# Talk:Rei Ayanami

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Rei Ayanami Proposal Design.jpg
Yui Ichijo.jpg
You can see the reasons for deletion at the file description pages linked above. —Community Tech bot (talk) 05:37, 18 May 2020 (UTC)

This review is transcluded from Talk:Rei Ayanami/GA1. The edit link for this section can be used to add comments to the review.
Reviewer: Tintor2 (talk · contribs) 14:28, 31 October 2020 (UTC)
Okay, I'll be reviewing this article. Like we did with Shinji Ikari, we'll revise Rei's sections little by little. Starting from the infobox:

Are Yui and Lilith worth mentioning in the infobox as "relatives"?
 Done I deleted them.
"Brina Palencia (Rebuild of Evangelion)" The title should be written in italics. Done
Infobox image needs alt Done
Lead
The lead should focus first on her primary media like "fictional character from the anime Neon Genesis Evangelion" Done
"She is revealed to be a key factor in the events that conclude the storyline." The lead is supposed to be an introduction of the character so there is no need to focus on that unless we mention her role in The End and Rebuild
 Done I deleted the passage.
Creation
add alt to the image. Maybe you could combine the two sketches by Sadamoto like the ones from this article using the "multiple image" template Done
"trying to put aside my presuppositions, trying to bring out the most primitive, the most core, the purest parts within me" Since the source is Japanese, I would suggest rephrasing that in your own words as it was quoted from a fantranslation
 Done Kinda superfluous.
"Original script from Evangelion Original III" I would suggest a better format for this reference Done
In voices link Megumi Hayashibara since it's her first mention in the body Done
Even if there are no interviews, mention the other actresses in the article's body with any simple reference like Behind the Voice actors, the official website, a news article, etc.
@Tintor2: I tried my best with the other advices, but what do you mean? Just the English dub, or the dubs in various languages, like for Elsa (Frozen)?--TeenAngels1234 (talk) 23:20, 31 October 2020 (UTC)
That's all for today. Good work so far. For some reason this is faster than Shinji's review. Remember to ping me once you are finished with visiting this issues. Cheers.Tintor2 (talk) 14:28, 31 October 2020 (UTC)

@TeenAngels1234: Just a mention in prose in the voice actors from the English dub is enough. By the way, remember how you handled Shinji's actress? Unless there are exceptions, there is no need to state Hayashibara's works. Good work so far. I'll continue tomorrow.Tintor2 (talk) 23:31, 31 October 2020 (UTC)
 Done--TeenAngels1234 (talk) 12:46, 1 November 2020 (UTC)
Neon Genesis Evangelion
Although Shinji Ikari's backstory is told early, Rei Ayanami's is not revealed until the final episodes before Kaworu appears. As a result, I would suggest moving " She was born in Laboratory for Artificial Evolution's third branch, a place located under the lake Ashino and Hakone city.[28] Her body with albino-like traits is created in absolute secrecy from the salvaged remains of Yui Ikari,[29] a brilliant researcher who loses her life in a testing experiment by Evangelion Unit 01. In the deepest level of the headquarters of a special agency named Nerv, many Rei clones are kept, so that when one Rei dies, she can be replaced. When a clone is activated from a level named Terminal Dogma, although she remains characteristically distinct from all former incarnations, she is endowed with the soul of a being called Lilith, the second Angel." to the bottom of this section. and start this section with what the viewer of the series knows who she is in her first episodes.
While I'm not sure about this, should Rei 3 be mentioned in this section? I mean, I remember in the manga that Rei delivered a sense of individualism and thus the regular Rei, Rei 2, appears to Shinji in the finale during Instrumentality with Shinji remembering how they met through the contact of their hands. The mention that Rei 2 is a clone is important though.
I completely edited the section, fixing this informations and still trying my best.--TeenAngels1234 (talk) 12:46, 1 November 2020 (UTC)
Rebuild of Evangelion
No issues here. I understood everything and the explanation of clones is better presented.
In other media
Reference 52 (From the interview to Sadamoto from the CUT magazine, December 2014.) needs better formatting Done
Characterization and themes
Unlink Sadamoto or relink the one from the manga paragraph. Done
"In the twelfth episode, she states she does not deem it necessary to write a will and reveals she is a vegetarian.[89] During the series it is suggested that she does not have a menstrual cycle.[90]" This sure sounds awkward like those comments from Harry Potter's author. It might come across as WP:Fancruft so I suggest removing it unless Anno or somebody else makes a deal in regards to these statements. Done
"Ōizumi Mitsunari, in a long interview with Hideaki Anno, compared the figure of Rei to the many girls committed to the Japanese sect Aum Shinrikyō, particularly popular during the years of the first broadcast of Evangelion, as "completely dependent on their guru" Shōkō Asahara.[15]" This one kinda intrigued me but it is lacking certain stuff: Who is Mitsunari and what's exactly the sec about.
@Tintor2: Well, he's a Japanese writer and academic. There's not so much to say about him, but I added a specific mention, at least. You can find my original scans on Italian EvangelionWikia. The statement is brief, and I basically reported it with a brief context: "When I look at Rei Ayanami, I’m reminded of the girls in Aum. In short, they’re all dependent upon their Guru, Asahara.". (From an EvaGeeks fan translation). --TeenAngels1234 (talk) 12:46, 1 November 2020 (UTC)
"According to her voice actress, Amanda Winn-Lee, despite the cold and detached appearance, there is still "a small spark of humanity" in Rei, "clouded by this huge sense of negative self-worth and the realization that she is expendable".[98] She also stated: "She knows she's expendable, but the thing is, she's still human." This would be more fitting for the section Voice since we are seen the character from an English actress' point of view similar to Hayashibara. Done
@TeenAngels1234: That's all for these sections. Keep up the good work. Once this is solved, we move to Cultural impact.Tintor2 (talk) 01:35, 1 November 2020 (UTC)

