While there’s no way you could call the Evangelion franchise underappreciated as a whole, one part of the anime classic that often gets overlooked is its effective use of color. Add a couple of splashes of green and black to a field of purple, for example, and any fan will instantly think of the show’s central robot, Eva Unit-01.
Likewise, it’s impossible to imagine Rei Ayanami, Evangelion’s most famous female character, without the otherworldly fragile aura imparted by her distinctive blue hair. The color is so iconic that one Japanese paint company has even started selling a new shade, Ayanami Blue, that’s an exact match or Rei’s trademark tresses.
Turner Colour Works, based in Osaka, has been producing and selling paints since 1946. The company’s water-based J Colour interior paint series is suitable for applying to wood, concrete, or wall paper, and Turner boasts that it dries quickly, too.
There are already over 200 available hues in the J Colour line, but Turner recently found room for one more: Ayanami Blue.
Sitting half-way between J Colour’s preexisting Water Blue and Frosty Blue shades, Turner describes Ayanami Blue as being “Colder than water, yet warmer than ice.”
The new paint went on sale July 26, and is priced at 2,160 yen (US$17) per 500-milliliter (16.9-ounce) can, an amount that will let you apply two coats to a roughly three-square meter (32.3-square-foot) area.
If your artistic ambitions are focused more on illustration than interior design, come October Turner will also be offering three Rei-themed acryl gouache paints: Ayanami Blue, Ayanami Blue Pearl, and Ayanami Blue Gel Medium.
Just remember that while these are sure to make your home or drawings look anime-authentic, dried paint is a serious pain to get out of your hair, so stick to wigs for your Evangelion cosplay needs.
Source, images: Turner Color Works