Rei Ayanami

Rei Ayanami
Neon Genesis Evangelioncharacter
Rei with her Eva-00 (in the background) as a child (left), as a pilot (center) and as a student (right)
First appearance	Neon Genesis Evangelionchapter 2: "Reunion" (1995)
Created by	Gainax
Voiced by	Japanese Megumi Hayashibara English Amanda Winn-Lee(ADV dub andRebuild series;Prime Videodub) Brina Palencia(Rebuild series;Funimationdub) Ryan Bartley (Netflix dub)
In-universe information
Full name	Rei Ayanami
Species	Human clone
Gender	Female
Title	First Child
Age	14
Eye color	Red
Notable relatives	Gendo Ikari(legal guardian) Yui Ikari(Biological source) Lilith(Biological Source) Shinji Ikari(son of Yui)

Rei Ayanami(Japanese:Lăng ba レイ,Hepburn:Ayanami Rei)is a fictional character from theNeon Genesis Evangelionfranchise, created byGainaxstudio. In theanimeseries of the same name,Rei is an introverted girl chosen as the pilot of a giantmechanamedEvangelion Unit 00.At the beginning of the series, Rei is an enigmatic figure whose unusual behavior astonishes her peers. As the series progresses, she becomes more involved with the people around her, particularly her classmate and fellow Eva pilot,Shinji Ikari.Rei appears in thefranchise's animated feature films and related media,video games,theoriginal net animationPetit Eva: Evangelion@School,theRebuild of Evangelionfilms, and themangaadaptation byYoshiyuki Sadamoto.

Hideaki Anno,director of the animated series, conceived her as a representation of hisunconscious.He was also influenced by his readings onpsychology,in particular onFreudianpsychoanalysis,taking inspiration from Freud's theories on theOedipus complex.Other influences for its creation include earlier works by Gainax staff members, such asAoki Uru,andPaul Gallico'sThe Snow Goose.Rei is voiced byMegumi Hayashibarain Japanese, and byAmanda Winn-Lee,Brina Palenciaand Ryan Bartley in English.

Rei has been well received by critics and in reviews. 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. Reviewers have praised Rei's mysterious aura and her role in the story. Merchandising based on her has also been released, particularly action figures, which became popular. Critics linked her success to a series ofmoetraits that proved popular with anime fans, influencing the creation of subsequent female anime characters.

Conception

Rei was originally conceived with both dark hair and eyes; blue hair and bandages were later considered by Sadamoto.

Design

According to theNeon Genesis Evangelion: The Unofficial Guideby writers Kazuhisa Fujie and Martin Foster, directorHideaki AnnoinstructedYoshiyuki Sadamotoon Rei's character design saying, "Whatever else, she needs to be painted in as a bitterly unhappy young girl with little sense of presence."The bandKinniku Shōjo Tai's theme song "Doko e demo ikeru kitte" and its line "hotai de masshiro na shojo"(Bao đái で chân っ bạch な thiếu nữ,lit. '"the white girl with bandages"')inspired Sadamoto to draw Rei.The same band produced a song named "Fumimi no kodomo"(Phúc nhĩ の tử cung),in which a female monologue is audible, and Sadamoto tried to portray a girl with a similar voice.Ukina, a character from Sadamoto's previous workKoto,served as Rei's model, and the artist gave her "shaggy, bobbed, wolf-like hair".Another source of inspiration wasThe Snow Goose,anovellawritten byPaul Gallico;the story describes a painting portraying the protagonist, a thin and pale girl in an empty room, and the artist tried to create a character similar to her.

Anno required a "gloomy","cool character with short hair", so Sadamoto designed Rei originally as a brunette with dark eyes; however, it was necessary to distinguish her from the other female protagonistAsuka Langley Soryu,so he designed her with eye and hair colors opposite to Asuka's.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 ofYui Ikarior not.While Asuka was conceived as "an idol-like figure" inNeon Genesis Evangelionand a symbol of "heterosexual desire", Sadamoto designed Rei as a motherhood symbol,thinking of her as "theYinopposed to Asuka ".Anno also suggested that Rei's eye color be red, a feature he believed would give her more personality and distinguish her design from those of the other characters.Her hair color changed to blue, similarly to the main character fromAoki Uru,the movie sequel toThe Wings of Honneamise(1987) which was never made.Sadamoto also gave her black stockings, inspired by a women's handball team he saw playing when he was in middle school.Black allowed him to differentiate her from the characters of the series released in the same period and go against their trend.

Development

I don't really understand [Rei]. The truth is, I have no emotional attachment to her at all. [...] At the end [ofthe 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. [...] When I thought about it afterwards, I cursed. I thought, in short, that if she has [already] communicated with Shinji there, then isn't she over with? At that moment, Rei, for me, was finished, all at once.

–Hideaki Anno

Like otherEvangelioncharacters, Ayanami's surname comes from a JapaneseWorld War IInaval vessel, theFubuki-class destroyerAyanami.Her first name comes from the characterRei Hinoof the anime and manga seriesSailor Moon.This was done to get one ofSailor Moon's directors,Kunihiko Ikuhara,to work onEvangelion.Written inkanji,Rei(Linh)can mean "zero", "null". The characterRei(Lệ)also means "custom", "routine".According to writerPatrick Drazen,her name can be a pun on her Evangelion 00,while for criticHiroki Azumait may have been influenced by a character named Zero, the protagonist of the 1987 novelAi to Gensō no Fascism,written byRyū Murakami.Anno also took inspiration fromSigmund Freud'spsychoanalyticconcept ofOedipus complexfor her role. He conceived the Evangelion and Rei as palliative mother figures for Shinji; Rei was also conceived as emotionally close to Shinji's father, Gendo, creating a multi-layered Oedipus complex.In a discarded draft of the character background, she was thus a more sensual character than her final version; character designer Sadamoto, however, unlike the more frank and explicit Hideaki Anno, decided to give her a much more "enigmatic" and blanderos.

