Neon Genesis Evangelion: Anima, Vol. 1

Leave a reply

By Ikuto Yamashita. Released in Japan as “Shin Seiki Evangelion Anima” by Kadokawa Shoten, serialized in the magazine Dengeki Hobby. Released in North America by Seven Seas. Translated by Nathan Collins. Adapted by Peter Adrian Behravesh.

There have been so many spinoffs of Evangelion that it’s hard to keep track. In addition to the original TV series, the long-running manga, the current series of reboot movies, the video games, the manga based on the video games, the manga based on Episode 26’s “what if Eva were a dull harem anime” gag, the manga as a bizarre murder mystery, the gag anthology, the manga based on the gag anthology… in fact, it’s a bit surprising that one of the few spinoffs we haven’t seen is a continuation of the original. Now, granted, the original did sort of end definitively for most of the cast. But these light novels, which were serialized in the late 00s – early 10s, throw the last two episodes out and ask: what would happen if the Human Instrumentality Project failed, and it’s now three years later? The answer is more attacks, the return of some Angels, some very well-thought out battle sequences, but something missing at its core.

Three years later, Gendo and Ritsuko have disappeared and Fuyutsuki is retired, so Misato is in charge of NERV and the Evas, which are still around. Toji now has artificial limbs, and is working for NERV. Asuka has matured and is at peace with herself. Theoretically Shinji has as well, but as we find out many of the same struggles he had in the anime continue to plague him. Maya has apparently dealt with the loss of Ritsuko by turning herself INTO Ritsuko. And then there’s Rei. Actually, there’s four Reis. The plot kicks off when one of the Reis goes rogue and the others have to figure out why and what’s going on. As they do, we find the return of the mass-production Evas, now with Angels inside them, also seemingly attacking. Shinji dies (he gets better), the Lance of Longinus is once again terrifying, and almost two million people – including Hikari’s older sister – turn to salt, because what’s Evangelion without Biblical allegory?

The main issue I had with this book, I think, is that it doesn’t really settle down and take a breath at any point. The new characterization of the regulars could be interesting, but it never really gets a chance to do much before we’re plunged into the next battle – indeed, one of the Reis has a heartwarming talk with Asuka that would be fantastic if it weren’t the Evangelion equivalent of saying that she’s retiring tomorrow and has bought a boat. Likewise, I’m all for Asuka gaining maturity and peace, but there’s not really a lot explaining how it happened except for one or two token paragraphs, leading to the reader sensing that Asuka is more mature just because the authors didn’t want to write her as constantly angry. On the bright side, the plot is somewhat interesting if you don’t mind apocalypses, and the cliffhanger promises some interesting betrayal going on, though again we’re not actually given any details as to what happened.

Honestly, a lot of this reminds me of the old Evangelion continuation fanfics that were written about 20 years ago, throwing out the ending and doing their own thing. It only lacks the Original Characters the author inevitably threw in. I think Evangelion fans might like it – particularly those who like the mech aspect of the series. I just wanted a few more scenes of the characters hanging around and nothing much happening so that we could appreciate their being older and wiser(?).

Urusei Yatsura, Omnibus 3

Leave a reply

By Rumiko Takahashi. Released in Japan in two separate volumes by Shogakukan, serialized in the magazine Shonen Sunday. Released in North America by Viz Media. Translated by Camellia Nieh.

After the soft reboot of this series with the arrival of Shutaro Mendo, Takahashi is going back and trying to see how she can work the pile of characters she introduced at the start back into the series, while also introducing new and hilarious regulars. Sometimes this works and sometimes it does not. The first half of this volume succeeds in re-integrating Sakura into the cast, now the high school nurse in addition to a shrine priestess, and we also meet Mendo’s rival Tobimaro Mizunokoji, a baseball-obsessed samurai type who is after revenge but is too dim to get it. (He’s also really obsessed with his childhood friend/rival, and has a passel of gorgeous female bodyguards that he barely pays attention to. I don’t think Takahashi intended him to have gay overtones, but…) Sakura will stay a regular, and Tobimaro will pop up now and then throughout the series. But not every new character is destined to become part of our beloved cast.

(The cover art, which has Ryuunosuke and her father; Sugar, Ginger and Pepper; and Kotatsu-neko – none of whom are introduced yet – is a tad spoilery. As are the endnotes, which discuss Ran before Ran is introduced.)