Popularity and critical reception
"For Oricon News, Rei's character has become Evangelion's emblem." seems to be more suitable in the first paragraph as they deal with the popularity she has. Done
When dealing with the first and second paragraph provide an introduction statement like "Critical reception to Rei's character has been" similar to a formal letter. Done
"IGN ranked Rei 10th on its list of Top 25 Anime Characters of All Time. Writer Chris Mackenzie noted Rei was one of the most influential characters in the anime series, adding she was different from similar characters since, "She's a mystery we never really solve, when you think about it."[152]" This might fit better in the popularity paragraph. Done
Merchandise
"Neon Genesis Evangelion: Ayanami Raising Project" Shouldn't this fit better in the other media sections kinda like Shinji's games? Done
In 2020, Honda used Rei and other characters from the series for a number of commercials, which aired on the occasion of a collaboration between Evangelion and Honda Civic.[168]" Evangelion is lacking italics (unless we are talking about the mecha?). Done
"Evangelion Photograph - Rei" Sounds like an artbook but it lacks a description
@Tintor2: It seems it's just a collection of pictures, but at least I specified.--TeenAngels1234 (talk) 15:11, 1 November 2020 (UTC)
" This moe element, which gained wide popularity only after Rei's success, can be found in numerous subsequent female characters, including Eva in Black Cat, Ai Enma in Hell Girl and Yuki Nagato in Haruhi Suzumiya." Is this backed up by the next reference? I mean the sentence ends and it goes on with Gasaraki among other influences Done
"According to De'Angelo Epps (CBR), the character contributed to popularizing the kuudere stereotype, a term for male or female characters who hide their true feelings behind a melancholy and cold facade.[190" is similar to how Rei had an influence in the mukuchi. Since this material is not that big maybe it could be moved to the previous paragraph alongside to mukuchi saying "Similarly...." Done
@TeenAngels1234: And that's all. Finish this and I'll pass it. Good work.Tintor2 (talk) 14:24, 1 November 2020 (UTC)
Passing the review. This was quite faster than Shinji's review. Keep up the good work. Congratulations.Tintor2 (talk) 15:23, 1 November 2020 (UTC)

Have we all forgotten what site we're on? This is an English article on the English Wikipedia. Cited sources need to (a) meet Wikipedia's reliability standards, (b) be written in English, and (c) be something that we can actually confirm the existence of. This means that you need to name a book, magazine issue, etc. that a person can buy or a website that a person can browse. If I type "ISBN 4-8074-9718-9" into a search engine and I only get two results, both of which are Wikipedia pages about Evangelion, then your source might as well not exist.  — Preceding unsigned comment added by 73.70.13.107 (talk) 09:41, 19 April 2022 (UTC) 

