Pinky:cos Rei & Asuka

Both Kokoro and her best friend Moe are members of their school cosplay clubs. Here they have both dressed up as their favorite anime characters; Rei Ayanami and Asuka Langley from Neon Genesis Evangelion (NGE).

Asuka Langley and Rei Ayanami with [hopefully dead] angels (Pikachu not included).

Pinky:cos

Pinky:cos are Pinky girls cosplaying as popular anime or manga figures such as Rei and Asuka, or as fictional characters (the Animate girls). The concept has been divided into two lines; first the P:kyara – P:characters, as exemplified by Tsukihime, the Fighters, and the TenTen trio, and secondly the P:corabo – P:collaboration, examples coming from Amusement – Taito’s Post Pet and Space Invader Pinkys, as well as the Banpresto Super Lovers; Toys – Pinky:Q with scooter; Shop – MCC and Animate Pinkys.
The first Pinky:cos release in the summer of 2004 was part of anime studio GAINAX 20th Anniversery. The double pack with both Rei and Asuka was the first to feature two complete Pinky girls (KOF to be the second). This soon became a retail rarity, and to fill the void VANCE released a second batch in the spring of 2005.

The Girls

Cool bluehaired Rei Ayanami is a lonely girl. The First Children (sic), she is the pilot of EVA Unit 00. Wiki entry.
Hothead Asuka Langley Sohryu is a strong and intelligent girl. She is the Second Children, piloting EVA Unit 02. Wiki entry.

Sweet Moe as cool Rei Ayanami in her white plug suit.

Determined Kokoro as proud Asuka Langley in a red plug suit.

The Extras

Both girls comes with a small backpack, and carry a speared angel, the baddies in NGE.

The rear of their suits with the armored backpacks, and Asuka’s hair clips.

Winter version

The cool EVA duo turned out to be so popular that new versions were issued, both reissues of the originals, and new packages with different contents.
The first new versions were made for the Winter Wonder Festival in 2007. Here, both girls came in their own blister with a second body featuring a school uniform with some extras such as a bow tie, a watch, and a school bag. In addition, the plug suit girls wore long armed winter versions of their shirts. It is still the kawaii duo Moe and Kokoro that is masquerading as the EVA girls. The limited issue was sold at the WF and by the Gainax online store.

Rei in her schooluniform. The plug suit comes with a black longarmed shirt.

Asuka in her winter plug suit. She can also dress in the same school uniform as used by Rei.

Rei and Asuka at the beach after spending a day at school.

Summer version

The next Gainax release came already in the summer of 2007. Here both girls came in large packs with a school uniform, extra clothing and accessories, including stands. In this set, the head and neck use the new ball joint design.
Moe wears an alternative school dress with gray skirt and yellow pullover. She can carry a small Shuji doll, a slice of bread, and a school bag. There is also an eye patch with elastic and some stick-on bandages.
A smiling Kokoro wears a yellow summer dress and a large yellow hat with red ribbon. She has a watch and the same school bag as Rei. In addition, Kokoro has a choice between normal red hair ribbons and the neural interfac clips mentioned below.

Rei in her alternative clothes carrying bread and doll.

Asuka in her pretty dress with the large hat on the side.

Tidbits

What look like a set of cute extra ears are somewhat exaggerated Pinky versions of the neural interface clips that help the girls to psychically control their EVA Units. Asuka likes to use hers as hair clips too. Thanks for the info, Sophie!
The complete TV series of NGE is available on DVD. The prefered issue is the US Platinum Edition from ADV Films. A complete 6 disc version of this can be oredered through Amazon.com.

Addendum

If the Pokéball had existed when NGE was created, the girls would probably have fared much better against the evil angels. These would simply have been sucked into the ball by the graviton and kawaii waves that it emits.

Warning

The EVA pair is one of those Pinky products which has been copied. Beware of the bootleg Pinkys which often are of inferior quality and doesn’t mix and match well with the regular product. The bootlegs lack the VANCE copyright note and usually are packed differently from the originals.

Links

The Wiki entry Neon Genesis Evangelion
The Gainax Pages (fan site) Neon Genesis Evangelion
Total Information Page for Neon Genesis Evangelion
Embrace the Phenomenon of EVANGELION Embrace EVA
Inga’s Pinky info and forum! All Your Cute Are Belong To Us
Lots of info in Clockwork Orange’s Pinky Page
The Milk Tea Pinky Card Translation Project
Alice’s Pinky pages Let's Go to Pinky:St!
Kanayasan (Japanese) is BABYsue.
Pinky’s home (Japanese) VANCE PROJECT
News and links from RuiRui (Japanese) How to get to Pinky Street?
Instant*Bit Pinky Icons
Pinky mug shots with data (Japanese) Pink:st’Street

I mustn't run away. I mustn't run away. I mustn't run away.