

Story and Art by Sadamoto Yoshiyuki
Copyright © GAINAX 1995

|
 |


Book 3:3, 3:4
by Jeremy Johnson
What new can be said about EVANGELION? The story of Ikari
Shinji, the mysterious Angels, and second impact, it was the personal work
of Anno Hideaki, in cooperation with Sadamoto Yoshiyuki, Yamashita Ikuto,
and GAINAX that seemingly took anime fandom by storm.
It appeared everyone had an opinion about EVA (good or
bad) back when it came out a couple years ago.
Viz has been publishing the manga version, done by Sadamoto, which actually
began running in SHONEN ACE
several months before the anime first aired on Japanese TV.
Printed right to left, the Collector's Edition preserves the original feel
of the manga, even leaving the Japanese sound effects intact (translated
conveniently in the back for those who don't understand katakana). Book
3:3 covers the arrival of Ramiel, the fifth angel, and NERV's struggle
to defeat the seemingly perfect opponent. Shinji is rushed to the front
in Unit 01 only to be blasted by a particle beam from the angel's deadly
center. The direct attack on NERV begins and Misato hatches a plan to
use every last watt of power in Japan to save mankind's only chance for
survival.
So how is it? It's EVA. Anime purists may decry Sadamoto's departure from the
original story line, and non-fans may only raise a disinterested
eyebrow, but it is reasonably entertaining as a manga. Sadamoto's drawn
art closely resembles the anime, and while his version occasionally
parts ways with what ADV buyers know, there isn't so much of a
difference in the early volumes that I felt the two stories were wholly
different. The editor notes that later the plot makes a fundamental
left turn from Anno, but I suspect by then the committed fan will have
matured to the point where he/she can accept the differences for what
they are: two authors telling unique personal versions of the same
story.
I applaud Viz's effort to keep the visuals intact and wish more companies
were willing to experiment with this format. Reading right to left is a simple matter
for those fans who are familiar with Japanese (I sometimes
catch myself flipping through English books backwards) and even
newcomers will have little troubling following Sadamoto's page flow.
Personally, I'm waiting for Viz to release a graphic novel/compilation
of this series. The 32 page large format comic is, to me, too flimsy
and not satisfying enough in individual installments, but this can
hardly be construed as criticism.
The EVANGELION COLLECTOR'S EDITION
is a good manga and the right choice for
those who are looking for a good story. If you don't mind the differences
from the anime, this version is worth your
time. 
Original Concept by Gainax
Released by Viz Comics
B/W, 32 pages
$2.95
Available Now
Where to buy |