The official Japanese Transformers X (formerly Twitter) account has shared a new silhouette celebrating the 30th anniversary of Neon Genesis Evangelion. The silhouette features an unknown transformer, potentially a variation of Optimus Prime or another Prime-like robot, with multiple classic Evangelion fonts splattered throughout the image. Evangelion‘s 30th Anniversary logo is on the promo, and the photo is filled with the iconic hexagon that defined Eva‘s aesthetic. The Transformers and Evangelion tease comes not long after Takara Tomy revealed images for the Zoids and Evangelion collaboration toys. The new Evangelion-based Zoids, Xeno Rex Test Type Unit-01 and Xeno Rex Production Type Unit-0, were displayed at the 63rd Shizuoka Hobby Show.
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Evangelion is one of the most popular brands in Japan and is known for its multiple cross-promotions. The series kicks off its 30th Anniversary with a collaboration to release a new brand of 90s-style clothing called the EVANGELION:95. The anime franchise also collaborated with McDonald’s to release new exclusive toys. This new cross-promotion with Transformers would be Evangelion‘s second crossover with the Robots in Disguise brand. The first Evangelion and Transformers collaboration happened in 2014 with a new Masterpiece Convoy figure inย Evangelion Unit-01 colors, followed by smaller Q-Transformers toys.
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The History of Crossovers with Evangelion, Transformers, and Zoids
The Evangelion anime franchise has officially paused after the release of Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Time in 2021, serving as the finale of the entire series. The franchise remains relevant thanks to cross-promotion like Zoids, McDonald’s, and Transformers. The studio and crew in charge of the Evangelion films, Studio Khara, are currently making Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX, the latest mainline entry of the prestigious Gundam series. Meanwhile, Hasbro is presently airing the children’s show Transformers EarthSpark on Nickelodeon and Paramount+. The franchise opened the animated film Transformers One in theaters in late 2024. The motion picture received rave reviews but underperformed at the box office.
Transformers continues to release new toys. Many figures are based on the classic iconography of the Generation 1 series designs, whereas other toy lines are inspired more by the recent series, like EarthSpark. Concurrently, Zoids has released several anime exclusively on Netflix. The series’ most iconic show, Chaotic Century, has been trapped in a purgatory state since its animation studio went under. Takara Tomy, the toy company behind Zoids, has teased the return of Chaotic Century in 2024. Besides Evangelion, the Zoids brand has crossed over with Monster Hunter to make new toys based on the Mizutsune and Rajang from Monster Hunter, re-named the Gatling Fox Mizutsune and the Knuckle Kong Rajang, respectively.
Takara is also known for partnering with multiple companies to create exclusive merchandise, even collaborating with Hasbro to deliver a robot toy based on Macross and Transformers. Takara does sell Zoids kits through officially licensed American retailers, but itโs unknown if the Xeno Rex Test Type Unit-01 and Xeno Rex Production Type Unit-0 for the Evangelion collaboration will be sold at American retailers this summer as advertised. American fans can traditionally purchase Japanese exclusive kits through stores that ship merchandise overseas.
H/T: Anime News Network
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