Danica Davidson
November 7, 2023 
The city of Ube in Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan is the birthplace of Neon Genesis Evangelion creator Hideaki Anno, and now it has a new tourist attraction related to his work. An actual Spear of Longinus — which is more than seven meters long, or more than 22 feet — can be found at the city’s Tokiwa Park. It weighs more than a ton, and each night between 5:30 to 9:30 it lights up.
It was created by about 40 people at the local company Ube Steel Co., and the idea was initially brought up in July 2022. A lot of it was made using scrap steel.
“We used advanced technology to make the spiral portion straight. We hope people will actually touch and enjoy the steel’s texture,” remarked Hisao Yamane, the president of Ube Steel, at the opening ceremony. He admitted that he initially didn’t believe it could happen.
Keiji Shinozaki, the mayor of Ube, also commented, “I hope that fans come to visit from both Japan and abroad.”
The article didn’t say if Anno had any involvement with it, but did note that the series’ copyright management was in talks with Ube Steel Co. for the installation to be made.
GKIDS has licensed Neon Genesis Evangelion in North America and gave this description for it:
Created by Hideaki ANNO, the NEON GENESIS EVANGELION television series is one of the most influential animated series of all time. Since its 1995 premiere in Japan, the story of teenager Shinji Ikari has emerged as one of the most iconic titles in animation history and a global pop culture phenomenon.
A formative title in the animation canon, NEON GENESIS EVANGELION demonstrated the ability of animation to tell stories of philosophy, and intellectual and emotional characters, unlike anything that had been seen before in animation on a global scale.
Source: Kyodo News
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Danica Davidson is the author of the bestselling Manga Art for Beginners with artist Melanie Westin, plus its sequel, Manga Art for Everyone, and the first-of-its-kind manga chalk book Chalk Art Manga, both illustrated by professional Japanese mangaka Rena Saiya. Check out her other comics and books at www.danicadavidson.com.
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