A Quest To Get In The Fucking Robot
My friend and I share a whole lot of media interests going back a couple of decades (oh god…), a lot of them from Japan. One of the most major, that I still remember him introducing me to for the first time in secondary school is the long-beloved 1995 anime series Neon Genesis Evangelion. Evangelion takes the classic silly cartoon plot of teenagers piloting big, badass war machines and fighting equally huge monsters and goes serious with it, digging hard into the kinds of twisted, complex relationships and life-altering psychological trauma that would come from turning already mentally-unstable children into soldiers tasked with saving the world. The series, the finale film, and the rebooted collection of 4 films (collectively known as Rebuild of Evangelion) have fans across the world that appreciate this relatively mature approach to mecha anime concepts, but the franchise still sees a lot of the genres traditional success as well – more surface-level, “wow cool robot” stuff that I am absolutely not above. So, early in our trip to Japan, we headed to Kyoto to see Toei Studios Park, the literal largest of its attractions being a 1:1 scale replica of the top part of the central and most famous of the NGE franchise’s combat machines – Evangelion Unit 01.
I Love Gold
First things first, though, before we got to the studio park, we took time to visit the Kinkaku-ji, or Temple of the Golden Pavilion. This lovely structure, which is absolutely not allowed to enter but is free to observe from a considerable distance, is a Zen Buddhist temple partly coated in brilliant gold leaf. The bones of it date back to the late 14th century, but an unfortunate spot of arson resulted in a rebuilding and restoration in 1955. I did my best to capture it up close – the little (well, probably not that little up close) statue on the roof, especially. The day was rather rainy, which leaves me wondering what the building would look like with bright sunlight reflecting off the golden storeys, but I guess that’ll have to be for a different day. The path keeps annoying tourists like us moving at a reasonable clip, through a gorgeous and very peaceful bit of nature, with a massive lake surrounding most of the temple, in an area filled with trees and green. Following this, we made our way to the studio park.
Rain? The Absolute NERV!
Once we arrived at Toei Studios Park, my friend and I weren’t about to sit around and wait for the biggest feature – Eva Unit 01 was waiting. This scale replica isn’t just a statue – it’s motorised, with sound effects, and you can pay for a fun little theme park experience. You get to make your way up the staircase leading to the cockpit of Eva Unit 01, answering questions from a browser app, and eventually get to sit in the motorised cockpit yourself, complete with a photo that you can alter the colouring of yourself. The military radio blares information about the mecha’s set-up process, as well. The statue is highly accurate to the animated series and movies, with all bold colours and iconic design. I especially appreciate the choice of suspending it in liquid. This liquid is meant to be LCL, a core part of the Neon Genesis Evangelion plot and a critical part of pilots syncing with their Evangelion. While LCL is usually used to fill the cockpit, leading to the pilots actually breathing the oxygenated liquid, here Eva Unit 01 is depicted actually rising from a massive pool of it. This opaque pool is a smart way of letting you imagine that there’s an entire damn robot beneath, in a “tip of the iceberg” sense. The whole thing is designed to effectively put you in the shoes of an Evangelion pilot, and it’s very effective. This particular attraction is STRONGLY recommended as a must-visit destination for any Evangelion fan.
Wandering The Par
One of the most fascinating things about Toei Studios Park is right there in the second word of the title. This place isn’t merely a tourist destination and merch shop (though it is absolutely partly that) – it is in fact a filming studio. The design of the park is based expressly on the Edo period of Japan, generally considered to have begun with either Tokugawa Ieyasu winning the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600 or his being granted the title of Shogun by the Emperor three years later, and ended over two and a half centuries later with the Meiji Restoration in 1868. The Edo period was apparently marked by an extended period of peace, and is a popular setting in Japanese historical fiction. Films, television and theatre taking place prior to the Meji restoration (and therefore being set in the Edo period at the latest or even earlier) are called “jidaigeki”, and many are filmed here at the park. Here you can see more photos within the meticulously reconstructed houses:
As you can see, the unfortunate weather was continuing at this point, but Japanese TV is no stranger to using rain for atmosphere. I think it’s rather appropriate!
You’ve Got Some Red On You
You might look at the above and think “Hey, cool, Power Rangers!” (or, alternatively, “Oh god, not Power Rangers”). Well, congratulations, you’re wrong either way. A lot of you might not know that Power Rangers owes its existence directly to the VERY long-running Japanese Super Sentai series, as it dubbed that show’s Ranger combat footage and combined it with American-made footage, making the wildly popular “teenagers with attitude” show that we all know and love. This part of the Toei Studio Park doesn’t reference Power Rangers, though – it’s all about Super Sentai, which is fitting. You can see just how many costumes they have on display, even when focusing only on the red-costumed Super Sentai – for reference, the original Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers used footage from Super Sentai’s Kyōryū Sentai Zyuranger series, at the time the 14th installment of the Japanese franchise. Whether or not you were a fan of either show, it’s quite impressive to see these heroes all lined up as a team, and if you are a fan it’s charmingly nostalgic.
At The End Of The Day
The Toei Studios Park was a really fun location to visit, and I’d recommend it to most people. Now, as I said before, this place is obviously mostly for fans of Toei’s pop culture works. Lovers of anime like Evangelion, or tokusatsu shows like Super Sentai, will by far be getting the most out of this, and for them I’ll call it a must-see. But the park itself – the filming sets based on the Edo period – is also very detailed and charming, and I would advise anyone who has any interest in Japanese history to consider giving it a shot. It’s likely not quite the same as a full-on, open-air historical museum like Sovereign Hill, given its primary purpose as a media filming set rather than a form of history education, but the whole vibe of the place still gives you the feeling of walking around Japan as it was hundreds of years ago. I hope what I’ve written and shown here helps you make your choice on where to spend your time in Japan. Good luck.
