Get a Close Look at Evangelion's Life-size Mecha in Japan

Neon Genesis Evangelion is easily one of the most legendary anime franchises, mech series or otherwise, with Shinji Ikari and the other young pilots of NERV leaving their mark on audiences that have witnessed the mind bending anime and now, fans of the franchise can visit a life sized version of the mech that the young Ikari piloted throughout the series and a number of feature length films. Being unveiled in the Toei Kyoto Studio Park, the life sized mech does a fantastic job of recreating Shinji Ikari's preferred method of conveyance, and battle, within the popular anime series.

The mechs of Evangelion are far different from the likes of what we see in a series like Mobile Suit Gundam, with Shinji's unique personality and mental turmoil allowing him to be that much better of a pilot to Eva Unit 01. Alongside Rei and Asuka, Shinji used his unique situation to pilot the mech in order to fight the encroaching threat of the angels, celestial beings that were dead set on destroying the world. With this real life statue, patrons of Kyoto Studio Park get the opportunity to not only witness the life sized recreation up close, but jump into the driver's seat and imagine what it would be like to be in the shoes of the young Eva pilot.

While the Neon Genesis Evangelion attraction, and section of the Toei Kyoto Studio Park, isn't set to open until this October, some lucky fans are getting the opportunity to witness a special preview of the statue and witness the awesome recreation up close, such as Youtube Ryu Tokyo!

2020 was a rough year for anime thanks in part to the coronavirus pandemic with the upcoming Evangelion film suffering a similar fate as many other franchises with the final film in the Rebuild of Evangelion series being delayed to an unannounced date. With Evangelion 3.0 + 1.0 closing the latest chapter of the franchise created by Hideaki Anno and it will definitely be interesting to see what the future of Shinji Ikari and his co-pilots when it comes to Neon Genesis Evangelion!

Would you travel to Japan to get a glimpse at the Neon Genesis Evangelion statue? What other mech suits from the medium of anime would you like to see brought to life? Feel free to let us know in the comments or hit me up directly on Twitter @EVComedy to talk all things comics, anime, and the world of NERV!