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7-Meter Spear of Longinus Embedded in Evangelion Creator's Hometown

Neon Genesis Evangelion's Third Impact may not be that far off now that a real-life Lance of Longinus has been erected for the Ube City Evangelion Collaboration event.

The city of Ube in Yamaguchi prefecture, hometown of Evangelion director Hideaki Anno, is celebrating the third installment of their collaboration event with Neon Genesis Evangelion. Staring on October 6, 2023 and running until January 8, 2024, the collaboration includes a shop and other displays at the Yamaguchi Ube Airport, a gourmet fair featuring limited edition Evangelion character coasters and food items, a stamp rally in conjunction with the JR Ube line, an Evangelion-decorated JR bus, an AR app featuring Misato as Ube's tour guide, and the pièce de résistance, a seven-meter-tall (about 23-foot-tall) replica of the Lance of Longinus.

A double-pronged, double-helix shaped spear with the capacity to tear through an Angel's AT Field, the Lance of Longinus is generally seen impaled in Lilith throughout the Evangelion TV series. However, throughout the franchise's history the weapon has been implemented in many ways. From being used against an Angel and imbedded into the moon in the TV series to the EVA Unit-13 wielding two in the Rebuild movies, it has always played an integral part in the Evangelion franchise.

While there is no official listing for how tall the in-story lance is, the Ube Steel Co. Ltd. created a seven-meter-tall version for the collaboration event. Unfortunately, the lance on display will not have its glorious red coloring, but rather the dark gray/black coloring of a replica Lance seen in the different iterations of Evangelion. But that doesn't mean we can't see it in red, since at night, it will be enveloped in red light. The Lance of Longinus will be on display in Tokiwa Park for the foreseeable future as no end date was provided on the official web site.

Along with the Lance of Longinus there are many other attractions for fans to see and experience. The Yamaguchi Ube Airport features a scale model of the Eva Unit-01, Evangelion banners throughout the area, an Ube City promotional corner with Evangelion displays, and an Evangelion shop.

Japan Rails and Ube City Bus will also participate in the collaboration with an all you can ride day pass for any Ube City Bus as well as the JR Ube Line between Ube station and Kiwa Station. This will work in tandem with part of the JR Ube Line stamp rally as most of the stations on the line are participating in the event. However, two stations, Shin Yamaguchi and Tsumasaki Station, are not on the Ube Line. So participances should be careful of this. When participants collect enough points in the rally, they will be eligible to win prizes such a Evangelion key chains, an Evangelion: 3.0+1.0: Thrice Upon A Time acrylic poster plate, Evangelion bath bombs, a figure of Rei Ayanami from Evangelion: 3.0+1.0: Thrice Upon A Time, or a JR West Japan original tote bag.

The stamp rally will also run in conjunction with the gourmet fair also happening during the event. Each particpating location will offer one of five different Evangelion themed character coasters, Evangelion themed menu items (such as an Angel muffin sandwich filled with Korean yangnyeom chicken, Angel noodles, and an Eva Unit-01 chilled spaghetti salad), and stamps for the stamp rally.

The coasters include Rey, Shinji, Asuka, Mari, and Kaworu and each coaster is tied to a specific store. Thus, to get them all one will have to visit five locations. But some of those locations include bars. So those who are old enough to drink alcohol and love Evangelion, this would make a fun bar/pub crawl.

Tying all the sites together for this event is an AR app voiced by Misato Katsuragi voice actress Kotono Miitsuishi. The app acts as a tour guide through Ube City. With 10 different locations, the app covers local history, travel, and the arts. Of course, the major attraction is the Lance. And what Misato has to say about it will only be known to those who're able to travel to Ube City.

Where the first installment of Ube's collaboration event had an Evanglion figure world, and the second had a Nadia - The Secret of Blue Water 30th Anniversary Exhibit, the third installment is raising the bar with the seven-meter-tall Lance of Longinus. If there happens to be a fourth installment, I just hope they don't make a replica Lilith — for it might finally signal the coming of the Third Impact.

Source: animeanime.jp