DuringEvangelion's production and first broadcast, Anno encountered difficulties writing the character, not feeling "particularly interested" or relating to her, but he thought of her as a representation of hisunconscious mind,conceiving Rei as "the unconscious Shinji".In the fifth episode, "Rei I",explicitly dedicated to her character, Rei speaks seven lines and fifty-two words, while in the sixth she has twenty-five lines.Not feeling particularly close to her, the director for a long time forgot to explore Rei's personality, ignoring it or giving it marginal space. In the eighth episode, "Asuka Strikes!",for example, she does not appear in any scene, while in the seventh installment,"A Human Work",he remembered her and he added a scene with Rei.As with otherEvangelioncharacters, he transposed aspects of his life into her character, including the choice to not eat meat and maintain a vegetarian diet.At the beginning of the production he also stated that he did not know what would happen to Rei or to the other characters, "because I don't know where life is taking the staff".

Her history has eventually undergone changes. According to Sadamoto and assistant directorKazuya Tsurumaki,she was originally conceived as an alien entity, but staff later went on to make her at least genetically human. During an interview, they described Rei as a girl who has both the human genes ofYui Ikariand the genes of the first AngelAdam[sic]; Tsurumaki also associated her condition to a Devilman, a hybrid presented in the mangaDevilmanbyGo Nagai.Moreover, in the twenty-first episode, the first Rei clone, killed byNaoko Akagiin the final version of the script, would eventually survive after being strangled and having lost consciousness momentarily, awakening in an empty command room without Dr. Akagi,while the death of her second clone was planned by Anno since the beginning.During the production of the fourteenth episode, the director decided to focus on her and "explore her emotion", adding a monologue of Rei. When he was working on the monologue, he wanted to develop her in a "schizophrenic"direction and wondered how to portray a kind of madness. He was loaned a magazine-like book entitledBessatsu Takarajima(Biệt sách bảo đảo)on mental illness that contained a poem by someone who suffered from a mental disorder, and that triggered his imagination.Moreover, during the production, Ikuhara, annoyed by the idealized image and the fetishism that some fans built around the character, proposed to Anno to "betray" fans and show her as a real girl who gets married and "gets pregnant in the last episode", but Anno rejected the suggestion.Furthermore, in the original finale wanted by Anno, the giant Rei added in the filmThe End of Evangelion(1997) was not foreseen, since it was conceived at a later time.Anno himself declared he considered her character "already finished" in her smile scene from the sixth episode, since "she and Shinji completely 'communicated' there".

Voice

Megumi Hayashibaravoiced Rei in all her appearances in the original series, as well as the later films, spin-offs, video games and theRebuild of Evangelionsaga. In 1995, Hayashibara said she was somewhat "surprised" by her role and her laconic character saying, "I have to challenge something new."Hayashibara also attended auditions for Asuka andMisato Katsuragi,but after hearing her performance in an OVA namedChigatsu ni wa Christmas(Nhất nguyệt にはChristmas)Anno felt her voice more suited to Rei.She noticed that beforeNeon Genesis Evangelionthere were few taciturn and cold characters to deal with, so, in the absence of examples to imitate, she tried to characterize her "as best I could".During the dub sessions, Hideaki Anno instructed and guided her, advising her to read her lines in the flattest tone possible: "When the director explained her character to me, he said, 'It's not that Rei doesn't have any feelings, it's just that she doesn't understand'."According to Hayashibara, since Rei "doesn't know emotion, there's no difference between what she says and feels". At first glance, her "great beauty" comes from "this surface, not without depth, but with the absence of its necessity". She added, "Rei's beauty comes from the truth that she has feelings", and "when I found the warmth below the coldness in her words, I synchronized with Rei for the first time".

Amanda Winn-Lee (left) voiced Rei Ayanami in the ADV dub of the original series and Manga dub ofThe End of Evangelionas well as the Amazon dub ofRebuild,while Brina Palencia (right) voiced her in the Funimation dub ofRebuild of Evangelion.

Voicing themahjonggameShinseiki Evangelion: Eva to Yukaina Nakamatach(Tân thế kỷ エヴァンゲリオンエヴァと du khoái な trọng gian たち,lit. 'Neon Genesis Evangelion: Eva and Good Friends'),she stated that she understood the difference between "lack of intonation" and "absence of emotion" in words. 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.The voice actress also reprised the role for theRebuild.While filming for the third film in the saga,Evangelion: 3.0 You Can (Not) Redo(2012), she worked on parts that weren't fully animated, so she had to ask the director what was happening in the scenes. Hayashibara stated she had to do "countless takes" for Rei's short lines and find the right nuance the staff wanted. She had to dub her as she was indifferent and be careful in conveying her character's feelings of happiness "without overdoing it".

Regarding the final installment,Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Time(2021), a difficult part for her was showing another Rei clone who is slowly growing up; when she tried to be pure she was criticized, and when she tried to be less emotional she was criticized anyway. Anno tried to make the characters younger and with fuller emotions, so it was difficult for the voice actress to get the nuances the director wanted.With Rei's role, Hayashibara's popularity as a voice actor grew, and she became an icon of anime fandom.Shunsuke Nozawa, assistant professor at Hokkaido University, noted how in the 1990s there was an explosion of interest in Japanese voice actors, believing the figure of Hayashibara to be at the center of this change, thanks to the "enormous, societal-level fascination" exerted by Ayanami. Hayashibara thus began to be interviewed about the series and to be regularly invited on television as a celebrity.

