Before I try to defend this statement, let me start by saying that I used to love fruit loops. When I was younger I would eat them for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. But as time wore on I started eating less and less of the stuff. Whether this was because I stopped picking up what Toucan Sam was putting down or I realized that fruit loops just plain sucked, I will never really know. But getting back on topic, there may be a third possibility. To borrow a business term, a product has brand equity (value) and over time this equity can rise and fall due to a variety of different factors. One of these potential factors includes the adverse affect of cheap imitations. So perhaps my current hatred for fruit loops is due to my mom who decided to save a few bucks by buying the bulk sized knock off (I was eating them for every meal, so it’s understandable).

You're probably wondering where this is going.

Let’s just say this is the way I feel about Rei Ayanami, and if I wasn’t trying to be provocative I would have likely toned down the title because I am now relatively indifferent towards her character. But I do remember that when I first seriously started watching anime about six years ago I worshipped all things Rei. However, over time my appreciation for her character continued to dwindle. Now it is reasonably possible that my love for Rei was extinguished by the over exposure of Evangelion or maybe a change in my tastes due to age. And while those explanations are plausible, I tend to believe that the parade of Rei Ayanami carbon copies since the release of Evangelion is to blame.

But I do love Asuka

Now I know what you’re thinking. Is this going to be some rant bashing the lack of originality in anime, and the short answer is no. Instead, as I’ve alluded to, it seems some classic characters may lose their appeal when a subsequent series introduces similar characters? These imitations run the gambit from the cheap imitators (the bulk bag of fake fruit loops) to veritable improvements over the original. Unfortunately for Rei Ayanami, she is the industry standard and I inevitably compare every emotionless girl from a cheap harem comedy to her. I suppose it was only a matter of time before I started grouping Rei with these poorly written rip offs. So when I finally got around to watching Evangelion 2.0 last week, I thought that maybe I would be reminded as to why I once thought she was the bee’s knees. And despite the notable differences in her character from the original series, the fact is that I still feel that some of her successors did a better job at being Rei than Rei.

For the sake of length I’m not going to delve into a case by case study of every similar group of character models over the course of anime history, but I’m sure we all have our personal pet peeves. With that said, it is important to note that this pilfering of ideas doesn’t end with classic characters. As I’m sure everyone knows by now, the FMA manga just ended and Brotherhood only has a few episodes left. As good as that series is, I couldn’t help but feel like I had seen it all before.

While Father’s ultimate plan and execution weren’t exactly the same as the events in End of Evangelion, the visuals were far too similar for any anime fan to ignore. You would have thought that after 10 years of writing the manga Arakawa could have come up with something a bit more original. Even Code Geass was able to muster up some originality when they made the “become omnipotent and destroy the world while doing it” plot nothing more than a bump in the road for Lelouch. Though these endings are obviously not exactly the same, their similarities have made it almost impossible for me to think about one without thinking about another.

Japan must have some sort of god complex

Some of you are likely thinking that you’re not going to stop loving a character after the introduction of some sub par impersonator. But I do know that I haven’t watched any of the Indiana Jones movies after the unspeakable crimes perpetrated by George Lucas and Steven Spielberg in 2008. Now I’m sure some of you may go about your lives to and fro with infinite complacency, but these tragic disasters (I may be exaggerating) could be repeated in the sacred realm of anime. So just to be clear, I don’t care if storylines or characters in anime are reused, just don’t make them suck.

For shame.

While it is regrettable that these imitations may sully the “purity” of truly original and legendary characters and plots over time, there are some positives that can come from this process. For example, we have had some pretty kiss ass characters over the past 15 years thanks to Rei Ayanami.  To illustrate, would we have Yuki Nagato, Yin, or the other countless numbers of Kuudere characters, if it wasn’t for Rei Ayanami?  Taking it a step further, would we necessarily have Rei Ayanami if it wasn’t for the characters that came before her (Granted, my knowledge prior to this point in time is limited, so I couldn’t say for sure.)? And while I may be playing the devil’s advocate to one of my previous points, I suppose it is plausible that some of you may take the time to re watch an old series when a new show stirs up some nostalgic memories.

Sure, from time to time there will have to be original shows that introduce new themes or new character personalities that set new standards. But in the meantime, all we are left with is the ability to compare shows that utilize the “try to become god while committing mass genocide” storyline, debate who is the best Kuudere, etc.  And while this is no substitute for an original idea, I will always enjoy debating why one character is better than another, no matter how similar they really are.