Fraulein Revoltech Neon Genesis Evangelion Rei & Asuka review

Rei Ayanami and Asuka Langley Soryu are known for representing two entirely different anime character tropes in the best way possible. The former is quiet, mysterious, and is always following the orders of NERV as if that was her sole purpose. The latter, on the other hand, is loud, assertive, and puts herself above others for the most part. But one was known for having numerous pasts as an experiment of some kind (especially if the Third Impact shown in EoE is anything to go by) while the latter had a terrible childhood that shaped her into becoming the loud-mouthed approval-seeker she is. But if you set all that aside, you'll likely see the more fucked-up side of the fandom constantly making jokes about which one they'd date or whatever rinse-and-repeat jokes they come up with from their memes. Except for Feliz Jueves and all the Mexican memes that aren't made by dirty motherfuckers. Those are actually funny. Anyways, let's get to the world of Revoltech for the very first time as we take a look at the only existing Evangelion characters according to merchandisers.

Let's first cover Rei Ayanami, who is in her signature white plugsuit. The base color combined with the black detailing on the biceps and part of the hips, as well as the subtle bits of green and red around the torso area, provides a nice balance between simplicity and complexity when it comes to the aesthetics, and it also goes well with the somewhat futuristic-obsessed push of media at the time when the future seemed like it was around the corner in 1995 vs what the actual future looks like in the present time. The proportions are generally accurate, though it is a case of there being a bit of a clash between the translation of the figures from 2D art to 3D plastic, and the fact that the character has a somewhat skin-tight suit to begin with. Also, I must say that with these being very old Revoltechs, the figures do show a bit of age with the way the joints work, as they look somewhat asymmetrical compared to what I see on the normal elbow and knee joints of a Hasbro or McFarlane figure, for example. 

Her head sculpt is appropriately emotionless and somewhat mysterious in terms of personality with a somewhat somber look than she normally has in the anime. Her hair is painted in blue so it makes it look more alive than if it was cast in molded plastic, and she even has her headset with the details you'd need. Her eyes definitely have that more classic anime detailing to them, which holds up well for an older figure translated into a physical figure. With the Spear of Longinus in her hand (and painted in a beautiful metallic red to boot), her articulation is mostly done via revolver joints located at the neck, shoulders, wrists, diaphragm, hips, and ankles. They connect at two points for both rotation and hinged movement with subtle clicks to keep them sturdy. The issue comes in how loose Rei's legs are, which likely comes down to play though I have seen Revoltechs with loose joints out of the box. Beyond that, she has standard swivels at the biceps and thighs as well as hinges for the elbows and knees. She has alternate hands for her to either have slightly more open hands or ones meant to hold the weapon as seen here.

And here we have Asuka Soryu Langley. While she is known to be a no-nonsense yet arrogant character who asks people if they're stupid or hates on perverted people, this figure is constantly stuck with her head hanging low due to the sculpt of the hair blocking any backwards movement. Her plug predominantly red, fitting her hot-headed nature and correlating perfectly with her EVA Unit. The upper torso is retooled differently for her.

Her head sculpt contrasts that of Rei's with her hairstyle, giving her a more redhead look that goes well with her personality. Though no angry faces and the like are present with this release. She does come with her doll that she had with her as part of her very fucked-up childhood. And in some versions she used the doll as a way to talk to someone when no one else would. Even it has a revolver joint so it can move its head left and right as well as look up somewhat.

I am annoyingly missing the shotgun themed after the one her EVA Unit wielded. So she will have to run tf away from Rei if they argued in an elevator. As for a size comparison, here she is with two Hasbro figures, the Renew Your Vows Spider-Man and Black Series Comic Princess Leia. If you wanted to do crossovers, then this scale is very wrong if we were to keep in mind that Earth-616 Spider-Man is 5'10", and Asuka should be 4'10" while Princess Leia is 5'1". The heights should be swapped in the image for Leia and Asuka, but then again, not only are they from entirely different lines, but they were also made nearly 15 years apart.

Overall, as some of the first Evangelion figures and Revoltechs made for thr Fraulein line, both figures hold up okay. IIRC, since Revoltech initially began with the Yanaguchi series (which was mostly mecha-based, including a few G1 Transformers), it makes sense that the earlier figures in this female-based subline would struggle to hold up for current standards. Certainly better than stuff like the early female Marvel Legends but not by much. Of note, while not marketed in the same way as those old Hero Mashers Hasbro used to do in the mid-2010s, you can swap parts with them using the revolver joints. So for example, maybe they wanted to switch plug suits and EVA Units...which wasn't much of a good idea in-universe.

You can even swap their body parts around to make some wacky color combos. Though the tolerances on which joints go where varies. And hey, if you really want to, you can leave them as a pile of dead body parts.

If you want to look for different versions of the two characters since Japanese toy companies think Rei and Asuka are the only existing Evangelion characters ever, there are a few variants of these characters from Revoltech alone. I know some are more suited for Rebuild while these two can fit either classic or Rebuild. In any case, just be sure to look for them at dirt cheap if you want to own a piece of history. I mean, Figmas exist but those are expensive as shit.

Final ranking (for both): ⭐⭐⭐ out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