Rei Ayanami

Rei Ayanami is a primary character in the anime series Neon Genesis Evangelion. She is a blue haired, red eyed, pale girl, the product of cloning Yui Ikari, the mother of series protagonist Shinji Ikari , embedded with the soul of Lilith, the 2nd Angel. She is one of the most popular anime characters of all time, having greatly influenced subsequent anime characters and even the industry as a whole.See Rei Ayanami Expy on TV Tropes
== Canon ==
== Fandom ==
Not dissimilar to Asuka, Rei is one of the most popular characters in the fandom. Her fans like her mysterious, philosophical personality, as well as what they perceive as innocence through her shyness and lack of understanding of societal norms. Others however think she is emotionless, cold, uncaring or even arrogant. In numbers, she usually divides her popularity with Asuka as one one of the most popular anime characters of the 1990s.https://wiki.evageeks.org/Statements_by_Evangelion_Staff#Hideaki_Anno.27s_Roundtable_Discussion "On his favorite Evangelion character... ANNO: Asuka , because she's cute.
When told that the American audience favors Misato ... ANNO: I'm surprised. In Japan, the overwhelming favorite is Rei . They can't handle strong women such as Misato and Asuka ." Her popularity peaked in the 90s, but slowly faded in the 2000s while Asuka's remained. She peaked again with Evangelion 1.0 and 2.0 in 2007 and 2009 respectively, but experienced another fall in popularity after Evangelion 3.0, which gave way to renewed popularity for Asuka and an explosion for Kaworu. Series creator Hideaki Anno attributes most of this to the fact that Rei, endlessly copied, had already lost her "mystery" and thus wasn't as alluring as she used to be.https://www.crunchyroll.com/pt-br/anime-news/2015/04/14-1/evangelion-creator-hideaki-anno-discusses-rei-versus-asuka Eva Store's Character Popularity Poll Yields Surprising ResultsThis 2020 NHK poll has Asuka, Kaworu, Rei, Shinji, Misato and Mari as the most popular characters.
===Memes===
===Hate===
Rei is one of the three main female characters in Eva, and is usually disliked by more exclusive Asuka fans and occasionally Misato fans. Kaworu fans tend to largely ignore or disregard her, as in fact a large portion of Rei's lost popularity after Evangelion 3.0 was picked up by Kaworu and related ships.
=== Shipping ===
Her pairing with Evangelion protagonist Shinji, Reishin, is still the main pairing for Rei, thanks to their numerous interactions, particularly in the first story arcs of the series, much like Asushin is the main pairing for Asuka. Reishin is greatly expanded in the manga adaptation of the anime and also receives a great amount of extra attention in the Rebuilds, particularly Evangelion 2.0. Her relationship with Shinji was so strong in that movie that many fans, including non-Reishin fans, believed it was now going to be endgame, unlike the series and End of Evangelion which featured an (inconclusive and open-ended) ending with Asuka and Shinji. This means that the larger franchise puts Reishin on more of an equal footing compared to the original series. However, Evangelion 3.0 featured a new Rei, Rei Q, which grew further apart from him. In the final film, Evangelion 3.0+1.0, Rei Q gets closer to Shinji but is unable to survive. Her interactions and death are one of the major motivators for Shinji's recovery. Shinji reunites with the original Rei near the ending, and she apologizes to him. Shinji sends her back to the village as he does with Asuka and Kaworu, but they do not share any unambiguously romantic dynamics. Rei is seen by Shinji in the rebuilt world talking to Kaworu, all now as adults, which some fans have interpreted as evidence for Kaworei, but the ending itself is variously debated as open-ended itself. It seems to be regaining popularity in recent years. 
Unlike Asuka, however, Rei's alternative ships are far more prevalent than ships for Asuka that are not Asushin. The two main contenders are Kaworei and Asurei. The former is shipped by fans who find their potential dynamics more interesting than Reishin, and is also often shipped as a side ship by Asuka and Asushin fans who also like Rei and wish to see her end up with someone, and some Kaworu fans still prefer it to Kawoshin, with this having more common among these fans before 3.0 than it is now. It enjoys a fair amount of official and fan material. Unlike Marishin and Asuken, other ships debated as possibly supported by the final Rebuild film, it is not usually used as a troll ship. Kaworei has long enjoyed significant popularity as one of the "secondary" fandom ships.
