Rei Ayanami from Neon Genesis Evangelion (Creator’s Labo Version)


Yamato Rei Ayanami Review

Back to the backlog! This week has been filled with Kanu reviews and here we have another popular subject for figure manufacturers, Rei Ayanami, perhaps the superstar of the figure world. Rei’s legacy is as enduring and persisent as Brett Favre, and with at least two more figures up for preorder on Hobby Search as of the time of this writing, she is not going to go away anytime soon. This particular figure, set in 1/7 scale from Yamato, is inspired from a Shunya Yamashita drawing, and it’s been out for a while. I think I got this particular figure around a year ago, and a resin kit version has been around for even longer than that.

Yamato Rei Ayanami Review

The Rei we all know and love in the anime is taciturn, placid, and anhedonic, but this figure departs from those traits and presents her as a seductive temptress, lips parted and waist tilted, hips cocked to one side.

Yamato Rei Ayanami Review

The original resin kit swathed her head and one eye in bandages, and I think Yamato should have retained them for their PVC figure. They would have added a sense of vulnerability to Rei, accentuated by her raised arms and contrasting with her confident posture and cool gaze. Also, Shunya Yamashita’s drawings have always highlighted his flair for unconventional fashion, and nobody pulls off the sexy bandaged look like Rei does.

Yamato Rei Ayanami Review

Paint and sculpting are both very good, and I haven’t noticed any obvious flaws. Well, maybe there’s one: she appears to be leaning forward, and I guess a dip in a hot water bath might be in her future. Besides her ankles, she is rather robust, as she has the ignominious distinction of being the figure that has taken the most swan dives off of my desk; I think I’ve knocked her to the floor twice, perhaps three times, and she doesn’t seem to be any worse for the experience.

Yamato Rei Ayanami Review

This is a figure I like a lot. It puts a very appealing spin on a well-known character, dialing up Rei’s sexiness while retaining the core aspects of her character design. Add in Shunya Yamashita’s distinctive design touches and this figure is a winner.

Yamato Rei Ayanami Review

Yamato Rei Ayanami Review

Yamato Rei Ayanami Review

Yamato Rei Ayanami Review

Yamato Rei Ayanami Review

Yamato Rei Ayanami Review

Yamato Rei Ayanami Review

Yamato Rei Ayanami Review

Yamato Rei Ayanami Review

Yamato Rei Ayanami Review

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12 Responses to Rei Ayanami from Neon Genesis Evangelion (Creator’s Labo Version)

  1. Blowfish says:

    Absolutely love this figures design but i prefer my Fathering Kit with its bandages over Yamatos.
    Shes nevertheless one of Yamatos figures though!

  2. Tier says:

    >> Blowfish
    Yeah, I got this figure before I even knew of E2046. If I hadn’t I probably would have picked up E2046’s version along with the matching Asuka. I really like the bandage look on Rei, shame that Yamato left them out.

  3. Zippy says:

    I’ve been seriously deciding on whether to pick this up or not, and I have to say your review just makes me want the figure more. ^_^

    • Tier says:

      If you do get it, you might look at the revised version that Yamato recently released; it has her wearing bandages with an eyepatch over one eye. I like it a lot more than this version of the figure and I’d be tempted to double-dip if I could find it discounted anywhere.

  4. Cantan says:

    I’m such a sucker… watched Evangelion 1.11 a couple of days ago and decided I’d quite like a Rei figure, so just bought the second release of this straight off Amiami (well not straight… was actually a backorder but you get the idea).

    First time I’ve managed to pick up a backorder from them actually.

    Pretty cute looking figure and not too similar to the artwork fortunately, not sure I’m too fond of it. Irony is that with this I’ll now have 4 Shunya Yamashita figures and I’m not even that fond of his artwork.

    • Tier says:

      If I didn’t have this figure I’d get that re-release … I was tempted by it anyway, just because I like her better with the eyepatch. Oh well, maybe someone’ll make an Asuka figure with an eyepatch and I can indulge my one-eyed fetish.

  5. Mentor says:

    Just wanted to finally leave you some props for keeping me entertained for several weeks now by your awesomely written and beautifully photographed reviews! Not sure if you’re the best of influences ;D but I still enjoy my project of reading every single one. And you’ve already gotten me into preordering the re-released Dizzy (Alter), Saber Alter (GSC) and now pondering Rei Ayanami. So, before I disregard my finances even more: Did your prediction about the lean come true?
    Besides that I really would be interested about your arrangement of figures on your shelv(es), so maybe that’s an idea for a future post? (Or did I just miss such an already existing post?) I’m curious on how to manage such a massive collection ^-^
    Anyways, keep ’em coming!

    • Tier says:

      Thanks for the kind words! It’s always great to hear that my posts are helpful. Rei is definitely leaning forward, although I’m not sure her lean is any worse now than it was when I wrote this review. Maybe she’s leaning a millimeter or two more than she did, but it doesn’t seem too serious. I figure if the figure has held up these last few years without a problem, she ought to be okay (in contrast, I have Alter’s old Saber swimsuit figure, and her leaning became progressively worse and I knew it was a problem. It’s unfortunate I didn’t do anything about it before she snapped her pegs and faceplanted herself.)

      I’ll be honest, I don’t so much manage or arrange my figures as much as I put them on every bit of surface space that is available. I have figures on shelves, cabinets, in front of my television, on top of a flatbed scanner. I have figures on top of other figures; a lot of the ones that are sitting or lying down are sitting on another figure’s base to save space. It’s actually not a very pretty sight. I really need to box up some figures and put them on eBay or something.

      • Mentor says:

        So I gave her a shot after I couldn’t resist that ass anymore and read somewhere, that they improved the paint job for version 2. It’s pretty hard to tell from photos but I believe especially for the part on the shoulder and the face it’s true.
        I’m really happy with her overall but I don’t dig her bandaged head too much. Maybe that’s because I’m not yet familiar to the Evangelion series, but I prefer to display her unsevered. If you’d live in Europe I’d offer you my spare head, but then you’d probably have to chop off the other one…

        I’m pretty new to the PVC Figure obsession, but I see where you’re coming from – I already feel like I have to fight the urge to own more of them than my apartment (and wallet) can handle ^_^

        • Tier says:

          Yeah, I guess the shipping distance and my reluctance to decapitate my figure would make that problematic. I do have this thing for anime girls in bandages, though. That’s probably mostly because of all the Rei artwork that shows her injured. Though I kinda dig Asuka’s pirate patch, too.

          That is the way it goes XD Assuming you aren’t into photography already, I don’t recommend getting into that either, it is amazing how quickly one can accumulate camera gear.

  6. andersbac says:

    Somehow this figure still holds THE top position among sexy pvc statues. Over the years it’s become something of a icon. Having quite recently picked up this peculiar hobby I was delighted to find Version 2 still available at Anime Pagoda for just $150. (A steal, considering there are used copies for sale for $ 2-300 on ebay.) I also bought the the resin version, since those exposed breasts add lots to Rei’s charm. Now to see if parts from one can be combined with the other…

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