance from NERV Japan during construction, and Kio Seiji handled its mechanical design. Publicly the machine is framed as a support weapon for the Evangelions, yet whispers persist that its real assignment is eliminating them if the need arises; Toji Suzuhara passes this rumor along to Shinji while warning him not to celebrate the new mecha too readily.

An N² Reactor powers the unit. Its humanoid layout is deliberate: legs carry it across any terrain, while arms let it fire weapons in every direction or simply pin an enemy in close combat if gunnery fails. The main body goes beyond structural support, serving as a frame for protective armor and soaking up unexpected impacts. Two crew members ride inside under multiple harnesses, one driving and one running the guns.

Reconfiguring into cruiser mode grants flight, freeing the JSSDF to act quickly anywhere without external logistics, though ground effect keeps its ceiling low. The wings in this mode carry hardpoints for additional equipment. The airframe also pulled double duty as the test platform for the graviton floaters later fitted to Evangelion Unit-02 Type II Allegorica, and some units are eventually upgraded with quantum wave mirrors that resonate on gravitons drawn from their reactors.

Lieutenant Colonel Kasuga commands the Akashima force, with Warrant Officer Endo of the Anti-Angel Rapid Response Unit among its pilots. Squads first mobilize near the UN-leased ground around Tokyo-3 in Hakone. Later, invoking an agreement permitting preventative measures, the JSSDF enters the UN-controlled zone; Endo asks for Commander Misato Katsuragi but instead briefs Toji Suzuhara, the senior officer present, explaining that the government hopes to shift part of its functions to the region because it is Japan's most seismically stable ground. The tremors being suppressed there puzzle everyone, and JSSDF science advisors point to the Chronostatic Sphere as the suspected cause. In Volume 3, Acting Deputy Commander Toji negotiates with Kasuga and Endo to mount a recovery mission to the Valley of Human Bodies in Morocco, rides an Akashima there himself, and finds Hikari Horaki at the site.