Mexico Taps Neon Genesis Evangelion for New Pandemic PSAs

Anime has been around for decades in the west, and it has found a welcoming home in Mexico. The [...]

By Megan Peters

Anime has been around for decades in the west, and it has found a welcoming home in Mexico. The nation has embraced the medium with open arms, and shows like Dragon Ball continue to make headlines within Mexico. Of course, there are tons of other top-tier anime in the news there, and it turns out Neon Genesis Evangelion is being used to make a point about COVID-19 in one Mexican state.

If you don't believe it, well - you better checked out the official Facebook page for Jalisco. The state is one of the 32 federal entities in Mexico, and it can be located on the nation's southwestern coast. Jalisco is considered one of the nation's cultural hotspots, and it brought anime into the conversation online with a new pandemic-focused PSA.

As you can see above, the PSA is pretty perfect. On the Gobierno de Jalisco page, fans found a PSA for COVID vaccinations starring Rei Ayanami. The heroine is dressed in her Eva suit as usual in Evangelion, and she is hoping people in the region will get their shots ASAP. The PSA itself tells the public that now is the moment to get vaccinated.

"Defend your life and those around you," the PSA reads. "Don't let the opportunity pass you by!"

Jalisco is hoping Rei will convince some holdouts to get their shot, and the state isn't the only one crossing its fingers. Nuevo Leon, another Mexican state in the northeast, used a more subtle Evangelion nod in its PSA. In one poster, fans are shown two animals watching a COVID virus on the horizon loom ahead. This shot might seem pretty innocuous, but it is taken straight from Evangelion. So if any other states want to give the sci-fi series a shoutout, fans would not complain a bit!

What do you think of these PSA pieces? Did you ever expect to see Evangelion used this way...? Share your thoughts with us in the comments section below or hit me up on Twitter @MeganPetersCB.

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