Neon Genesis Evangelion (manga)
Neon Genesis Evangelion is a manga series by Yoshiyuki Sadamoto. It is an alternate retelling of the story of the Neon Genesis Evangelion TV series, constituting a separate continuity.
This series of manga began in December 1994, and as of 2009 consists of 11 volumes out of a planned 12.
EvaGeeks has an article for each volume of the manga, which are listed here:
- Volume 1
- Volume 2
- Volume 3
- Volume 4
- Volume 5
- Volume 6
- Volume 7
- Volume 8
- Volume 9
- Volume 10
- Volume 11
Changes made from the anime series
Plot changes
The plot of the manga follows the anime closely in its first half or so, with Sadamoto adding and changing significant elements in the second half.
- 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.
- Like in the anime, in the manga Shinji shows no sexual attraction to Rei. But he is able to define their relationship when he says "What I feel for Ayanami, it doesn't go with words...like 'like' and 'want to go out with.' It's as if she's a part of me that was torn away a long time ago." (Volume 5 of the manga)
- After Kaworu's death, Shinji acknowledges openly his need for bonds and exhibits his despondency when those bonds are severed. For example, when Shinji heads to see Asuka in the hospital he says, "The Asuka I want to protect isn't this empty shell!" Meaning, Asuka's distance from him represents the completion of his social estrangement, not that he had sexual feelings for her, which is a clear contrast to his masturbating over Asuka's body in End of Evangelion. Asuka then wakes up from her coma and attempts to strangle Shinji before she is subdued (where she proclaims her hate for everyone). After this, the manga begins to loosely follow End of Evangelion.
Changes in character 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.
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.
Supplemental material
- In the Japanese volumes of the manga there is usually an interview with one of the production team who made, or were otherwise involved in, the television series.
- At the end of each volume a 4-koma called Angel Kiss was usually present.
- This supplemental material was translated and published by Viz Media in their special edition release of Sadamoto's manga.
Notes
- According to an Interview from April 1996 which was published in the original Japanese Manga Volume 2, Sadamoto stated that he "wrote the script of the manga using the anime as a base", implying that the Evangelion anime was first.
