When I found out that Evangelion had a manga series, I was really excited. Because this was the series that really hooked me into the anime world.

The year is 2015, the Antarctica ice caps have melted and flooded most of he earth. Mysterious monsters, code named ANGELS, attack the small city of Tokyo-3. The world's only hopes against the ANGEL'S attacks are robotic life forms codenamed EVANGELION or `EVA' for short. The pilots... fourteen year old kids! (It's anime! They always rely on kids!)

After reading the book, I was very satisfied with it. However, watching the series and then reading the book, I found it very distraught for me. The story writer and illustrator Yoshiyuki Sadamoto, who worked on character design in the anime series, portrayed some of the characters in a different way than in the series. But the story itself was very original in some ways and also, in some parts, stays true to the anime series. But I suggest the series over the book. So if you had to decide between the book or the DVD, go with the DVD first, than the book.

The first volume of Neon Genesis Evangelion gets 4 stars out of 5.

My name is Amone. Adios!

14 year old Shinji Ikari is being driven to a meeting with a father he hasn't seen in years. The problem is that on the way he has to make his way through an "Angel" a gigantic robotic monster who is destroying the city, trying to get to the base of "NERV", a shadow organization created by the United Nations, which is run by Shinji's father. NERV has constructed biomechanical semi-sentient mecha called "EVAs", and Shinji has been brought unwittingly to pilot one of them. He already has some anger issues because his father abandoned him and his mother but you can imagine his reaction when he is told he is one the "Third Children", adolescents who have a natural affinity to synch up with the EVA controls. Due to the wounds of another female pilot, the only one left to fight the Angel is Shinji. Talk about trial by fire!

The art by Yoshiyuki Sadamato is simply gorgeous and feels more like anime than manga. The things I have to complain about that were also in the anime is mainly the character of Shinji. He is such a loser! Everytime he has to do something difficult, he starts breaking down crying and yelling just like a....well, a fourteen year-old. If a kid of this age was thrust into the situation, this would most likely be how he would act. But there is something unseemly in the fact that the creator Hideaki Anno used the anime and manga to voice his own lack of courage in facing his problems. At times the plot oozes with Prozac and immature maleness.

As a fan of the series, I thought I'd go ahead and check out the book. Artistically it is well done, though I'd say some of the scenes are very confusing visually. There is just so much detail there's just too much noise in some of the scenes. That, and it seemed to read "too quick". I don't know, it just seemed like I breezed through it very quickly. Once again, well done with just a few small complaints. Thumbs up!

Vol. #1 of the Neon Genesis Evanelion series starts off with a bang as teenager Shinji Ikari finds himself swept into the midst of an epic battle with the fate of humanity hanging on its outcome. Fans of the animated series will love the additional detail offered within these manga pages and those who haven't yet seen the televised versions will find this first volume a terrific way to get aquainted with the series.

Yoshiyuki Sadamoto's artwork is first rate stuff with every panel packed with oodels of graphic detail. The pacing of the overall storyline is also well done as most readers will no doubt breeze effortlessly through all 176 action packed pages.