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新世紀エヴァンゲリオン [Shin Seiki Evangelion] #3
Neon Genesis Evangelion, volumen 3: Cicatriz blanca
In the year 2015, humanity faces terrifying last judgement by a mysterious race of giants, and a handful of teenagers must pilot the colossal superentities known as "evangelions" in the fight for survival. With Volume 3, this controversial science fiction series continues to push the limits of the genre.
Paperback
First published November 7, 1996
About the author
Yoshiyuki Sadamoto
175 books205 followersYoshiyuki Sadamoto (native name: 貞本義行) is a Japanese character designer, mangaka, and one of the founding members of the Gainax anime studio.
His notable works include Neon Genesis Evangelion character design and manga.
He is also the character designer for the .hack//Games and the Package designer for the .hack//GU games.
Also publishes with the doujinshi pen name 45yen.
His notable works include Neon Genesis Evangelion character design and manga.
He is also the character designer for the .hack//Games and the Package designer for the .hack//GU games.
Also publishes with the doujinshi pen name 45yen.
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 112 reviews
August 12, 2018
Shinji Ikari returns to Nerve to pilot his Evangelion. But what is the mystery behind Rei Ayanami, the other Eva pilot?
Volume 3 was so much better than volume 2. Shinji wasn't nearly as mopey this time and the focus shifted to the mystery behind Rei. There wasn't a huge amount of action but the action was more intense than the previous volume. There are a lot of character moments in this book and more than enough mystery left for me to want to continue.
The expansion of the supporting cast gives the book a lot more depth than it originally had. I don't know if I'm on board for the whole series but I will definitely read another volume or two. Four out of five stars.
Volume 3 was so much better than volume 2. Shinji wasn't nearly as mopey this time and the focus shifted to the mystery behind Rei. There wasn't a huge amount of action but the action was more intense than the previous volume. There are a lot of character moments in this book and more than enough mystery left for me to want to continue.
The expansion of the supporting cast gives the book a lot more depth than it originally had. I don't know if I'm on board for the whole series but I will definitely read another volume or two. Four out of five stars.
February 19, 2017
I am surprised that it is easy and enjoyable read. I like how Shinji is trying to function normally with people and his inner struggles make him an interesting character. This volume focuses more on Shinji-Rei relationship, which is fine. However, I still need some explanations about "angels" , "evangelions", Shinji's father and Rei's past.
July 2, 2022
Eventually on a blank and empty streets... if we go together... we might someday find something... like the moon that floats in the darkness...
Neon Genesis Evangelion is depressing in some sense (so far, and the monologues are screaming "help meee, save meee" lol) but I kinda like the wholesome moments and the friendships that eventually bloomed. I could only wonder what happened to Shinji when he was younger... the glimpses weren't telling much story aside from: he's abandoned and abused physically (this one is from the previous volume). Also, what an ass of a father Commander Ikari is. I could have sworn he expected something bigger from his son on the first few pages of the first volume, now he's just this emotionally repressed asshat... or maybe, that's the case: he already know his son so further communication is not needed (lol, still a jerk) I mean, lol, isn't it odd how he's attached to Rei though... I could use another backstory.
March 21, 2021
Los pensamientos premonitorios de Shinji nos permiten sentir la cercanía que intuye de manera inusual hacia Rei. 🖤
December 10, 2015
El tomo se dedica sobre todo a la relación naciente entre Shinji y Rei, la piloto del EVA 00 que nunca ríe, nunca se enoja, nunca se pone triste.
Misato parece ser la primera en darse cuenta que Shinji tiene un especial interés por Rei y le encomendará visitarla para darle un importante documento, lo que sucede luego es una de las escenas más raras de la serie.
Finalmente hay un poco de acción, aunque no tanta cuando tras un ataque demoledor del nuevo ángel, tanto Rei como Shinji deben actuar juntos para poder vencerlo. Este encuentro los acercará aún más.
Misato parece ser la primera en darse cuenta que Shinji tiene un especial interés por Rei y le encomendará visitarla para darle un importante documento, lo que sucede luego es una de las escenas más raras de la serie.
Finalmente hay un poco de acción, aunque no tanta cuando tras un ataque demoledor del nuevo ángel, tanto Rei como Shinji deben actuar juntos para poder vencerlo. Este encuentro los acercará aún más.
June 21, 2017
Este es el primer gran tomo de esta serie. La relación entre Shinji y Rei es muy interesante. Resulta curioso que Shinji se sienta identificado de alguna forma con una persona que no conoce los sentimientos. Las intereacciones entre ellos son muy divertidas y finalmente Rei tiene un poco más de desarrollo como personaje más allá de "la rarita del aula".
El enfrentamiento con el 5to angel está muy bien, si bien realmente no hay mucha acción, está bueno como cada angel es distinto y requiere una estrategia diferente cada vez.
El dibujo en este tomo creo que alcanza un excelente nivel las acciones de los evas son claras y se entiende todo lo que pasa.
El enfrentamiento con el 5to angel está muy bien, si bien realmente no hay mucha acción, está bueno como cada angel es distinto y requiere una estrategia diferente cada vez.
El dibujo en este tomo creo que alcanza un excelente nivel las acciones de los evas son claras y se entiende todo lo que pasa.
January 26, 2024
Shinji jest super
November 28, 2016
NEON GENESIS EVANGELION n. 3
Ecco che finalmente Rei e Ikari parlano e iniziano a conoscersi.
Ammetto di aver versato una lacrimuccia alla fine.
E' davvero emozionanate questo manga. Molto introspettivo. Molto riflessivo, drammatico, ma anche divertente. I due compagni di classe mi fanno troppo ridere!
Datemi il prossimo volume ^^
Ecco che finalmente Rei e Ikari parlano e iniziano a conoscersi.
Ammetto di aver versato una lacrimuccia alla fine.
E' davvero emozionanate questo manga. Molto introspettivo. Molto riflessivo, drammatico, ma anche divertente. I due compagni di classe mi fanno troppo ridere!
Datemi il prossimo volume ^^
August 2, 2021
i hope there's nothing weird going on between rin and shinji's dad
September 15, 2022
This was an incredible look into Shinji's character. There was an interview in the last volume with the author of the manga where he refers to how he wrote Shinji's internal dialogue since it isn't present in the show, and it gave me a new appreciation for how well the manga develops Shinji's character beyond what the show allows. His dynamic with Rei in the last 3-4 chapters is especially compelling, and the comparisons drawn about how the reason Shinji cares as much about Rei as he does is because she's the one person he's ever met who he feels like has less than he does. Amazing writing.
August 6, 2021
Completamente agganciato (part II).
