Courtesy of those nice people at Sentinel, they are making a new Evangelion figure in the style of a samurai for release early next year.
The design itself is actually penned by Takashi Okazaki, of Afro Samurai fame (shown below) and depicts Eva-01 wearing samurai armor.
As part of the Riobot range of toys, this version of Eva-01 is being called the Multipurpose Humanoid Decisive Weapon Musha Test Type-01. The toy will also feature an array of accessories, a full range of articulated motion and diecast parts.
Priced at 33,000 yen (or around $215), the full height of the figure is about 25 cm. Considering the complexity of the design, sculpt, paintjob and overall size, the price point is relative to other similarly sized figures.
However, the big thing here is why turn Eva-01 into a samurai at all? Well, this is something I have been writing about since 2009.
In short, there is a longstanding cultural connection between the end of the samurai and the pop-cultural birth of mecha. Mecha designers such as Kunio Okawara have openly talked about the influences of the samurai on mecha design.
So to have an Evangelion design transformed into a samurai is not a new thing for mecha in Japan, and has a great deal of history behind it.
In any case, if you want to pick up this new Riobot toy, you can pre-order it from Sentinel’s own online store or via HobbyLink Japan and it will be release in February next year.
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