Rei Ayanami

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Character
Name: Rei Ayanami
Occupation: Pilot of Evangelion Unit 00, Lilith
Relationships: Gendo Ikari (creator, commander)
Yui Ikari (derivative)
Shinji Ikari (blood relative)
Fandom: Neon Genesis Evangelion
Other:
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Rei Ayanami is a primary character in the anime series Neon Genesis Evangelion. She is a blue haired, red eyed, pale girl, the product of cloning Yui Ikari, the mother of series protagonist Shinji Ikari , embedded with the soul of Lilith, the 2nd Angel. She is one of the most popular anime characters of all time, having greatly influenced subsequent anime characters and even the industry as a whole.[1]

Canon

Fandom

Not dissimilar to Asuka, Rei is one of the most popular characters in the fandom. Her fans like her mysterious, philosophical personality, as well as what they perceive as innocence through her shyness and lack of understanding of societal norms. Others however think she is emotionless, cold, uncaring or even arrogant. In numbers, she usually divides her popularity with Asuka as one one of the most popular anime characters of the 1990s.[2] Her popularity peaked in the 90s, but slowly faded in the 2000s while Asuka's remained. She peaked again with Evangelion 1.0 and 2.0 in 2007 and 2009 respectively, but experienced another fall in popularity after Evangelion 3.0, which gave way to renewed popularity for Asuka and an explosion for Kaworu. Series creator Hideaki Anno attributes most of this to the fact that Rei, endlessly copied, had already lost her "mystery" and thus wasn't as alluring as she used to be.[3][4][5]


Memes

Hate

Rei is one of the three main female characters in Eva, and is usually disliked by more exclusive Asuka fans and occasionally Misato fans. Kaworu fans tend to largely ignore or disregard her, as in fact a large portion of Rei's lost popularity after Evangelion 3.0 was picked up by Kaworu and related ships.

Shipping

Her pairing with Evangelion protagonist Shinji, Reishin, is still the main pairing for Rei, thanks to their numerous interactions, particularly in the first story arcs of the series, much like Asushin is the main pairing for Asuka. Reishin is greatly expanded in the manga adaptation of the anime and also receives a great amount of extra attention in the Rebuilds, particularly Evangelion 2.0. Her relationship with Shinji was so strong in that movie that many fans, including non-Reishin fans, believed it was now going to be endgame, unlike the series and End of Evangelion which featured an (inconclusive and open-ended) ending with Asuka and Shinji. This means that the larger franchise puts Reishin on more of an equal footing compared to the original series. However, Evangelion 3.0 featured a new Rei, Rei Q, which grew further apart from him. In the final film, Evangelion 3.0+1.0, Rei Q gets closer to Shinji but is unable to survive. Her interactions and death are one of the major motivators for Shinji's recovery. Shinji reunites with the original Rei near the ending, and she apologizes to him. Shinji sends her back to the village as he does with Asuka and Kaworu, but they do not share any unambiguously romantic dynamics. Rei is seen by Shinji in the rebuilt world talking to Kaworu, all now as adults, which some fans have interpreted as evidence for Kaworei, but the ending itself is variously debated as open-ended itself. It seems to be regaining popularity in recent years.

Unlike Asuka, however, Rei's alternative ships are far more prevalent than ships for Asuka that are not Asushin. The two main contenders are Kaworei and Asurei. The former is shipped by fans who find their potential dynamics more interesting than Reishin, and is also often shipped as a side ship by Asuka and Asushin fans who also like Rei and wish to see her end up with someone, and some Kaworu fans still prefer it to Kawoshin, with this having more common among these fans before 3.0 than it is now. It enjoys a fair amount of official and fan material. Unlike Marishin and Asuken, other ships debated as possibly supported by the final Rebuild film, it is not usually used as a troll ship. Kaworei has long enjoyed significant popularity as one of the "secondary" fandom ships.