Ormai ho anche iniziato ad amare i disegni, squisitamente anni 90 e devo dire che mi piace moltissimo anche il lettering.
Certo, l’anime è una bomba ma anche il manga si difende benissimo.
Ormai ho anche iniziato ad amare i disegni, squisitamente anni 90 e devo dire che mi piace moltissimo anche il lettering.
Certo, l’anime è una bomba ma anche il manga si difende benissimo.
April 8, 2024
Es quizá de los tomos más flojos. No es que el primer acercamiento a Rei sea malo, pero no nos dicen nada, y casi siempre son momentos de silencio o bastante tranquilos. Se pone mejor conforme avanzamos.
August 25, 2021
L’operazione Yashima. Non aggiungo altro.
August 14, 2023
"Nawet na ciemnej pustej drodze... Jeśli będziemy szli we dwoje... Możemy coś odnaleźć. Jak ten księżyc na niebie."
August 27, 2023
2.75 stars
i've watched these scenes so many times that it's lost most of its impact on me so it doesn't have the same effect anymore. still loved it though. i'm pleased they're delving deeper into Shinji's past, something that was absent in the anime. however, i can also see the reasoning behind it. leaving it out left an enigmatic layer to his character and emphasizes the idea that his past is not of relevance, and we should focus more on his present actions and challenges. excited for Asuka's appearance :>.
i've watched these scenes so many times that it's lost most of its impact on me so it doesn't have the same effect anymore. still loved it though. i'm pleased they're delving deeper into Shinji's past, something that was absent in the anime. however, i can also see the reasoning behind it. leaving it out left an enigmatic layer to his character and emphasizes the idea that his past is not of relevance, and we should focus more on his present actions and challenges. excited for Asuka's appearance :>.
December 12, 2022
nie rozumiem ale buja
August 5, 2017
*hugs Rei* *hugs Shinji* They feel like the loneliest people on the planet with not much hope of this ever changing. :(
Also, Shinjis father is an asshole. -.-
The fight itself was okay even though some things made me roll my eyes a bit.
Also, Shinjis father is an asshole. -.-
The fight itself was okay even though some things made me roll my eyes a bit.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Read
March 25, 2021The Evangelion is a monster of a wannabe supernatural civilization, a Babylon destroyed revived. This empire is everything novus ordo seeks to achieve. It plays off against a parody of the fundamentalist idea that the United Nations is like a leopard, with feet like the feet of a bear, and had a mouth like a lion, the beast to be ridden by the Whore.
Willfully reversing the biblical revelation, the Evangelion monsters fight under the aegis of the UN against the angels of Last Judgement. The external justification for foisting this totally western notion upon Tokyo is a pun on the name of the bomb, Little Boy, that Japan was exploded back to childhood. That is, Japanese culture was Little Boyed back to childhood, its antiquity was annihilated for the Chaldean new age.
In prescient manner machines are blended with the human, the very goal of singularity. “Nerve HQ, a bio-mechanical weapon named Evangelion, Man married to machine, the perfect transhuman achievement, a monster piloted by 14 year old Shinji…keystone for the resurrection of the world” (Neon Genesis Evangelelion I, Yoshiyuki Sadamoto (Gainax) tr, /Fred Burke 1980.
- Little Boy: The Arts of Japan's Exploding Subculture -Otaku
-Neon Genesis Evangelion
The Attack of Angels twists turns into analogues of antichrist. In further reversal of the Evangel, the man-machine Evangelions are created by man in his own image, as a novus ordo counter of his creation in the image of God in Genesis, The Eva of this evangel is a pun multiplied on both Eve and angel. Eva, the first letters of evangelion is also the acronym of the machine invented by NERV to kill the angel. ["Nerv's official purpose is to lead the defense of mankind against the Angels ... through use of the Evangelions, which they constructed...where the ultimate, clandestine goal is to carry out the Human Instrumentality Project."]
As the reference to Eve (as in Adam and Eve) in Eva is doubled and redoubled in the title of Neon Genesis, the ancient histories of Babylon, Akadia, Sumer and Israel preceding Evangelion are compounded with Eva itself as a giant, hence a reference to the nephilim of Genesis 6. The huge synthetic minded robot refers to the fallen angel sons of god, and the giants. This invokes that huge literature of the Book of Enoch found among the Dead Sea Scrolls where the watchers, i.e. the Annunaki, go in to the daughters of men to breed and corrupt, change and overthrow the human genome. This all implies that civilization is not corrupted by this, but civilization is the corruption. Neon Genesis turns Genesis on its head. The nephilim giants become the savior. It sounds like Blavatsky, Sitchin, Icke, clones, reptiles, dracos, archons, Ugaritic Monsters, consciousness transfers and all alternate metaphysic fabled in one. The biblical account is further perverted by countering the biblical Eve saving mankind "through child bearing" to being Eva saving civilization by the machine of the new age. It can be a lot to take. Maybe a little overdone, Genesis and Eve, Genesis and giants, but upside down from the text where the giant is a robot and a defense against the attacking angels, instead of the angels being a defense against the giants. Undoubted cabbalistic in these readings, the tree of life as its talisman, otherwise called the SEPHIROT MAP OF THE PHARAONIC DEATH CULT, appears twice already in the opening of the film of Part I.
That the city of Tokyo wants to kill the angel is as obscure as why they should be called Killer Angels. In the first place you must remember it is all reversed. The word evangelion means "gospel" in Mark 1.1, which reads, The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, but in Neon Genesis the evangelion refers simultaneously to Eve in Genesis and to the Virgin Mary. Shinji is a demonic messiah to save his civilization from the Daysman, the judgement of God. If it were saved from the past, like in Sodom, where the People of Sodom Attack Angels it might make a headline, but in this fictional reality, which is a manga mecha apocalypse looking forward, not back, time reversal supports the reversal of roles.
It is a very strong dope of every kind along with the channeling spirits common in the creation of NASA, DARPA and NSA. Why these government agencies want to create destabilizing literature is is as obvious as how and why they created the hippie movement. To rock out monarched children of the American Little Boys, victimized with military microwaves and Laurel Canyon.
There are three versions, the anime, the manga and the film. "As in the original anime series, the first four volumes of the manga deal with the Angel invasions, but from a much different angle. Moreover, several more mundane sub-plot tropes common to Japanese manga occur at the same time at the invasions," such as: here
Genesis Evangelion transliterates directly from the Greek of Mark 1.1. “The beginning [genesis] of the euangelion εὐαγγέλιον about Jesus Christ, the Son of God" thus implicates the author of the anime, Hideaki Anno, in a serious theological controversy, but it is left to us how far it should be taken. Although the anime was conceived first, the "manga series by Yoshiyuki Sadamoto and published by Kadokawa Shoten began in the February issue of Shōnen Ace in December 1994.[1] It consists of 13 volumes, each composed of several "stages" or chapters. Twelve of these volumes have been released before the TV series.
