The Evangelion Exhibition is being held at the Niigata City Manga & Anime Information Centre in Bandai, Chuo-ku, Niigata City from 15 Feb to 20 Apr. I was finally able to visit the popular exhibition, which attracted more than 10,000 visitors on 15 March.

Located on the ground floor of BP2 in the Bandai shopping centre. At the entrance are dolls of Rei and Asuka. And look closely at the floor!

Burn! The Nerf symbol! Cool~!

This is the atmosphere when you enter BP2. It is completely Eva-specific.

The first plane is also available. Eva fans will love it!

If you do not have an advance ticket, buy a ticket from a ticket machine. Adults ¥1,000. Free for elementary and junior high school students on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays!

The contents of this special exhibition are as follows.

• Chapter 1: History of Evangelion
• Chapter 2: How Evangelion was created
• Chapter 3: Evangelion settings.
• Chapter 4: Evangelion in the original film.

It is regrettable that we cannot show you the contents of the exhibition as we are not allowed to take photos inside the hall. The contents of the exhibition are basically the plans, original drawings, storyboards, celluloid pictures and setting materials that were used in animation production. These may be familiar to those in the animation production field, but for those of us who have only seen the finished works, they were full of surprises.

I was particularly struck by 'Chapter 2: How Evangelion was made'. The exhibition details the process of creating the animation of the scene in which the three Evas intercept the Eighth Apostle in Rebuild of Evangelion: The Movie: Destroyed. For just a few dozen seconds of animation, there is a script, storyboards, original drawings, 3DCG, a diorama model of the city, effects such as explosions, etc. I could almost sigh and say, "They've gone to such great lengths!" I almost sighed.

I can't show you what happened in Niigata, but I can show you what happened at the Tokyo exhibition on youtube.

When you hear of an exhibition about animation, you get the impression that it is geeky, but it is not like that at all. If anything, it would be better to call it an exhibition that introduces the actual site of 'monozukuri' (manufacturing). I couldn't help but feel a sense of respect for the creators when I thought about how they had created the world in such detail.

Personally, I feel the enthusiasm of the creators and ask myself, "Am I really this passionate about my work?" I also asked myself.

Goods were also on sale outside the exhibition hall. Lots of limited edition Eva exhibition goods.

BP1の1FにはエヴァCAFEも！なんだか万代エリアがエヴァ展一色に！という印象でしたよ。

This Eva exhibition runs until 20 Apr, so it is still open. And on 25 (Tue) March, the well-known Eva cosplay comedian Saki Sakura Inagaki will be here. And on Saturday 12 April, EvaCon will be held! Eva power is amazing.

The Eva exhibition is expected to get more and more exciting in the future. This is an exhibition where you can feel the passion for 'craftsmanship' that Japan is proud of, so why not visit?

Events

Evangelion Exhibition Niigata Exhibition.

• Duration: 15 February - 20 April 2014
• Venue: Niigata City Manga & Anime Information Centre
• Address: 1F Bandai City BP2, 2-5-7 Yachiyo, Chuo-ku, Niigata City.
• Time: 11:00-20:00 (open 10:00 on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays, admission until 19:30).