How Rei Ayanami Radically Changed Anime Merchandise

Neon Genesis Evangelion’s insanely successful marketing, merchandise, and external media is well known for feeling extremely disconnected from its thought provoking source material, but why? Here’s the story of how Rei Ayanami transformed the show’s merchandise, as well as anime merchandising as a whole. I shine the spotlight on products like the Ayanami Raising Project, a questionable official Gainax calendar, and other oddities.
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Sources:
• Life-Size EVA In Kyoto...
• The Evangelion Store i...
• Evangelion Cafe in Japan
• Evangelion EXPO in Tok...
• [PS2] Evangelion: Ayan...
• Evangelion Bandage Rei...
Fujie, Kazuhisa; Foster, Martin (2004). Neon Genesis Evangelion: The Unofficial Guide. United States: DH Publishing, Inc.
Galbraith, Patrick W. (2010). "Akihabara: Conditioning a Public "Otaku" Image". Mechademia. University of Minnesota Press.
Nikkei Net (2007). "Shunju.”
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Lamarre, Thomas (2009). The Anime Machine: A Media Theory of Animation. University of Minnesota Press.
#NeonGenesisEvangelion #anime

[@dankym]

Because of Eva’s commercialization, nothing could prepare me for how the show actually was. Went in thinking I was watching Transformers, came out feeling I saw Requiem for a Dream.

[@PewZipZappity]

I think something similar to this in the US is Breaking Bad. It's a very dark, wonderful series and certainly not pro drug dealer. But the merchandise is more tongue in cheek, blue rock candy, walt figures, Superbowl commercials. To the point there is a disconnect between the product and the actual show

[@TheOneWhoKnocks969]

Fact that asus made a whole eva pc and gigguk marketed it shows how far the eva marchendise have gone

[@free_spirit1]

2:01 LCL flavored doritos? Yes pls

[@thebaccathatchews]

Red Bard did a video on how you can live your entire life on nothing but Evangelion-branded products. It's really quite disturbing.

[@thescreentakes]

Her video is very entertaining and shows just how far the Eva merchandising machine goes. Definitely worth a watch!

[@iamnotmattpatl1467]

This channel is under rated

[@matten_zero]

In some/many ways...that is the point. The commoditization sits in contrast with the themes of the anime. In the Rebuild, part of the point was to stop talking about Eva and to touch grass. The commercialization of Eva merch in many aspects is a way of saying "hey, its not THAT serious, move on with your life". Its all very poetic in that sense.
This is why I love meta-narratives in art.

[@penguincamp]

Very good video! Though tbh, I wish an example of pre-NGE anime merch was shown so the before-and-after effect could really hit

[@tacituskilgore80]

All this makes me feel like most people really perceive Evangelion at face value and still enjoy it.

[@matten_zero]

It is also very poetic that Rei, the (Spoiler Alert, although you've had 25 years)...
clone of Shinji's mother, is used and marketed so heavily. It is in lockstep with how she is portrayed in Eva. A doll for the consumption of us the consumer/audience and for Gendo in Human Instrumentality.

[@Egdisobgdoslw]

rei plush

[@StarsAndSticks]

What an interesting and insightful video, great work man keep it up!

[@bayamoth]

Loving your work, looking forward to your next video!

[@mRhea]

this is a great vid
id love to see a huge exploration on the greater situation
a complete history and evolution of otaku merchandising
going through all the big moments and phases
start at Hakujaden and 60s,
then mecha came out, when did gunpla be a thing?
when did the otaku demograph become something to market towards?
in the 90s, games and trading cards
theres hundreds of different staple anime merchs categories
find out the firsts of all of those

[@sickleandsuckle]

Finally a Rei video thumbnail that isn't Rei chiquita or the multitude of common Rei images.

[@tfaddcit5371]

Just looked up the Gainax Calender, legit could not believe my eyes bruh

[@Kakaragi]

4:19, ngl, I’d love to play that!

[@eruno_]

Anno in recent years has had newfound appreciation of Rei

[@michaelshaw8778]

Great videos man. Hope to see more.

[@Matixmer]

It’s probably because everybody can relate (to some degree at least) to depression and existential dread that makes it so highly marketable. Cute Anime Girls helped I guess 😅

[@cyclone3743]

“There’s probably over a thousand men in love with Rei Ayanami.” Ain’t she like 14 in the OG series? That’s… highly disturbing

[@jami.j2044]

I only ever bought models of the mechs(Unit-0,1,2) . It really dosent make any sense for Evangelion to be marketed as it is, but am I not supposed to see the mechs as cool.The designs are so good color and shape wise.

[@eruno_]

love Rei simple as

[@muchtoodog]

damn i must be crazy for liking the actual mech fighting part of eva

[@nutterbuster305]

Lol at 4:14 is that lupin?

[@Nibelungen1945]

120億ドルの女：綾波レイ

[@TheOneWhoKnocks969]

Rei plushies are weakness

[@Pduarte79]

And internet success.

[@henryeyes22]

good luck maing it on the utub game

[@amremad5758]

Anno made a show that despise otakus and then made money by selling merchants to them., such a hypocrite