Bringing Evangelion Units to Life with Joint Mats?!

You read that right. Those incredibly realistic looking Evangelion unit cosplay costumes are actually made from Daiso joint mats. You may be thinking, “Is that even possible?” Looks like it certainly is. 

Neon Genesis Evangelion (新世紀エヴァンゲリオン) is a highly acclaimed mecha anime series that was released in the 90s and is considered a classic. To this day, the series remains popular with many adoring fans. Which is why, when photos of Evangelion Units recreated with materials you can get from a 100 yen store appeared on Twitter, it went viral as many people were amazed at the incredible detail of the costumes. 

The talented Vadu (バァドゥ) delights us with his cosplay and original creations made out of cheap materials yet not lacking in detail. Aside from being cheap, joint mats also has other advantages, due to its softness, not only is it wearable but it can also handle large movements which means action scenes in costume!! 

The materials he mainly uses are joint mats from Daiso that cost only 400 yen for a set of 9 pieces that are available in 2 colours of dark brown and ivory. (This is the product.) 

Evangelion Unit-00

The Evangelion Unit piloted by Ayanami Rei. 

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Evangelion Unit-01

The Evangelion Unit piloted by Ikari Shinji, the protagonist of the series. 

Original Design Characters AUDOirregulars 

「AUDOirregulars」is a series of Vadu’s original designed characters. Twitter posts hashtagged #AUDOirregulars are either by Vadu himself, cosplayers who don his created costumes, or fans of his work (some draw their own designs inspired by Vadu’s work). 

These are original masks (with stands) designed and created by Vadu for a flea market. Even for non-cosplayers, these would be so cool to have as room decorations, especially if you have a gaming or PC room! 

Workshops to Learn How to Make Them

Vadu also runs workshops where he teaches interested people how to use joint mats to make costumes. 

それに素材が安価だと、これから私と似た遊びをしたいと思っている方々が真似しやすいと思っています。これを見た誰が「自分もいつかあんな遊びをしてみたい」と思って頂けたなら、私は年齢問わず応援したいと思います。
If the material is cheap, I think it will be easier for people who want to play like me or imitate me in future. If anyone who sees this thinks “I want to do this too”, I would like to support you regardless of age. 

tweeted Vadu, who is happy to have more people coming to enjoy his hobby. He goes on to say, 

最後に大事なのは作った物ではなく、それを通して得られた経験と周りの人達です。
In the end, what’s important is not what you make, but the experience you get from it and the people you get to know. 

Vadu’s Twitter and Pinterest accounts have many more photos of his brilliant works as well as updates about his projects. We recommend following if you love his work. 

Photos provided courtesy of Vadu (バァドゥ) (Twitter, Pinterest).