Interview
In the interview Sadamoto does not want to admit any of this, it being too mimetic and obscures it saying: One of the names proposed by Anno was "Alcion (Arushion)". But a robot story title that doesn't have a voiced consonant sound in it just isn't catching. So I pushed "Evangelion", which had been rejected once, as sounding stronger. We had talked a lot in the beginning about wanting a title like "Space Runaway Ideon (Legendary Giant God Ideon)", so I think I did push that. And to tell the truth, the story composition is also similar. For example, Nerv can be considered the same as the Solo Ship fighting a lonely battle against both humankind and the Buff Clan, and then there are the incomprehensible robots that can only communicate with children and tend to go berserk, etc. It might not be an exaggeration to say that if you add "Ideon" and "Devilman" together and divide by two, you get "Evangelion". (laugh)
The manga based on the series, written and illustrated by series character designer Yoshiyuki Sadamoto, has been serialized in Shonen Ace since 1995. The serialized and volumized editions are both published by Kadokawa Shoten. The manga exists as a separate entity from the anime, and features a number of distinct differences (examples: Shinji\'s eyes are brown instead of blue; Shinji and Rei\'s relationship is strengthened more; not all of the Angels that were in the anime appear in the manga). Drawing from the original story outline, the completed anime series, as well as his own artistic freedom, Sadamoto has portrayed an account of the story that has both distinct convergence and divergence with the anime version. The series is still in production, and Sadamoto has stated that he is planning to end the series in the 12th or 13th volume.
Why do angels attack Tokyo 3
Why do angels attack Tokyo 3 http://animeboards.com/showthread.php...
Parts II & III in transit
But before that, while Eva is still hot, and before Adam is dredged up, talk about "divin(d)ing by two (laugh)" or the suction cups of ubermensch, ha, ha, Eyeshot http://eyeshot.net/byzantium.html, hybrid beastiary and uber alter bot http://encouragementsforsuch.blogspot..., please drink up the lit of the new age coming fast, lest you think there is no Adam, as in Stockhausen's Licht there isn't, but with more apocrypha. Of course the one they should fear is the Second:
"In the year 2000, an expedition team led by Dr. Katsuragi, Misato's father, discovered their God of Gods, Adam. When they attempted to capture Adam by regressing him back to his embryo form, he fought back and enacted the 2nd Impact, which melted the ice cap, whipped out half of earth's population, and flooded the shorelines of the continents. Misato was the only member of the team to survive, and was saved by her father with the last of his strength, who put her in an escape pod before Adam melted the cap. Adam's embryo was found in the red waters years later by SEELE, and delivered to NERV by Kaji Ryoji." http://mrbagel.tripod.com/evangelion_...
Jus' sayin'... in all frankness these boys did not fear to mess with Eve. They did not fear to mess with earth, with her marriage, with her children, and that this hugely stands behind the Evangelion. Absolutely huge, but to give some space, not necessarily chronologically, but tied to what is most familiar,
Continued at https://insightstatutes.blogspot.com/...
Willfully reversing the biblical revelation, the Evangelion monsters fight under the aegis of the UN against the angels of Last Judgement. The external justification for foisting this totally western notion upon Tokyo is a pun on the name of the bomb, Little Boy, that Japan was exploded back to childhood. That is, Japanese culture was Little Boyed back to childhood, its antiquity was annihilated for the Chaldean new age.
In prescient manner machines are blended with the human, the very goal of singularity. “Nerve HQ, a bio-mechanical weapon named Evangelion, Man married to machine, the perfect transhuman achievement, a monster piloted by 14 year old Shinji…keystone for the resurrection of the world” (Neon Genesis Evangelelion I, Yoshiyuki Sadamoto (Gainax) tr, /Fred Burke 1980.
- Little Boy: The Arts of Japan's Exploding Subculture -Otaku
-Neon Genesis Evangelion
The Attack of Angels twists turns into analogues of antichrist. In further reversal of the Evangel, the man-machine Evangelions are created by man in his own image, as a novus ordo counter of his creation in the image of God in Genesis, The Eva of this evangel is a pun multiplied on both Eve and angel. Eva, the first letters of evangelion is also the acronym of the machine invented by NERV to kill the angel. ["Nerv's official purpose is to lead the defense of mankind against the Angels ... through use of the Evangelions, which they constructed...where the ultimate, clandestine goal is to carry out the Human Instrumentality Project."]
As the reference to Eve (as in Adam and Eve) in Eva is doubled and redoubled in the title of Neon Genesis, the ancient histories of Babylon, Akadia, Sumer and Israel preceding Evangelion are compounded with Eva itself as a giant, hence a reference to the nephilim of Genesis 6. The huge synthetic minded robot refers to the fallen angel sons of god, and the giants. This invokes that huge literature of the Book of Enoch found among the Dead Sea Scrolls where the watchers, i.e. the Annunaki, go in to the daughters of men to breed and corrupt, change and overthrow the human genome. This all implies that civilization is not corrupted by this, but civilization is the corruption. Neon Genesis turns Genesis on its head. The nephilim giants become the savior. It sounds like Blavatsky, Sitchin, Icke, clones, reptiles, dracos, archons, Ugaritic Monsters, consciousness transfers and all alternate metaphysic fabled in one. The biblical account is further perverted by countering the biblical Eve saving mankind "through child bearing" to being Eva saving civilization by the machine of the new age. It can be a lot to take. Maybe a little overdone, Genesis and Eve, Genesis and giants, but upside down from the text where the giant is a robot and a defense against the attacking angels, instead of the angels being a defense against the giants. Undoubted cabbalistic in these readings, the tree of life as its talisman, otherwise called the SEPHIROT MAP OF THE PHARAONIC DEATH CULT, appears twice already in the opening of the film of Part I.
That the city of Tokyo wants to kill the angel is as obscure as why they should be called Killer Angels. In the first place you must remember it is all reversed. The word evangelion means "gospel" in Mark 1.1, which reads, The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, but in Neon Genesis the evangelion refers simultaneously to Eve in Genesis and to the Virgin Mary. Shinji is a demonic messiah to save his civilization from the Daysman, the judgement of God. If it were saved from the past, like in Sodom, where the People of Sodom Attack Angels it might make a headline, but in this fictional reality, which is a manga mecha apocalypse looking forward, not back, time reversal supports the reversal of roles.