What are you on about? Sources used in English Wikipedia doesn't need to be in the English language. It was never a requirement. Neocorelight (Talk) 05:16, 18 April 2024 (UTC)
The user who made this ga has access to such sources. Unless it's controversial information or a Fa nomination I don't see the reason to get nervous Tintor2 (talk) 16:35, 20 April 2022 (UTC)

Dani Cavallaro's publications have been designated as generally unreliable sources in this discussion at the reliable sources noticeboard. Citations to her work can be replaced with more high-quality ones or removed, and the tag can be taken off once complete.
—TechnoSquirrel69 (sigh) 20:40, 6 June 2024 (UTC)

Currently, Rei Ayanami's article is a good article.  For some time, I have thought about bringing the article up to the standards of a featured article, but it may require at least two major changes, if not more.

I have thought about moving the Characterization and themes section to within the Conception section as a subsection, similar to how articles such as Allen Walker are structured.  Alternatively, we would move that section to within the Cultural impact section, as is the case of Naruto Uzumaki's Characterization and themes section being a subsection of Reception, but I personally prefer placing Rei Ayanami's Characterization and themes section within the Conception section.
If we want to potentially nominate this article for WP:FAC, we would need to replace or remove Valnet sources, if possible, per WP:VALNET.
I have wondered that if we were to nominate this for FAC whether this article would need to go through WP:GOCE again and a WP:PR after making the above changes.

Z. Patterson (talk) 08:35, 4 May 2025 (UTC)
@TeenAngels1234: Pinging TeenAngels since he is kinda responsible for making it GA. FAC candidates are hard to pull so don't try to being harsh on your self. I only managed to get Tidus and Allen Walker as FA. 1989 made Naruto's article.Tintor2 (talk) 22:57, 4 May 2025 (UTC)

@Tintor2 and TeenAngels1234: I wonder if we will need to add OCLC numbers to the book citations.  I have also contemplated translating the titles of sources in Chinese and Japanese into English, but I am wondering how we are going to handle the French and Italian translations.  According to an older revision of User:TeenAngels1234, his native language is Italian (see Special:Diff/1078896125). I figured he and I could divide the translation work, but I am wondering who will translate the French-language sources. Z. Patterson (talk) 21:09, 28 June 2025 (UTC)
I'm not an expert in Evangelion so I can't say too much about it. TeenAngels1234 has been absent for some weeks as he often told me he is busy in real world. Have you considered checking the French and Italian Wikipedias and consult other editors? There is also a project that is good at making translations enough to copy image from an image. If a source is in another language and the content is questionable I suggest adding a quote section to the reference and add the content you want to use. It's similar to when we have to use Twitter as alternative sources since there are famous people who post important information there and Wikipedia allows it thanks to Cite tweet. Tintor2 (talk) 21:22, 28 June 2025 (UTC)
@Tintor2: Fair enough.  I may consider that option.
This is what I have gathered from my image review of this article.  The image review will be a criterion of the featured article candidacy, as I have recently experienced with Ochaco Uraraka's article at Wikipedia:Featured article candidates/Ochaco Uraraka/archive2.
File:Rei Ayanami.jpg - Fair use
File:Rei Ayanami Early Design Der Mond.jpeg - Fair use
File:Rei Ayanami Early Design Evangelion Proposal.jpeg - Fair use
File:Amanda Winn Lee.jpg - CC BY-SA 4.0
File:Brina Palencia by Gage Skidmore.jpg - CC BY-SA 3.0
File:Amaterasu.png - Public domain
File:The Immaculate Conception, by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, from Prado in Google Earth.jpg - Public domain
File:Aonami-line-ayanami-2020-2-1.jpg - CC BY-SA 4.0.  I have my doubts about the licensing suitability for this image.  The character is copyrighted, but according to CC BY-SA 4.0, people are free to share the material, even commercially.  I wonder if this is a conflict.
Source:

Z. Patterson (talk) 21:27, 28 June 2025 (UTC)


### Rei Ayanami
I have listed this article for peer review because I have been discussing ways we can get this character's article to featured article status in Talk:Rei Ayanami#Proposals for formatting to WP:FAC standards.  @Tintor2: and I discussed some ways we could approach formatting the article to featured article status.  I know @TeenAngels1234: worked on this article and nominated it for good article status in Talk:Rei Ayanami/GA1, but I was wondering if anyone else who is familiar with WP:FAC guidelines other than me and Tintor2 are willing to provide input for working on getting it to FA status.
In the talk page, I proposed we could do the following.

