Neon Genesis Evangelion

Kaji was indeed the bro of bros.

I only ever heard about Shinji, Rei, Asuka and Gendo before i actually watched NGE. I guess I might have heard or read more if I had looked at actual discussions but my point is just that those four more than any other character kinda "got into the mainstream" if you will. They tended to be brought up in general anime discussions a lot so an anime nerd like myself knew them and their general character outline.

But I found Kaji and Fuyutsuki to be more likable and interesting than any of them. "The Birth of NERV" was like the best episode in terms of just being fairly interesting.

edited 26th Jul '14 7:53:41 PM by Nikkolas

AFAIK, he only worked for them because that was the best way to achieve his aim: Uncover the real truth concerning the whos, the whats, the hows, and the whys behind the Second Impact. Thus I wouldn't be too sure about him having a screw loose just for joining them. I don't think he ever expect the anything close to an Ancient Conspiracy that is scheming a worldwide Assimilation Plot, though.

edited 27th Jul '14 3:19:34 PM by MarqFJA

Either way, Kaji is still a bro and he slept with Misato. It is a shame that we don't a lot more his backstory in the anime.

That was meant to be tongue in cheek. Gotta remember to use smilies in the future. Does anybody know if there's an official note on how much time elapsed between 00's activation test and Shinji arriving in Tokyo-3? The other day I managed to get a mental image of Gendo hollering for someone who didn't just burn their hands to grab a phone and ask Misato how soon she'd have an uninjured pilot for them.

His backstory is very tragic in the Manga. Think the anime Kaji went through anything like that?

edited 28th Jul '14 4:39:25 PM by AfroWarrior27

Maybe. My guess is that he lost his parents in Second Impact and now he is trying to uncover the truth in order to bring down those responsible.

The 14th volume of the NGE manga hasn't even come out in Japan yet so I guess it'll be a while before we get it here.

I hope Volume 13 doesn't leave me with a huge cliffhanger or something.

Reading the Manga are you? How far are you into it & what do you think of the changes in characters and plot?

I haven't started it yet actually. I'm gonna start it Friday when I get paid. Part of it is the fact I like to buy anime and manga now but also I just don't trust scanlations and prefer authorized and 'official" translations for my manga ya know?

But believe me, I'll be very happy to report my thoughts on the manga as I read through it. :) The best thing about fiction is being able to share your experience with it with others.

edited 28th Jul '14 4:45:09 PM by Nikkolas

Interesting, the Manga basic plot is the same as the anime it combine the show and The End of Evangelion together. But the characterization and how the events turn out are different. To give a clearer perspective think of how FMA 2003 handles the same material in first 34 episodes compared to the Manga's first 30 chapter or Brotherhood's first 14 episodes.

Similar plot points, handled in a different way, altering the characters personalities. You might also find the story in the Manga more coherent than the problem you had with the anime's story. So you might care for both characters and story in the Manga. Than just characters like you did in the anime.

edited 28th Jul '14 7:34:46 PM by AfroWarrior27

Also, it did handle the character development of some characters like Rei for example. That is not to say that Rei wasn't fully realized in the anime but the manga handled it better.

Actually, I'd argue the manga handled it worse from the original intentions for Rei, since she was never supposed to be a humanized figure you could relate to, but Anno is bad at that.

Wasn't the whole point of Rei's development about being humanized and having her care for others besides Gendo?

It is indeed my sincerest hope the plot is better explained or perhaps better told in the manga. I find the outline of what I know of Eva's story to be quite interesting but the way the anime goee about telling it is far from ideal. With everything written down maybe it'll be easier to digest some things ya know?

As for the characters, I hear Kaworu is quite different and introduced much sooner. As for Rei. she apparently "hijacks" the ending according to some people because the mangaka is an admitted fanboy for her. However I was so displeased with EOE that an altered ending can only be a good thing.

....but I ssaid that exact same thing about the anime's ending. "After that, End of Evangelion can only be better!!" How wrong I was there. I guess I'll just hold out hope for the manga. I'm going in with a bright, positive attitude.

Another character I hear is different is Manga Shinji. People have said he's less the completely meek and anxious ball of nerves and more a kid with an ettitude problem. He even tries to punch Gendo.

Well, that's what we got, but remember that Rei was supposed to hit the uncanny valley and be repulsive to fanboys in Anno's original intent.

I've been wondering for some time now whether that really was the case or whether it's misinformation that got out of hand. I mean, clearly we're meant to sympathize with Rei enough that it feels odd that Anno would think that people would find her creepy.

Sure, she has some moments in which she's creepy - the Reiquarium, much of Instrumentality in End of Evangelion, and some of her inner monologues - but ultimately she's very likable within the fandom. But even if she were legitimately creepy, part of me suspects that she'd still be popular, only for different reasons. I dunno, every time it gets brought up (which is often), I feel more uncertain about it.

edited 29th Jul '14 6:57:15 PM by Crinias

Well, she does come off as creepy early on in the sense that she seemed almost alien to human practices. Later on, she's creepy in that its sense that she's revealed to be less and less human in actuality. She's still sympathetic. She's also offputting.

Yeah, I can agree with that. Rei's presence over the series is impressive. Before you learn everything about her, it's clear that there was something up with her, and even afterwards she's still a bit fascinating...

Perhaps Anno did mean to make her a bit creepy, but this was sort of exaggerated into being a massive backfire on his part?

Does anyone have an actual source for Anno intending Rei to disturb people? Because, to be honest, I hear about out here way more than anywhere else, and nothing on NGE's pages gives a source.

@Nikkolas Ah, yes I mention that earlier. Shinji is more sassy compared to his Anime counterpart and more daring and prone to anger than his anime counterpart. He's still a tragic kid with just as much regret and is a lot more mentally stabled.

edited 30th Jul '14 7:49:50 AM by AfroWarrior27

He definitely acts like a teenager in the manga, though one suffering from trauma.

Meanwhile in an alternate universe.◊

...

I like it.

Rei and Asuka look really good in all fanworks that switch their hairstyles around.

They do, but that one also swaps personalities, which ruins it a bit.