It is a very strong dope of every kind along with the channeling spirits common in the creation of NASA, DARPA and NSA. Why these government agencies want to create destabilizing literature is is as obvious as how and why they created the hippie movement. To rock out monarched children of the American Little Boys, victimized with military microwaves and Laurel Canyon.
There are three versions, the anime, the manga and the film. "As in the original anime series, the first four volumes of the manga deal with the Angel invasions, but from a much different angle. Moreover, several more mundane sub-plot tropes common to Japanese manga occur at the same time at the invasions," such as: here
Genesis Evangelion transliterates directly from the Greek of Mark 1.1. “The beginning [genesis] of the euangelion εὐαγγέλιον about Jesus Christ, the Son of God" thus implicates the author of the anime, Hideaki Anno, in a serious theological controversy, but it is left to us how far it should be taken. Although the anime was conceived first, the "manga series by Yoshiyuki Sadamoto and published by Kadokawa Shoten began in the February issue of Shōnen Ace in December 1994.[1] It consists of 13 volumes, each composed of several "stages" or chapters. Twelve of these volumes have been released before the TV series.
Interview
In the interview Sadamoto does not want to admit any of this, it being too mimetic and obscures it saying: One of the names proposed by Anno was "Alcion (Arushion)". But a robot story title that doesn't have a voiced consonant sound in it just isn't catching. So I pushed "Evangelion", which had been rejected once, as sounding stronger. We had talked a lot in the beginning about wanting a title like "Space Runaway Ideon (Legendary Giant God Ideon)", so I think I did push that. And to tell the truth, the story composition is also similar. For example, Nerv can be considered the same as the Solo Ship fighting a lonely battle against both humankind and the Buff Clan, and then there are the incomprehensible robots that can only communicate with children and tend to go berserk, etc. It might not be an exaggeration to say that if you add "Ideon" and "Devilman" together and divide by two, you get "Evangelion". (laugh)
The manga based on the series, written and illustrated by series character designer Yoshiyuki Sadamoto, has been serialized in Shonen Ace since 1995. The serialized and volumized editions are both published by Kadokawa Shoten. The manga exists as a separate entity from the anime, and features a number of distinct differences (examples: Shinji\'s eyes are brown instead of blue; Shinji and Rei\'s relationship is strengthened more; not all of the Angels that were in the anime appear in the manga). Drawing from the original story outline, the completed anime series, as well as his own artistic freedom, Sadamoto has portrayed an account of the story that has both distinct convergence and divergence with the anime version. The series is still in production, and Sadamoto has stated that he is planning to end the series in the 12th or 13th volume.
Why do angels attack Tokyo 3
Why do angels attack Tokyo 3 http://animeboards.com/showthread.php...
Parts II & III in transit
But before that, while Eva is still hot, and before Adam is dredged up, talk about "divin(d)ing by two (laugh)" or the suction cups of ubermensch, ha, ha, Eyeshot http://eyeshot.net/byzantium.html, hybrid beastiary and uber alter bot http://encouragementsforsuch.blogspot..., please drink up the lit of the new age coming fast, lest you think there is no Adam, as in Stockhausen's Licht there isn't, but with more apocrypha. Of course the one they should fear is the Second:
"In the year 2000, an expedition team led by Dr. Katsuragi, Misato's father, discovered their God of Gods, Adam. When they attempted to capture Adam by regressing him back to his embryo form, he fought back and enacted the 2nd Impact, which melted the ice cap, whipped out half of earth's population, and flooded the shorelines of the continents. Misato was the only member of the team to survive, and was saved by her father with the last of his strength, who put her in an escape pod before Adam melted the cap. Adam's embryo was found in the red waters years later by SEELE, and delivered to NERV by Kaji Ryoji." http://mrbagel.tripod.com/evangelion_...
Jus' sayin'... in all frankness these boys did not fear to mess with Eve. They did not fear to mess with earth, with her marriage, with her children, and that this hugely stands behind the Evangelion. Absolutely huge, but to give some space, not necessarily chronologically, but tied to what is most familiar,
Continued at https://insightstatutes.blogspot.com/...
September 2, 2021
{2nd readthrough}
The Story: It resumes immediately where we left off during the last stage at the train station, and it feels refreshing to start off by extending that emotionally high note. Toji apologizes to Shinji, making up just after Misato had, and this sheds a positive light on the rest of the volume, which now prioritizes Rei's time in the spotlight. Coincidentally, we learn about Gendo's peculiar attitude towards her. Big surprise: an Angel eventually attacks, and the two child soldiers march to battle. Once again, they wrapped up this arc in a neat little bow with a glimmers of humanity peering out of the robotic Ayanami and the catatonic Shinji. But that brings me to the...
Fanservice notification! Rei is now included in such affairs, unless just seeing her in her plug suit before counted. There are definitely some risqué scenes in Evangelion, and her and Shinji experience a doozy this volume. How Sadamoto thought he was going to pitch an Eva series to 14 year-olds, I don't know, because we end up with scenes like.. well theirs. You'll see. Now this particular scene is meant to be awkward, and it's not an oglefest like some of Misato's. Thankfully, this shit only seems to pop up about once a volume versus the "Let's do a shot,"-game worthy number of times like 3.0 + 1.0 served us. By that I mean, in this case, it all seems to be self-contained in Stage 14: The Warped Room. I'm no prude, but it even seems more, not tasteful necessarily, but definitely more subtle than the anime counterparts.
The Art: I absolutely adore Sadamoto's pencils, BUT, and this is being extremely nitpicky, there was a continuity error that stuck out to me! When Shinji first enters Rei's apartment there's a chair right by her bed (pg. 42). As he scans the room (see: pg. 43) we see that same chair is further from the bed and now has socks draped over it. I'm weirdly proud of noticing such a minute detail, but when you love the artist's work so much you absorb every panel for all it's worth. Other than that, that's all I got. The rest is stun-ning!
Something that I hadn't done for the past two reviews to really show my appreciation for this work was to pick out some favorite quotes and pages to express how much I'm really enjoying the writing and art. So, I'd like to start that now, making up for the missed volumes with three quotes:
1) Dad... he would never look at me like that. - Shinji (pg. 37) This is just heartbreaking. This kid is in need of some long overdue affection from his father.
2) The same as being dead? Well, then... I guess I was like that before I came here. I hated everything. I was totally apathetic... I just didn't care. But I put up a quiet front, playing the good little kid. I... I guess maybe I was just going through the motions of living. (Why? Why am I telling Ayanami all this? Because we're in the same situation? No. Maybe it's because... Ayanami has even less than I do.) - Shinji (pgs. 118-119) He is commenting on how we literally saw him at the opening chapter of the series. In three volumes he's already been able to show respectable growth and introspection.