Amanda Winn-Leevoices Rei in English in the original series and in the Amazon dubs of theRebuild of Evangelionfilms.According to Winn-Lee, despite the cold and detached appearance, there is still "a small spark of humanity" in Rei, "clouded by this huge sense of negative self-worth and the realization that she is expendable".She also stated: "She knows she's expendable, but the thing is, she's still human."In the Funimation dub of theRebuild of Evangelionfilms, her role is entrusted toBrina Palencia,while in theNetflixdub she is voiced by Ryan Bartley.

Appearances

Neon Genesis Evangelion

Rei Ayanami's birth date is never specified in the original series.All data about Rei's past are unknown or erased; her age, 14 in 2015,is the only known fact. Officially, Rei is chosen by an organization called the Marduk Instituteas the First Child and pilot of Eva Unit-00 to defeat creatures namedAngelsfor the special agency Nerv under the command ofGendo Ikari.In 2014 she moves to the first municipal middle school of the new city of Tokyo-3, and Gendo becomes her legal guardian.Through the course of the series, Rei, who is originally completely submissive to the will of Gendo, becomes friends with fellow Eva pilot and classmateShinji Ikari,changing attitude.She also begins to become more aware of her own identity and desires.

In the battle with the AngelArmisael,Rei decides to sacrifice herself alongside Eva Unit-00 to save Shinji and destroy the enemy. After her apparent death, Dr.Ritsuko Akagireveals she was born in Laboratory for Artificial Evolution's third branch, a place located underlake AshinoandHakonecity.Her body with albino-like traits was created in absolute secrecy from the salvaged remains of Yui Ikari,a brilliant researcher who lost her life in a testing experiment by Evangelion Unit 01. Ritsuko also reveals that in the deepest level of Nerv's headquarters many Rei clones are kept, so that when one Rei dies, she can be replaced. When a clone is activated from a level named Terminal Dogma, although she remains characteristically distinct from all former incarnations, she is endowed with the soul ofLilith,the second Angel.Her memory is eventually saved in an object similar to a spinal column placed in the Central Dogma of the Nerv, the Dummy Plug Plant.In 2010, Gendo brought her first clone (Rei I) to the Gehirn base, the predecessor of Nerv and responsible for the development and construction of the first Evangelion units, introducing her as the daughter an acquaintance had entrusted to him.This first Rei was killed by Dr. Naoko Akagi, colleague and secret lover of Gendō.During her visit to Gehirn, Rei I got lost in the laboratory control room and met Naoko, calling her an "old hag", as if to provoke her. She then revealed that it was Gendo who called Naoko that. Naoko suddenly recognized Yui's facial features in the little girl's face and, in an outburst of violence, she strangled and killed her, after which she committed suicide.

After her sacrifice, Rei II is replaced by a third and final clone. All the other bodies in Terminal Dogma are later destroyed by Ritsuko.Thanks to her close relationship with Shinji, the last Rei decides to rebel against Gendo's will. Rei III thus acts as the main catalyst behind an apocalyptic event named Third Impact. She merges with Lilith, letting Shinji freely decide the course of a process named Human Instrumentality, during which all of mankind unites into one collective consciousness.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. After Shinji rematerializes, he briefly sees a version of Rei watching over him from a distance before vanishing.

Rebuild of Evangelion

Rei returns as a primary character inRebuild of Evangelionand appears in the first installment of the saga,Evangelion: 1.0 You Are (Not) Alone(2007). Her character remains virtually identical to the anime, acting as a pilot of Evangelion Unit-00 and helping Shinji defeat AngelRamiel.WriterThomas LaMarrenoted that theRebuildsaga makes the relationship between Shinji and Rei a more central element to the story, increasing and improving the scenes depicting them.In the second movie,Evangelion: 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance(2009), her character develops and her relationship with Shinji is shown much more openly than in the original series. In a departure from her original traits, she attempts to host a dinner party for her fellow pilots.Anno first thought to use this idea for the fourth episode of the original anime, but the proposal was shelved during the production of the series.During the climax, AngelZerueldevours Rei and Unit-00. When Unit-01 goes out of control, Shinji forces his way into the Angel pulling her out, and the two embrace each other;at the end of the fight, they are both trapped within Unit-01 as the action triggers the Third Impact.During the feature film, it is also suggested that Gendō and Fuyutsuki plan to bring Shinji and Rei together.Assistant director Tsurumaki was asked about this after the release of the feature film; according to him, the impression of a strategy to bring Shinji and Rei together was a result of the complex script writing, and "Anno probably hasn’t thought about that very deeply".

In the third installment,Evangelion: 3.0 You Can (Not) Redo(2012), set fourteen years later, the same Rei does not appear; a different clone is introduced instead, who acts differently than the other Rei, maintaining a cold and silent demeanor.InEvangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Time(2021), the last film of the saga, Rei's new clone, named Ayanami (Tentative Name), heads together with Shinji and Asuka Shikinami to a small town called Village 3, inhabited by survivors of the various Impacts that occurred and isolated from the outside world, almost uninhabitable. Here Rei interacts with the adultToji SuzuharaandHikari Horaki,old schoolmates of the previous clone, with the children and women of Village 3, helping them to work in the fields; with time the new Ayanami begins to develop her individuality, gradually discovering the world around her and learning to socialize with the inhabitants. After some time, however, Rei (Tentative Name), whose real name turns out to be Ayanami-Type No.006, is unable to maintain her form without continuous contact with the Evangelion's LCL liquid and dies in front of Shinji. During the Instrumentality, Shinji meets again the Rei of fourteen years before, who remained inside the Eva-01. The old Rei, with visibly long hair, argues with her companion, who decides to live in a world without Evangelions and give the world a new birth, Neon Genesis. Rei and Shinji then say goodbye to each other for the last time, shaking hands and smiling.

