Shinseiki Evangelion
Neon Genesis Evangelion

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Neon Genesis Evangelion – Spoiler Free – Recommended

TLDR
Story – 9/10 – 9 x 0.275 = 2,475
Art – 8/10 – 8 x 0.2 = 1,6
Characters – 8/10 – 8 x 0.225 = 1,8
Enjoyment – 8/10 – 9 x 0.3 = 2,4
Total: 8,275 -> 8

Story – 9/10
... This review targets the story of the manga Neon Genesis Evangelion, which is comprised of the original anime, the director’s cut, the End of Evangelion film, and the ending of the rebuild version. Being the manga an adaptation, the comparison between the original material and the manga is inescapable.
As it is known, there are several versions of Neon Genesis Evangelion, and the manga is just one of them. The story nevertheless has the same premises and can be understood as a more refined (up for debate) and unified (this is certain) version of the plethora of films and animes that NGE has.
One of the good things about the manga is the depressive turn in some of its details. For example, one of the characters—which I won't spoil—gets killed in the manga but only injured in the anime. This does justice to the overall depressive undertone of NGE. The pacing is also different and more focused on character development rather than action.
There are also insights into the lore of the world that help one interpret the quasi-mystic religiosity that Evangelion naturally entails. However, it must be said that Evangelion is not a difficult story.
The story's first half is better played out than in the anime, partly due to the reduction of the number of angels. The last volumes, too, are absolute page-turners and are impossible not to binge-read. However, I believe one of the problems with the manga version is the ending. I genuinely didn't like the ending, being just an easy way out of an otherwise incredible and engaging story. In this sense, the End of Evangelion is still the superior version (in my humble opinion).

Art – 8/10
Neon Genesis Evangelion’s art is great. It is very expressive and works really well to convey the message and meaning of the panels. There are also awe-inspiring pages that really help the “shock value” (not in a bad sense) of some scenes. The character design is also impeccable, making it easy to tell characters apart. The action scenes are straightforward to read through and fun to do so.

Characters – 8/10
Characters are memorable and have personalities of their own. Moreover, since some of them are in their teens, questions such as sexual discovery and the beginning of puberty are explored in the manga, and it is well done in that regard. The interaction between characters is interesting and engaging. The characters’ past is also explained in greater detail than in the anime, which is a surprise but a welcome one.

Enjoyment – 8/10
One must never underestimate the enjoyment that Neon Genesis Evangelion gives. It is a depressive story with a great atmosphere. There are, however, some differences from the anime version, such as the number of angels in the beginning, which reduces its monster-of-the-week effect. There are also some differences in pacing, which, I must say, fit better than the original one. Things feel more fleshed out and robust, and the characters are better developed. After reading the manga, it is hard to see some of the other versions and not think of the manga as – sometimes – a superior version. In all fairness, all forms are valid to experience Evangelion’s unique story, and the lack of an OST (for obvious reasons) also removes some of its charms (let us not forget Evangelion’s incredible intro) or Beethoven’s 9th symphony in the original. Be it whatever it may, if God's in His heaven – all's right with the world!

Acknowledgements
A special thanks to Turambar5 for his insights into the anime versions of NGE and his comments on the text.

Well, I wanted to make my first reviews for anime and manga on probably my favorite series of all time, the Evangelion franchise. Well what else can is say besides, its the goat. The characters writing is second to none, and the story is excellent. I highly recommend reading this (After you have watched all of evangelion, including the rebuilds) because it does a lot of stuff different, and in some cases even better than the original franchise. I will go in an more in depth review and analysis once I can put my emotions to paper, when will that be? We'll never know until ... I update.

The art is beautiful, nothing too much but it is charismatic. But when it comes to fights, I can't understand anything. The script is so confusing and boring that even watching the anime and reading the manga I still don't understand anything. Why is this? There is no such thing as coming up with theory and having to watch video, a work must be direct and objective. The characters are very one-sided. Rei is an empty shell with no feelings, Asuka is boring and spoiled, her father is absent. The only source of the 5 points I gave to this manga was Shinji. I think ... he's one of the best characters in anime because he's the only teenager to act like one. it has more defects than qualities. He is very human. and his journey was only to mature the personality, and not the power, as in a shounen. In addition to him being cuddly and shippable with Kaworu, his only possible partner in the midst of uninteresting and hysterical women. You see, one is much older, the other is a brat, and the other is her mother. I think this anime made a very grandiose proposal and couldn't deliver, the proof of this is that it needs internet freaks doing theory and movies to put something that the manga couldn't. It must be the most underrated work I've ever read. but I can understand success, like, depression, adolescence, hot girls and family problems, it's very easy to identify with Shinji. Like, if you have depression, consume it and you'll feel like a failure.