In terms of pilot casualties, the Evangelion series boasts the lowest. I still remember the relatively graphic deaths of Gundam SEED/SEED Destiny, while the recent IBO series included the unfortunate lead character as the victim. Even in Macross, someone must die to add drama to the show. Aside from the many nameless Veritech pilots getting blown to bits, Roy Focker was the one in Death’s list.

Yet the depressing EVA series had low pilot casualties.

In the original NGE, the only true “casualty” was the cloned girl Rei Ayanami (the second cloned formed) when she blew herself to save Shinji. Nevertheless, she was an artificial likeness of his mom and a new clone was on the way. Toji received a good beating in his first piloting attempt, but he only lost a leg. And during the notorious End of Evangelion, the loud Asuka survived the brutal end of her EVA, and yes, she lost an eye but still pretty much alive.

And most of the deaths came from the Special Forces massacre and the orange juice apocalypse.

If what happened in the EVA pilots happened in other mecha shows, the pilots are screwed. Yes, EVA units boasts safety features that other mechas lack.

As frightening as it is to get stuck inside the entry plug to face the horrors of the rampaging angels, being an EVA pilot is a relatively a safer occupation. The vast size of the unit itself serves as a protection in its own. A pilot is armored within layers of binders and flesh, and there is the entry plug that could be ejected it times of emergency. The pilots are also supported by an army of staffs who will monitor everything, including your health. And since they will be facing Angels and not armed mechas, the risk of getting blown and shrapnel injuries are greatly reduced.

But again, no safety measures are pool proof. People will eventually die regardless of protection, as what some not so pleasant incident had shown.

With that said let’s move on to the many forms of deaths Shinji and the rest faced.