In other media

In the officialNeon Genesis Evangelionmanga, byYoshiyuki Sadamoto,further differences are evident in the characterization of Rei. In the manga, she is generally more empathetic and open to human contact compared to her animated counterpart. In the comic, moreover, the character has more space than Asuka, who in the anime has a predominant role. Compared to the classic series, Sadamoto tried to tread his hand on her relationship with Shinji, particularly insisting on the symbology of the touch of the hands and the theme of motherhood, inspired byKazuo Umezu'sThe Drifting Classroom.As in the series, she at first considers herself empty and useless, created solely for piloting the Evangelion under Ikari's orders; Shinji's touch changes his attitude. In a scene from the fifth volume of the manga where they are both at Rei's house, Rei gets burned while preparing tea with Shinji and their hands touch for a moment. Taking advantage of the opportunity, Rei invites Shinji to speak to his father and open up to him; in another chapter, thinking back to that moment, she wonders if her hands will one day be able to touch Shinji again.During the clash with the Angel Armisael, Rei becomes increasingly aware of her feelings of sadness and affection towards Shinji,towards whom she demonstrates a certain romantic interest.Sadamoto himself described Shinji and Rei's feelings as mutual love.

In a scene from the last episode of the animated series, an alternate reality is presented with a different story than the previous episodes; Rei is presented as a girl who has just moved into the class of Asuka and Shinji, with a cheerful, distracted and irascible personality.An outgoing Rei is featured in someNeon Genesis Evangelionspin-offs, such asNeon Genesis Evangelion: Angelic Days,set in the alternate reality of the last episode.In the original web anime seriesPetit Eva: Evangelion@School,a parody of the original animated series, three Ayanami sisters are presented, one is diligent and introverted;another sport oriented and extroverted;and another is a four-year-old girl with a passion for soft toys.InNeon Genesis Evangelion: Anima,set three years afterEnd of Evangelionin an alternate scenario, several Rei appears; Rei Troi, pilot of an Eva named Evangelion Unit-02 Type II Allegorica,Rei Quatre, Rei Cinq and the seven-year-old version Rei Six, all of them pilots of Evangelion-0.0 units.InNeon Genesis Evangelion: Campus Apocalypse,Rei shares a mysterious connection with Kaworu that triggers Shinji's attention.She is also present inNeon Genesis Evangelion: Legend of the Piko Piko Middle School Students.In asimulation gameentitledNeon Genesis Evangelion: Ayanami Raising Project,the player takes on the task of looking after Rei. She is also available as a romantic option inNeon Genesis Evangelion: Girlfriend of Steel 2nd,Neon Genesis Evangelion 2,Neon Genesis Evangelion: Shinji Ikari Raising Projectand its manga adaptation, wherein she is a distant cousin of Shinji.

In addition to games based on the original series, Rei has appeared in media not related to theEvangelionfranchise, such asMonster Strike,Super Robot Wars,Tales of Zestiria,Puzzle & Dragons,Keri hime sweets,Summons Board,Puyopuyo!! Quest,Line Rangers,Unison,MapleStory,Valkyrie Connect,Ragnarok Online,The Battle Catsand in an officialShinkansen Henkei Robo Shinkalioncrossover episode.

Characterization and themes

Rei-chan is very popular. I think that she's very quiet and doesn't wish to talk very much, and doesn't complain. In Japan, I suppose that girls like that are very much desired. [...] She was created solely for the purpose of being an Eva's pilot and I'm not quite sure if she's happy.

–Hideaki Anno

Rei Ayanami is a taciturn girlwho limits relations as much as possible and mechanically executes any order given to her, even if particularly cruel.She is introverted,socially detached and laconic.Sociologist Satomi Ishikawa noticed that in a scene from the sixth episode of the series, "Rei II",her companion Shinji asks her the reason that pushes her to want to pilot Evangelion 00; Rei replies saying she finds her only" bond "with other people in this, thus demonstrating that she is committed to the struggle against the Angels" as if it were the only reason why she exists ".Throughout the series she proves to be indifferent to life and engages herself in drastic acts that could cost her life.The Artifice's writer Justin Wu noticed that, unlike other characters from the series, she does not care if she dies, and embraces death "as if death is the only way to prove that she has lived".

For the critic Gerald Alva Miller, despite her cold attitude, Rei experiences feelings of alienation and existential angst.Gualtiero Cannarsi, who cured the Italian adaptation for the series, similarly described Rei as a girl "unaware of the most basic rules of life and hygiene", as she has had no one to teach them to her, resulting in her being disinterested in them. Her attitude is reflected in her apartment, where hygiene is neglected. In one episode Ritsuko Akagi says, like Commander Ikari, she "is not very adept at living".Scattered on the floor of her apartment are scientific texts on biological interactions and genetics written in Latin alphabet in the original series,andThe Happy Prince and Other Talesin theRebuild of Evangelionseries.CriticSusan J. Napieralso noticed that in the last two episodes she confesses to wanting to die and "go back to nothing".According toEvangelioncharacter designerYoshiyuki Sadamoto,she is "translucent", like a shadow or "the air": "The kind of girl you can't touch. The girl you long for, but there is nothing about her that you can grab a hold onto."He also interpreted Asuka and Rei as "strong characters, in their own separate ways".Furthermore, Hayashibara described her as an "ethereal character"; according to her: "Her emotions are like waves, so if I was off by even one millimeter it would affect her character, and I'd have to redo it".