Move the Characterization and themes section to Conception section as a subsection.
Replace or remove Valnet sources per WP:VALNET.
Add OCLC numbers.
Translate titles that are not in English into English.  I proposed dividing the translation work with someone else, where I could focus on the Japanese and Chinese sources, and another person could work on the French and Italian sources.  I am thinking about asking people in the French and Italian Wikipedias if they are willing to help.
I reviewed the images, but I am apprehensive about the license status of File:Aonami-line-ayanami-2020-2-1.jpg.  It is licensed as CC BY-SA 4.0, but the train has a picture of the character as she appears in Rebuild of Evangelion, and I am not sure if it is acceptable for a potential FAC.
If I initiate an FAC, I plan to get consent from TeenAngels1234.
Thank you, Z. Patterson (talk) 23:50, 30 June 2025 (UTC)

I'm not exactly sure about moving Characterization and themes into Conception. Regarding Valnet, I agree: while I situationally use them usually for GA-status articles, maybe for FA we can remove them. I can help with translating Italian and French titles: I'm a native Italian speaker and while not an expert I'm pretty fluent in Spanish and French. Last but not least, we can remove the train image: feel free to remove it if that is the case. TeenAngels1234 (talk) 19:19, 5 July 2025 (UTC)
@TeenAngels1234: I created a list of tasks to do in Talk:Rei Ayanami/to do.  This will take us several days to do, but I think we can achieve it. Z. Patterson (talk) 19:43, 5 July 2025 (UTC)
As we go through the sources and translate the non-English names to English, I am wondering if general audiences will read this without problems and not get confused before we potentially have an FAC. Z. Patterson (talk) 21:29, 6 July 2025 (UTC)
@TeenAngels1234 and Tintor2: I submitted a request for a copy edit at Special:Diff/1299191307 in Wikipedia:WikiProject Guild of Copy Editors/Requests.  I also began to work on translating the titles of Japanese sources, and I plan to also translate titles of Chinese sources when they start to appear in the article. Z. Patterson (talk) 00:41, 7 July 2025 (UTC)
@TeenAngels1234 and Tintor2: I think I translated the titles of the Japanese- and Chinese-language citations.  I also corrected some other citations. Z. Patterson (talk) 03:14, 12 July 2025 (UTC)
hi! copyeditor here! first thing i'd recommend is citing any quotations (like the popularity polls, or anything quoting anno's words) in the lede, per MOS:LEADCITE. will reply with more if i have any ideas :3  astral ▪️ he/him ▪️ >:3  19:26, 22 July 2025 (UTC)
@AstralAlley: Thank you for starting to copy edit this.  Yes, I plan to address this.  Thank you for pointing this out. Z. Patterson (talk) 01:29, 29 July 2025 (UTC)


