Neon Genesis Evangelion, Volume 3

Neon Genesis Evangelion still is a highly acclaimed anime series. As the back of this volume says, it is/was "the bestselling manga version of Japan's most controversial anime series!" Yes, what this means is that this mange series was written after the actual anime series was completed. It is simply not a retelling of the animation series, but a subtly diverging interpretation. This was my first ever foray into the Evangelion series. Volume 1 of the manga story introduces a boy who lives in a world in which he seems to have zero confidence about himself and wonders why his father, who he hasn't seen in years, decided to send him a postcard telling him to see him. Meanwhile, the United Nations forces are fighting an enemy, known as an Angel, who is omnipotent in the opening. The forces are decimated and the area destroyed, and a a new person is put on as the head of operations, ironically, it is the main characters father. He immediately commands them to send in the Prototype EVA 01, which is the giant mecha (basically where the "Evangelion" portion of the series comes from) to face off against the Angel. The intro immediately picks up the pace by having the main character interact with the EVA by it protecting him and allowing him escape into the underground hidden complex of the creators of the EVA. Apart from the fights with the two giant mechanical fighters, the authors seemed to have added an element of character conflict. This plot device works to force the reader to turn pages quickly as they try to figure out what the character will do and if the character will remedy the tension that exists between them and the other one. It is the secondary underlying plot, that I assume will take a larger role in future volumes, but here it was quite minimal except for in the moment of high intensity in the middle of the volume and in the conclusion. The main character is an interesting character and people will most likely find themselves rooting for him. The only other antagonist that isn't an angel is probably his father who he has trouble with in terms of communicating or understanding. The Angel is the bad guy here but the writers didn't do a great job at explaining it or its mystery, so we can only assume that it will be explained in subsequent volumes. The only criticism I have for this novel is that the shading used in the action sequences is so intense that it gets difficult at identifying that which is going on. Oftentimes, I imagine people will find themselves having to slow down and actual peer deeply into several of the panels to understand that which is happening. For example in a few of them one can barely make out it a laser beam was fired, or if the head of the EVA or Angel was grabbed, or even which is which. All in all this is pretty solid offering and a great start to the series. If this is someone's first foray into the Evangelion universe, I would suggest giving this a read and sticking with this series. It migh

This is one of the best manga I've ever read. It has excellent plot and character devlopement, and sucks you in completely. This particular volume is my personal favorite, because it's mostly about Rei Ayanami, my favorite character. She has got to be one of the best characters I've ever had the pleasure of reading about. Neon Genesis Evangelion is one of the best manga out there.

RoBo AnDy has absolutely no idea what he is talking about (see his review above) when it comes to the idea that the plot is "generic." Maybe he should judge it after he's read the whole series, as I am sure his mind will be blown.

The Third volume of Neon Genesis Evangelion, is so far my favorite... This volume mainly focuses on Rei, also known as the first child who is very mysteriouse, especially to Shinji. The Begining to the book takes place after Shinji defeated the second angel. He is watching his father and notices that his fathers hands were covered with burns. He asks Ritsuko about it, and Ritsuko tells him that the burns were caused before Shinji and Misato were there. Something had gone wrong with unit 00 and Shinji's father saved Rei by forcing open the super heated hatch with his bare hands. Shinji then begins to wonder, what is so special about Rei? Rei, who's expression never changes and is almost always stiff with everybody. This is where we get to find out more about Rei then what's behind her face that always shows a seriouse mask. Also in this book is one of my all time fav quotes.... *warning* slight spolier ahead!* This is the Quote: "We may not have anything besides the EVA program now... but, well... As long as we stay alive... someday, we'll be glad we survived. It might be far in the future... but, until then... let's live on. Even on a black and empty street... if we go together... we might one day find something... like the moon the floats in the darkness."

Neon Genesis Evangelion is probably one of the best mangas I have ever read. The characters are interesting (although almost half a depressed or have issues) and even though I'm not a big fan of mecha (and trust me, there's a lot of mecha in here!), I found myself reading from cover to cover!