Rei Ayanami was variously compared to theShintogoddessAmaterasu(left) or theChristianfigure of Mary, mother ofJesus Christ(right).

During a show a little girl asked Hideaki Anno what Rei likes, and he replied that he never thought about it.According to him, she does not appreciate her own life, hurts herself and feels she does not need friends, being aware of the fact that "there'll be another to replace her": "Her presence, her existence—ostensible existence—is ephemeral. She's a very sad girl. She only has the barest minimum of what she needs to have".Anno also likened the Japanese national attraction to characters like Rei as the product of a stunted imaginative landscape born of Japan's defeat in theSecond World War,because "since that time, the education we received is not one that creates adults".The architect Kaichiro Morikawa compared the face of the first Rei, usually presented in a distorted and deformed way, to the installations ofTony Oursler,also comparing her bedroom toGottfried Helnwein's photographs.Writer Claudio Cordella associated her personality to that of the female characters portrayed by the painterEdward Burne-Jones,and her gaze to the "fixed and lifeless eyes" of the Olympia fromThe Tales of Hoffmann.

Takekuma Kentarolinked the image of Rei in bandages to the photos of Romain Slocombe, while Sadamoto compared her to the works of mangaka Sensha Yoshida.In an interview with Anno, Japanese writer and academic Ōizumi Mitsunari likened the figure of Rei to the girls committed to the Japanese sectAum Shinrikyō,which carried out theTokyo subway sarin attackin 1995, as "completely dependent on theirguru",Shōkō Asahara.The bookSchizo Evangelion,edited by him, describes her as "a sacrifice offered to all the Japanesemama's boysand sadists "and in a series of dichotomies, such as opium and euphoria,SatanandGod,"the infinite power of Eros" and "the blinding power ofThanatosat the same time "," asarinprepared by Gendo Ikari for his plan to destroy humanity ", the" keyhole ofPandora's box"and theGreat Bad Mothertrying to take in her son.

For the scholarHiroki Azuma,Rei Ayanami introduces a "new type of solitude". Before her, anime characters were divided between sociable girls, with expensive clothes and cosmetics, technological gadgets and often engaged in prostitution activities namedkogal,and otaku, isolated characters, with rooms full of "computer software" and magazines. Rei, according to Azuma, transcends the two stereotypes; he likened her room to Satyam, scientific laboratories of Aum Shinrikyō.Critic Krystian Woznicki also compared her toPinocchioin the film964 Pinocchio(1991), but "Rei's character is quite realistic, whereas Pinocchio is completely removed from reality".Japanese criticTamaki Saitōdescribed her as "the culmination of thepygmalionismthat began withNanako SOS",while Kenneth Lee noted a similarity in her path of self-awareness with Pinocchio and Key fromKey the Metal Idol.Furthermore, writer Tamaki Saito reported thatAmi MizunofromPretty Guardian Sailor Moonhas been interpreted as "the prototype" of Rei.

Critics linked her silent and inexpressive personality toalexithymiaor aschizoid personality disorder.An officialDeath and Rebirthbooklet describes her as "an expressionlessnohmask "and" a girl who does not dream ",while the bookSchizo Evangelionas "a dreamless mind, completely separated fromJung'scollective unconscious".According to Yoshiyuki Sadamoto, Rei is capable of feeling emotions and feelings but has expressive and communicative difficulties.From the first episodes of the series, Shinji tries to connect with her; however, Rei is unable to parse the meaning of his words and actions adequately. Although the two pilots occasionally converse with each other, they cannot communicate on an emotional level and do not understand their feelings.However, facing a crying Shinji, who is glad that she is alive after a big fight in the sixth episode, she smiles,marking one of her most significant moments of character development.After this, both their words and actions move to a place of mutual understanding.For critic Manabu Tsuribe, with her smile in the sixth episodeNeon Genesis Evangelionreaches its climax, and "as a story of 'growth and independence of a boy'—like aBildungsroman—ended there once.Evangelionas a story has stopped there ".In the last episodes of the series this Rei dies and is replaced by another clone, who acts like a stranger to Shinji.Anno compared the story after her smile scene, in which there is a step back in interpersonal communication, to Hideki Gō, a character from theReturn of Ultramanseries; Gō seems to get closer to other people and his colleagues from the Monster Attack Team, but "then next week things begin again from [a position of] estrangement". He also added: "At that point something emerges of my mistrust or fear of communication with others".