#### Aoba47
For the lead's first sentence, I would recommend adding a descriptor for Gainax, as some readers may be unfamiliar with it. It could be something along the lines of created by the anime studio Gainax. I think that it would also be helpful to move up the anime link to this spot as with the current positioning (the anime series of the same name), the links run together.
I have a comment about this part, her classmate and fellow Eva pilot. The term Eva should more clearly introduced and defined prior to just using it in the prose. I believe that this is a shortened version of Evangelion, but this should be clearer in the prose.
For this part, appears in the franchise's animated feature films and related media, is there a reason why list of Neon Genesis Evangelion films is not linked?
For the first sentence of the second paragraph, I would recommend using the character's name rather than her. I think that it is helpful to do this after a paragraph to clearly define the subject to the reader rather than potentially confusing them and having them go back to reread the previous paragraph.
I have two comments about this part, by Gainax staff members, such as Aoki Uru and Paul Gallico's The Snow Goose. There should be a comma after Uru so that The Snow Goose is not listed as an example of Gainax's past work. I would also recommend including a short descriptor for both. I think that something along the lines of the unproduced animated film Aoki Uru and Paul Gallico's novella The Snow Goose would be appropriate.
For this sentence, Reactions to Rei have generally been positive., I would clearly attribute who is having these reactions. Was it critics, viewers, someone else?
For the lead's third paragraph, I would avoid the repetition of the word "poll" twice in the same sentence.
I do not think that the Nihon Keizai Shimbun sentence is necessary for the lead, as this part should be an overview of the article. I can understand how including quotes in a lead can be helpful in certain instances, but I do not think that this is the case here. The quote and overall sentence seems rather trivial, and I believe its placement in the lead gives it undue weight. I think that this would be best kept in the article.
I know what moe means, but the lead uses it without any definition or context, so I could see that being confusing for readers. I would careful about using this type of jargon without any additional information, as readers who may be unfamiliar with anime and Japanese tropes in general may have never seen this word before.
I do not think that the age parameter in the infobox is particularly useful as the character is shown at different ages throughout the story.
The infobox refers to the character as a human clone, but that is not brought up in the lead. Neither are her title as "First Child" or anything about her relatives.
Are the character's red eyes notable or important enough (either in the context of the story or in the coverage) to be highlighted in the infobox?
I have two comments about this sentence: According to Neon Genesis Evangelion: The Unofficial Guide by writers Kazuhisa Fujie and Martin Foster, director Hideaki Anno instructed Yoshiyuki Sadamoto on Rei's character design, saying, "Whatever else, she needs to be painted as a bitterly unhappy young girl with little sense of presence. The entire first part can be removed. It is not necessary to attribute directly in the prose that this quote comes from The Unofficial Guide or to say the authors' names. The focus should be on the person saying the quote (in this case Hideaki Amo).
I am not sure if the above sentence is the best way to start this article. It is rather abrupt and tosses the reader into the middle of things. For instance, Hideaki Anno is described as a director, but it is unclear what he is directing. It is unclear who Yoshiyuki Sadamoto is. And then, this goes on to talk about songs by a band Kinniku Shōjo Tai. At this point, Neon Genesis Evangelion has not even been introduced or named. This article seems to start with an assumption that readers would already be familiar with this franchise, and that is not always going to be the case.
I would be careful about using in-universe terminology without introducing them. For instance, the term "plugsuit" is brought up at the end of the article, and as someone who has never seen anything related to this franchise, I have no clue what this means.
I would be mindful of citation overkill, particularly in the "Cultural impact" section. I would consider something like citation bundling as a way to address this.
I have received pushback about block quotes in a previous FAC. I have not read enough of the article to say anything about these block quotes, but I do not notice that the article uses several of them. I just wanted to bring this to your attention as this may be a potential issue for a FAC.
I hope that these comments are helpful. I have primarily looked through the lead and the infobox, and I have done a very brief look through the article. Apologies as I will not be able to do a thorough review. 
My primary concern for this article is having it be understood by readers unfamiliar with Neon Genesis Evangelion. I know that this can be more challenging with a character who is from a very different type of world, as it is a lot to introduce and establish. 
Best of luck with the peer review process. I am always happy to see people working on fictional character articles, as they are one of my favorite parts of Wikipedia. Aoba47 (talk) 17:22, 6 August 2025 (UTC)

@Aoba47: Thank you.  I plan to address these issues.  I added them to the to do list at Talk:Rei Ayanami/to do. Z. Patterson (talk) 01:17, 10 August 2025 (UTC)
I hope that I was able to help and that you have a great rest of your weekend! Aoba47 (talk) 01:24, 10 August 2025 (UTC)
The Guild of Copy Editors copy edited this article again for a potential FAC. Z. Patterson (talk) 02:49, 6 September 2025 (UTC)


#### FAC PR sidebar
@Z. Patterson: I have added this article to the FAC peer review sidebar. Please consider reviewing other articles on that list. Thanks, Z1720 (talk) 05:05, 10 August 2025 (UTC)

@Z1720: Thank you most sincerely. I plan to. Z. Patterson (talk) 12:39, 10 August 2025 (UTC)