Rei Ayanami, is a character which requires no introduction. Rei is without question, one of the most iconic and idolized anime characters of all time. You can’t go to a con without seeing Rei cosplay. Your definitely not leaving a con without seeing a side back shot of her skinny body, coupled with her expressionless face on an Evangelion poster.When you stop to examine this, its quite amazing that Rei was able to garner so much popularity. After all Rei isn’t the first emotionally damaged female mech pilot with blue hair.
Why is Rei so popular and why does she stand out? Since nothing about her appearance or story (cloning aside) really seems to really set her apart. The only thing your left with to explain her popularity, is her personality. Normally personality is the main selling point of a character , but in this peculiar case the Rei has literally no personality to speak of. She is an empty shell of a person who seems to have no personal goals or ambitions. Rei simply does what she is told.
Since this is Character Talk lets just flat out ask the question(should link to the last one or a page with the last one). Is Rei a good character ?
The answer is yes, Rei is a good character. Put your pitchforks and torches down. Rei is an amazing character and she should stand out in your mind. She will not stand out in your mind for the reasons that most characters are amazing . Nothing about what makes Rei a good character isn’t an internal characteristic of Rei. This should be self evident as she is devoid of character development or motivation. She starts Evangelion as an empty shell of a character and she ends the series as a shell.
What makes Rei’s character interesting is that she is in reality, an extension of Shinji Ikari(same name right after each other i a problem, restructure sentence), a multidimensional character who represents a lot of the aspects of depression. Furthermore all of the other characters in the show represent a different aspect of Shinji’s personality.(Rj disagrees with this hopefully he will write or record a response to this article)
This brings me to the main point that I would like people to leave this blog post with. Rei is a good character because she is a foil of Shinji. While Shinji wallows in his emotions and is crippled by inaction. Rei has no emotions and does what she needs to do always. When you watch the show you are left with the impression that Shinji should have just acted more like Rei.
This contrast is key to the character and is what makes her work in the story. This is also what makes her stand out and be memorable. When you think of Rei you almost immediately think of her doing some kind of suicide mission to save Shinji and Tokyo 3. The success Rei had as a character both in terms of sales and influence caused a huge problem in anime as an industry. Since her debut in the mid 90’s Rei has seen numerous clones (pardon the pun). Rei wasn’t good because she was emotionless. She was good because of the contrast she presented with the cast. What we are left with is a host of character who have copied the idea of Rei. They are at best poor writing, and at worst they are a petty attempt at a cash grab. While Rei is fine the rest of you “Reis” have to go. The anime community needs to demand more, so as a message to all anime creators and consumers. Please stop the Rei.
Last Character Talk: A Defense of Shinji
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