3) Even on a black and empty street... if we go together we might one day find something... like the moon that floats in the darkness. - Shinji (pg. 164) Not our Shinji, attempting a positive spin on the situation??? Looking on the bright side (of the moon) against a panel backdrop of the moon has me feening for a particular Frankie Blue Eyes number.
Some panels that left an impression:
1) Gendo's smile. In the Unit-00 activation test that took place prior to the events of volume 1, Unit-00 goes berserk and a forced ejection of the pilot, Rei, was required to quell the beast. Upon confirmation of Rei's well-being, Gendo shows her a relieved smile. Even though in volume 1, he flashed a victorious smirk towards Shinji once his son agreed to pilot Unit-01, what we see here is something so genuine and visceral, it sticks out like a sore thumb. I don't know that we ever see this side of him again. (pg. 27, panel 5)
2) The eroding electromagnetic shield Unit-00 protects Unit-01 with. It's not a super large panel or particularly flashy, but the warbling effect is masterful, and the creepy eyeball that peers through it makes it intensely effective. I can feel the heat on this page. (KH Hades has entered the chat.) (pg. 139, panel 1)
3) Rei's smile. Not unlike with Gendo, this is a whole new side of Ayanami we're seeing. It's obviously important to the artist and the story as it's preceded with two panels of her movement out of stoicism on page 159 that lead up to the page turn, to then take up two thirds of its own page that consists of only two panels! If I hadn't needed to look up the page number, I would have forgotten about Shinji's panel underneath hers entirely. Her expression eclipses his reaction in my memory. (pg. 160)
The Extras: The lettering for the speech balloons is now near perfect. Any awkward spacing is near unnoticeable at best and extremely rare at worst. But-
Welp, my greatest fears were finally realized... in the very last paragraph of the glossary. I was convinced after the second volume's attention to detail, I wouldn't have to pour over such trivial matters, but my hunger to wolf down everything about this manga won't leaf any page unturned! VIZ done copy-pasted an explanation of the Japanese kana that indicates a sudden stop to a sound (indicator kana in question is the little "tsu" character -> ツ) with an example from the previous volume. The horror! But hey - there's a nice spliced image of Rei in the SFX gallery's background this time instead of repeating NERV logos? I'm fishing. Fishing for critique and compliments alike.
As there was for the anime in the previous volume, there's an alternate End of Evangelion OST provided, by editor Carl Gustav I assume. And also gives the segments of the movie it provides music for chapter names. As far as I can tell this is an exercise in creativity, too. According to my research the Manga (as in the company's name) DVD release of EoE did not provide a formal chapter / scene selection in its menu interface and therefore did not give chapters names. Sidebar: in doing such research, I found out that apparently the existing menu is (the only aspect of this physical release that's) beloved by the fandom. Looking it up on YT, I have to say, it's pretty sweet. Alas, I won't be able to enjoy this music in the context of the Eva-verse, drawing parallels from this new soundtrack to the film, until I nab myself a copy of EoE. *sniff* I congratulated the fun-ness of such an exercise in the previous review, but I want to say it again here. I think it's cool, even if all the music listed isn't necessarily my cup of tea. Maybe nothing like this would be attempted nowadays as it's more of a legal liability. Artists, musicians, labels and agencies may not want to be mentioned or associated with such a publication and look for compensation or sue. Music licensing is a beast that is currently afflicting Eva! These new English GKIDS Blu-rei (sry) releases do (NOT) include "Fly Me to the Moon", because of those rights. And now fans are torn on even picking up this new home video edition as it doesn't feel definitive without the iconic ending theme. For shame. Fly me to the moon is definitely is my current sentiment. I don't want to live on this planet anymore.
See you, space cow- Oh, wait.
She gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate. And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat. - Genesis 3:12, KJV (Thanks, Biblehub.com.)
The Story: It resumes immediately where we left off during the last stage at the train station, and it feels refreshing to start off by extending that emotionally high note. Toji apologizes to Shinji, making up just after Misato had, and this sheds a positive light on the rest of the volume, which now prioritizes Rei's time in the spotlight. Coincidentally, we learn about Gendo's peculiar attitude towards her. Big surprise: an Angel eventually attacks, and the two child soldiers march to battle. Once again, they wrapped up this arc in a neat little bow with a glimmers of humanity peering out of the robotic Ayanami and the catatonic Shinji. But that brings me to the...
Fanservice notification! Rei is now included in such affairs, unless just seeing her in her plug suit before counted. There are definitely some risqué scenes in Evangelion, and her and Shinji experience a doozy this volume. How Sadamoto thought he was going to pitch an Eva series to 14 year-olds, I don't know, because we end up with scenes like.. well theirs. You'll see. Now this particular scene is meant to be awkward, and it's not an oglefest like some of Misato's. Thankfully, this shit only seems to pop up about once a volume versus the "Let's do a shot,"-game worthy number of times like 3.0 + 1.0 served us. By that I mean, in this case, it all seems to be self-contained in Stage 14: The Warped Room. I'm no prude, but it even seems more, not tasteful necessarily, but definitely more subtle than the anime counterparts.
The Art: I absolutely adore Sadamoto's pencils, BUT, and this is being extremely nitpicky, there was a continuity error that stuck out to me! When Shinji first enters Rei's apartment there's a chair right by her bed (pg. 42). As he scans the room (see: pg. 43) we see that same chair is further from the bed and now has socks draped over it. I'm weirdly proud of noticing such a minute detail, but when you love the artist's work so much you absorb every panel for all it's worth. Other than that, that's all I got. The rest is stun-ning!
Something that I hadn't done for the past two reviews to really show my appreciation for this work was to pick out some favorite quotes and pages to express how much I'm really enjoying the writing and art. So, I'd like to start that now, making up for the missed volumes with three quotes:
1) Dad... he would never look at me like that. - Shinji (pg. 37) This is just heartbreaking. This kid is in need of some long overdue affection from his father.
2) The same as being dead? Well, then... I guess I was like that before I came here. I hated everything. I was totally apathetic... I just didn't care. But I put up a quiet front, playing the good little kid. I... I guess maybe I was just going through the motions of living. (Why? Why am I telling Ayanami all this? Because we're in the same situation? No. Maybe it's because... Ayanami has even less than I do.) - Shinji (pgs. 118-119) He is commenting on how we literally saw him at the opening chapter of the series. In three volumes he's already been able to show respectable growth and introspection.
