Neon Genesis Evangelion Volume 2: Angelic Days

The only reason "Angelic Days" has any cachet at all is because of the original anime series that it's based on, "Neon Genesis Evangelion". If you're looking for a manga series to read, start with either the "Eva" manga, or better still, the original anime. The characters of "Angelic Days" are all from "Eva", but this is an alternate-universe where certain key events haven't happened yet. So the characters have grown-up in nearly a normal setting, except for the existence of NERV and the technology to create the giant robots known as Evangelion. It's hard to say more without divulging spoilers. Point of fact, the characters of "Days" are taken from a Japan-only video game, which in turn was based on a dream-sequence from an episode of "Eva". Most of the storyline so far read like a stereotypical high school romance manga, which is to say there's nothing really to distinguish it from any other anime story set in a high school... unless you can compare it to the original anime. I give "Days" as high a rating as I did because I appreciate the fanboy fantasy-premise where the characters are normal boys and girls ("Gee, wouldn't it be neat if Rei were, like, sociable and you could talk to her..."). I'm not sure a random reader would see more in the story than a tangled-tale of high-school hormones set in a sci-fi japanese high school.

The first volume blew me away, this one just keeps getting better. I am more into the relationship development than the fighting, and this volume keeps giving you more information on the characters. Rei, with a personal side is one thing that I missed in the series and manga that I wanted more of. I am waiting for volume three, so I can reread up to the new volume. They did an outstanding job on this series and if you are an evangelion fan you will not want to miss it.

First of all, let me just say I'm completely obsessed with Evangelion. I loved the series, read the manga, and am now waiting impatiently for Angelic Days Vol. 3. At first, I approached Angelic Days with caution. The artwork doesn't seem that good at first and the mood was a sharp contradiction to that of the original series. However, I soon began enjoying it much more than I expected. The humor is pretty good, the original charaters are present and pretty much unchanged(except for Rei, who has become the exact opposite of the quiet, introspective Rei of the series), and at long last the relationship between Shinji and Asuka has been brought to the forefront. Not much Eva action has been seen yet- only one battle has been fought- but the story thus far signals much chaos ahead. However, most of the story will probably stay centered on the numerous love triangles that exist between the characters, and I personally have no problem with that. To all Eva-fans: Read this NOW. To all critics: Accept it and love it.