What would a Hard Rock Cafe look like in Tokyo-3? Hard Rock Cafe Japan is answering that question with a new collaboration with Evangelion, and the first wave of merchandise puts Eva Unit-01 right into the restaurant chain's famous logo.
The Evangelion Unit-01 Logo Collection goes on sale on November 3 at the Rock Shops attached to six Hard Rock Cafe locations in Japan. Hard Rock Cafe Tokyo shared a first look at the items.
Six Items, From Shot Glasses To A Sukajan
The collection includes six products, all built around a version of the Hard Rock Cafe logo redesigned with Unit-01. According to the official announcement from operator WDI Japan, here is the full lineup with tax-included prices:
- Unit-01 Logo T-Shirt (S to XXL): 9,570 yen
- Unit-01 Sukajan (S to XXL): 66,000 yen
- Unit-01 Logo Cap: 5,940 yen
- Pin Badge: 3,080 yen
- Unit-01 Logo Magnet: 3,080 yen
- Unit-01 Logo Shot Glass: 1,980 yen
The T-shirt is the centerpiece. The official Evangelion site notes that it uses a 17-layer multicolor silkscreen print to capture Unit-01 in detail, and the shirt comes in white, grey and black. Each store only carries certain colors, though. White is sold in Tokyo, Ueno Station Tokyo, Kyoto and Universal CityWalk Osaka, grey in Tokyo, Yokohama, Osaka Namba and Universal CityWalk Osaka, and black in Ueno Station Tokyo, Yokohama, Kyoto and Osaka Namba.
The sukajan, the embroidered souvenir jacket style closely tied to Japanese street fashion, is the priciest item by a wide margin and will likely be the one collectors chase.
Store-Exclusive Pins And A Free Shopper
Hard Rock Cafe pins have a dedicated collector base, and this collab leans into that. Each of the six stores gets its own pin design, for six designs in total, and every location is limited to 500 pins. Fans who want the full set will have to travel across Tokyo, Yokohama, Kyoto and Osaka or find some very generous friends.
There are two exceptions to the November 3 date. The Yokohama store's pin badge is scheduled for early November, and the shot glass is scheduled for mid-November at all locations. Anyone who buys any item from the collaboration also gets a special shopping bag, which is not for sale and available only while supplies last.
Hard Rock Cafe Comes To Tokyo-3
The collab also comes with newly drawn artwork. The illustration is based on the idea of a Hard Rock Cafe existing in Tokyo-3, the fortified city at the center of the series, and it shows Evangelion characters in front of the restaurant wearing both the classic Hard Rock Cafe logo tee and the new Unit-01 version.
The collection is described as the first release of the collaboration, which suggests more Evangelion items could follow at Hard Rock Cafe. The full list of participating Rock Shops is Tokyo, Ueno Station Tokyo, Yokohama, Kyoto, Osaka Namba and Universal CityWalk Osaka.
Still One Of Anime's Biggest Brands
Neon Genesis Evangelion premiered on TV in 1995 and became a cultural phenomenon in Japan. Creator Hideaki Anno relaunched the story in 2007 with the Rebuild of Evangelion film series, which wrapped up with Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Time in 2021. That final film earned 10.28 billion yen at the Japanese box office and drew 6.73 million moviegoers.
Decades later, the franchise remains one of the most dependable names in anime collaborations, and fashion collabs have become a big part of anime merch in general. Other recent drops like Team Liquid's Naruto Shippuden Akatsuki collection and the Nike x One Piece capsule show how much demand there is for wearable anime gear.
Which item from the Hard Rock Cafe x Evangelion collection would you grab first?
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