Print Review: Neon Genesis Evangelion Angelic Days Volumes 1-2

Review Neon Genesis Evangelion Angelic Days Volumes 1-2 Written by Warpshadow Rating poor

A great work of art is tied to a great creator. A amateurish creator will create amateurish art whether or not a famous franchise is attached it.

Shinji Ikari is what most would call a normal junior high student. One day while going to school with his childhood friend Asuka he had a run in with a strange girl. Upon arriving at school he found out that the strange girl's name is Rei Ayanami and that she is Shinji and Asuka's new classmate. That sets off a rivalry as Asuka is rather protective of Shinji and resents Rei's advances toward him. Yet beneath all these romantic entanglements lies the big question; exactly what is going on with Tokyo 3?

The concept behind Neon Genesis Evangelion Angelic Days is that someone took an alternate universe clip from episode 26 of the tv series and ran with it. The results are not pretty. The artwork in particular is quite amateurish as characters can't seem to stay on model. The characters in terms of personality are vastly altered to fit a rather formulaic shojo narrative where characters emote although little of consequence happens until suddenly giant robots appear in volume 2. Honestly it felt as though I was reading fan fiction in some places. This is obviously a ploy to wring more money out of Evangelion fans and I can not recommend this manga at all.