Rei Ayanami

In 2015, Earth is under attack from mysterious, powerful beings called Angels. Their origins and goals are unknown, but the focus of their attacks are on the post-apocalyptic, high-tech metropolis of Tokyo-3- a city designed to be a hidden fortress for the secret headquarters of the United Nations special organization NERV. What makes the Angels such an imposing threat is their ability to project and manipulate AT Fields- natural, invisible, omnidirectional defensive shields which cannot be penetrated by any physical attack or weapon, including the most powerful N2 bomb. Learning of the Angels’ existence years earlier, NERV constructed a small group of advanced biomechanical robots called Evangelions to fight the Angels. However, only 14-year-old children are capable of merging their minds on a near-spiritual level with the 700’-tall armored humanoids. Shinji Ikari is only one of a select handful who has been able to accomplish this. …But he does not care. He has been push aside and ignored ever since his father abandoned him when he was four years old. And he does not care if he dies or lives, or if humanity dies or lives. Together with two female pilots in their own EVA Units- the confident, confusing redhead Asuka Langley Souryu; and the curiously silent, red-eyed, blue-haired Rei Ayanami- the abandoned son of NERV’s Supreme-Commander must face his inner demons and find the courage to go on protecting humanity while fighting to preserve what little is left of his own!

Ten years after the controversial and popular anime series aired in Japan, questions still linger about the mysteries, philosophies, and meanings of the show. The two films (“Evangelion: Death and Rebirth” and “The End of Evangelion”) which followed the confusing end of the 26-episode series served only to add fuel to the fires in online debates. Where do the Angels really come from? Why are such monsters named after messengers from the Heavens? What do the Dead Sea Scrolls have to do with predicting the future? Why are there crucifix-shaped explosions? What is the actual height of an Evangelion Unit!? To join in the celebration of the 10-year anniversary, Sega has contributed a new line of figures to the “Eva” saga. No- not the Children in school clothes again. No- not the Children in their plug suits again. No- not a new sculpting of the Evangelion Units again. No- not a diorama again. No- not the characters dressed-up in incredibly-fantastic outfits again. And, no- none of the characters dressed-up in winter clothing. Again. (They don’t have winters anymore, after Second Impact, in 2015 C.E., remember?) Nope, Sega took a different approach to two of anime’s most recognized characters. They turned two 14-year old girls…

…into mermaids.

“Hah–???”

The mysteriously quiet 14-year-old pilot of the blue & white Evangelion Unit-00’ has undergone a radical change from her original human form… Rei Ayanami has been transformed into a mermaid.

Constructed completely of PVC, Rei sits casually & comfortably atop a pedestal of light gray rock, accompanied by a sea turtle and a starfish. Her overall body shape matches that of herself and other female characters seen in the series: small pointed nose, large eyes, thin-yet-busty upper torso, wide hips, and long legs. Well- except for the fact that she has no legs here…

Her mermaid tail is painted a dark blue with softer light blue highlights. The tailfins are like those of a dolphin or whale. Continuing upwards, rather than having the tail be a completely original body part, a hint of distant parallel evolution is implied with a somewhat human knee halfway up her tail. There is an indent where her ‘thighs’ would be running from hip to knee, further suggesting that her legs had fused together rather than her simply losing them and then growing a brand new tail. For modesty’s sake, Rei is wearing a light gray bikini-style metal girdle. The girdle runs around to her backside as well, with a pair of flowing white, um- ‘scarves’ threaded through painted hoops. (One could think of them as dorsal fins if they wished, though looking closely you can see that they are indeed tied on.) Unlike your average mermaid, this one has no fish scales. So the ‘skin-to-scales’ transition is only a change from the blue tail paint to the plastic’s natural pale coloring just below her hips and allows for a risqué view of her still quite-human backside which is protected somewhat by the girdle.

Wrapped around her thin upper body is some kind of white bikini top- held together around her busty chest in front by a painted metal ring, and tied in back with the two long flowing halves of the painted PVC cloth into a bow. Around her neck is a painted metal choker from which hangs a small emerald diamond. On both upper arms are metal ringlets, and she had a light gray bracelet tied over her right wrist. In “Evangelion”, the teenage pilots wear nerve headsets to connect them mentally to the Eva Units. These hide under the hair for the most part, but two little colored barrette-like bumps appear on either side of the head. What Sega did here was swap-out Rei’s normal white headset with a pair of similar-looking white seashells placed in the same locations. If you didn’t see the series, they look like an accessory that a mermaid might wear; but for fans, it brings a knowing smile. Rei’s eyes, which have natural red irises, look more like pre-applied decals than having been painted on; it’s hard to say. Her eyebrows and hair share the same off-blue paint to match the pale, almost white, coloring in the series. Rarely seen, there is a very small hint of a smile on her face, though I would say that it is up to interpretation. For accessories, Rei holds an irremovable white shell phone in her left hand. Why? Beats me; she didn’t have one in the series. The pedestal-like coral stand she is affixed to is molded in simple light tan PVC and then highlighted in a pale gray paint. A small green PVC sea turtle and pink starfish permanently ornament the base of the pedestal.

Construction is fairly well done. All parts have been glued on tightly, and do not move. They are also seamlessly put together, and it is hard to spot the separation points. The PVC is solid except for the base of the pedestal (which is open from below). Mold lines are difficult to spot at first and are perhaps most easily spotted on, again, the pedestal. Rei is shipped in a mildly aqua blue-decorated cardboard window box with a retracting handle, sandwiched between solid and transparent plastic inside. Since there are only two mermaids in the series, each character appears on either side of the box.

For a first outing, the limited Extra Mermaid Figure series by Sega started out well. Both Rei Ayanami- and fellow EVA pilot-turned-mermaid, Asuka Langley Souryu– have different expressions, poses, accessories, and overall looks. There is little if any criticism I can offer, let alone suggestions for alterations. (Well… maybe one- the holes in the shell phone are a little out of place.) If you are a fan of immobile figures, this is a change. If you are a fan of Rei Ayanami and Asuka Langley Souryu, this is a change. If you like “Evangelion” in general and are looking for a change, this is it. I got mermaid Rei-chan and mermaid Asuka-chan because they were different. Any model company can dress up a favored character in interesting-looking clothes from different era or environments… But change their species!? That’s different! I recommend getting Rei Ayanami from the Extra Mermaid Figure line if you can find her anymore. She’s cheap, she looks good, and she seasons your figure collection up a bit.

Well… maybe not that way-!