Summary

McDonald's in Japan collabs with Evangelion for the first time, offering unique transforming figures.
Collaboration includes a McDonald's Evangelion Value Set with lottery sales through the app.
Next stage of collaboration promises themed menu items to convey the world of Evangelion through deliciousness.

McDonald's in Japan is no stranger to anime and anime collaborations, and has done many in the past. With everything from anime-themed commercials, anime-inspired menus, anime toys, and more, it seems there is no limit to what McDonald's will do to draw otaku in. After collaborating with some of the most popular and famous series out there, it comes as a huge surprise that the fast food restaurant is only just now collaborating with one of the biggest for the first time - Neon Genesis Evangelion (herein Evangelion).

Now, McDonald's is collaborating with Evangelion for the first time ever. The collaboration includes exclusive transforming figures unlike anything anyone may have in their Evangelion collection, and a very special preview video. The announcement came via a preview on the McDonald's official X (formerly Twitter) page earlier this week, which was then confirmed by the company on Thursday.

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McDonald's x Evangelion

Two Recognizable Franchises Come Together

Evangelion first aired in 1995, and despite being nearly 30 years old, the series has not lost any of its momentum and popularity in Japan. It remains one of the most recognizable classic anime of all time, and often influences bits of daily life in Japanese culture. From collaborative food and drinks, pop-up events, museums, merchandise, and more, Evangelion has not lost its hold on Japanese pop culture.

Meanwhile, McDonald's is an internationally recognizable brand. A similar menu exists at the fast food chain all around the world, and the same "golden arches" are synonymous with the brand's name. Without even needing to say the actual name of the company, people can recognize it from the logo alone. Evangelion is similar, with even its iconic font being recognizable for many. That is why when McDonald's simply posted an image of the kanji for "preview" and nothing else on their X page Tuesday, in the font of Evangelion, many people already knew what to expect.

The big reveal for the collaboration came two days later on Thursday. McDonald's not only revealed the collaboration with Evangelion, but also a special preview video. The video previews what to expect from the collaboration, and even brought back the original voice cast comprising their roles. In just over a day, the post earned nearly 125,000 likes, 40,000 reposts, and over 1000 comments.

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What is in the McDonald's x Evangelion Collaboration?

Anime Figures as You've Never Seen Them Before

evangelion-mcdonalds-japan-figures-transformable

The main focus of the Evangelion collaboration at McDonald's in Japan are three transforming figurines. After thirty years, Evangelion has produced countless anime figures, and major fans are likely to have an impressive collection of their favorite characters. However, there is no chance they have any figures like these, which are truly unique. The three figures for sale in the McDonald's Evangelion Value Set can be transformed from a Big Mac, a McFrench Fry, and a McShake into a Test Type, Production Model, and Prototype EVA units respectively.

Casey Baseel at SoraNews24 writes about the Value Set,

Now, seeing McDonald’s and toys together, the natural mental leap is to Happy Meals. Evangelion is a franchise that hardly ever goes for the obvious narrative pattern, though, and instead the figures are being offered as what’s being called the McDonald’s Evangelion Value Set, which includes all three transforming Evas for 3,900 yen (US$26). Surprisingly, the set doesn’t appear to include any actual food, but since you have to go to a branch of the burger chain to pick it up, McDonald’s probably figures you’ll grab a bite to eat there too, since why would you be buying McDonald’a Eva figures if you weren’t at least OK with McDonald’s?

These Value Sets will only be sold via lottery, which makes sense considering the popularity of Evangelion. Entering can only be done through the McDonald's Japan app, but can be done now through January 10th. If you win the right to purchase one of these exclusive item sets, you will be notified on January 16th. The actual sets can be picked up at McDonald's the week of January 20th.

If you are excited about this special collaboration, there is even more good news. This part of the event, with the transformable figures, is only the first stage. McDonald's has announced that the next stage will, "convey the world of Evangelion through deliciousness," which we can only guess means that there are themed menu items coming just around the corner. Considering how quickly the first stage of the collaboration was announced, it likely won't be long before we know just how the company intends to convert Evangelion's dark world into a delicious one.