Asurei is a femslash ship, though in early fandom it was more of a crack ship. More recently, femslash fans entering the fandom have latched onto it as a way to explore the tension between the two characters. In the 2000s, a fairly popular alternative ship was between her and Kensuke Aida, also present in many Asushin-centric fics as a secondary pairing. This ship has become less popular following the Rebuild movies' ambiguous pairing of Kensuke with Asuka. Gendo has a close relationship to Rei with ambiguously predatory undertones, and some fans also explore the Rei/Gendo ship as a result.
* Rei/Shinji or Reishin
* Kaworu/Rei or Kaworei
* Asuka/Rei or Asurei
* Kensuke/Rei or Reisuke
* Rei/Gendo
* Rei/Touji
* Rei/Hikari
==Fanworks==
=== Fanfiction ===
* 
* 
=== Fanart ===
File:Iruka-3363-Rei Ayanami.jpg|alt=a colored pencil image of two Reis: one from the knees up, dressed in her plugsuit, and another of her face in profile.|Rei Ayanami by Iruka (2003)
File:XxXStEpHXxX-63238-Reis Grapes.jpg|alt=a pencil drawing of Rei in casual clothes eating a bunch of grapes.|~*Rei's Grapes*~ by XxXStEpHXxX (2004)
File:Ayanami rei.jpg|alt=a colored image of Rei in her plugsuit.|Ayanami Rei by 赤津豊 (2007)
File:Rei ayanami by illust ringo d7bt5a2-375w-2x.jpg|alt=	an image of Rei kneeling and wearing Commander Ikari's turtleneck and coat, and holding his glasses up to his face.|Rei Ayanami by illust-ringo (2014)
File:Rei's room by ashleyloob.jpg|alt=	Rei, seated on her bed, illuminated by a sliver of light peeking through the door. Dirtied bandages are strewn across the floor and the furniture.|Rei's room by ashleyloob (2022)
===Cosplay===
File:Rei cosplay 2007.jpg|alt=	a cosplayer dressed as ayanami rei in a red and white kimono faces the camera, with a traditional-style kitsune mask in her hair. She is reflected in the mirror she leans against.|Rei Ayanami by VisualGoth (2007)
File:Plugsuit ayanami rei and hydrangea by doller98 taka d6b3qs7-fullview.jpg|alt=	a cosplayer dressed as rei ayanami in her plugsuit stands beside a hydrangea bush. The cosplayer's face is completely covered by a mask in the image of Rei's animated face.|Plugsuit ayanami rei and hydrangea by doller98-TAKA (2013)
File:Rei ayanami plugsuit by kuricurry d6me0f8-414w-2x.jpg|alt=a cosplayer dressed as Rei in her dark plugsuit from the Rebuild movies, turning to face the camera.|Rei Ayanami Plugsuit by kuricurry (2013)
File:Rei ayanami.jpg|alt=A closeup of a Rei cosplayer's face. She is wearing the school uniform.|Rei Ayanami by peroperodoki (2022)
File:Beladrops rei cosplay 2022.jpg|alt=	a cosplayer dressed as rei ayanami in a plugsuit-patterned swimsuit, kneeling. There is guaze wrapped around both of her forearms and one thigh.|old image for testing by beladrops (2022)
===Fansongs===
* One of the tracks on noted J-rock group Bump of Chicken's debut album was a Rei fansong. The song is titled "Arue" after Rei's initials, and one of the band members described it as a "theme song for Rei Ayanami."Bump of Chicken Official Website: "[BUMP Official lyrics and information of 'Arue' - a song born out of love for Ayanami Rei -" published 4/12/2019.]
===Meta===
* by Socks/Jen Roberts, posted approx. 2001
*( by GC (fiendswithbenefits), posted 2014 
* by TheAnimeMan, posted 2015 (video)
* by GoatJesus, posted 2018 (video)
* by Baixue1988, posted 2021
==Archives and Fannish Links==
*, created 1998
==Resources==
*Wikipedia:Ayanami Rei
*Rei Ayanami subreddit
* Rei Ayanami at Evageeks
*Rei Ayanami at the Evangelion Fandom.com wiki
*Rei Ayanami at TVTropes
*Rei Ayanami at MyAnimeList
*Rei A. filter at FFN
*Ayanami Rei tag at AO3
*#ayanami rei on Tumblr
*#rei ayanami on Pixiv
==References==
Category:Neon Genesis Evangelion Characters