Evangelion: ANIMA
Neon Genesis Evangelion: ANIMA

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If your favourite part of Evangelion was the religious imagery and lore, then you're in luck, because Anima certainly delivers in that aspect. Due to being in a novel format, Anima has the freedom to have lots of intriguing ideas that an anime wouldn't have the time to flesh out. The lore and mysteries of the original series (such as what exactly SEELE is) are expanded on in a way that feels consistent with Evangelion as a whole. The Christian references are more involved, prominent, and meaningful (though still fairly aesthetic and surface-level), and the global impact of the events is explored -- something the ... original series merely alluded to. As is the case with the Rebuilds, the psychological drama and existential angst of the original series are toned down in Anima, which works in Anima's favour because there can be a greater focus on action and lore. The ending is not all-out happy (after all, this is Evangelion), but it's not depressing and dark either. A bigger issue is that the ending feels rushed, and there's very little payoff (of any kind) and catharsis for the reader, which furthers the point that Anima is meant to be read for more Evangelion action and lore -- and more of that is never a bad thing.

If you love Evangelion and want more Evangelion between the manga, original series, and Rebuilds, Anima fills this niche. It feels like a natural extension of the original series and Rebuilds, which makes it all the more enjoyable.

This is my first review written so if its a little bad thats why. I got this book series for Christmas of 2020 and it tbh was a really good read for evangelion fans i wish this had all the stats on mal updated. If your a evangelion fan i highly recommend this short side series.

The only thing bad about this is the fact that it has really murky looking art its kinda like a water painting style in some of the little images.

Overall it was a 9 for me the og series and the rebuilds top it maybe one ... day this side story might be animated.

Evangelion, but with slightly more mentally stable characters.

Evangelion: Anima has long been a bit of mystery to western fans. Very short bit was fantranslated, but after a cease and desist, the English version indeed ceased and desisted, the LN falling back into obscurity. Until Seven Seas finally released the whole thing, that is.

Based on the very little info I had about this saying that it takes place in a world Shinji created, I expected it will be another more slice of life spin-off. This turned out to be completely incorrect. If you want that, you’ll have to go for Angelic Days instead. While it’s still ... Evangelion, it feels differently than *the* Evangelion. This is more of an Evangelion with the spirit of TTGL, and action is most prevalent. I’m not saying that’s a bad thing by default of course, that can be enjoyable on its own. It was in fact quite interesting to see those characters interacting in different way than I was used to.

My biggest gripe with ANIMA is the massive quantities of technobabble. Of course, there was plenty of that in the original Evangelion, to the point that it is almost part of the trademark. However, not everything is easy to transfer to novel version. You see, when you get “Deploy A.T. shield!” “Blood type blue!” or “Activate almonds!” in the tv show, you can actually see it happening. Even if you don’t get in depth explanation at first, you can automatically match the brand new terminology to whatever is shown on screen. That is not the case with the novels. Here, the pages get filled with progressively more and more unfamiliar terms and phrases that are growingly hard to track, if they are even explained in the first place. This had a negative influence on the reading experience and the main reason why I didn’t rate the novel higher (thought I contemplated doing so), as in some parts it felt like reading an Evangelion Wiki, but you can only see names of the articles.

The illustrations, however, are quite beautiful and detailed. Definitely worth to look at.

Overal, still give it a try if you’re a fan of Evangelion. If nothing else, it’s still an interesting alternative take on the story. And maybe repeated reading might make more sense of it, like it was the case with the original series.