Mana Kirishima (voiced by Megumi Hayashibara), 14, is moved to Shinji Ikari’s school and immediately bonds with him. Asuka feels jealous and thinks Mana is a spy trying to persuade Shinji to reveal NERV and the Evas. Rei Ayanami appears but is mostly background, though she seems to share Asuka’s thoughts. Mana and Shinji date after developing a relationship. However, Mana is one of three test pilots for the TRIDENT (or “Country Crawler”) units, a new Evangelion competitor like Jet Alone, therefore Girlfriend of Steel. When TRIDENT goes insane, Evas must destroy it.
The game’s main interaction is strolling around until the next story event. The only actual branch is near the end, where the player can focus on Mana, Asuka, or Kaji. This pick displays one of the game’s three endings, with a fourth exclusive to PS2.
The Mana ending reveals that Mana survived the conflict. She is saved and returned to Shinji’s apartment. After showering, she teases Shinji and removes her towel. In discussion with Misato, Mana agrees to leave Tokyo-3 and says a tearful goodbye to Shinji, her love.
In the Asuka ending, Asuka helps Shinji overcome Mana, bringing the kids closer. Asuka hugs Shinji in this finale, showing their romance.
Kaji’s third ending is less character-focused than the others. Mana is confirmed alive and says goodbye, to which Shinji replies “I’ll be waiting for you”.
Exclusive to PS2, the game has another ending. In it, Shinji drinks to forget his problems and Mana while sheltering from the rain. Mana finds him in the trash outdoors. They spend the night together and share their sentiments after drying his clothes. After much paperwork, Mana joins NERV to be with Shinji. Shinji and Mana hold hands as Mana says ‘thank you’ in the closing shot. Asuka has gone on.
Yokan (予感, “Premonition”), sung by Yoko Takahashi, is the finale song.
