In March and April 2021, after release of the final Rebuild film, she finished eighth and sixth most popular female character in a Newtype poll, [206] and sixth and second place in May and June. Rei was originally conceived with both dark hair and eyes; blue hair and bandages were later considered by Sadamoto. com wrote, "[Rei] has absolutely no personality to speak of, and she remains an enigma for most of the series. Japanese cultural critic Hiroki Azuma described her as "an extremely impressive character", praising the performance of Megumi Hayashibara and its psychological realism, since "Rei's solitude is grounded in a completely tactile substantiality which gives us extremely realistic images of the discommunication that children of the present face".

Rei (Long Hair Ver.) Pop Up Good Smile Rebuild of Evangelion: Rei (Long Hair Ver.) Pop Up

He was also influenced by his readings on psychology, in particular on Freudian psychoanalysis, taking inspiration from Freud's theories on the Oedipus complex. He also published a drawing of a dark-haired character named Yui Ichijō among Rei's designs in one of his artbooks, without specifying whether it is an early conception of Yui Ikari or not. Megumi Hayashibara voiced Rei in all her appearances in the original series, as well as the later films, spin-offs, video games and the Rebuild of Evangelion saga. In 2020, Honda used Rei and other characters from the series for a number of commercials, which aired on the occasion of a collaboration between Evangelion and Honda Civic. THEM Anime Reviews' Raphael See criticized the characterization of the whole Evangelion cast for being "cliche", saying he did not understand the reasons for her great popularity.At the end [of the sixth episode], when Rei says, “I don't know what kind of expression I should have at a time like this,” and Shinji says, “I think you should smile,” and Rei smiles. Evangelion is a very doujin-friendly series, for many scenes are not explained in details that fans can create their own versions of what the scenes entail. With a slightly different charm compared to her anime appearance, this figure is a must-have for series fans! Hayashibara stated she had to do "countless takes" for Rei's short lines and find the right nuance the staff wanted.

Rei Ayanami 1/7 Scale Figure - Tokyo Radio Eva [Evangelion] Rei Ayanami 1/7 Scale Figure - Tokyo

If you’d rather pick up Rei sporting the colors of the original Yoneyama artwork, that’s available too! She has maintained a high ranking in every popularity poll of the series and has also appeared in polls to decide the most popular anime characters in Japan.

The architect Kaichiro Morikawa compared the face of the first Rei, usually presented in a distorted and deformed way, to the installations of Tony Oursler, also comparing her bedroom to Gottfried Helnwein's photographs. Critics praised her journey and campy scenes in the first part of the film as "immersive" [228] and "moving". According to Vogue, her plugsuit also inspired a piece of clothing for the spring 2016 line by the fashion house Louis Vuitton. Other influences for its creation include earlier works by Gainax staff members, such as Aoki Uru, and Paul Gallico's The Snow Goose. In July 2005, for example, she emerged tenth, [192] and the magazine itself wrote that: "Her many charms and mysteries continue to shine and captivate fans even now, ten years after the broadcast".

Ayanami Rei Figure - Etsy UK

According to Kaichiro Morikawa, a Japanese architect and academic, characters with physical defects before Evangelion and Rei Ayanami were rare, such as Char Aznable in Mobile Suit Gundam, who has a scar on his forehead, and Princess Kushana in Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind. During Victoria's Secret Fashion Show 2012 English model Jourdan Dunn wore a dress similar to the character's plugsuit; Gainax only learned about the outfit from the Internet and was perplexed by the situation. According to Yūichirō Oguro, editor of some of the contents of the Japanese home video editions of Evangelion, the Rei's ghost Shinji sees on the avenue is "the existence that gazes upon man", and the scene symbolizes that "Shinji is protected by his mother since the beginning of the series". During the feature film, it is also suggested that Gendō and Fuyutsuki plan to bring Shinji and Rei together.In Neon Genesis Evangelion: Anima, set three years after End of Evangelion in an alternate scenario, several Rei appears; Rei Troi, pilot of an Eva named Evangelion Unit-02 Type II Allegorica, [89] Rei Quatre, Rei Cinq and the seven-year-old version Rei Six, all of them pilots of Evangelion-0. After Shinji rematerializes, he briefly sees a version of Rei watching over him from a distance before vanishing. A giant white and naked Rei emerges into open space during the process, holding Shinji's Eva-01, and, when Shinji rejects Instrumentality, this figure decomposes. Many critics also credit Ayanami for starting the moe boom in anime, with its reliance on weak, vulnerable characters that the audience would desire to protect".

Rei Ayanami (tentative name),Figures,Scale Figures,Evangelion Rei Ayanami (tentative name),Figures,Scale Figures,Evangelion

In the Funimation dub of the Rebuild of Evangelion films, her role is entrusted to Brina Palencia, while in the Netflix dub she is voiced by Ryan Bartley.With Rei's role, Hayashibara's popularity as a voice actor grew, and she became an icon of anime fandom. In 2015, almost twenty years after its debut, she conquered the first place among the female characters favored by fans, thus beating all the heroines of the anime of the season, while in 2018 Rebuild Rei was included among the best thirty characters of the previous decade. She linked the lack of intonation as a sign of "self-confidence"; an insecure or bad-faith person, in her opinion, would tend to emphasize words, while Rei is completely honest and only tells the truth. In the anime series of the same name, Rei is an introverted girl chosen as the pilot of a giant mecha named Evangelion Unit 00.