RRP: 8800 yen
The 30th anniversary of Neon Genesis Evangelion has brought with it a whole host of new figures from a variety of companies, with the pilots proving to be just as much a focus as the Evangelion Units themselves. The franchise has been a staple in Bandai Tamashii Nations lines like Robot Spirits and Metal Build for some time, but at long last they’ve done what collectors have wanted for years and brought the cast to the S.H. Figuarts line as well. S.H. Figuarts Asuka Shikinami Langley was released at general retail shortly after fellow pilot Rei Ayanami at the tail end of 2025, with a re-release of the pair also planned for the end of this year to coincide with the release of Shinji Ikari.
S.H. Figuarts Asuka comes in suave red and black box that matches the colour scheme of both her plug suit and Evangelion Unit, with the front of the box featuring a big window section to show off the figure inside. It's worth noting that the box clearly designates her as being "Shikinami Asuka Langley", meaning she's technically representing the version from the Rebuild of Evangelion films even if there's no significant difference between them (for this iteration at least anyway). Accompanying the window section is a nice big image of the figure, along with all the expected brand, line and series logos. The window section continues to one side of the box where it's joined by a monotone image of the figure, whereas the other shows her off in full colour. Both sides also feature Asuka's name in both Japanese and English text. Inside the contents are spread across two plastic trays - one for the figure and main accessories, and the one underneath for the display stand.
S.H. Figuarts' rendition of the Second Child features her in her iconic red plug suit, a look that feels long overdue after the Figma (which until recently was arguably the best articulated Asuka on the market) used the test plug suit from Evangelion 2.0 instead. But in addition to being her most recognisable look, the red plug suit means this is equally desirable to collectors looking specifically for a TV series version of Asuka as well. The box may call her "Asuka Shikinami Langley", but there's no reason this can't be "Asuka Langley Soryu" instead. She's an iconic anime character that's been realised as numerous figures and statues over the years, and Figuarts' have done a good job with their version. The proportions and detail on the plug suit are great, whilst the face printing matches up well to how Asuka appears onscreen. There are however a few nit-picks to be had though, starting with the hair. The sculpting itself is perfect, but the colour feels a few shades lighter than the animation model. It's particularly noticeable when comparing with other figures/statues, which all opt for a darker shade of brown. The other nit-pick is some of the joint cuts, which while perfectly function do spoil the overall silhouette a bit. The ab crunch cut may be the most obvious, but it's actually the knees that are far more egregious as they're thinner than the leg parts - leaving obvious gaps at either side. It's not awful by any stretch, but it's far from Figuarts' best work as well. Of the three main articulated Asukas on the market at the moment (the others being the Blokees and 30MP kits), the Figuarts' strengths definitely lie in its scale and articulation. Price less so.
Asuka sports articulation that's mostly in line with what you'd expect from an S.H. Figuarts release, but her smaller frame and thinner limbs make it feel a little more "doll-like" than the chunky superhero figures the line is usually associated with. Overall she features;
- Ball jointed head, neck, pigtails, torso, waist and wrists
- Swivel hinge shoulders and ankles
- Butterfly joint shoulders
- Drop down swivel hinge hips
- Double hinge elbows and knees
- Single hinge toe sections
- Thigh swivels
While Asuka does lack the bicep swivels commonly (but admittedly not always) associated with S.H. Figuarts figures, she does make up for it somewhat by having elbow joints that offer quite a bit of swivel motion where they connect to the arms - whether this is intentional or a case of slightly looser joints is unclear, but it certainly helps when it comes to posing. Despite the ab crunch looking like a standard hinge joint, it's actually a ball joint connection - the raised sides on the lower torso piece preventing much more than hinged movement. It's perhaps the most perplexing thing about this figure, since it doesn't look particularly good nor does it offer a wider range of movement, so what exactly is it offering that normal ball joint movement wouldn't? That aside Asuka feels like a very functional figure first and foremost, with every other bit of articulation she has working well even if it's not the prettiest. Those strangely shaped knee joints being the other obvious offender, but the gaps that can be left by the drop-down hips combined with the pin joints hiding behind the thigh swivels can make the figure look that little bit more toy-like without careful positioning. However of the current articulated Asuka figures on the market, the Figuarts' version is the only one to have ab and thigh movement so it definitely wins in that respect.
Asuka comes with a fairly sizeable selection of accessories, however they’re almost entirely made up of alternate hands and face plates. Among them are five additional sets of hands, as well as five extra faces. Credit where it’s due Bandai have done a great job on the faces here, giving Asuka a range that feels like it does the character justice. In addition to her default open mouth smile there’s also a closed mouth smile, two shouting faces, a concerned/embarrassed face and a particularly good unimpressed face. Comparatively the hand selection is far more average, featuring a variety of open hands as well as closed fists and pointing hands. Other than display stand pieces though that’s sadly it for character-specific pieces though, which is a shame because at this point Bandai have plenty of Evangelion content to mine for ideas. There’s neither her doll from the original series or the puppet from Evangelion 2.0, or any eye patch face plates based on her look in the last two Rebuild movies (though technically that would also require a different plug suit to be accurate). There isn’t even anything like her phone or game console, which would have made for nice little accessories that wouldn’t require too much effort. The variety of faces is wonderful, but a few more personal accessories would have made for a far more “complete” release.
Rounding off Asuka’s accessories is a dedicated display stand, made up of a red hexagonal base with “EVA 2” branding and the usual clear plastic articulated display arm part. It's also nice to see that Bandai have started included the more articulated quadruple-joint stand arm with figures when they include a stand, rather than the common double-joint one. As well as featuring the standard articulated claw part that attaches to the figure, special adapter pieces have also been included for it to directly plug into it as well. Simply swap out the backpiece on Asuka’s plug suit for the alternate one included (which sports a peg hole in the middle), and then use the adapter piece to plug the figure into the stand. Dedicated display bases is still quite a rarity in the S.H. Figuarts line (especially ones that don’t use the usual rectangular base design) so it’s always nice to see when they are included, and feels like a sizeable alternative to any accessories other than swappable hands or face plates.
Not so long ago Neon Genesis Evangelion Figuarts would have felt like a huge deal, but in 2026 S.H. Figuarts Asuka Shikinami Langley doesn’t quite have the same impact. The last few years have presented quite a few options for articulated versions of these characters, and while the Figuarts version may boast the best articulation it’s not the most affordable nor the most screen accurate. Going even further back, superior choice of plug suit aside it’s only marginally better (and even that’s debatable) the Figma release from 2011 – a feat which isn’t really that impressive when you consider just how old the latter is now. Nevertheless, Asuka is a perfectly serviceable choice for anyone whose chosen these as their Evangelion figures of choice, and along with Rei will go perfectly with the (arguably far more exciting) Shinji at the end of the year.
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