Permanent store to open in fall; Eva-themed hybrids unveiled after quake delay

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The official retail website for the Evangelion anime franchise announced on Friday that "Evangelion Store @ Real," a permanent storefront dedicated only to Evangelion goods, will open in Tokyo's Harajuku district this fall.

The store will assemble all the items that buyers need to pursue the "Evangelion Style," from premium apparel to original goods. The store will also host film-related events and exhibitions. More information will be provided on the Evangelion Store website. There have been pop-up shops such as the "Evangelion with Endless Summer Girls" campaign, but this will be the first permanent, physical storefront.

In a separate development, the "Evangelion x Hakone-machi x Toyota Electric Power Instrumentality Project" is opening this weekend at the former Sengokuhara Junior High School in Hakone — the actual school and city that inspired the fictional school and city setting in Evangelion. The project showcases Toyota's hybrid Prius cars by painting them in Evangelion Unit 1 and Unit 2 colors. The project also recreated Year 2 Class A, the classroom of Shinji and the other characters in the Evangelion anime franchise.

The project was originally supposed to open on March 12, but it was postponed after the Great Eastern Japan Earthquake (Higashi Nihon Daishinsai) disaster of March 11. It is opening during the July 9-10 weekend in a revised "Electricity-Conservation Promotion Ver." in light of Japan's current power-saving efforts. The event will screen an original Evangelion short starring the character Misato in the former school's gymnasium.

On Friday, the Gigazine website posted preview pictures of both the Evangelion-colored Priuses and the recreated schoolroom.