Neon Genesis Evangelion (manga)

Neon Genesis Evangelionis a manga series by Yoshiyuki Sadamoto. It was begun in December 1994, and as of mid-2007 consists of 11 volumes (out of a planned 13).

It is an alternate retelling of the story of the Neon Genesis Evangelion TV series, constituting a separate continuity.

Character Design Alterations

• Shinji Ikari- In the anime series, Shinji is always depicted with brown hair and blue eyes. However, in the manga, Shinji has darker hair and brown eyes.

• Asuka Langley Soryu- In the anime, Asuka has dark red hair. In the manga, she has a lighter, strawberry blonde hair.

• Kaworu Nagisa- Kaworu's hair and face became thinner and more angular, more mature in a way. His hair is shorter and silver colored, as opposed to a lavender gray. His pupils are more prominently depicted than they are in the anime.

• Shigeru Aoba- His hairstyle is slightly different.

Changes in Backstory

• Shinji Ikari- Instead of living with his sensei for the years after Yui's death, Shinji lived with his aunt and uncle.

• Asuka Langley Soryu- Asuka was a test-tube baby, instead of being the child of Kyoko and Langley. Kyoko remains her mother, however, and the rest of her story remains the same.

• Ryoji Kaji- Kaji is given a backstory in the manga. He lived with many children on the streets, stealing food to survive.

Plot Changes

The plot of the manga is mostly the same as the anime, aside from a few minor changes:

• Pen Pen is given a backstory; he was a penguin that was being experimented on, and was rescued by Misato.

• Shinji runs away because he finds a journal Misato had been keeping, which detailed Shinji's behavior while she was watching him.

• Shinji is not present for the fight with Gaghiel; he watches it on tape at Nerv HQ.
  • As such, the circumstances of their meeting are changed: Shinji meets Asuka at an arcade, where he watches her beat up some men.

• Kensuke Aida is smitten with Asuka, however, he never mentions it to her.

• Hikari approaches Shinji to ask for help in regards to Toji, and Shinji is aware of Toji's status as the pilot of Eva-03 before the battle.

• Toji dies in the battle, as opposed to surviving with a missing leg.

• Kaworu Nagisa appears much earlier than in the anime, as a replacement pilot for Eva-02, when it appears that Asuka's synch ratio is dropping too low.

• Throughout the majority of the manga, Shinji appears, at least slightly, to be attracted to Rei. However, after Kaworu's death, (Which occurs exactly as in the anime) Shinji confesses his love to Asuka in a way, saying, "The Asuka I want to protect isn't this empty shell!" who wakes up from her coma and throttles Shinji before she is subdued. After this, the anime begins to loosely follow End of Evangelion.