She used to be the most popular Eva girl, but now Asuka has taken that spot.
Why isn't Rei Ayanami popular anymore?
Cooper James
Nathan Hall
because Japan has shit taste
Leo Young
>She used to be the most popular Eva girl
Back in the 90s. She seemed to be making a comeback but Rebuild 3.0 shat all over her.
Xavier Foster
Reibros..... Not again... AIIIIIIIIIIIIIE ASUKACHADS I KNEEEEEL
Jayden Ramirez
>Back in the 90s
Eva is from the 90s you meant 00s?
Benjamin Wilson
Kuuderes are trash
Liam Davis
Masses are dumb, they like whatever shit gets pandered to them, McDonalds, Transformers movies, Justin Bieber, Ashitka, etc...
I don’t care about popularity contests, back then when Rei was at the height of her popularity there were many bandwagoning casualfags and wankers that didn’t give a shit about Rei yet claimed to be Rei fans, it always happens when something is “popular”, it becomes cool to say you like it... now, after the Rebuilds and hundreds of Rei expys in anime, these faggots have dispersed to whatever caters better to them and Ashitka seems to be more popular... but it is a fake popularity, handed off in a silver plate by Hideaki Anno, thanks to a bunch of dumbed down mediocre movies, with a fandom so superficial that can’t even tell apart Sōryū from Shikinami, whereas Rei is still very popular but unlike Asuka, with a very loyal fandom that deeply loves her and cares about her character, so after the hype of rebuilds passes, Rei will likely remain as the most iconic character that Eva has ever had and undoubtedly the best one... and there’s nothing Hideaki Anno could do to stop it. We all know that if Asuka was treated how Rei has been treated the last 15 years, she wouldn’t even exist by now.
Xavier Diaz
Do you think all the Rei expies in the 2000s are the reason why Rei isn't popular anymore? Perhaps Japs have just gotten tired of seeing that kind of character everywhere.
Joseph Mitchell
On one hand yes, it's like the Seinfeld effect. On the other, now it's "harder" to be a Rei fan, most EVA media doesn't cater to you, pretty much the opposite, and most casualfags want easy things handed to them, without having to think much about it... anyway, given that most expys only address part of the superficial appeal that Rei had, this leaves Rei fandom to the people who actually truly cared a lot about her character, and that's exactly why I see it surviving the test of time, even if no new EVA media comes out after, let's say, 20 years.
Camden Morris
The irony of posting all this when Rei is literally an antagonist who spends 90% of the show manipulating Shinji towards Yui's ends, and her rabid fanbase never picked up on it.
Gabriel Hernandez
>Rei, a manipulating antagonist
>The same Rei who saved Shinji's life several times, who sacrificed herself so that Shinji and humanity could live, that defeated Gendo and guided Shinji out of instrumentality and ultimately gave everyone the chance of coming back to life...
Ok.
Connor Cook
>Rei is literally an antagonist
What show did you fucking watch? Because it sure wasn't Evangelion.
Jonathan Evans
I always found it kinda weird how in a bunch of Eva spin off games and manga Rei has that cheerful personality from ep 26 instead of her canon one from the show.
Josiah Morris
Kaworu fans are on a whole nother level...
Anthony Williams
Official proof that japanese tastes have worsened over the years
Lincoln Adams
That's not Asuka though. It's Shikinami.
Nathan Cooper
Not in ARP, the one that was more directly catered to Rei fans. There she has the same personality of NGE and any further development from her side only happens as a side effect from your interactions with her. As for the others, I suppose that people wanted some lighthearted fun and genki Rei was something that could have ended up happening would she have had the time to heal and develop in a more healthy and normal environment, so that's why it was used I think.
Oliver Murphy
>She used to be the most popular Eva girl, but now Asuka has taken that spot.
Well, 25 years of being largely ignored by Gainax and then Khara will do that. Not even a single time has Rei been stronger than in NGE and EoE, and that was like twenty years ago.
Mason Perez
a divine level?
Asher Butler
Blaming Japan for having "shit taste" isn't fair at all.
Rei and Asuka have completely reversed positions in the story, where Rei was a strong half-huma/half-angel heroine type with agency, Asuka was NERV's puppet pilot who died knowing nothing.
In the spinoffs they've made Rei into a puppet and Asuka into a half-angel human.
Japan isn't wrong for switching polarity here, because the characters also swapped.
Samuel Adams
She's still popular with me and that's all that matters.
Luke Sullivan
changing tastes, mon brave.
Fragile dolls are out, tsunderes are in
Gabriel Roberts
It's the same as all ways.
Fragile dolls were always out, that's why Asuka lost to Rei in NGE.
Strong characters are always in; that's why Rei won.
When Anno decides to upgrade Asuka and downgrade Asuka.... the outcome is obvious.
Adrian Parker
>Fragile dolls refering to Rei
Imagine unironically calling that the goddess that became the strongest being in the whole universe and that saved humanity from complete doom.
Jose Nelson
>Why isn't Rei Ayanami popular anymore?
Why don't you ask the writers of Evangelion?
Jonathan Murphy
If anything, Rebuilds will soon be forgotten after they are over, they are inferior to NGE in pretty much everything and will never achieve a cult status, so... enjoy that popularity while the hype lasts, for Rei's appeal is eternal.
Angel Howard
Anthony Green
Wait a minute that collar
Aaron Nelson
>We all know that if Asuka was treated how Rei has been treated the last 15 years, she wouldn’t even exist by now.
This.
Even though Anno has tried his darndest almost to erase Rei out of the franchise, Rei is still around. Asuka fans would have comittted mass suicide had their favorite character been treated the same way.
Jace Perry
That which you don't see tends to be the most important thing in this "spiritual" sort of story.
Asher Gray
And the difference in popularity isn't even that big, contrarily to what that Evastore poll says, which speaks volumes of how healthy and strong Rei's fanbase is. Nowadays no Reifan wants to give money to Khara nor Anno, that's why no one voted in that fucking poll.
Rei is still around and will always be. She is NGE.
Gavin Flores
she took a while to get to that position though.
It'd be dumb to deny that vulnerability is a significant part of Rei's appeal. That's why one of her first scenes has her dumped, covered in bandages, into the main character's lap.
Oliver James
You do miss the part where Rei is damaged, but still able to get up - that signifies strength as much as it does fragility.
Fragile in the moment, but strong in mind and will.
Gavin Moore
And that's part of her unique appeal. She's vulnerable yet immensely strong, she's gentle and soft-spoken yet a formidable warrior. Even in these scenes where she's bandaged and injured, she always has a dignified air and was always ready to fulfill her duty with courage.
What ultimately makes her stand out and and what makes her unforgettable is that she, the one who appeared most fragile on the outside and that counted with less support from other people, was the only one able to completely address her issues and confront them, defeating her abuser on the process and trascending the realm of humanity to become a goddess, giving mankind a chance for a new beginning.
Nicholas Bell
Japan finally got good taste, Asuka best girl