[WonFes] We Explore the Evangelion 20th Anniversary Booth

In celebration of this year being its 20th anniversary, a special Evangelion booth was set up at Wonder Festival 2015 Summer held on July 26. Crowds of Eva fans were mesmerized by the various attention-grabbing displays.

The booth, set up as the main attraction of Hall 4 of the event center, included life-size Rei and Asuka statues and various displays including the “Evangelion Orochi” Eva-themed car manufactured by Mitsuoka Motors, in addition to the dioramas shown at the Kaiyodo Figure Museum and exhibit events in Ueno.

The Evangelion series has had a deep connection to WonFes since the beginning. The serialization of Neon Genesis Evangelion, based on Hideaki Anno’s original work, by Yoshiyuki Sadamoto began in the monthly manga magazine Shonen Ace in late 1994. A feature in this year’s WonFes guidebook talks about what it was like before the popularity of Eva exploded:

“At WonFes in August 1995, before the TV broadcast, the only thing Eva that was sold was the first resin kit by sculptor Haruki Yoshida that was produced under the supervision of director Anno as a reference model for drawing. And since it was before the broadcast of the anime, it went unnoticed, with less than 10 sold.”
(Translated excerpt from “Schedule of Planned Exhibits and Supplementary Displays,” Wonder Festival 2015 Summer Guidebook, p. 10)

After this, the TV broadcast began, resulting in a huge boom and extensive development as makers tried to outdo each other with their products. The August 1996 WonFes was dyed in the colors of Eva, regardless of whether from a commercial manufacturer or amatuer, which caused a huge shift in the hobby world.

Expressing this background, a full lineup of figures from throughout the series’ history was on display this year. Attendees enjoyed looking back at the 20-year history of Evangelion.

Evangelion fans are anxiously awaiting the upcoming new movie. With its unshakable popularity, the series is likely to enliven WonFes as the face of the event for many years to come.

This is a Tokyo Otaku Mode original article.