It essentialy is, but legally it isn't. The copyright holders changed the policy for fanart a while back (don't know the exact changes, maybe only for lewds?), making direct fanart risky. This artist is quite well-known for their Rei content, so instead of switching to something else they opted for this almost-but-technically-not-Rei route.
It essentialy is, but legally it isn't. The copyright holders changed the policy for fanart a while back (don't know the exact changes, maybe only for lewds?), making direct fanart risky. This artist is quite well-known for their Rei content, so instead of switching to something else they opted for this almost-but-technically-not-Rei route.
According to some follow up stuff after the initial announcement/panic in December, they (Studio Khara, who produced the Rebuild movies) aren't actually prohibiting hentai or other fanworks, but more are calling for personal responsibility from the fan artists to refrain from making works that would be considered "hurtful to the source material..." "express hateful points of view" or "are overly violent, grotesque, pornographic, or otherwise offensive."
Even with the 'pornographic' bit there, it's still worded rather loosely as it says "overly" so there's a bit of leeway. And there's no actual mention of taking legal action towards anyone who says "I'm doing it anyway!" (beyond the usual implied situation if someone tries to pass their own stuff off as official media/merchandise or the like).
So no one is forbidden from drawing Evangelion fanart, or even hentai of it, but Mogudan has still decided to follow the request and stop making Rei hentai. He's even done a number of worksafe images that have been uploaded onto the site. Instead, he's been working on an 'offbrand' version of Rei to fill in the spot, with a different-but-similar haircut, school uniform, and put in the same situations that he previously had Rei in.
So no one is forbidden from drawing Evangelion fanart, or even hentai of it, but Mogudan has still decided to follow the request and stop making Rei hentai. He's even done a number of worksafe images that have been uploaded onto the site. Instead, he's been working on an 'offbrand' version of Rei to fill in the spot, with a different-but-similar haircut, school uniform, and put in the same situations that he previously had Rei in.
Respecting the franchise while continuing on with his fetish, a truly cultured gentleman.
