Rei Ayanami

Rei Ayanami is a soft-spoken, enigmatic girl who appears in this alternate-universe manga reimagining of Neon Genesis Evangelion, navigating school life and complex relationships alongside Shinji Ikari and Asuka Langley Soryu in a world without the apocalyptic stakes of the original series.

Few characters carry as much quiet magnetism as Rei Ayanami, whose comics presence at Dark Horse spans a fascinating stretch of the Modern Age from 2009 to 2016. Introduced in Neon Genesis Evangelion: The Shinji Ikari Raising Project #1 — brought to the page by Osamu Takahashi and Michael Gombos — she inhabits a richly populated world alongside Shinji Ikari, Asuka Langley Soryu, Misato Katsuragi, and others, making for some genuinely compelling ensemble dynamics. Her appearances across The Shinji Ikari Raising Project, Campus Apocalypse, and its omnibus edition show a character versatile enough to anchor multiple distinct takes on the same beloved universe. For fans of the Evangelion mythos looking to explore its comic book dimension, Rei is an essential presence — understated, intriguing, and absolutely worth tracking down.