gendo's last names (rokubungi and ikari) mean "sextant" and "anchor" in japanese, respectively; his first name was taken from another anime project prior to "evangelion" that was aborted. yoshiyuki sadamoto has admitted inspiration from the british television show " ufo" for the design of gendo's uniform, specifically that worn by commander edward straker (with fuyutsuki's based on col. alec e. freeman).