Neon Genesis Evangelion: Angelic Days, Vol. 1 [Paperback]

Fumino Hayashi (Author, Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 16, 2006

Imagine a Neon Genesis Evangelion where choosing the right girl is more important than saving the world! That's the gist of Angelic Days - the hit manga that Eva fans have been waiting for! Based on a popular PC and Playstation 2 game released only in Japan, Angelic Days takes the angst-ridden Eva pilots and sets them in a lighter, brighter world.

Product Details

• Paperback: 184 pages
• Publisher: ADV Manga (May 16, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1413903444
• ISBN-13: 978-1413903447
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 5.2 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #657,121 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

34 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Light-Heart Revival of an Ageless Classic, May 23, 2006

By 

Antonio D. Paolucci "Collector of Entertainment" (Beaver Falls, PA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Neon Genesis Evangelion: Angelic Days, Vol. 1 (Paperback)

Needless to say, Neon Genesis Evangelion is a classic in both the anime and manga fields, and perhaps one of the smartest stories to ever come out of Japan. It uses symbolism as well as if not better than some of the greatest writers of literature, has very strong characterization (Shinji, though annoying, is still well-known through-out the anime world as one of the whinniest characters ever), and has as dramatic and disturbing plot. So, when it ended with the ending it did end with (say that 5x fast), it left a lot of people wanting more.

Angelic Days just so happens to be the "more" that people are wanting. Taking place in an alternate time-stream from the original Evangelion, Angelic Days is more of a light-hearted high school drama than a melodramatic action story. Shinji isn't the brooding teenager he was in the first series and though Asuka is her bossy self, she and Shinji are as close to best-friends as they get. Beyond those two, Rei is an outgoing, boy-hungry young girl and Kaworu (the boy-like angel from the first series) is an effeminate loner whose only friend is Shinji. And all of them are students in the same class, bringing them tightly together rather quickly in this story. Still, despite the concentration on everyday life in this volume, the promise is still quite apparent. There will be mech battles very soon, if not in the next volume.

Rarely does the setting in this volume leave the school. In fact, most of the story in volume one deals with things that kids have to go through in school, including getting picked on by friends, girl problems, and issues with the parents. Except for one or two occasions, little in this manga would actually even suggest what is to come and only long-time fans of the series would see where this manga is headed. In essence, this is more of a light-hearted revival of the old Evangelion.

This isn't a perfect manga, though. If you're new to the world of Evangelion, getting into Angelic Days may be difficult. There is very little in the way of character introduction. You just have to know what they were like before to understand what they are like here, and to appreciate what they've become. Also, the art isn't as clean-cut as I would have guessed it to be. There were a few panels that actually took a moment to discern what was in the picture. And finally, there were some grammatical problems. Though not enough for me to lower my rating, it is definitely enough for people who aren't interested in Evangelion to completely bash this manga into the dirt.

As for recommendations, I highly recommend Neon Genesis Evangelion: Angelic Days to people who know, understand, and love the story in the old Evangelion. You'll have a greater appreciation for the changes made in Angelic Days if you're a knowledgeable Eva fan; if you're somewhat new to Evangelion you'll find some of the changes in this a little jarring.

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Evangelion Fanbois Only, December 31, 2006

By 

Bill Degges "Otaku" (NJ United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Neon Genesis Evangelion: Angelic Days, Vol. 1 (Paperback)

Angelic Days is a spinoff of Neon Genesis Evangelion, using the same characters but placing them in a school-romance setting instead of a post-apocalypic giant robots setting. Several changes include: 2nd Impact never happened, Rei is cheerful instead of emotionless, Misato is their teacher, Shinji's mom's not dead, etc.

This all sounds good in theory but it's not executed very well. Fumino Hayashi's art isn't NEARLY as precise or clean as Yoshiyuki Sadamoto's (original Eva character designer and author of the Evangelion manga) and the story feels rather cliche. Standard romance stuff that you'll see in tons of manga, all with better art and storytelling. The only thing that sets this apart is the use of characters from Eva. This honestly feels more like a watered down doujinshi (japanese amateur fan comic) than an official Gainax work.

For people who just want MOAR EVA, this IS more, it's just not very good. Grab it if you need your fix, but don't be surprised when you're left feeling a little dirty.

