End of the line for Mogudan.
Anime production company Studio Khara is pretty busy these days, what with the long-awaited release of Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Time just a few weeks away. But on Monday the company took a moment out from its packed schedule of last-minute promotions and Utada Hikaru-assisted trailer releases to post a set of guidelines for Evangelion fan artists on the official Khara website, and one stipulation in particular has been causing a stir.
Nestled in among requests that fan art not be commercially sold and that it be made while respecting the fan community, Khara also says “Please refrain from posting Evangelion fan works that are specifically for pornographic purposes.”
Of course, some would argue that asking fan artists to not make Eva porn is the quickest way to motivate them to flood the Internet with naked drawings of its central trio of Shinji, Asuka, and Rei. However, in the case of the last of those characters, there’ll be one less source of sexually charged artwork, as long-time fan artist Mogudan (@mogudan555 on Twitter) has suddenly and officially retired from drawing Rei fan art.
— モグダン@ヾ(´･ω･｀)ﾉ (@mogudan555) December 29, 2020
“I have become unable to continue drawing pictures of [Rei] Ayanami,” says Mogudan, speaking through an illustration of One Punch Man’s Tatsumaki. “Going forward, I will not be making any illustrations of her, even on fan sites. Thank you for all of your support over the years. In the future, I will be drawing art of other characters.”
The artist wasn’t new to the Eva fan art scene, either, with the announcement causing lamentations from Mogudan fans saddened by the end of a 20-year run of Rei art (with a new piece just posted on December 24), and online reactions have included:
“I’m so sad to hear this…I liked Mogudan’s version of Rei.”
“She was so sexy and cute.”
“I am truly indebted to you.”
“I even recommended your Rei art to my friends.”
“Your Tatsumaki looks cute, and I’ll still be following you!”
While Mogudan doesn’t specifically mention Khara’s guidelines, the decision to end two decades of fan art just one day after the studio’s announcement hardly seems like a coincidence.
▼ Trailer for Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Time
Mogudan’s Rei retirement has even promoted sad reactions and messages of thanks for the memories from English-speaking Twitter users, showing the artist had built up a worldwide fanbase, and it’s possible the potential for such a wide reach for adult fan art played a role in Khara’s decision to ask artists to keep it clean in regard to Eva. Evangelion is part of a small group of anime that’s earned respect and significance in mainstream media criticism, both in Japan and abroad, and perhaps its status as a prestige piece of the anime industry is making Khara more concerned about managing its image.
At the same time, long-time Eva and anime fan art observers probably can’t help but smile ruefully at the irony, what with the Evangelion TV show pushing the boundaries of content for broadcast television at the time of its airing, the overactive hormones of its adolescent core cast being a major theme throughout the franchise, and the Eva adult fan art sphere staying robust throughout the 10-year gap between The End of Evangelion and the Rebuild of Evangelion re-imagining. But just like the anime franchise is set to end for good with Thrice Upon a Time, Mogudan’s time with Eva is coming to an end too.
Source Twitter/@ mogudan555 via Otakomu, Jin
Top image: YouTube/株式会社カラー khara inc.official
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