spoiler; in Evangelion, NERV is the name of the singular organization by which Shinji may interact with the Angels (without it, there is no show). - Asuna: a redhead who wears her hair in the most peculiar way of the female cast and who also becomes the protagonist's primary love interest; finally, she's revealed to be in a coma in the second half of the first series. Compare her with Asuka — Asuka Langley Soryu. - Near the end of the first season, they meet an incredibly intelligent and immune A.I. character, who can only exist within the virtual reality of VRMMORPG: she behaves exactly like a human, but technically isn't; she pleads with Asuna and Kirito to be her surrogate parents (the former a direct shout-out, and the latter an inverse shout-out to Rei Ayanami); finally — alongside her limited existence within artifical reality — her name is Yui (both direct shout-outs to Yui Ikari). - At the end of Season 1, we learn the creator of the game is an eccentric, enigmatic man so dedicated to his work that suicidal thoughts motivated his creative choices, to the point that he valued his work more than his life. The product of his efforts is now remembered by those who used it as a valuable, affecting experience adding to the value of real life. - Episode 22 details Asuna's attempt to escape from her birdcage prison; as she attempts this, tentacle-monsters capture and man-handle her; in Episode 22 of Evangelion, Asuka is mentally raped by an unprecedented monster — the Angel Arael. Both episodes highlight the expectation of Fanservice from their Otaku audience. - In Episode 4 of Series II, Sinon leads Kirito through the world of Gun Gale Online, and takes him on an escalator ride that is an identical shot setup to one of the several instances Shinji and Rei travel the escalators inside NERV HQ. - In Phantom Bullet Episode 8, Kirito and Sinon have an Uncomfortable Elevator Moment that starts off◊ looking exactly like Evangelion's infamous Leave the Camera Running scene. - In Episode 13 of Series II, while speaking with Kirito and Sinon, Kikuoka strikes Gendo Ikari's signature pose, complete with Scary Shiny Glasses — they are almost identical. - While we're at it, Sinon's real-life appearance looks a lot like a younger Mari Makinami Illustrious. - Megumi Hayashibara — who voiced Rei Ayanami and, more importantly, Yui Ikari (Shinji's mother) in Evangelion — voices Asuna's mother, and, in keeping with Evangelion's core emotive, this mother's presence immediately vexes Asuna. - Ramiel — hostile Angel through episodes 5 and 6 in Evangelion — is the camera and cameraman for a group photo of the members of the "Sleeping Knights" guild in Episode 22 of Season 2.")