Neon Genesis Evangelion remains one of the most iconic mecha and anime franchises of all time, with its first incarnation a groundbreaking work in the medium. This anime wasn’t the only manifestation of the franchise, however, and the “true” beginning has inspired an upcoming new collectible.
A statue-esque scale figure based on Misato Katsuragi has been revealed, with HOBBY MAX JAPAN being the company behind the merch. Based on an iconic image of her from the Evangelion manga, it perfectly captures her in all her recognizable glory. Pre-orders are now available, but the window is closing soon, meaning that fans of a more obscure entry in the series should hurry and order theirs soon.
Evangelion’s Newest Figure Brings Misato’s Manga Design to Life
HOBBY MAX JAPAN’s Misato Katsuragi: Comics Ver. is a scale figure based on NERV employee Misato Katsuragi, one of the main characters from the Neon Genesis Evangelion franchise. In the story, she becomes a veritable surrogate mother to the protagonist, Shinji Ikari, who lives with her after he becomes a pilot of one of the EVA mecha units.
This new statue depicts Misato as most would recognize her, with her outfit a form-fitting black dress over a red leather jacket. Looking coy as she tilts her head, she boasts a gun in her left hand. Other notable elements include her black boot-like shoes, with special attention given to making them and her clothes shine to match their intended texture. The same goes for her hair, which features specific color gradations to achieve the desired shade of purple and resemble how she looks in the anime.
Ironically, the pose itself isn’t even based on the anime but rather on a panel from the Neon Genesis Evangelion manga. Said manga differs from the relationship between many anime and their manga counterparts: it actually came first, releasing in 1994 as a way to “promote” the upcoming anime.
The anime is not an adaptation of the manga, however, and the latter was based on development notes of the anime, which was already in production. To this day, however, the manga is a rather obscure part of the property’s history, being largely forgotten compared to its iconic counterpart.
Nevertheless, it was still an important part of said history, which is what makes the new figurine something that mecha fans everywhere will want on their shelves. The Misato Katsuragi: Comics Ver. scale figure can now be pre-ordered on sites such as HobbyLink Japan for roughly $163 USD, but the pre-order window is closing on June 25th, with the figure itself releasing sometime in April 2027.
- Release Date
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1995 – 1996
- Network
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TV Tokyo
- Directors
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Keiichi Sugiyama, Masahiko Otsuka, Tensai Okamura, Shoichi Masuo, Minoru Ohara, Seiji Mizushima, Tetsuya Watanabe, Ken Ando
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Megumi Ogata
Shinji Ikari (voice)
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Kotono Mitsuishi
Misato Katsuragi (voice)