The second part of this volume seems like a series of failed cast introductions. Hanako-sensei is introduced to be a variation on the “well-meaning teacher who wants to inspire youth”, but he’s honestly pretty dang dull, and will quickly be replaced by Onsen Mark (who we’ve seen before) becoming a regular. (I will gloss right over Onsen Mark’s name in this omnibus, thanks much.) Natsuko’s volleyball-obsessed girl filled with rage is a very amusing arc, with great facial expressions, but she’s not someone you can imagine showing up over and over again. The same with Kaede the runaway ninja girl, who honestly seems like she’d be better off far away from Ataru and company. Fortunately, at the very end we meet Lum’s cousin and childhood “friend” Ran, who arrives with a cute act and a thirst for revenge, and is easily the best part of the back half of the book. You can see why she sticks around.

As for our regulars, they do pretty well. Ataru and Lum are fighting less, and frequently team up against common enemies (my favorite part being “Cry, Lum.” “Waaaaaaahh!” “See, you made her cry!”). Now, Lum still gets angry, and can be seen hear biting Ataru on the arm in addition to shocking him, but Ataru doesn’t seem to resent her presence anymore. Which is good, as she transfers into his school in this volume, thus helping to avoid finding reasons for her to show up in the classroom. The addition of the other cast members also helps take the focus of the manga off “will Ataru choose Lum” and focus more on “this obnoxious cast of obnoxious humans and aliens”, which will help it survive for the remaining fourteen omnibuses.

So there are some growing pains in this book, but it’s still highly entertaining, and Takahashi’s art has gotten to the point where you don’t have to apologize for it anymore. Still essential.

In Another World with My Smartphone, Vol. 16

Leave a reply

By Patora Fuyuhara and Eiji Usatsuka. Released in Japan as “Isekai wa Smartphone to Tomo ni” by Hobby Japan. Released in North America digitally by J-Novel Club. Translated by Andrew Hodgson.

It is very telling – and a bit sad – that a chunk of this book is some of the best Smartphone prose I’ve seen in some time, and it’s the part narrated by someone else, with Touya absent. I do worry about the afterword, where the author and editor discussed cutting this bit as it did NOT feature Touya or his fiancees. I get the sense that we’re looking for different things in this series. Rest assured for Touya fans, though – if there are any Touya fans left – that he gets a lot to do here, including finding a lost heir to the throne, battling yet another evil and bonkers leader of a foreign country (this time, thankfully, not also taking out the rest of the country as well), and catching giant fantasy-world tuna. As for getting closer to his fiancees… well, thanks to Sue not knowing the basics, the fiancee horde learn about sex in this book. Perhaps more than they really wanted.

In the Reverse World, there’s a brief Phrase battle, but aside from ominous foreshadowing it’s fairly inconsequential. The main thrust of the book is the survivors of a destroyed kingdom asking Touya to find the missing heir, who disappeared as a newborn infant. The heir turns out to be in the place they’d last expect, and also not particularly invested in returning to help get revenge on those who killed his parents and destroyed their kingdom. Meanwhile, a third kingdom is trying to invade, using its awesome Golems and its mad scientist leader, who does all but scream about how they laughed at him at the academy and is a literal brain in a jar by the end. Touya is his usual callous self in the battle with this guy, but of course we’re made to see that he’s super-duper evil so it’s all good. And of course more jokes about Touya’s genocides. LOL.

Thankfully, the last third of the book is excellent. Touya joins forces with the Guild of Adventurers to start an Adventurer Academy, where they can compete to see who deserves to level up. He also puts an inside person on the job, Sarutobi Homura, last seen as one of “those three ninja girls”. We’d seen her mostly be the loud one who acts least like a traditional ninja, and there’s a bit of that here, but for the most part she actually proves to be quite competent and cool. The other adventurers are very much “I don’t want to work with that guy” sorts, so there’s a lot of struggle, and we see them screw up quite a bit, especially when their “test” mission turns out to be far more dangerous than expected. Everyone gets a chance to be sympathetic, the fights are cool, and Touya and company are there to make sure no one’s really hurt. I would not mind more of these guys.

Unfortunately, In Another World with My Smartphone still stars Touya. But that’s fine, we’re mostly here to wallow in the trash. It’s just nice to get a really good meal once in a while.