AcademicFrenchy Lunningdescribed Rei as Shinji'sanima.In one of the first scenes of theEvangelionanime, Shinji sees a ghost of Rei Ayanami in a deserted city near Tokyo-3. The Rei visible in the sequence is not the real Rei; the appearance has been connected to the scenario of the filmThe End of Evangelion,released in 1997 as a conclusion to the classic series.During the film, all forms of life come together in one being during the Instrumentality; human beings, shortly before dying, see Rei's ghosts appear, guiding them in the process as "messengers of redemption".According to Yūichirō Oguro, editor of some of the contents of the Japanese home video editions ofEvangelion,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".For screenwriterYōji Enokido,she produces in young men a feeling of distance "as though they were still half in the womb".Patrick Drazennoticed that, like otherNeon Genesis Evangelioncharacters who have traits of some deities ofShintomythology, Rei has affinities with the goddess of theSun,Amaterasu,who is reborn at every dawn. He also compared the show's two other protagonists, Shinji and Asuka, withSusanooandAma-no-Uzume,respectively; Shinji, like Susanoo, has clumsily social manners and unsociable behavior, while Asuka, like Uzume, is ebullient and flaunts her body.According to Italian scholar Fabio Bartoli, her three incarnations could be linked to the three evolutionary stages of thesoulpostulated by theJewishQabbalah—Nephesh(the mere animal vitality), Ruach (the normal human soul) and Neshamah (the elevated spirit, after the connection between man and God).Her image is often flanked by that of theMoon,a celestial body associated with motherhood, pallor, passivity, and femininity. Japanese engineer Yumiko Yano thus noticed a hieratic and unattainable aura in Rei Ayanami, comparing her to theVirgin Mary.Yano also associated her figure with the fragile and chaste women portrayed infin de siècleart, particularly popular among the works ofSymbolistspainters.For Kazuya Tsurumaki, Shinji feels a sexual and incestuous desire for her, while Kentaro Takekuma described her as an "eternal virgin".

Cultural impact

Popularity

Reception to Rei's character has been positive.Since 1995, she became the subject of homages from theNeon Genesis Evangelionfandom, including fan fictions,fan arts anddōjinshi,proving popular.Writer Patrick W. Galbraith described her as "the single most popular and influential character in the history ofotakuanime ".She also ranked highly in popularity surveys.Immediately afterEvangelion'sfirst airing concluded, the 1996 and 1997Anime Grand Prixsurvey byAnimagemagazine elected Rei best female character of the moment.In 1998, whenRevival of Evangelionwas released, she ranked fifth as the most popularEvangelionfemale character.Rei also appeared in the monthly surveys of the magazine, remeaning in the top ten in 1997and 1998and in the top twenty in the 1999 polls.In 2002TV Asahiranked her 36th among the 100 most loved characters in anime history.TV Asahi later published the results of polls on anime's greatest scenes; all theEvangelionscenes which ranked in the lists were related to the character.

Rei Ayanami also won first place inNewtypemagazine popularity charts.In July 2005, for example, she emerged tenth,and the magazine itself wrote that: "Her many charms and mysteries continue to shine and captivate fans even now, ten years after the broadcast".In August and September 2009, after the release ofEvangelion 2.0: You Can (Not) Advance,she ranked in fourth and second place.In October, she took third place, becoming the most popularEvangelionfemale character.Rei was also voted the most popular female anime character from the 1990s in aNewtypepoll in March 2010.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 2018RebuildRei was included among the best thirty characters of the previous decade.In 2013 theNHKShibuya Anime Landradio show ranked her among the ten top anime heroines of all time.

ForOriconNews, Rei's character has becomeEvangelion's emblem.She also ranked inEvangelionpopularity polls, usually in the top three.A column in the September 2007 issue of theNihon Keizai Shimbunnewspaper said, on the occasion ofEvangelion 1.0theatrical release, that there were over one million dedicated Rei fans in Japan and that, "This bandaged Goddess is an icon of Japanese anime."She also had a place in Mania Entertainment's ten iconic anime heroines list written by Thomas Zoth, who commented on the large amount of merchandise based on her: "Shops inAkihabarastruggled to keep Rei Ayanami figurines and toys in stock.... Many critics also credit Ayanami for starting themoeboom in anime, with its reliance on weak, vulnerable characters that the audience would desire to protect ".In March and April 2021, after release of the finalRebuildfilm, she finished eighth and sixth most popular female character in aNewtypepoll,and sixth and second place in May and June.

Critical reception

Rei has been well received by anime critics. Japanese cultural criticHiroki Azumadescribed 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".Newtypepraised the fifth and the sixth episode, describing the drawings of the scene in which she smiles at Gendo in "Rei I"as" excellent ", and the scene where she greets Shinji before the battle against the Angel Ramiel in"Rei II"as" impressive ".In February 1996,Animediamagazine ranked her smile scene from the sixth episode among the most memorable anime moments of the month.The Artificewriter Justin Wu also praised the scene, describing it as a "powerful" and "iconic moment", since it is "the first time she has deliberately shown an emotion, and one of the handful of times she has done so throughout the whole series".Screen RantandComic Book Resourcespraised her development and the various revelations about her identity, placing her among the best characters in the series.Science Fiction Weekly's Tasha Robinson expressed appreciation for the character's conclusion.Comic Book Resources' Luke Penn positively received the differences introduced in Sadamoto's manga and the increased space dedicated to her.IGNranked her tenth on its list of the top twenty-five anime characters of all time. Writer Chris Mackenzie described her as "a hugely influential character concept"; Mackenzie also found Rei different from similar characters created afterEvangelion,since: "The difference between Rei and so many almost-Reis is that there might be something behind the façade."

When Rei Ayanami first appeared, the self-esteem of the Japanese population was at an all-time low, as the economic bubble had just burst. The empathy towards Ayanami, a wounded girl who climbs onto an artificial humanoid and silently fights her enemies, is rooted in that particular era. A figure is a modern idol that embodies unconscious faiths. Although the economy recovered, maybe Japanese people still have a hollow in their heart.

