Character: Suzuhara Touji

Unbeknownst to Toji for much of the series, his normally by-the-book class rep Hikari Horaki actually has a crush on him, which she tries to repress and disguise by bossing him around. Later in the series, she begins bringing especially big homemade lunches to school for Toji, since he loves to eat ("Toji the Stomach," as Kensuke refers to him). Subsequently, her feelings begin to come to the forefront and Toji seems to return her affection.

Toji is eventually selected to be the Fourth Child, and agrees on the condition that his sister be moved to Nerv's medical facilities. En route to the testing facility, Unit 03 is taken over by Bardiel. When Toji is inserted in the entry plug and the Eva is powered up, Bardiel takes over and the Eva goes on a rampage. All the other Evas are deployed to stop Unit 03, but Units 00 and 02 are quickly defeated, and Shinji refuses orders to destroy Unit 03, wanting to try to save the pilot. However, Gendo orders that Unit 01's Dummy Plug system be activated, overriding Shinji's control. Unit 01 proceeds to tear Unit 03 to shreds and crush its entry plug. After the battle, Shinji learns that Toji is the pilot as the wreckage of the entry plug is examined. Toji survives but is critically injured, losing his left leg. Along with Kensuke and the rest of his class, he is eventually evacuated from Tokyo-3; what happens to him after that is unknown. He appears at the end of episode 26 in Shinji's subconscious.