Angelic Days is a manga High School AU (sort of) of the cast of Neon Genesis Evangelion, written and illustrated by Fumino Hayashi. The story is an adaptation of the Evangelion tie-in video game Girlfriend of Steel 2nd. The manga was serialized in the shoujo magazine Asuka from 2003 to 2005, and compiled into six volumes.
The story of it continues Shinji's dream sequence in Episode 26 of the original series. In the High School AU, Asuka is his childhood friend along with Kaworu, Rei is an extroverted, easily excited new transfer student, Misato is the homeroom teacher, and Ritsuko is the school nurse. Yui Ikari is still alive.
The Evangelions and Angels make up very little of the plot. Most of it is romantic comedy hijinks, and needless to say it ends much happier than the apocalyptic original series.
See also Shinji Ikari Raising Project, another take on the same basic concept by Osamu Takahashi.
Tropes related to the series:
- Accidental Pervert: Shinji is accused of being this after he bumped into Rei on accident, though Shinji really saw nothing.
- Adaptational Angst Downgrade: Yui is alive, Shinji doesn't deal with depression, and all other characters are generaly happier than in the original anime.
- Adults Are Useless: Because Evas hate them. It's deconstructed at the end: the Children gradually stop being able to sync with their EVAs as they grow older (fortunately this is concurrent with the Angels ceasing their attacks).
- Alternate Species Counterpart: In the original anime, Rei and Kaworu are belong to a species of mysterious powerful beings known as Angels. In Angelic Days, there is no indication Rei is anything but human, while Kaworu has even more bizarro abilities with no explanations. The world in which the events take place also remains a mystery. It could be a full-fledged Alternate Universe, events that occur after one of the many Cosmic Retcons, characters' fantasies about better life, or a non-canonical continuity we shouldn't try to explain.
- And Now for Someone Completely Different: Volume 5 jumps back in time to depict Shinji's father Gendo Rokubungi in his own High School AU, where he falls in love with Yui Ikari and has an early encounter with Kaworu. Volume 6 jumps around between multiple POV chapters for other characters before returning to Shinji and Asuka for the final chapter.
- Ascended Extra: Kensuke is an EVA Pilot now, specifically piloting EVA-04, which, in the series, was destroyed before getting a pilot or (presumably) a Soul.
- Can't Tie His Tie: In its final volume Asuka fixes Shinji's tie while complaining how she has to do this, and how Shinji can't, and other things, while blushing. The others take it as a sign that their Relationship Upgrade is holding.
- Crash-Into Hello: Shinji and Rei meet when the former bumbs into the latter.
- Expository Hairstyle Change: In the final chapter (set several years later) Rei has grown her hair out longer than Asuka's, with the latter complementing her on how good it looks.
- Final Battle: Tokyo-03 falls under attack by an army of Angels. Not just one or two, but almost every. Last. ONE, including Adam.
- First Girl Wins: Asuka, the childhood friend and first introduced, is the one who gets The Protagonist.
- Genki Girl: Rei, of all people, is a high energy girl.
- High School AU: Downplayed.
- All the giant robots and angels and stuff? It's still there. It's just that Angelic Days is idealistic and more focused on the High School parts than the mecha battle parts. In fact, there are only two major battles in the entire series, the first one being a fight involving Shinji and Rei double-teaming Sachiel and a full-scale war between the Evas and the Angels.
- Ritsuko and Misato appear to be school staff now, but they still have connections to NERV.
- Everyone Can See It: Shinji/Asuka is shipped by everyone. Kaworu teases them about it and bullies try to use Asuka's jealousy about it to convince her to join in bullying Rei.
- I Just Want My Beloved to Be Happy: Rei and Kensuke give up Shinji and Asuka respectively so the latter pair can be together.
- Mind Screw: Just what are Kaworu and the Evas? Because the origins for the canon don't fit...
- New Transfer Student: Rei and it causes drama early on. She's been one of these so often she didn't bother to get the school uniform so other girls thought she was stuck up and trying to stand out.
- Romantic Comedy: The Angels are in the background and the personal tragedies are missing or downplayed so what remains is comedic hijinks with a love triangle.
- Say It with Hearts: After Shinji upsets her, Asuka orders many things from a fast food place for both of them. When Shinji asks how she's going to pay for it all, she, very cutely and with hearts in her dialogue box, says that he is going to pay for it. It's quite a bargain to purchase her forgiveness, don't you think? The hearts continue while she enjoys her food, and contrasted with Shinji's comical despair.
- Tsundere: Asuka. She's less temperamental and more affectionate than the original.
- Victorious Childhood Friend: Asuka is the first girl Shinji has ever met by way of being neighbors and so she wins.
- Yandere: "I'm a friend to Shinji. And only to Shinji." The person who said that was Kaworu.
