Age: 29 
Chief of operations at NERV
Misato Katsuragi is the chief of operations at NERV headquarters, who shows herself to be a reliable and resourceful officer. At first seemingly only added to the series for fan service and comic relief, we soon discover that Misato is an essential part of Eva's complex history and plot.
When we first meet Misato in the series, she is picking up Shinji right before the
first angel attack. Even during something as simple as a drive back to base, we
can see that she is a natural leader, making smart decisions and thinking
logically. Soon however, we see a more human side to her, when she decides to
take Shinji under her wing.
It is at this point that she becomes very much like Shinji's new mother. Misato gives Shinji a place to live, buys him gifts, and even goes so far as to visit his teachers during parent interviews. Gendou, Shinji's real father, makes it quite clear that he has no interest in such frivolous things and that he believes it to be Misato's responsibility.
Her day to day adult life is very extreme, and the viewer notices that right away. Before Shinji arrives, her apartment is a disaster, and she lives like a slob. She doesn't know how to cook, and all she drinks is beer. Given Misato's colorful lifestyle, you can see how being Shinji's guardian would be a little hard to get used to, but considering Shinji's state of mind throughout the series, she did a pretty decent job. By living with Shinji and seeing him in all his various emotional situations, Misato realizes that she is not so different from him, and that she shares the same fears and insecurities as Shinji when it comes to issues like Kaji and her father.
Although at the beginning constantly upbeat and energetic, we discover that her childhood
was one of misery. Like Shinji and Asuka, her history is tied to NERV's past.
Her father was the head scientist on the expedition to Antarctica before the
Second Impact occurred. Because of the demands of his job, he had very little
time for his family, and he found it was much easier to ignore them and
concentrate on the project. However, when
Second Impact began, he made one final noble act before his death. He managed to
get to Misato into a type of life pod that let her survive the disaster.
Physically, she lived on until she was rescued.
Mentally however, she was horribly scarred. For years after returning from Antarctica , she stayed mute and never spoke a word to anyone. As one scientist put it, "She saw hell first hand". The chaos and destruction of the Second Impact claimed her father's life, and she was in the middle of it watching. It was this moment that would shape her career. She would spend the rest of her life in a personal vendetta against the angels who took away her father. After that incident, she has always worn the white cross around her neck that her father had given to her. It is an odd kind of mindset, that even though Misato held her father in contempt for his lack of responsibility, she dedicated her life to a quest in his name.
Gradually Misato recovered from her illness, and eventually decided to attend college. It
was there that she met a girl named Ritsuko Akagi. Ritsuko was Misato's first
real friend since recovering, and their friendship continued into their careers,
after they both joined NERV and began working together. In college, neither
Misato nor Ritsuko were very sociable at first, but both wanted someone to be
friends with. Once they got to know one another, Misato started talking and
never seemed to stop, as if trying to make up for all the years when she was
mute. Around the same time, she also met a man named Ryoji Kaji.
She eventually left him, the reason being that Misato was terrified. Kaji
reminded her so much of her father, the man which all her mixed feelings and
emotions revolve around. When Kaji enters NERV, their relationship seems to
spark up again at times and
then they start going out again. However, in true Eva fashion, their new
"love" is destined to end in tragedy.
Towards the end of the series, Kaji is exposed as a double agent. He realizes that this will most likely lead to his death. Finally, in one scene, we see him recognize someone right before a gunshot is heard, and we hear that Kaji has been murdered.
The Killer was never revield but some say it was Misato and others say it's someone else but whether or not she killed Kaji, it left her very vulnerable afterwards, especially after hearing his voice on the answering machine. Kaji had been a big part of her life, and he was now dead. As the reality of the whole situation hits Misato, we can't help but pity her as she sits at her desk and begins to cry.
Even after all this, it is a tribute to Misato's dedication and perserverance that
she is able to pull herself up and get back to work with NERV again. During the
movie when the JSDF forces invade she takes control of the situation, sizing up
the threat and makes prudent decisions about the defense. After she saves
Shinji's life, she does her best to convince him to snap out of his depression
and stop SEELE's plans. She is shot and killed while protecting Shinji, and dies
in the final act of a caring, protective mother.
Throughout her younger years, because her father was away so much, Misato was expected to be a well behaved model child. However, she always hated being the good girl, and when she grew older, wanted only to disgrace herself. Misato suffers from a fear of being lonely, most likely originating from her time in isolation after the second impact. She realizes that she doesn't really sleep with men because she loves them, but because she simply needs to be "infatuated with primal ecstasy". By being close in bed with other people, it makes her feel needed and soothes her uneasy feelings. It is the fashion in which she tries to go about her life, trying to convince herself that she is happy. Deep down she realizes that this is just a lie.
Another one of the mental paradoxes of Misato is best shown during the movie. The way Misato talks to Shinji about defeating the Eva series and helping Asuka in the fight; she seems very passionate about life. It gives the impression that even though she might have discovered the truth with Kaji's information, she is clearly not interested at all in instrumentality. Misato takes up the noble cause however, and saves their lives at the cost of her own.
Misato Katsuragi throughout the series is someone who brings people together. She took in both Shinji and Asuka, and gave them someplace to stay where they could be happy. She seemed to truly care for the welfare of the people that are around her, and it is tragic that the only problems that she had no words of advice for were her own faults. Misato was not as lucky as Shinji, she had to take care of herself.
