There have been a lot of Neon Genesis Evangelion tie-in products over the years, from Tamagotchis to Godzilla-hybrid popcorn buckets, but now you’ll have the chance to own the cuddliest tie-in of them all – an EVA-01 teddy created by German teddy bear gods Steiff.
If you happen to win the opportunity to purchase one, that is. The limited-edition Evangelion X Steiff 2020 teddy bear is a snuggly take on the iconic Evangelion Unit-01 from the classic anime series, complete with purple and green fur and the NERV logo and EVA-01 emblem embroidered on its widdle feet. Someone has probably already made an Evangelion-themed teddy bear, somewhere, but this one will be a fancy collectible.
The bear costs 33,000 yen (around R4,700 before tax) and pre-ordering begins on 26 October, but purchasers will be chosen by lottery, so pre-ordering will only get you a chance of maybe getting the bear. Shipping is scheduled to begin in June 2021, and it’s unclear if the EVA-bear will be available to purchase outside of Japan. Probably not.
Steiff has previously teamed up with other popular anime franchises to create Sailor Moon, One Piece, and Sword Art Online bears.
Neon Genesis Evangelion, in all its weird, backtracked and re-wrangled glory, is currently available to binge on Netflix.
Via Crunchyroll.