This is Kaworu's only real "appearance," episode 24 of Neon Genesis Evangelion, originally aired March 13, 1996. Information is included here about a never-released-outside-Japan extended version with additional Kaworu footage.

Shinji had been having a terrible time, even by his standards. He had just found out that Rei was actually a clone, had nearly killed his good friend Touji, and Asuka had lost her ability to pilot her Eva unit and had disappeared. He stood on the beach lamenting the fact that he had no friends and no one to even try to talk to, as both Touji and Kensuke had moved away from Tokyo-3.

Just then, he heard the sound of someone humming Beethoven's 9th Symphony, "Ode to Joy." He looked up to see a silver-haired boy, about his age, sitting on a protrusion sticking out of the water, and staring out across the ocean. The boy, still facing the ocean, began talking to Shinji about music, and then turned, looked at Shinji with kind red eyes, and called Shinji by his full name.

This certainly surprised Shinji, and Shinji asked how he knew his name. The boy told him that everyone knows Shinji's name, because of his position as an EVA pilot. Shinji then asked him who he was. The boy introduced himself as Nagisa Kaworu, and let Shinji know that he is, like Shinji, one of the children chosen to pilot the Eva units - the Fifth Child. Shinji then began to ask him a question, addressing him as "Nagisa-kun." Kaworu lets him know that it's fine to call him Kaworu, and Shinji, visibly blushing, tells Kaworu that he can address him by his first name as well.

We learn a bit more about Kaworu from a conversation between Misato and Makoto. We find that, like Rei, Kaworu's records had been erased. However, one piece of information remained: his birthdate, which was the day of Second Impact - September 13, 2000. Misato and Makoto seemed somewhat suspicious of Kaworu, as he was sent directly to NERV by the Committee, and his records were classified.

Kaworu was brought in to replace Asuka in Unit 02. They tested Kaworu's synch ratio with Unit 02, and he had an amazingly high ratio (even higher than Rei and Shinji with their Eva units), even though Unit 02 had not even been configured for Kaworu's use. It seemed that his synch ratio was so high that it should not have even been physically possible.

After the synch tests, Kaworu saw Rei in a hall within NERV headquarters and cryptically told her that she was the "same" as him. NERV, meanwhile, analyzed the synch test results and tried to figure out who or what Kaworu was and what his abilities were.

As Kaworu left one of the central areas of NERV headquarters, he found Shinji sitting on a bench, listening to "Ode to Joy." Kaworu asked him if he was waiting for him, and Shinji, blushing again, stumbled over his words and said that he didn't mean to. Kaworu asked him what he's doing that day, and Shinji said that he usually takes a shower and goes home after the tests, but that he doesn't really like going home these days.

Kaworu told him that it's good to have a home, and that he wanted to talk more with Shinji, so he asked if he could come with him. Shinji hesitated, and Kaworu clarified that he was talking about going to the shower with him, since that's where Shinji said that he usually goes after the tests. Kaworu, sensing Shinji's hesitation, asked if he minded him joining him in the shower. Shinji quickly let Kaworu know that he didn't mind at all.

They took their shower, and then soaked in a post-shower bath. Kaworu serenely sat next to Shinji with his eyes closed, and Shinji, once again blushing, gazed at Kaworu out of the corner of his eye. In the ensuing discussion, Kaworu quickly pinpointed the central interpersonal problem that Shinji has throughout the series: he is afraid to get close to others, because of the possibility of betrayal and getting hurt, but he is also extremely lonely in his separation from others. Kaworu told Shinji that it's possible to forget loneliness and thereby find the will to live. At this point, Kaworu placed his hand over Shinji's, making Shinji gasp.

The lights then shut off. Shinji told Kaworu that it was time for bed, and Kaworu asked him if they were going to bed together. Shinji managed to stammer out that he thought that Kaworu had his own room. Kaworu, changing the subject, told Shinji that, as a human, he always has pain in his heart, and, as such, he is as fragile as glass.

"I am?" asked Shinji.

"Yes," Kaworu responded, and told Shinji that he loved him. Shinji, of course, was blushing brighter than ever at this.

