Neon Genesis Evangelion, Vol. 13 Paperback – November 2, 2012

Suppose I will be the first to review. I won't describe the general plot of Evangelion since that can be easily located elsewhere. It is one of the greater stories and has some of the greatest characters to be expressed by the anime aesthetic.For fan background - I got into the original animation in the late 90's, bought all of the subtitled VHS tapes and had to bootleg the End of Evangelion from China. I still have that disc and sometimes prefer its harsh video and overdriven audio. I discovered the manga in 2000 at the beginning of volume five's release and began getting all of the single stage issues every month (Viz didn't publish the volumes as full books until '04).About the story of the manga in general - official production with the story and art by the character designer of the original animation. The story follows the original plot fairly well, EXCEPT there are key plot differences, additional scenes, and omission of certain scenes (such as the whole Jet Alone episode, thankfully). Character development is highly favored in this version, and for this reason I favor it out of all original Eva productions at this point, even including the two Rebuilds that have been produced so far. Asuka's character (my favorite) in particular is treated with more respect and attention. The publication of the magna actually began BEFORE the original TV series, but has been incredibly sporadic in pace due to the author's other commitments. Notwithstanding, the manga still adheres to the basic arc of the TV series, with the last volumes corresponding to the final episodes and the End of Evangelion. I can't comment on the other unofficial manga such as Angelic Days and Raising Shinji as I haven't read them and don't care to.This volume in particular - I have been waiting a year and a half for it, not being sure if it would be the last. I read the entire series today to refresh the plot. This volume turns out to be the penultimate; the author's post-script indicates a 14th volume. It adheres loosely to the End of Evangelion. Some scenes are shot-for-shot, while other scenes diverge VERY CONSIDERABLY. Any fan who is familiar with the original story will be at the very least intrigued by Sadamoto's alternate expression. The characters as usual develop more than the original. In my opinion Volume 12 did not stray far from the original plot, however this volume takes some serious creative liberties, to the effect that I have no idea how Sadamoto will conclude his story (though I don't suspect it will be a complete departure). I VERY MUCH enjoyed this volume as a seasoned Eva fan. I do NOT want to spoil anything, but I have to say that there is a key scene in the End of Evangelion that I have been heartbroken about for the past 13 years, and reading the manga version of this scene was like finding a pet that ran away from home long ago.If you have been following the story, you have likely been anticipating this volume for a while and I don't need to sell it to you, but you should know Volume 14 is confirmed by Sadamoto and that his story remains adherent yet key elements are altered. If you have only read some of the story or none at all, you should know Viz is selling the volumes in a digital format for 4.99 a piece via their website as well as through iOS/Android AND Kindle/Fire, though I prefer hard copy and most are available on Amazon for 9.99. I highly recommend this Volume and the Manga in general. Overall I am very happy with the variations on the story and deeper characters; the art is still fresh and inspired, Sadamoto is my favorite designer and he turns out to be a great writer to boot.And now the agonizing wait begins again...but it's great that after all these years, we still have more original written and animated Eva to look forward to. I say cheers to that.

I got japanese premium edition of this manga and now, I got this english translated edition. It is just great. If you got lost in "END OF EVANGELION" this volume should clear up things a lot. Many of the scenes that were confusing in the movie, makes sense in this volume. My reccomendation: GET IT!My jaw dropped somewhere at some scenes and I was surprised to see changes that were really awesome. You might feel relieved to see this changes that happened in "EoE"I just hope We dont have to wait too long for volume 14, hopefully the last volume. It is not that I want this end fast. I just want to read it quickly.Thanks for reading

...and there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman cloathed with the sun...This chapter of Evangelion, lead us, to the end of anime version End of Evangelion. Old – headmasters of Seele are impatient for over instrumantality for fulfillment of instrumentality of mankind and organize a coup against a Nerv organization. There's consequence would be a Third impact. We seeing in this chapter a evolution of a relationship between Asuka and Shinji, what, in anime version hasn't been clear a lot. Shinji is here not drawed as a little asocial – boy, but as little boy traumatizated from mother's disappearing, and it's marked from lassitude his father and his own aunt, who where given after mother's disappearing. We watch consistent closing of little boy into self.

First off, if you haven't been following the manga or if you haven't previously seen the anime series and the film "End of Evangelion," you'll be pretty lost, so this volume is not the place to start.This volume continues to adapt the film "End of Evangelion." It starts with Asuka in the middle of her fight with the Mass Production Evas and ends with Shinji facing Giant Naked Rei, and experiencing flashbacks from his earlier youth. This adaptation is largely the same as the film, with one major difference and a few less important differences. The major difference is so huge, to avoid spoiling I'll do it in Marclar: "Marclar marclars the marclar with the marclar." Less important divergences: the confrontation between Ritsuko and Gendo is modified a bit (for instance, we get to read his last words to her. She still thinks he's a liar.) Adam is on Gendo's left hand instead of his right. Rei takes Adam from Gendo without taking his entire arm. The flashbacks Shinji experiences are different (so far).I don't think this manga volume really clairfies much of anything from "End of Evangelion." If the movie left you confused, after reading this, you'll still be confused. And though some fans were unhappy with the English dubbing and subtitle translations from "End of Evangelion", in my opinion this third version shows that the earlier translations weren't far off from the Japanese (I don't speak Japanese, so I don't really know). There are subtle hints that volume 14 may deviate more from the movie.Since "End of Evangelion" is so visually complex, there may be two more manga volumes left, which would make this the Pen-penultimate volume.*Edit: Volume 14 will most likely be the last one.

Being a HUGE evangelion fan, i absolutely loved this book and i felt this was a good build up to the ending to the manga series. The differences from the anime are clear, yet subtle, and give the book its own unique way of telling the same story of the anime. i do not recommend this book as the first one you read, but instead if you find the genre of the giant robot, end of the world, and personal psychological realization and acceptance, this is a series to look into!