Evangelion Manga Volume 11 Released
By The Eva Monkey on Monday, December 1st, 2008
Volume 11 of the Evangelion manga made it’s way into stores two weeks ago, and I made sure to add it to my big shelf of Eva-ness. The volume contains stages 71 through 76, which were published from April 2006 through December 2006. It seems like an awful long time since stage 76 came out two years ago this month. And the horrible realization is that Sadamoto has not produced a new stage in that two year period. Lazy manga-ka is lazy.
This volume is an interesting mix. Without revealing too much, I’ll say that it covers the beginning of episode 24 into the beginning of The End of Evangelion. That’s right, we’re into movie territory now, and so far, Sadamoto has not pulled an abstract Anno “WTF?” on us like he did with the TV episodes 25 & 26.
Like the previous two volumes, this installment offers a considerably different account of events, due to the introduction of Kaworu back in volume nine. He’s been around during the events of episodes 22 & 23, and as such, he’s had more time to interact with Shinji, Rei, and even Asuka, which makes his final moments with Shinji all the more interesting. Fans of Kaworu’s character will either love or hate this volume, as some have lovingly dubbed him “Evil Manga Kaworu”, or “EMK” for short. Some will love it because it’s a new take on the character, and some will hate it because of the difference between the manga and anime Kaworu. And I imagine some will just love to see “EMK” get what’s coming to him for being a cold hearted kitten killer.
Supplemental materials include the usual fare, plus a postscript by Sadamoto that kinda sorta borders on homo-erotic. Don’t ask, just give it a read. It’s about Kaworu after all. Also included is a lengthy postscript by all around cool guy Carl Horn. It address a handful of things, like the differences and merits between the anime and the manga, as well as anime and (evil) manga Kaworu. And for good measure, it makes mention of Rebuild of Evangelion, EvaMonkey, EvaGeeks, and touches on the post-second impact conflict between India and Pakistan that, considering recent events, borders on eerie. Check it out!