Manga Review – Neon Genesis Evangelion, Vol. 3

Title: Neon Genesis Evangelion, Volume 3
Story & Art: Yoshiyuki Sadamoto
Creator: Hideaki Anno
Translator: Lillian Olsen
English Adaption: Fred Burke & Carl Gustav Horn
Publisher: Viz Media

Available from Amazon.com

The Premise

Tokyo-3’s other Eva Pilot, Rei Ayanami, is something of a cypher. She is generally emotionless, yet she is defensive when it comes to Shinji’s father, Gendo. When the new Angel is more than Shinji can handle, Shinji will have to get to know his fellow pilot, before they fight alongside each other for the first time.

High Points

Operation Yashima is the best drawn action scene thus far. We’re finally getting an action scene from the combined perspectives of the pilots and NERV mission control, meaning we have a better idea of what’s going on.

Low Points

I have no idea how the wavy-beams thing with Ramiel’s beam weapon and Shinji’s Positron rifle works.

Scores

Originality: This story has almost no alterations from the televised version. 3/6

Artwork: 6/6

Story: This volume primarily serves to properly set up our baseline for Rei’s character, so it can develop further over the rest of the series. 4/6

Characterization: See story. 6/6

Emotional Response: The humor in this arc is front loaded, instead of being used to relieve tension before the climax, leaving the climax with a more serious tone than the show 5/6

Flow: 6/6

Overall: 6/6

In total, this volume gets 36/42.

Significant Changes

  • Toji “pays back” Shinji by “letting” Shinji use him in an attempt to provoke a laugh from Rei. It fails.
  • As a child, Shinji was arrested for taking an abandoned bike from under a bridge. He had hoped that Gendo would have come, but he didn’t.
  • Rei does not express sarcasm when observing Shinji’s state of undress, following her briefing on Operation Yashima.