The first chapter in the new swarm of Evangelion movies has descended upon the world. While Evangelion 1.0 offers little in the way of new material or new insights into the famously convoluted plot, it does have something new for long time fans: Product Placement.
AltJapan had a chance to go to the film, and reports on the new, let's say "bonus material":
The most amusing, if unsurprising, innovation: mondo product placement for everything from UCC Coffee and Yebisu beer to Lawson convenience stores, Doritos, and even Pizza-Hut. It's intriguing how the anime tradition of unofficially inserting favorite products -- ala the infamous Macross Budweiser can -- comes across as cute, but actively engaging in official product placement feels mildly unsettling.
I also think it's amusing to see the various knock off brand names that pop-up from time to time in anime, like WacDonald's and Somy. It really adds to the charm without taking you totally out of the anime world. I really cannot imagine the EVA world full of fast food and soda cans.
Can you?