Ayanami Rei(tentative name)

ayanamirei(tentative name)
アヤナミレイ(仮称)
Affiliation(s)	Nerv
Relations	Yui Ikari (derived from), Gendo Ikari (Nerv Commander), Shinji Ikari (son of Yui Ikari)
Age	Unknown
Birthday	Unknown
Seiyū	Megumi Hayashibara
Voice Actor	(English): Brina Palencia (Rebuild)

Ayanami Rei (tentative name) (アヤナミレイ(仮称)), often referred to as "Rei Q", is a character in the third Rebuild of Evangelion movie. While similar in appearance to Rei Ayanami from the previous movies, this is in fact a different character - a clone. The character is as such very different from both the character in the Rebuild of Evangelion films, and the original story which she is adapted from.

Character Summary

Introduction

Very little if anything is known about the character's life prior to it's introduction. Ayanami Rei (tentative name) is a clone in the Ayanami Series. She is assigned as the pilot of Evangelion Mark.09. Ayanami Rei (tentative name) lives in a small makeshift hut within the NERV facility.

Difference from the original

In every way a lesser character than the original, the only similarity is their appearance. While the original character is noted for it's strong yet subdued will and intellectual pursuits, Ayanami Rei (tentative name) possesses none of these traits. In addition, the background of the character is changed, being laid out to be a simple clone of Yui, while also inheriting her maiden name. Ayanami Rei (tentative name) shows no interest in doing anything but following orders, unlike the original character who was more reflected on her duty as an EVA pilot with a personal reason for piloting.

Rebuild of Evangelion

Main articles: Evangelion_3.0

Piloting the Mark.09, she boards the AAA Wunder in order to retrieve Shinji from Wille and bring him to Nerv. She breaks through the wall of Shinji's interrogation chamber and manages to rescue him. Before she can escape, the Mark.09 is attacked by Mari in Eva-08. Eva-08 succeeds in shooting off the Mark.09's head with a handgun, but neither Rei or her Eva appear to be affected and the Mark.09 escapes by using a bizarre piece of equipment on its back that forms an elongated rocket booster.

Fuyutsuki later reveals to Shinji that Ayanami Rei (tentative name) is a clone of his mother Yui Ikari(whose maiden name is Ayanami in this continuity), also that other clones were created after the event of 2.0 and that person Shinji knew as Rei he followed to escape the AAA Wunder is the latest of the "Ayanami series", the person Shinji knew as Rei being trapped inside Eva-01 alongside Yui. This greatly disappoints and hurts Shinji. who had thought he had saved Rei.

Ayanami Rei (tentative name) followed Shinji and Kaworu down to Central Dogma in a decapitated Eva-00 when the two boys tried to reverse the effects of the Near Third Impact. Eva Mark.09 is equipped with a large scythe in order to protect Eva-13. Shortly after they reached Central Dogma, Eva-02 and Eva-08 attacked, attempting to prevent Eva-13 from starting Fourth Impact. Ayanami Rei (tentative name) attempted to drive Eva-02 away from Eva-13 with the Mark.09's scythe, but was sniped from above by Mari and was forced to take cover under Lilith's fallen cross. Mari advises Rei to eject from the Mark.09 before she becomes an "Adam's vessel", but Ayanami Rei (tentative name) says that it was not the order she received. Mari comments on how boring Ayanami Rei (tentative name) is and says her "original" was more friendly. From orders she received, she decapitates Evangelion Mark.06 with Mark.09's scythe, releasing the Twelfth Angel that was trapped within it. After the Twelfth interacts with Lilith's liquefied remains, it forms a distorted giant head resembling Rei, which horrifies Ayanami Rei (tentative name) and causes her to question her identity. Shortly after this, the Mark.09 is taken over by a Seele program, which brings it under Seele's control and prevents Ayanami Rei (tentative name) from controlling it. After Eva-13's awakening and the beginning of Fourth Impact, Eva Mark.09 develops a halo and rises into the sky with the awakened Eva-13. Ayanami Rei (tentative name) remains trapped in the entry plug as the Mark.09 assaults the Wunder to protect Eva-13. The Mark.09 proceeds to board the Wunder and extends blue tendrils from its legs, attempting to take over control of the Wunder from Eva-01. Eva-02 leaps onto the Wunder activates its Beast Mode and assaults the Mark.09to prevent it from taking over the Wunder. During the battle Ayanami Rei (tentative name) manages to make contact with Asuka. Eva-02 bites off part of the Mark.09's head, temporarily disabling Seele's program. Ayanami Rei (tentative name) asks Asuka what Rei Ayanami would do in this situation and decides to eject her entry plug, which allows Asuka to fire through the empty entry plug slot directly into the Mark.09's core (this turns out to be futile, as the entirety of the Mark.09's body is a core).

After her entry plug lands, Ayanami Rei (tentative name) sets out through the red desert left behind by Fourth Impact and eventually finds Shinji and Asuka. Asuka notes that she is the pilot she encountered eariler and that she is from "an early lot of Ayanami Series", although Ayanami Rei (tentative name) only responds with a blank stare. Ayanami Rei (tentative name) looks at Shinji's fallen SDAT, although it is left ambiguous if she picked it up. The final scene shows Ayanami Rei (tentative name) accompanying Asuka and Shinji as the head to "someplace where the Lilin can pick them up".

Name

The name of Ayanami Rei(tentative name) is written in a different component of the Japanese writing system. The addition of "tentative name" suggests that her name is subject to change, and the different name in itself also separates the character from the original.