3) Even on a black and empty street... if we go together we might one day find something... like the moon that floats in the darkness. - Shinji (pg. 164) Not our Shinji, attempting a positive spin on the situation??? Looking on the bright side (of the moon) against a panel backdrop of the moon has me feening for a particular Frankie Blue Eyes number.
Some panels that left an impression:
1) Gendo's smile. In the Unit-00 activation test that took place prior to the events of volume 1, Unit-00 goes berserk and a forced ejection of the pilot, Rei, was required to quell the beast. Upon confirmation of Rei's well-being, Gendo shows her a relieved smile. Even though in volume 1, he flashed a victorious smirk towards Shinji once his son agreed to pilot Unit-01, what we see here is something so genuine and visceral, it sticks out like a sore thumb. I don't know that we ever see this side of him again. (pg. 27, panel 5)
2) The eroding electromagnetic shield Unit-00 protects Unit-01 with. It's not a super large panel or particularly flashy, but the warbling effect is masterful, and the creepy eyeball that peers through it makes it intensely effective. I can feel the heat on this page. (KH Hades has entered the chat.) (pg. 139, panel 1)
3) Rei's smile. Not unlike with Gendo, this is a whole new side of Ayanami we're seeing. It's obviously important to the artist and the story as it's preceded with two panels of her movement out of stoicism on page 159 that lead up to the page turn, to then take up two thirds of its own page that consists of only two panels! If I hadn't needed to look up the page number, I would have forgotten about Shinji's panel underneath hers entirely. Her expression eclipses his reaction in my memory. (pg. 160)
The Extras: The lettering for the speech balloons is now near perfect. Any awkward spacing is near unnoticeable at best and extremely rare at worst. But-
Welp, my greatest fears were finally realized... in the very last paragraph of the glossary. I was convinced after the second volume's attention to detail, I wouldn't have to pour over such trivial matters, but my hunger to wolf down everything about this manga won't leaf any page unturned! VIZ done copy-pasted an explanation of the Japanese kana that indicates a sudden stop to a sound (indicator kana in question is the little "tsu" character -> ツ) with an example from the previous volume. The horror! But hey - there's a nice spliced image of Rei in the SFX gallery's background this time instead of repeating NERV logos? I'm fishing. Fishing for critique and compliments alike.
As there was for the anime in the previous volume, there's an alternate End of Evangelion OST provided, by editor Carl Gustav I assume. And also gives the segments of the movie it provides music for chapter names. As far as I can tell this is an exercise in creativity, too. According to my research the Manga (as in the company's name) DVD release of EoE did not provide a formal chapter / scene selection in its menu interface and therefore did not give chapters names. Sidebar: in doing such research, I found out that apparently the existing menu is (the only aspect of this physical release that's) beloved by the fandom. Looking it up on YT, I have to say, it's pretty sweet. Alas, I won't be able to enjoy this music in the context of the Eva-verse, drawing parallels from this new soundtrack to the film, until I nab myself a copy of EoE. *sniff* I congratulated the fun-ness of such an exercise in the previous review, but I want to say it again here. I think it's cool, even if all the music listed isn't necessarily my cup of tea. Maybe nothing like this would be attempted nowadays as it's more of a legal liability. Artists, musicians, labels and agencies may not want to be mentioned or associated with such a publication and look for compensation or sue. Music licensing is a beast that is currently afflicting Eva! These new English GKIDS Blu-rei (sry) releases do (NOT) include "Fly Me to the Moon", because of those rights. And now fans are torn on even picking up this new home video edition as it doesn't feel definitive without the iconic ending theme. For shame. Fly me to the moon is definitely is my current sentiment. I don't want to live on this planet anymore.
See you, space cow- Oh, wait.
She gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate. And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat. - Genesis 3:12, KJV (Thanks, Biblehub.com.)
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 14, 2008
I'm starting to worry that this series is definitely going to fall into the category of "fails to live up to expectations" - it's still fun giant mecha splodo, but I'm not seeing much deeper than that. There's hints of more depth - the relationship between Shinji and his father, for example, and hints of a relationship between the EVAs and the Angels, but aside from that, nothing. To make a comics analogy, I think I was expecting Grant Morisson, but got Mark Waid instead.
April 22, 2022
Erstmals rückt Ayanami stärker in den Fokus. Ihren Charakter mag ich besonders gern. <3 Der Kampf, der sich in der zweiten Hälfte dieses Bandes abspielt, ist einer meiner Liebsten, weil zum ersten Mal Teamarbeit gefragt ist. Im Manga ist das Drumherum noch stimmungsvoller dargestellt als im Anime. Die Zeichnungen der Eva-Einheiten sind einfach klasse!
January 7, 2023
*3.5 stars*
Still nothing much to say lol, it's pretty much just reading the show, except we get a little more into Shinji's head which I enjoy. However I'm very excited because I believe Asuka (one of my favorites from the series) is introduced in the next volume!
Still nothing much to say lol, it's pretty much just reading the show, except we get a little more into Shinji's head which I enjoy. However I'm very excited because I believe Asuka (one of my favorites from the series) is introduced in the next volume!
August 18, 2014
Quizás, mi tomo favorito de toda la serie. Supongo que una vez que esté terminada le tocará en algún momento una merecidísima releílda íntegra.
March 7, 2023
Qué belleza.
February 15, 2022
Another great one! ✌🏻
August 17, 2023
no thoughts head empty just ramiel
March 25, 2021
En este tomo nos presentan el personaje de Rei Ayanami de forma más completa, dándonos a entender tanto sus emociones, aspiraciones y motivaciones. También nos hace reflexionar sobre qué es el ser humano en cuanto a sus emociones, cómo lidia con ellas.
Partimos la historia con Shinji, tratando de entender más a su padre, sabiendo más que él realiza dentro de NERV, pero sin mayores respuestas. Es así como se da cuenta que él (su padre) está muy interesado en Rei, la trata con más interés, y él no entiende por qué. Es así como Misato le cuenta una historia, sobre cómo el comandante Ikari había abierto con las manos desnudas el compartimiento del EVA, luego de una falla de sincronización de Rei y el Eva, quemándoselas por el vapor hirviendo que salía de los metales calientes, pero con el claro objetivo de saber si Rei estaba o no bien. Eso le trajo una gran curiosidad a su hijo, ¿por qué él está tan interesado en ella, pero no en mí? En cierta medida, sintió envidia, pero a la vez curiosidad.