–Nihon Keizai Shimbun

Other critics expressed a negative opinion of the character. The Anime-planet.com site, while appreciating some interesting revelations about her past and still considering her "by far the most interesting character", was critical that her character had not been "explored as much as she should have been".Animecritics.com wrote, "[Rei] has absolutely no personality to speak of, and she remains an enigma for most of the series. Part of the intrigue in the series is discovering the secrets she holds."THEM Anime Reviews' Raphael See criticized the characterization of the wholeEvangelioncast for being "cliche", saying he did not understand the reasons for her great popularity.Anime News Network's Kenneth Lee considered her character arc a wasted opportunity, as he considered that "a 'dummy shell,' gaining a soul could had an entire series devoted to it".Comic Book Resources' Anthony Gramuglia praised her character design but criticized her lack of development, especially in the 1997 cinematic finale.

While reviewing theRebuild of Evangelionfilms, writers from Anime News Network praised Rei's character development. OnEvangelion 1.0,Carlo Santos noticed that Rei's personality is the same as in the TV series, and "those who hated the originalEvangelionfor its highly dysfunctional characters still won't find anything to like in this version ", while Justin Sevakis praised her response to Shinji's kindness inEvangelion 2.0.UK Anime describedRebuild's Rei as a more human character who is easier to empathize with.The Fandom Post appreciated the fact that she becomes progressively more independent from Gendo,while Anime News Network's Mark Sombillo wrote: "Her personality and plight form much more of the core motivation of the story and despite her still tryingly hesitant attempts at communication, there's genuine warmth beneath her actions and it's hard not to be won over by her".

Her role in the last installment of the saga,Evangelion 3.0+1.0,received a particularly positive reception from critics and reviewers, especially for its optimistic view.Critics praised her journey and campy scenes in the first part of the film as "immersive"and "moving".Crunchyroll's Daryl Harding described them as "one of the nicest parts of the film".Pastemagazine lauded the fact that the movie shows Rei and the other pilots outside the militarized and violent context of the battles.According toGizmodo,she has "the most complete journey" among those presented by3.0+1.0.Otaquest's Chris Cimi similarly praised her character development, saying that her actions "make for something different and warm", but "stillEvangelion".

Merchandise

WrappedAonami Linetrain with Rei inNagoya

Mania.com's Thomas Zoth wrote, "Rei Ayanami proved such a popular character that she started amerchandisingboom ".Her image was used in a wide range of products, including toys,t-shirts,action figures,musical instruments,life-size statues,makeup,accessoriesand reproductions of her clothing.On March 30, 2001,King Recordslaunched an album entitledEvangelion: The Birthday of Rei Ayanami.In 2012, a team built an 18-metre (59 ft) tall figure of the character outside of the NTV Tower in the Shiodome area of Tokyo as part of the Shiohaku Expo 2012 summer amusement event.The following year, a reproduction of the girl's bedroom was built, and a life-size model was exhibited at the Eva Expo inShanghai.In 2020,Hondaused Rei and other characters from the series for a number of commercials, which aired on the occasion of a collaboration betweenEvangelionandHonda Civic.

In 2007 her costumes ranked first among the best selling cosplay costumes of the year by the companyCospa.Rei Ayanami's action figures also enjoyed success.WriterThomas LaMarrewrote that Sadamoto's design for the character became "thesensation of the series ", selling" an unprecedented number of figurines "and spurring expensive speculation about her character in the press and the world of anime criticism.The high sales of Ayanami merchandise have been described by scholar Patrick Galbraith as a turning point for the Japanese market, since they helped to expand the figures and fanzines sector, with "entire fanzine conventions.... committed to the series and its characters".According to one estimate, plastic models beforeEvangelionsold about three thousand units, but Rei's figures managed to reach ten times that amount, and for Galbraith "the series overlapped with a boom in figurines of anime characters and the spread of the Internet, making otaku consumption and community more conspicuous".Newtype USAmagazine similarly wrote that: "Hordes of otaku flooded Akihabara in search of the enigmatic Rei Ayanami, and companies realized for the first time that catering to thegeekcrowd could be very profitable.... Akihabara itself has transformed from an 'electric town' famous for household appliances to the geek paradise it is today ".

In 2005, to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the first airing ofEvangelion,mangakaMine Yoshizakidesigned several action figures of the Angels with anthropomorphic appearances; among the various models, he devised a figure of the AngelLilithinspired by Rei's character design.According to Japanese writer Kazuhisa Fujie, despite models and toys in the series were a commercial failure at first, Rei's action figures immediately became so popular that they exceeded Evangelion's unit sales, thus creating the first and perhaps the only case of a robotic anime "where reproductions of the human characters outsold those of the robots".Furthermore, books and magazines portraying her on the cover were successful. She also appeared on the cover of an issue ofRolling Stone'sJapanese edition, among others.An artbook about her namedEvangelion Photograph - Rei(ＲＥＩ－レイ－ tân thế kỷ エヴァンゲリオン văn khố tả chân tập)was published in 1997.According to Fujie, sales of Rei-themed merchandise led Japanese media to call her "the girl who manipulates magazine sales at will", "the fastest route to the sold-out sign" and "the Premium Girl".

Legacy

When referring to a ‘mysterious character’ in the pre-Evangelionera, it was usually about someone with a twisted and often tragic past that would be slowly revealed as the plot progressed. What is mysterious about Rei is that she has no past.... BeforeEvangelion,anime merchandises were not considered a big market for producers to profit on. However, it changed whenEvangelioncame out. Rei expands the market, and Gainax capitalizes on that....Evangelionis 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. Rei's mysteriousness definitely helps in this aspect, as she allows fans to write about many ‘what-if’ scenarios, especially her relationships with other characters..... Furthermore, Rei is a common character used inhentaidoujin.