Asurei is a femslash ship, though in early fandom it was more of a crack ship. More recently, femslash fans entering the fandom have latched onto it as a way to explore the tension between the two characters. In the 2000s, a fairly popular alternative ship was between her and Kensuke Aida, also present in many Asushin-centric fics as a secondary pairing. This ship has become less popular following the Rebuild movies' ambiguous pairing of Kensuke with Asuka. Gendo has a close relationship to Rei with ambiguously predatory undertones, and some fans also explore the Rei/Gendo ship as a result.

Fanworks

Fanfiction

  • 00 → {} [1] archive by boychikDate: December 10, 2013Length: 1,441Status: completeGenre: gen, character study
This is Rei.
  • The Girl Who Shouted "I" At The Heart Of The World [2] archive by AF_OliverDate: August 26, 2021–August 25, 2024Length: 1,043,165Status: OngoingGenre: gen, time-travel fix-it
Few get a second chance at living, let alone two or three. Rei Ayanami never knew what to do with the lives she had until it was too late. Getting another chance at living could mean a world of difference. After all, life is an ever changing thing and even the smallest of changes can reverberate across the world.

Fanart

  • a colored pencil image of two Reis: one from the knees up, dressed in her plugsuit, and another of her face in profile.

    Rei Ayanami by Iruka (2003)

  • a pencil drawing of Rei in casual clothes eating a bunch of grapes.

    ~*Rei's Grapes*~ by XxXStEpHXxX (2004)

  • a colored image of Rei in her plugsuit.

    Ayanami Rei by 赤津豊 (2007)

  • an image of Rei kneeling and wearing Commander Ikari's turtleneck and coat, and holding his glasses up to his face.

    Rei Ayanami by illust-ringo (2014)

  • Rei, seated on her bed, illuminated by a sliver of light peeking through the door. Dirtied bandages are strewn across the floor and the furniture.

    Rei's room by ashleyloob (2022)

Cosplay

  • a cosplayer dressed as ayanami rei in a red and white kimono faces the camera, with a traditional-style kitsune mask in her hair. She is reflected in the mirror she leans against.

    Rei Ayanami by VisualGoth (2007)

  • a cosplayer dressed as rei ayanami in her plugsuit stands beside a hydrangea bush. The cosplayer's face is completely covered by a mask in the image of Rei's animated face.

    Plugsuit ayanami rei and hydrangea by doller98-TAKA (2013)

  • a cosplayer dressed as Rei in her dark plugsuit from the Rebuild movies, turning to face the camera.

    Rei Ayanami Plugsuit by kuricurry (2013)

  • A closeup of a Rei cosplayer's face. She is wearing the school uniform.

    Rei Ayanami by peroperodoki (2022)

  • a cosplayer dressed as rei ayanami in a plugsuit-patterned swimsuit, kneeling. There is guaze wrapped around both of her forearms and one thigh.

    old image for testing by beladrops (2022)

Fansongs

  • One of the tracks on noted J-rock group Bump of Chicken's debut album was a Rei fansong. The song is titled "Arue" after Rei's initials, and one of the band members described it as a "theme song for Rei Ayanami."[6]

Meta

Archives and Fannish Links

Resources

References

  1. ^ See Rei Ayanami Expy on TV Tropes
  2. ^ https://wiki.evageeks.org/Statements_by_Evangelion_Staff#Hideaki_Anno.27s_Roundtable_Discussion "On his favorite Evangelion character... ANNO: Asuka , because she's cute. When told that the American audience favors Misato ... ANNO: I'm surprised. In Japan, the overwhelming favorite is Rei . They can't handle strong women such as Misato and Asuka ."
  3. ^ https://www.crunchyroll.com/pt-br/anime-news/2015/04/14-1/evangelion-creator-hideaki-anno-discusses-rei-versus-asuka
  4. ^ Eva Store's Character Popularity Poll Yields Surprising Results
  5. ^ This 2020 NHK poll has Asuka, Kaworu, Rei, Shinji, Misato and Mari as the most popular characters.
  6. ^ Bump of Chicken Official Website: "[BUMP] Official lyrics and information of 'Arue' - a song born out of love for Ayanami Rei -" published 4/12/2019.
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