Posteriormente, nos muestran que Misato le entrega una tarjeta de identificación de Ayanami, con el objetivo que él deba entregársela, y es así como parte la escena en la habitación de Rei. Shinji llega al apartamento donde vive ella, entrando de forma “imprudente”, la ve a ella completamente desnuda, teniendo así un pequeño diálogo entre ambos. Ella no se inmuta, no le importa, no tiene mayor interés si la ve o no desnuda, pero así le deja en claro algo, le importa su padre (porque Shinji se da cuenta que tiene unos lentes rotos de él). Personalmente me gusta mucho la escena, porque no trata que sea erótica, pero si de la incomodidad de ser humano de a través de emociones, sentirse pudoroso, avergonzado o incómodo por una situación así, pero a la vez también, puede pasar a una situación amorosa o sensual, cómo es cuando están mirándose frente a frente Shinji y Rei después que él se cae con ella al piso.
Luego de la anterior situación, Shinji se siente culpable por lo ocurre, pero trata de volver a conversar nuevamente con Rei, teniendo curiosidad de ella. Así es como ella le cuenta que la confianza que le tiene a su padre, es gigante, suponemos por el gran compromiso que tiene el comandante Ikari por ella, anteponiendo todo con tal de salvarla.
En medio de una prueba de sincronización de Rei, llega un nuevo ángel a la tierra, y a la vez con ciertas características más inteligentes y poderosas. Así es como Shinji al salir a pelear contra éste, inmediatamente es herido y debe retornar, yendo directamente al hospital. Aquí pasan dos cosas simbólicamente importante: la primera es que la primera persona que va del equipo a visitar a Shinji es Misato, como la madre que está siendo, y segundo es que Rei acompaña a Shinji en el hospital.
Es muy importante esto, porque mientras duerme Shinji, tiene un sueño sobre la frustración que su padre no se interese por él, y ahí es dónde se pregunta si su madre tendría el mismo interés o no, y justo cuando piensa en su madre, abre los ojos y ve a Rei. Todavía no lo explican, pero más adelante sabremos el significado de Rei en la familia de los Ikari, y lo poético que llega a ser esa escena, teniendo en consideración la historia de ella.
Luego de la conversación del hospital, están esperando subirse a sus EVA a la hora indicada, tienen una pequeña charla sobre no querer morir, por lo que Shinji le dice que sentir miedo en situaciones así es normal, a lo que Rei responde que su motivación de vida es montar EVAs, si no existieran, sentiría que no tiene mayor importancia su estadía o existencia. Es aquí otra situación interesante, Shinji en el volumen pasado sentía que no estaba vivo, pero ahora vive, y por eso quiere luchar y vivir, saliendo así de su estado depresivo, por lo que no sólo se entiende mejor así mismo, sino a ella. Posterior a la conversación, Rei de forma segura y sólida le dice no morirá, porque ella lo va a proteger (tal como una madre protege a sus hijos, que simbólico todo). Luego de un acto heroico de Rei, donde recibe un impacto directo del ángel para proteger a Shinji, y así esté disparar con una pistola especial y derrotar al ángel, Shinji trata rápidamente sacar a Rei del Eva para saber si estaba bien. Al igual que el padre, él mismo abre la cápsula, viéndola adentro, donde en un pequeño diálogo de las emociones (pero muy significativo), Shinji le explica a Rei que llora de felicidad, al saber que está viva, por lo que Rei no entiende mucho, sin saber también como ella debería sentirse en una situación así, a lo que él le dice que quizá deberías sonreir, por estar feliz de sobrevivir. Y luego de eso, ahí ella, sentada en la cápsula del Eva, al lado de Shinji, sonríe. Y quizá, por primera vez, haciendo todo un hermoso momento.
Partimos la historia con Shinji, tratando de entender más a su padre, sabiendo más que él realiza dentro de NERV, pero sin mayores respuestas. Es así como se da cuenta que él (su padre) está muy interesado en Rei, la trata con más interés, y él no entiende por qué. Es así como Misato le cuenta una historia, sobre cómo el comandante Ikari había abierto con las manos desnudas el compartimiento del EVA, luego de una falla de sincronización de Rei y el Eva, quemándoselas por el vapor hirviendo que salía de los metales calientes, pero con el claro objetivo de saber si Rei estaba o no bien. Eso le trajo una gran curiosidad a su hijo, ¿por qué él está tan interesado en ella, pero no en mí? En cierta medida, sintió envidia, pero a la vez curiosidad.
Posteriormente, nos muestran que Misato le entrega una tarjeta de identificación de Ayanami, con el objetivo que él deba entregársela, y es así como parte la escena en la habitación de Rei. Shinji llega al apartamento donde vive ella, entrando de forma “imprudente”, la ve a ella completamente desnuda, teniendo así un pequeño diálogo entre ambos. Ella no se inmuta, no le importa, no tiene mayor interés si la ve o no desnuda, pero así le deja en claro algo, le importa su padre (porque Shinji se da cuenta que tiene unos lentes rotos de él). Personalmente me gusta mucho la escena, porque no trata que sea erótica, pero si de la incomodidad de ser humano de a través de emociones, sentirse pudoroso, avergonzado o incómodo por una situación así, pero a la vez también, puede pasar a una situación amorosa o sensual, cómo es cuando están mirándose frente a frente Shinji y Rei después que él se cae con ella al piso.
Luego de la anterior situación, Shinji se siente culpable por lo ocurre, pero trata de volver a conversar nuevamente con Rei, teniendo curiosidad de ella. Así es como ella le cuenta que la confianza que le tiene a su padre, es gigante, suponemos por el gran compromiso que tiene el comandante Ikari por ella, anteponiendo todo con tal de salvarla.
En medio de una prueba de sincronización de Rei, llega un nuevo ángel a la tierra, y a la vez con ciertas características más inteligentes y poderosas. Así es como Shinji al salir a pelear contra éste, inmediatamente es herido y debe retornar, yendo directamente al hospital. Aquí pasan dos cosas simbólicamente importante: la primera es que la primera persona que va del equipo a visitar a Shinji es Misato, como la madre que está siendo, y segundo es que Rei acompaña a Shinji en el hospital.
Es muy importante esto, porque mientras duerme Shinji, tiene un sueño sobre la frustración que su padre no se interese por él, y ahí es dónde se pregunta si su madre tendría el mismo interés o no, y justo cuando piensa en su madre, abre los ojos y ve a Rei. Todavía no lo explican, pero más adelante sabremos el significado de Rei en la familia de los Ikari, y lo poético que llega a ser esa escena, teniendo en consideración la historia de ella.