–Justin Wu (The Artifice)

Rei Ayanami had a significant influence on Japanese animation and subsequent fictional characters.Following the fame gained byEvangelion,other characters with its aesthetic and character traits were created.Critics regarded Rei and her success as the beginning of themoe phenomenon,with the creation of characters according to definite stereotyped features easily recognizable and consumable by the Japaneseotakuaudience. In the late 1990s, characters bearing a close resemblance to Rei have been produced and consumed on a massive scale in comics, anime, and novelizations, both in the commercial market and thefanzinemarket.

According to Japanese scholarHiroki Azuma,this output is not linked to a directEvangelioninfluence, since "the emergence of Ayanami Rei did not influence many authors so much as change the rules of the moe-elements sustaining otaku culture".As a result, even authors who were not deliberately thinking ofEvangelionbegan to produce characters resembling Rei, using newly registered moe-elements, such as a quiet personality, blue hair, white skin, mysterious power and an absence of emotions.For Azuma, moreover, the twenty-sixth episode, in which an alternative reality with Rei running with a slice of bread in her mouth is shown, constitutes a turning point within the otaku culture. The scene, according to him, represents the point where the era of great stories ends and that of moe characters begins; from that point on, therefore, the emotional response to the protagonists would become more important than the plot of the series.He also regarded Ruriko Tsukishima fromShizukuas being directly influenced by Rei, andRuri HoshinoofMartian Successor Nadesicoas a combination of both.

Critics compared other characters to her, including Miharu inGasaraki,Vanilla H inGalaxy Angel,Maya inGeobreeders,NeyainInfinite Ryvius,Aruto Kirihara inKagihime Monogatari Eikyū Alice Rondo,Riza HawkeyeinFullmetal Alchemist,Dorothy R. Wayneright inThe Big O,Anthy Himemiya inRevolutionary Girl Utena,Chise inSaikano,Yuzuriha InoriinGuilty Crown,Miyu inMy-HiME,Ai inZaion: I Wish You Were Here,Diya inButterfly Soup,Yashiro Kasumi inMuv-Luvand the female cyborgs inGunslinger Girl.Serial Experiments Lain's Lain Iwakura was also associated with the character;Lain's main screenwriterChiaki J. Konakastated he was not influenced byEvangelionand, while appreciating their characteristics, he said he did not see similarities between the two characters.EurekafromEureka Sevenhas similarly been compared to Rei Ayanami, causing dissatisfaction in series screenwriterDai Satō.Rurouni Kenshin's authorNobuhiro WatsukicomparedYukishiro Tomoeto Rei. He said Yukishiro became an Ayanami lookalike, with the only unique feature being her black pupils. The author originally conceived her as a "cool beauty", but, once she revealed her true feelings in the end, she became a different character.

The Artificewriter Justin Wu regards Rei as the prototypicalmukuchi(Vô khẩu,"mouthless", "silent" ),a term used by anime fans to describe reticent and emotionless characters, usually with a monotone voice who speak to-the-point, and avoid unnecessary conversations. This moe element, which gained wide popularity only after Rei's success, can be found in numerous subsequent female characters, including Eva inBlack Cat,Ai Enma inHell Girl,andYuki NagatoinHaruhi Suzumiya.The character is also credited to have popularized thekuuderestereotype, a term for male or female characters who hide their true feelings behind a melancholic and cold facade.According to Kaichiro Morikawa, a Japanese architect and academic, characters with physical defects beforeEvangelionand Rei Ayanami were rare, such asChar AznableinMobile Suit Gundam,who has a scar on his forehead, and Princess Kushana inNausicaä of the Valley of the Wind.Justin Wu also noticed that, after the success of the series, the bandages gained great popularity, becoming the trademark of the character and a common feature incosplays.

Japanese bandReyderived its name from her.Singer and guitarist Motoo Fujiwara wrote the lyrics of the song "Arue"taking inspiration from Rei, with the English title" R.A. "inspired by the initial letters of her name.Ging Nang Boyz albumDoorfeatures a song named "Ano ko wa Ayanami Rei ga suki"(あの nương は lăng ba レイが hảo き,Lit. "That girl likes Rei Ayanami" ).According to the Japanese site Animentalism, the track "Ray" by rock bandLuna Sea,included as the B-side of their single "In Silence"and composed bySugizo,could be a tribute to Rei Ayanami.Artists have produced fan arts about her, includingOkama,Huke,Hiroya OkuandArina Tanemura.Celebrities paid tribute to Rei cosplaying her, includingShoko Nakagawa,Natsuki Katō,Miu Nakamura,Yuuri Morishita,Umika Kawashima,Rio Uchida,Kokoro ShinozakiandShōma Uno.DuringVictoria's Secret Fashion Show 2012English modelJourdan Dunnwore a dress similar to the character's plugsuit; Gainax only learned about the outfit from the Internet and was perplexed by the situation.Saekano: How to Raise a Boring Girlfriendcontains a reference to the character.Rei's image appeared on a shirt of a character from theVeronica's Closetseries.Further references have been identified in other Japanese animated series, includingJoshiraku,Wotakoi: Love Is Hard for Otaku,Gurren Lagann,andNisemonogatari,in which her line from the sixth episode "You won't die, because I'll protect you" is parodied.According toVogue,her plugsuit also inspired a piece of clothing for the spring 2016 line by the fashion houseLouis Vuitton.

See also

• Anime and manga portal

Bibliography

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