Shinji decided to spend that night in Kaworu's room, sleeping on the floor next to his bed. Kaworu, sensing Shinji's need to talk to someone, asked him what he wanted to talk about. Shinji immediately began opening up to Kaworu as he had never done with anyone else.

Kaworu asked him if he hated people, and Shinji told him that he didn't, really, but that he did hate his dad. Shinji silently wondered why he was opening up so much and telling all of these things to Kaworu. He turned his head to see Kaworu looking down at him serenely. Shinji gasped and blushed again as Kaworu told him that he thought that he was born to meet Shinji.

Things were becoming even more mysterious for Misato as she found that Kaworu could set his synch ratio at any level that he wanted. She suspected that Ritsuko knew more, so Misato went to ask her a few questions. She asked Ritsuko just who Kaworu was, and Ritsuko responded that he was probably the "final messenger." Misato was soon to find out just what Ritsuko meant.

Kaworu entered the room where Unit 02 was stored, and activated it with his mind. "Come," he said, and began leading Unit 02 down into Central Dogma. The activation was instantly detected in the NERV control center, but the readouts were puzzling - Unit 02 was active, but Asuka was in her bed, and there was no entry plug in it.

An AT field was detected in Central Dogma, along with a blood pattern of blue - the sure sign of an Angel. Misato and the others began to piece together what this meant - Kaworu was an Angel, and had been sent by Seele to invade Central Dogma and presumably start Third Impact. They tried shutting off Terminal Dogma in an attempt to slow Unit 02 down long enough for Shinji, in Unit 01, to get there and stop it.

When Shinji was informed of the situation, he was filled with angry disbelief. Kaworu, the person who was closest to him, couldn't possibly be an Angel. Kaworu had betrayed him, just like others close to him had done, especially his father.

Shinji, in Unit 01, saw Kaworu descending with Unit 02 down toward Terminal Dogma, and began grappling with Unit 02. Kaworu had been expecting him. "Why are you doing this?" Shinji demanded. Kaworu began to explain his desire to return to Adam, which all Angels want to do. Shinji then tried to attack Kaworu, but was stopped by an AT field. Kaworu tried to explain that everyone has an AT field, but Shinji didn't understand Kaworu at all.

In the NERV control room, they were making preparations to blow everything up if Unit 01 was defeated. If Kaworu was going to make contact with Lilith, it would cause Third Impact. However, Kaworu's AT field, the strongest one they'd ever detected, shut out all signals from Terminal Dogma, making it impossible for them to tell just what was going on.

Kaworu opened Heaven's Door, the entrance to Terminal Dogma, and prepared to return to Adam, as he was destined to do, even though it would destroy humanity. However, he sensed that it was not Adam, but Lilith in Terminal Dogma, and realized that he had been fooled by Seele into believing he would find Adam there. With this revelation, he stopped where he was.

Shinji broke into Terminal Dogma and grabbed Kaworu in the hand of Unit 01. He once again asked Kaworu what he was doing. Kaworu tried to explain his destiny to return to Adam, even if it meant destroying humanity, but told Shinji that life and death were the same to him, so he preferred to die to allow Shinji and the rest of humankind to live.

Shinji still didn't understand who Kaworu was or why he was doing what he was doing. Kaworu told him that he wanted Shinji to kill him, because humanity's destruction would ensue if Kaworu lived. Kaworu told Shinji that Shinji needed to have a future, and thanked him for making his life meaningful.

Shinji, devastated, stood there for a long time holding Kaworu. Finally, though, he did what he knew that he needed to do, squeezing the hand of Unit 01 closed and killing Kaworu.

Later, sitting on the beach, Shinji told Misato just how much Kaworu meant to him: "He said that he loved me ... I loved him, too."

Kaworu's next appearance was in the theatrical feature Death & Rebirth.

Extended Version

In the Japanese video release of episode 24, additional Kaworu footage was added, including a brand-new scene of Kaworu meeting with Seele. You can find information about this extended version (with pictures) and a partial script of this new version at the Evangelion Otaku Page. For information on where to purchase this version, check out The Goods.

Episode 24 Scripts

Literal Translation (at the Literal Translation Project Homepage)
AD Vision subtitle transcription (at Kaoru Nagisa: The Final Messenger)
AD Vision English dubbed transcription (at Kaoru Nagisa: The Final Messenger)