Whilst anything Evangelion is hard to disentangle from Hideaki Anno the manga is a personal project of character designer Yoshiyuki Sadamoto and as far as I can tell no one else. Starting in 1994 as a companion to the upcoming TV series it kept going all the way to 2013 telling the story from beginning to end with littletono nonsense. What a shock. Or maybe it shouldnt be? Because the manga has no Anno attached and considering that it shouldnt come as a surprise that this is the most consistent coherent and instantly enjoyable piece of Eva media. It tells an unsegmented story that closely resembles the original plus End of Evangelion writing most characters better than ever and giving the series the optimistic ending Anno tried to do with the rebuilds but ended up veering off the rails for twenty years only to produce an irrational unconvincing flearidden Eva fanfiction carried by a few Hikaru Utada songs. Seems like while certain others in the OG crew fell off Tsurumaki too if he really was in charge of Mari Makinami Illustrious Sadamoto held on. Maybe thats because his version of Eva was not as dependent on his feelings. Or maybe with this project he had the benefit of working at his own pace without merchhungry producers breathing down his neck. Or maybe hes just a better writer. Either way this manga is good and thats coming from me someone that doesnt even adore Eva that much save for the second moon of every month when I morph into a snarling slobbering Shinji obsessive equipped with Mitski music and salty tears. https://d28hgpri8am2if.cloudfront.net/bookimages/onix/cvr9781421553054/neongenesisevangelion3in1editionvol29781421553054hr.jpg Changing Eva is always going to mean changing Shinji so hes different here. Hes actually almost cool. Sadamotos protagonist certainly mopes around a bit he doesnt put up with other peoples shit nearly as much and hes even sassy in some interactions. NOT MY SHINJI. But I have to admit hes a lot more likeable. As such I feel like this appeals to those who cant wrap their head around sad despondent Shinji if so practice empathy please along with Eva nonfans in general. But its a refreshing change no matter who you are. I mean I love him being a bitch because same but when my boy grows a backbone from time to time I cant help but enjoy that in a different way. In a this might just be a competent story with likeable characters type of way. Which... isnt the Eva I occasionally love. But its not all that different either. What about everyone else? Rei is more defined and tangible compared to her anime counterpart paving the way for several mangaonly moments that elaborate on her relationship with Shinji similar to the second rebuild though without the housewife gymnastics. Asuka is also more likeable meaning she is not quite so mean. Several characters like Kaji get expanded or original backstories that would have been welcome in the anime. Kaoru is completely revised. No longer is our favourite homoerotic angel boy a cheeky homoerotic tease 100mostlikelyinspired by Kunihiko Ikuhara blowing Anno in the hot springs. Hes now a pussy slayer he straightup kills a cat and a lowkey sociopath which in some ways fits a lot better with other Sadamoto changes Shinji we must remember is not nearly as withdrawn as he is with Anno meaning the normal relationship with Kaoru would not carry the same weight. It is in this way that Sadamoto takes us through a familiar framework but he throws in enough original curveballs to keep us on our toes. Much of the flub content of episodes A Human Work and the notorious Magma Diver is cut out or replaced with more backstory. This makes for a fun concise way to reexperience the story while still getting something new. Another great incentive for reading this after Annos Eva is that it is willing to give characters the beats and triumphs that were denied in the past. I know a few Eva fans that dislike the tragedy of End of Evangelion and while Sadamoto follows the same beats he does so in a much rosier way. To provide a spoilery example... Oh and in a bonus chapter Sadamoto makes more of a character of Mari in a couple panels than Anno and the gang did across four movies. Not that I wanted to see her again. https://i.pin.com/originals/8b/89/c3/8b89c33c439f01945752c120853ebea3.jpg I dont think this does everything better. While certain characters are cleaner they also lack some of the depth that they have on TV. Asuka for instance is flattened and straightened out in the manga especially to do with her relationship with Shinji something that whether you like it or not I love that relationship adds a lot. Also TV Shinji was tripping esoteric budgetcut balls every few episodes often to great effect. You wont get any of that in the manga. Its a lot more straightforward. Of course its still Eva so its not completely straightforward. But it is presented in a way that is stylistically consistent lacking the bouts of pretentious confusion that leave people scratching their heads. It also lacks some of the most memorable flourishes of the anime such as the soundtrack or Annos taste for these eerie still frames. So thats the big forfeiture right? This is consistent. Its enjoyable. It even sticks the landing. You distil Eva to its strongest narratively but you lose out on a lot too. You miss the awry emotional chasms marked by Shinjis depressive episodes you miss those soaring traumatic peaks accompanied by Megumi Ogatas earshredding screams and of course engineering all of this is Hideaki Annos bubbling blackoil sincerity: his unique artistry that extends to all characters all facets of the story and sadly though really happily for him indiscernible but for small pockets in anything postEnd of Evangelion. But oh well. Weve established the manga is quite good in its own right. With Eva though it all comes down to the final note. Where does Sadamoto leave us? Where does it fit? Heres my opinion: There are four Eva endings. They all push the same shit its worth loving people even though they hurt you dont run away from your problems probably best not to become fanta gloop just fucking go outside ok. One ending caps off the 1997 series: an improvised but thematically affirming project that takes us into Shinjis psyche and basically just spells out his character growth ending quasihappily. It is usually combined with the End of Evangelion: a monumental movie that while presenting a similar Ted Talk in theory is set apart by its horrific framing that leaves our protagonist the psychological equivalent of a dumpster fire. Most recent is Thrice Upon a Time that after a mess of rebuilds proves the series thesis with a nononsense sunshineandrainbows ending that to me feels unearned and unconvincing. And then theres also Sadamotos manga which guides Shinji Ikari to a place that I do not want to fully describe if you havent seen it play out: stable but just slightly wobbling standing before a billowing world of flecked snowflakes where an optimistic future terrible as it could be extends to infinity. Theres a real purity to it purity that you could say is untrue to the spirit of Eva simply in how resigned it is to being clear and purposeful. Its never going to be my favourite ending not over what due to the buzzing resonant hive of flaws and contradictions of its creator still stands as some of the most compelling animated anything for so many people. But it is still special. It is Ill say the least flawed. It is clear and true and still emotional in spades. And it is Evangelion.