For those who haven't seen the original series, I'd say stay away from this.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Kinder, Gentler Evangelion, April 25, 2007

By 

James Vaughn - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Neon Genesis Evangelion: Angelic Days, Vol. 1 (Paperback)

Have you ever viewed Gainax's classic anime, Neon Genesis Evangelion, and wondered "What would it be like if Shinji wasn't such a wimp?" or "What would Rei be like if she were more normal?" If these questions have every crossed your mind or you are an eager fan looking for a zany and somewhat unorthodox take on the landmark series, then unquestionably Fumino Hayashi's Angelic Days will be for you.

As a manga, Angelic Days presents an alternate retelling of the Evangelion story, making use of the same characters, settings, and scenarios that fans of the series would be familiar with, but placing them in a much lighter context. There won't be any long pauses of soul searching and introspection to be found here. Life in Tokyo 3 is about as normal as if can be for young Shinji Ikari. His home life is quiet and uneventful, in part due to the fact that his parents, Gendo and Yui, work for a lab located in the city and are therefore largely unavailable. He has plenty of friends to keep him in and out of trouble, though, including geeky Kensuke, jock-with-a-soft-side Toji, the cool, quiet Kaworu (who fans of the series will recall is the 17th Angel...), and of course, Asuka, Shinji's friend since childhood who takes it upon herself to keep him in line and on time. The routine of eating, sleeping, learning, and having fun goes unbroken until strange dreams of a `giant of light' begin to impact young Shinji in the sleeping hours. While these visions are troubling enough, things get even more complicated when he and Asuka run into (quite literally) a mysterious new transfer student to the class. The arrival of this student, a vibrant, bubbly, and somewhat socially challenged Rei Ayanami, instantly causes ripples in the fabric of routine life that threatens to turn Shinji's world upside down and inside out, and back again. It does not take long before Shinji catches Rei's curious fancy, a reality that draws nothing but surprisingly jealous ire from Asuka, igniting a tense and comical rivalry between to the two girls over our reluctant and somewhat oblivious hero. But Rei's arrival is doing more than just make waves among the children who know her. Her presence marks the beginning of a new `phase' in an experiment perpetrated by the city's scientific community, and Shinji's visions of the giant might be more premonition than adolescent fantasy.

The first volume sets the tone nicely for what is to follow, though admittedly there is very little back-story for readers unfamiliar with the source material. Characters are introduced swiftly and under the assumption that readers know them by heart, which might leave some scratching their heads. But familiarity with the anime will also bring about a few shocks of its own when fans plunge into the volume. While some characters retain much of what made their personalities memorable (like Asuka, minus her apparent hatred for Shinji), others are completely revised. Shinji is no longer the quiet, sullen loner focused only on himself but rather he is happy and smiling, apparently enjoying life as it comes. Perhaps the most surprising change comes with Rei. The silent, crimson-eyed enigma of the series is portrayed now with boisterous energy, so much that any relation to the original character exists in name and look only. The change is not a bad one by any means, and in fact fits will with the overall tone of the story. Angelic Days plays out more like a high school drama/comedy than a sci-fi tale. In fact, aside from a few obvious details like the plug suits and references to NERV, one might be convinced that this has nothing to do with Evangelion at all, save for a few names and faces. Future volumes do, however, appear to promise more direct connections to the source material, including appearances by the Angels and the Evangelion units.

Hayashi's art style is more kinetic and, at times, more chaotic than the iconic artwork of original character designer Yoshiyuki Sadamoto, but in a good way. Hayashi retains the basic feel of the characters while injecting them with personal interpretation and whimsy. This fits the nature of the story well, seeing as Angelic Days serves as a breezy, light-hearted alternative to the grim tale that is its cousin. There is a certain charm in the simplicity here, whether it is the rendering or writing, or just the overall feel that Hayashi invokes in each frame. While Shinji and friends might have induced moments of outrage and anger among viewers of the anime, they come across as much more likable and sympathetic here, helped in part by the softer lines and tones of the artwork.

While the story might lack some details and, at the moment, momentum, there is enough to be found in this first volume of Angelic Days to at the very least pique curiosity. It will be interesting to see where Fumino Hayashi takes it from here and how much of the original story finds its way into the proceedings. Hardcore fans of the original series may find the changes off-setting, and would be better off sticking with the other version of Evangelion in manga form, that being the reinterpretation from Yoshiyuki Sadamoto himself. However, that being said, Angelic Days is also the perfect compliment to Sadamoto's work. Readers eagerly waiting for Sadamoto to release his next volume of the Evangelion manga might want to consider giving this fun romp a look.