Skip to main content

Angel Mariel as Rei Ayanami


The second character I decided to cosplay is Rei Ayanami from the anime Neon Genesis Evangelion. I have known the anime since I was a kid, but I didn't really follow it. The story was far too complicated for me to understand back then. So in order to prepare for my Rei cosplay, I did something that my fellow cosplayers called character study. I watched all the episodes of Evangelion. To be honest, I still don't understand the story even now.



I didn't do this kind of serious study with Sakura Haruno because I have been following Naruto episodes ever since. So I already have an idea how to portray her. However, I'm not very familiar With Rei. I just know her by name and image as she is a popular and classic character.

Rei Ayanami of Neon Genesis Evangelion.
Cosplaying Rei was quite a challenge for me. Rei is a character who is very stoic. She is silent and thinks deeply. She keeps on doing long distance stares which are not blank at all. In short, she is a very deep character. Whenever I see her, I think of 'what's my purpose...' So the challenge for me was how to project seriousness and deep feelings without a show of emotions. 

Rei is a serious character.
Not to mention, it is very difficult to shift from one personality to another.  From being cute and energetic Sakura, I shifted to the serious and laid back Rei.  It was a totally different experience for me as a Sakura Haruno cosplayer.

But I embraced the challenge of cosplaying a serious character. In fact, doing serious poses is even more difficult than cute poses. I debuted my Rei cosplay last Otaku Expo 2013. On my first day as Rei, I was scared and worried that I will not be able to do it well. I remembered feeling this way on my first day of cosplay. So this is how it is: each new character portrayed feels like the first time.


Here are my photos of my Rei cosplay. Special thanks to Dave and Hitokiri Battousai of Otaku Underground Society and to Reeve for these photos.

Me as Rei Ayanami. Photo by Reeve. 

My take on Rei's long distance stares. Photo by Hitokiri Battousai of Otaku Underground Society.

Trying my best to be serious. Photo by Hitokiri Battousai of Otaku Underground Society.
Despite all the challenges and difficulties, why did I still choose Rei? I chose her because her silent demeanor is similar to my personality. I really went beyond my limits for Rei. However, I am happy with the results! It's still far from the perfect Rei but I will improve myself more. I will practice serious poses and long distance stares. Always.


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

The 2019 Starbucks SG Planner

Happy New Year, dear readers! The year 2019 comes with new wishes, new beginnings, and of course, new planners! Yay! I'm excited for all of it. The new year for me means a fresh start for all the failures I've had for the previous year. Yep, I feel ya! 2018 was kinda rough for me, too. But anyways, I'm here to share with you a tool to help us face the days ahead.  I'm sure that some of us take life as it goes along. But there are others, like me, who have a planning personality. And lemme tell ya, it's really frustrating how things don't go according to plan. Most of the time, life doesn't make it go as planned. Ugh... But fret not! Even if life foils everything, that doesn't stop us from using planners! Wheee~ They're cute and inspirational. They give us a sense of "getting our life together" , too. Hahaha~ So for this post, I'm gonna share with you the Starbucks Singapore  2019 planner!  The 2019 Starbucks Singapore Planner

Lee Min Ho Mall Tour: SM Mall of Asia Leg

I still can't believe that it was just two nights ago (November 18, 2012), I saw Lee Min Ho in the flesh! As early as 5:30PM, I was already in SM Mall of Asia Music Hall, joining the fans as we eagerly wait for his arrival. The crowd was very overwhelming. I bet some people waited there two hours earlier than I did!  Lee Min Ho is a South Korean actor. His popular dramas include Boys Over Flowers, City Hunter, and Faith among others. His prowess as an actor and his to-die-for looks are enough to make women go gaga over him -me included!  He is my favorite actor. I love his dramas. In the future, as I gain more skills, I plan to cosplay his characters, especially Johnny from City Hunter. He is the reason why I love Korean products like Etude House . Now, I have another brand to love... and it's a Filipino brand! I'm very happy that Lee Min Ho is the latest endorser of the clothing line, Bench .  Crowds make me uncomfortable. It was my first time to have ever attended

Presenting The Starbucks 2014 Planner

There are a lot of 2014 planners available out there. For this post, let me share with you the 2014 Starbucks Planner. Every December, people are talking about it! The cover and the layouts are something to look forward to, as well. For this year, it came in four colors: yellow, magenta, brown, and black. The black one is the Philippine edition ( hmmm, tempting! ). I'm very much impressed because the cover feels like leather.  I will feature the magenta one. My friend owns this. I already have a planner for 2014, owning another doesn't make sense at all. Hehehe ~ So, I decided to take some photos of it and share what's inside. (^_^) Left: the box, Right: the planner.  The cover is embossed with coffee icons and Starbucks coffee blend logos. I noticed the symbol for their coffee Sumatra and the elephant icon for Kenya. The 2014 Starbucks Planner in magenta I saw the symbol of the Starbucks coffee blend Sumatra embossed on it. Here is a really cute featur