Rating: 3.5 out of 5.
I can’t say that I am one for manga with a lot of action or big battle scenes. In fact, outside of Neon Genesis Evangelion, the only other one that I enjoy is Chainsaw Man. Still, there is much more to Yoshiyuki Sadamoto’s story than its intense battle scenes, and I was still glad to have read the manga despite seeing the animated adaptations prior to my reading of it.
Set in alternate history 2015, fifteen years after a near mass extinction event known as the ‘Second Impact’ that resulted in three billion deaths in/following the year 2000, humanity is struggling to exist as it once did. In a simplistic fashion—and with consideration to spoilers—humanity, or rather Japan, must fend off against gigantic invading monstrosities termed as ‘Angels’.
In truth, the backstory of Neon Genesis Evangelion is well beyond the scope of this review. Besides the Angel onslaught, the most significant component of the story is the force that fends against them, a militarised organisation known as NERV, helmed by the father of our timid, troubled narrator, Shinji Ikari.
Shinji, beckoned by his absent father, must get into an Angel-like being known as an EVA, piloting it to kill the invading beings lest humanity crumble. Considering that Shinji is only fourteen years old, as are the other EVA pilots who fight alongside him, you can imagine how such pressure weighs on their shoulders, shaping them differently. In the case of Shinji, the trauma and stress gradually break him, particularly because he feels both forced to do his father’s bidding, but not actually wanted around as a son or human being by those who surround him.
At its core, Neon Genesis Evangelion is a story that blends various dark themes together. The most prevalent are existentialism and survival, especially as NERV seems to hold some greater purpose that only Shinji’s father and a secret society group known as SEELE (who fund NERV) know, with constant reference to a ‘Third Impact’ event being likely to occur.
However, outside of that, it is a manga that tries to explore family and relationships through the younger characters, namely the EVA pilots. Shinji is a neglected child who has felt placeless and manipulated, even when placed under the care of NERV commander Misato, who he goes from viewing as friendly to commanding; Asuka, although confident, is from a similarly broken parental situation and can’t stomach being bested at anything or rejected by anyone; Rei doesn’t even appear to act as human, more like a doll given sentience, making her abnormally unemotional and mysteriously connected to NERV in some greater way.
When the Angel battles are not happening, this manga tends to blend in slice of life story beats or sometimes dark espionage. Tonally, it sounds bizarre, but it congeals and works rather well… most of the time.
Although it may not be to some readers’ liking, the ongoings and purpose of NERV, the Angels, and even the existence of SEELE and other shady oddities, are largely kept out of Shinji’s life. He is left to exist as a dog that is called upon. Even when things are revealed to him, he feels trapped—as a child, son, and EVA pilot responsible for humanity—often meaning he is unwilling to quit, or quickly returns after deciding he is done with NERV and the EVAs altogether.
For a manga that can juggle in some light-heated moments, it can also be surprisingly brutal and dark. In think when compared to its animated adaptations, the manga is better than the original Neon Genesis Evangelion anime, but I actually prefer the alternate story and plot differences found within the later Rebuild films. However, I think the manga is probably the darkest and most openly miserable out of all three options.
Where the manga does fall flat on its face is the battle scenes, which should really be the alluring factor. Although the artistry and choreography is good, it can be hard to interpret what is going on at times. Still pictures can never quite capture the intensity of seeing something in motion or having it detailed heavily through words. I understand that this is more of a medium problem than an issue specific to Sadamoto’s story, but it also doesn’t help that some of these battles end within a dozen pages or less. For readers, that’s only a couple of minutes, making them feel quite short and uneventful.
Outside of that complaint, I do think the manga could have slowed itself just a bit, especially in later volumes. I think the author is aware of this, as the animated adaptations give more time to showcase the relationships between Misato, Shinji and the other EVA pilots, and some other friends and side characters of the kids. The manga, however, skips a lot of downtime and more so implies how these characters’ lives are going, rather than showing us.
Alternatively, the manga sometimes gives backstory that it never elaborates on or uses in any meaningful way. For example, Misato (Shinji’s handler) and Kaji (a spy and Asuka’s handler) were once a couple, and the manga makes a big deal out of this in a specific couple of chapters. Yet, very little comes of it, especially as Kaji is written out of the story not too long after he appears, and Misato effectively becomes a background character for most of the later volumes. Sure, it bolsters both Kaji and Misato’s character history and context, but offers very little to the overarching plot other than being a vessel for uncovering what NERV is up to and what Misato has been unknowingly aiding.
Character drama and shared time is a thin, difficult line to strike. I’m glad Sadamoto did not go the filler route and fluff the story up with low-effort slice of life cliches, but it would have been nicer to see how things were going on in the microcosm of Shinji and his friends’ worlds. Another example of where this could have been done better is when Asuka moves in with Shinji and Misato, which is never really expanded upon afterwards, despite being given half a chapter of story to hammer it home that they now live together. The animations, however, show a lot more of what this new household dynamic is like, and the strange and strained bond between Shinji and Asuka.
In essence, it’s a story that continues to accelerate, rather than speeding up and slowing down. The closer it gets to the end, the quicker it appears to go. The climax of the story, in this original version, is pretty good, with it all resting on Shinji’s shoulders one last time as he is given ultimate responsibility over humanity and Earth. However, I think its rush to the end sours it a little, and it dampens the final moments shared between Misato and Shinji, because readers have barely seen them interact for most of the latter half of the story.
As for me, I do recommend it, despite my gripes. I think it is better than what the anime managed to do with this story (the adaptation is messy and confusing at times), even if the manga does feel somewhat rushed and unrefined in areas. If you want an action manga with some drama, psychological themes, and government conspiracy thrown in, then Neon Genesis Evangelion might be for you. The manga is the best choice for those wanting a story that feels futile and dark, as though you are as powerless as Shinji is.
After that, definitely take the time to watch the Rebuild version of the story, as it corrects most of the errors and shortcomings of the original story by fleshing out the world and characters better. Not all the changes are for the better, but I think it is a more refined and well-balanced iteration of this surprisingly short but complex story.
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