The UFO catcher, also known in the West as the crane game, is a stalwart of Japanese arcades. The rules are simple: drop in your coin, then operate the mechanical claw to try to pick up your prize, whether it’s a stuffed Pikachu, giant box of Pocky, or a live prawn. No, we are not making that last one up. Of course, this is easier said than done. More often than not the prizes slip out of the claw’s grasp (especially the prawns).
In a way, the UFO catcher is the perfect metaphor for the long-running, psychologically heavy-hitting anime series Evangelion, known to fans simply as Eva. Like Eva’s protagonist Shinji with his giant robot, at first the technology seems fun and exciting. Then, following soul-crushing failure after failure, you find yourself void of the strength to go on, staring at the machine through your tears of frustration, finally understanding that a part of you has hated it all along, even as the realization sinks in that it may house the soul of your dead mother (OK, the last bit is strictly Eva).
But with a new Eva UFO catcher promotion, Sega is making sure no one has to go home empty-handed.
On April 24, the third installment of the Eva theatrical reimagining, Evangelion: 3.33 You Can (Not) Redo was released on Blu-ray and DVD. To commemorate this, Sega is holding a special promotion at all 220 of its affiliated arcades. Even if you can’t snag a single prize out of the UFO catcher, you can get a limited edition Evangelion figure just by playing. We’re sure the true fans are already on their way out the door, but for those of you still here, allow us to elaborate.
▼ The eye-catching promotional UFO catcher machines
▼Prizes sport the Eva font and color scheme
The promotion works like this: For every 500 yen (US$5) you feed into a UFO catcher bearing the promotion’s stickers, you get one point card. Register your points on Sega’s promotional website using your cell or smartphone, and once you have five points, you get a set of five plastic files bearing likenesses of the Eva cast.
There are two sets of five folders each, for a total of 10 different illustrations. All of the files feature members of the Evangelion cast, as per their retouched designs from the Q movie, on a clear background. And to sweeten the deal for those of you who’ve already watched the movie enough times to commit every cell to memory, a number of the files feature brand new drawings of the characters in their street clothes.
▼Set B of the files, featuring new illustrations…
▼And scenes from the movie
Work your way up to 20 points, and you land yourself a limited edition figure of one of Evangelion’s two leading ladies, either fiery, eye-patch-sporting Asuka or reclusive Rei with her two red eyes. They’re both 13 cm tall and finely crafted, as our intrepid reporter can attest to after seeing both up close.
▼She’s… pretty cute…!
▼If you can’t choose just one, remember: 40 points gets you both!
One point of caution before you drop that first 500 yen coin into the slot: grab an employee and let them know you’re there for the promotion (in Japanese it’s “asonde moraeru Evangelion kyanpen”) so they can make sure you get your point card! The promotion lasts until May 22, and runs concurrently with one at Sega’s chain of Bee restaurant/dart bars, where a variety of Evangelion-themed cocktails are on offer in an array of blues and violets (plus a red one for Asuka).
▼ Eva cocktails
Oh, one last thing! Since no Eva story is complete without a fan-enraging twist at the end, although the promotion wraps up in a few weeks, the figures won’t be mailed to recipients until the end of August. Now there’s that sting we all know and love!
▼ Life-sized Eva statues at Sega’s arcade in Akihabara
▼ Our field reporter Mr. Sato, so excited he can’t contain himself.
▼A cute voice-over by comedian/Eva cosplay aficionado Sakura Inagasaki accompanies the action
▼One down, 19 to go!
▼Congratulations!
Photos: RocketNews24
[ Read in Japanese ]