Neon Genesis Evangelion is a critically praised, artistic masterpiece of the anime medium, dealing with heavy themes like depression, suicide, isolation, and trauma. It's also a merchandising powerhouse, seemingly willing to emblazon Evangelion theming onto just about any product, and this bizarre dissonance may be hurting the series.

Evangelion took off quickly in Japan, and it wasn't long before the offers for merchandise began to roll in. Most of it was rather conventional stuff, at least to start with. However, in the years between the End of Evangelion release and the release of the first Rebuild movie, when no new Evangelion content was being created, the series remained wildly popular, and was still relevant in the form of merchandising. This popularity, which didn't really wane, led to increasingly more bizarre tie-in products, from eye drops to fishing apparatuses. It raises the question, though: at what point does cashing in start to hurt artistic integrity?

Evangelion Deserves Its Popularity, and Merch is Only Logical

Popular Series Always Produce Merch, and Evangelion is No Exception

Watching Evangelion was a formative experience for me. I it airing on Adult Swim late at night, and watching each episode alone in my room on a weekly basis, often reeling from what I had just seen. There wasn't really anything else quite like it, and arguably there still isn't, despite the many attempts to emulate its success. I had heard of it as a well-regarded series, but in those days it was still quite hard to come into possession of anime, as streaming didn't exist and anime on DVD was almost impossible to find, at least for a high school kid with little money.

Shinji was an anime protagonist like no other. He didn't face danger with a brave face and a desire to protect his friends; he was depressed and paralyzed by fear, but forced to act anyway. For someone who was already struggling with depression, Shinji was a relatable figure, and felt like a more realistic take on what throwing a teenager into a world-ending catastrophe would be like. Other characters like Rei, Ritsuko, and even Gendo were relatable in their own ways, and I developed a long-lasting affection for most of the cast, despite their mistakes and poor decisions.

It was no surprise when I first saw Evangelion merch, like character figures, buildable mecha, or clothing items with Evangelion logos on them. I expected that sort of thing, and to a certain extent, was glad to see it. Even right now, there are tiny Asuka and Rei plushies sitting next to my TV, so it's pretty clear I have no aversion to the idea of anime merch in general. Even more so than the show itself, merch is what often pays the bills for anime production companies, so Evangelion producing a lot of merch was a sign of its success.

Evangelion's Characters Really Aren't Suited to Mascot Status

Deeply Depressed and Traumatized Characters Don't Make Good Mascots

There is, however, a line that one comes to between artistic integrity and making money. There's no end to the debates between artists about how far is too far, and you're unlikely to find any two artists who agree on exactly where that line should be. For that reason, I tried not to judge Evangelion too harshly for its broad approach to merchandising. If the series is popular enough to sustain these kinds of brand deals, then what's wrong with a purple and green paintjob?

Where it first began to weird me out, though, was when I saw the 2012 Evangelion/Schick razor collaboration. There was series antagonist Gendo Ikari, smiling gleefully as he shaved off his chinstrap beard. Who knew all Gendo needed to do to resolve his issues was to pick up a razor and shave? The happy faces on all the characters just felt insanely wrong--had anyone involved in this promotion even seen Evangelion at all? What on Earth made them think that these characters were best suited to hawking razors?

Things have gotten weirder since, with all kinds of tie-ins, like Evangelion military rations, or the recently announced Evangelion McDonald's toys. Is Evangelion really the kind of series that should be aiming toys at actual children? For that matter, isn't it a bit tacky, at the very least, to have an EVA that inexplicably transforms into a fast food item? It almost feels disrespectful to the source material due to how detached the advertising has become from the original product.

Has Evangelion Crossed a Line With Its Tie-in Deals?

The Series May Be Endangering Its Reputation With Too Many Branded Products

For me, I imagine trying to pitch Evangelion to someone whose only familiarity with it is all these tie-ins and merch. How do you convince a person to give the series a shot, when the most recent thing they've seen from it is a McDonald's toy? It gives the impression the series is childish and unserious, which couldn't be further from the truth. Frivolous tie-ins like the infamous Schick razor campaign portray the characters in ways completely contradicted by their actual characterization. It's easy to shrug and go, "well, that's Japan for you," but there's a real potential for harm to the franchise.

"No, really, it's a serious examination of trauma and depression, and how people crumble under the pressure of the apocalypse--"

Or at least, that's what I should be able to say. It's still possible, for now at least, to separate the actual art from the merchandising, but if Evangelion continues to use its characters and iconography as mascots to sell various products, there may come a day when Rei Ayanami is seen more like Tony the Tiger than as a tragic figure who struggles with her own humanity, and that's a truly depressing thought for a real fan of the series.

The further divorced the characters and elements of Evangelion become from their source material, the harder that separation is going to be to maintain. Neon Genesis Evangelion should really consider reeling in the limits of their merchandising if the franchise as a whole is to remain healthy and successful in the long term.