Luego de la conversación del hospital, están esperando subirse a sus EVA a la hora indicada, tienen una pequeña charla sobre no querer morir, por lo que Shinji le dice que sentir miedo en situaciones así es normal, a lo que Rei responde que su motivación de vida es montar EVAs, si no existieran, sentiría que no tiene mayor importancia su estadía o existencia. Es aquí otra situación interesante, Shinji en el volumen pasado sentía que no estaba vivo, pero ahora vive, y por eso quiere luchar y vivir, saliendo así de su estado depresivo, por lo que no sólo se entiende mejor así mismo, sino a ella. Posterior a la conversación, Rei de forma segura y sólida le dice no morirá, porque ella lo va a proteger (tal como una madre protege a sus hijos, que simbólico todo). Luego de un acto heroico de Rei, donde recibe un impacto directo del ángel para proteger a Shinji, y así esté disparar con una pistola especial y derrotar al ángel, Shinji trata rápidamente sacar a Rei del Eva para saber si estaba bien. Al igual que el padre, él mismo abre la cápsula, viéndola adentro, donde en un pequeño diálogo de las emociones (pero muy significativo), Shinji le explica a Rei que llora de felicidad, al saber que está viva, por lo que Rei no entiende mucho, sin saber también como ella debería sentirse en una situación así, a lo que él le dice que quizá deberías sonreir, por estar feliz de sobrevivir. Y luego de eso, ahí ella, sentada en la cápsula del Eva, al lado de Shinji, sonríe. Y quizá, por primera vez, haciendo todo un hermoso momento.
February 11, 2022
This is a review of the entire series!
After the disastrous results of a cataclysmic event known as the Second Impact, an alien species known only as Angels terrorizes the last remnants of humanity. Young children are raised in military schools and trained to combat these godlike entities by piloting giant biomechanical mechas into battle. The story revolves around the personal struggles of the members of NERV, the shady organization responsible for the creation of these mechas; most notably the cold and calculated leader Gendo Ikari and his chronically depressed son Shinji.
The surface level story of Evangelion is deceptively simple. It appears to be a straightforward apocalypse story about the last survivors of humanity fighting back against an alien race that nearly drove them to extinction, but there’s a lot of depth in the background of the plot. There’s more to the Angels than meets the eye. NERV has a disturbing number of skeletons in its closet. And the few survivors in charge of fighting against the aliens have an abundance of mental scars in desperate need of being healed lest they destroy themselves before the Angels can get to them.
I love the subtle depth of the characters. Shinji appears to be a cold and distant boy with odd tendencies that are almost sociopathic in nature, but he turns out to be an extremely sensitive and anxiety-ridden teen who suffers from a lack of parental guidance and affection. He’s not always likable, but he’s uncomfortably relatable. Asuka appears to be a bratty and spunky girl with all the confidence in the world, but she suffers from a self-destructive inferiority complex caused by past tragedies that causes her to act out in front of adults to make herself appear more mature than she really is while struggling with emotional breakdowns in her private time.
Every character has a facade they put on in front of their peers, only for it to be revealed that they’re hiding a brutal amount of unhealed trauma and emotional baggage that usually causes more damage than the main threat of the story. In fact, the main story is just a part of the background. What makes Evangelion a masterpiece in my eyes is how horrifyingly human the characters are, how painful their struggles are and how disastrous their bad choices end up being.
A very bleak, depressing and terrifying series that tackles nihilistic philosophy and twisted religious allegories in abundance, but there are faint glimmers of hope and lessons to be learned from the catastrophic mistakes made by the mentally and emotionally broken cast.
I enjoyed reading this much more as an adult than I did as a teen!
After the disastrous results of a cataclysmic event known as the Second Impact, an alien species known only as Angels terrorizes the last remnants of humanity. Young children are raised in military schools and trained to combat these godlike entities by piloting giant biomechanical mechas into battle. The story revolves around the personal struggles of the members of NERV, the shady organization responsible for the creation of these mechas; most notably the cold and calculated leader Gendo Ikari and his chronically depressed son Shinji.
The surface level story of Evangelion is deceptively simple. It appears to be a straightforward apocalypse story about the last survivors of humanity fighting back against an alien race that nearly drove them to extinction, but there’s a lot of depth in the background of the plot. There’s more to the Angels than meets the eye. NERV has a disturbing number of skeletons in its closet. And the few survivors in charge of fighting against the aliens have an abundance of mental scars in desperate need of being healed lest they destroy themselves before the Angels can get to them.
I love the subtle depth of the characters. Shinji appears to be a cold and distant boy with odd tendencies that are almost sociopathic in nature, but he turns out to be an extremely sensitive and anxiety-ridden teen who suffers from a lack of parental guidance and affection. He’s not always likable, but he’s uncomfortably relatable. Asuka appears to be a bratty and spunky girl with all the confidence in the world, but she suffers from a self-destructive inferiority complex caused by past tragedies that causes her to act out in front of adults to make herself appear more mature than she really is while struggling with emotional breakdowns in her private time.
Every character has a facade they put on in front of their peers, only for it to be revealed that they’re hiding a brutal amount of unhealed trauma and emotional baggage that usually causes more damage than the main threat of the story. In fact, the main story is just a part of the background. What makes Evangelion a masterpiece in my eyes is how horrifyingly human the characters are, how painful their struggles are and how disastrous their bad choices end up being.
A very bleak, depressing and terrifying series that tackles nihilistic philosophy and twisted religious allegories in abundance, but there are faint glimmers of hope and lessons to be learned from the catastrophic mistakes made by the mentally and emotionally broken cast.
I enjoyed reading this much more as an adult than I did as a teen!
July 31, 2021
It is still very good, but I was not as obsessed with this volume as I was the previous two. Definitely a bridge to something better. I think it was more frustrating than the previous two, because it left more questions than answers. Though we have been getting answers slowly over time, this one was just filled with so many more questions about Rei. Why does she feel so strongly about Shinji's dad? How did she get into the program? What happened to her to make her so extremely nihilistic? The robot fight was still incredible and I loved all the drama of whether or not that gun was going to go off at the right time. Also the flashback of Shinji's past was really great and shows more reasoning behind the ways his anxiety has been shown in the last two volumes. There is a huge elephant in the room, which I would feel remiss if I didn't discuss and it is that Rei is shown nude. (I've decided to not mark it as a spoiler, because it was very odd and maybe a heads up is appropriate.) Since Rei is in Shinji's school she is clearly a minor so it was weird to see her in such a sexual setup. Nudity is viewed differently in Japan so I get that, but having them fall all over each other while she was nude was pretty suspicious. It didn't feel perversive to me (rather a misplaced gag), so I am sticking with the four star rating but it was one of the reasons I wasn't as head over heels with this volume.
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