Neon Genesis Evangelion (1996)

[新世紀エヴァンゲリオン]

Volume 3

Author/Artist: Yoshiyuki Sadamoto
Original Story: Gainax
Publisher: Kadokawa Comics Ace

Synopsis:
Shinji remains with NERV and attempts to get closer to Rei and through her, his father.

Story/Characters:
With Shinji's ten-minute retirement out of the way, we get to explore Rei's character and establish her relationship with Shinji. (It has an infamously rocky start.) This volume pretty well corresponds with Episodes 5 and 6 of the series. There's a flashback to Shinji's childhood that's new, but it doesn't have that much of an effect. Now, Operation Yashima is one of my favorite set pieces in the entire series. The fight with Sachiel makes a strong first impression, but while the fight with Shamshel helps cement Shinji's relationship with Touji and Kensuke, it's more monster-of-the-week fare. Ramiel, on the other hand, makes a strong showing and it's nice getting to see more than one Eva in action.

Art:
Because this volume features Operation Yashima, there are some of the most dynamic panels we've seen thus far. The flashback to Rei's activation test is also quite well done.

Other:
This volume features a blurb from Rei's seiyuu, Megumi Hayashibara.

Conclusion:
While there was nothing particularly deficient with the previous volume, this one features a much better Angel fight and exploration into Rei's character, which give it an edge. Fans of the series will get the whole thing, but if we're speaking of relative value within the series, this is one of the better ones.

Rating:
Own It