[DOUJINSHI] Re-Take

[NemZ]

Ah, re-take... one of the few Asuka/Shinji pairings I don't particularly hate because it takes so many pains to show that this was a very gradual process, not just an 'instrumentality fixed everything!" affair. I'm still rather unhappy with it's treatment of Rei though. Even Sadamoto's clear preference for S/R in the manga doesn't go anywhere near justifying this characterization for her, thus the only explanation is that it's a regrettable and completely unnecessary case of counter-ship bashing.

I'm quite intrigued by EB's explanation that this is anime Shinji in the mangaverse as opposed to some weird sort of blended continuity past, which bothered me the first time I read it. Likewise I have to agree with just about everything symbv has had to say, with the exception of his take on the initial sex scene, where I side with Eric's interpretation.

[Cody MacArthur Fett]

*snip*

So people like RE-TAKE simply because it's a comic that pairs Asuka and Shinji up? . . . That's frakking insane! There are lots of stories and comics out there that have A/S pairings, much better stories with much better plots, panels that aren't desperately in need of decompression, characters that act much more in line with their previously established psych profiles, and tales that most certainly don't have everything be revealed to be the fruit cake induced dream of Shinji and Asuka's -- obviously disturbed -- daughter. . . . Ugh, I better stop there, one more post and this thing will become by new Avatar.

Also, on a completely unrelated note, where does everyone keep getting that quote from?

[Azathoth]

Also, on a completely unrelated note, where does everyone keep getting that quote from?

It is old but still delicious copypasta. You must eat it.

That's one wordfilter I didn't know we had. The term applies regardless, but I'll remove it.

[symbv]

So people like RE-TAKE simply because it's a comic that pairs Asuka and Shinji up? . . . That's frakking insane! There are lots of stories and comics out there that have A/S pairings, much better stories with much better plots, panels that aren't desperately in need of decompression, characters that act much more in line with their previously established psych profiles, and ...

2 months after my last post and this thread came alive again. The last 2 months I tried as best as I can to catch up with manga/anime that I had missed in the "lost decade" when I dropped out after the End of Evangelion Again I had to thank RE-TAKE for rekindling my passion for manga/anime.

I am not sure how Cody got the idea that people like Re-Take *just* because of the Shinji/Asuka pariing. For me, and from what I heard from people who like Re-Take, the pairing choice is of course one of the factors but not all. I would say that if one does not think Shinji and Asuka had any chance of love relationship from the original anime, then he would not be changed by this doujinshi. To me I like the plot, character development, the way the story is developed and the drawing style. When I was at the peak of my otaku pursuit which was the time when End of Evangelion came out (that partly caused my burn-out), I tried to lay my hand on anything I can find about Evangelion, particulary comics/stories about Shinji/Asuka pairing. Re-Take is the one that in my humble opinion stays closest to the spirit of Evangelion which resolves the Shinji/Asuka relationship in a very satisfying way. I can see why someone may think the character in Re-Take may not be like what he thinks the character should have behaved as in the original anime. But I don't think there is any unreasonable departure. In fact I think the canon anime (EoE) may have taken more liberty with the character development than Re-Take.

If Cody thinks there are other comics that do a better job with Shinji/Asuka pair-up I would like to know. I must have read close to 100 stories/manga on such pair-up when I was at the craziest period of Eva otaku pursuit. I still think RETAKE is the best among all I have read. I could not tell how much I was really moved by the story, and I could not thank it enough by how much it helped me to come back to the fun of manga/anime. On the other hand, I have to say I read very little stories/comics from outside Japan. I also have to say that visual style is also a significant factor -- if the story is just as good, how close it is drawn to its original style would make a big difference.

NB I have re-read RETAKE it its adult version and all-age version several times after the last post. I now think that the all-age version is the better of the two. While I really don't mind seeing Shinji and Asuka having some fun at bed, the all-age version, perhaps because it was done after the adult version, had some changes that made the story clearer and easier to understand, and the changes include redrawing or addition of scenes too.

[soul.assassin]

If there was a Takoballs Award for the doujinshi category, Re-Take and its author deserves it.

The first time I read it, the storyline was like it was done in a way a proper fanfic is written: gradual character development, good characterization, and sticking to a canon pairing. These factors sets Re-Take (and a few others) apart from the usual doujins.

[InstrumentalityOne]

Am I the only one that noticed that the author of this Doujinshi reused a lot of background/scenery/clothes/scenes from the NGE manga by Yoshiyuki Sadamoto?

Hell, some poses and stances of Unit 01 look exactly the same.

[IrkenEvangelion]

To me I like the plot, character development, the way the story is developed and the drawing style.

gradual character development, good characterization, and sticking to a canon pairing. These factors sets Re-Take (and a few others) apart from the usual doujins.

[MJHx]

Just read the entire series... Really loved it.

[Killer Bee]

Am I the only one that noticed that the author of this Doujinshi reused a lot of background/scenery/clothes/scenes from the NGE manga by Yoshiyuki Sadamoto?

Hell, some poses and stances of Unit 01 look exactly the same.

You mean like they traced it or something? I didn't notice. I'm sure they looked at the manga for reference all the time to get the style right, so it's no surprise there are similarities.

[Sanada Yukimura]

I've finally finished the Re-take series but personally I prefer the original one,because this is more mature than the Doujin's story.I mean ...I dunno Shinji's problems could really be overcome by pressure of the (upcoming) reality-death of Asuka,thanks to the "power of the beloved one" Shinji has changed...and the rest was all about the romance between them.

But for sure,Re-take is a very good Doujinhi with a quality above the average in the storyline ,but it has escaped a little(I mean...much more than just a little)from the main central idea of the original one,and there was more romance too-something that (Asuka's)fans likes a lot,all the heavy air of drama (and lots of sorrows...) was even with the Anime and the plot was a bit complex because of the parallel universe (Stephen Hawkin's Theory??),the looping of the same happenings and lifes in the world(Nietzche's Eternal Return??)....but for me all these intelectual stuff wasn't so much vital to include in the plot,they weren't so much related in order to guide us in a proper direction.

[InstrumentalityOne]

You mean like they traced it or something? I didn't notice. I'm sure they looked at the manga for reference all the time to get the style right, so it's no surprise there are similarities.

They used a lot of backgrounds and scenery.

The most obvious ones are these:

NGE Manga-Re-Take

Kaji talks with Shinji in the Aquarium about Eva 01
-
Kaji talks with Maya in the same aquarium

Kaji investigates a faked marduk institute building
-
Kaji talks with Maya in the same run down building

Unit 01 stances and poses in the battle against Angels
-
Unit 01 stances and poses in the battle against Angels


If you look hard enough, they borrowed a lot.

[BiQ]

I just got around reading the all-ages version... to be honest, it is the much better version. Now I feel I have some idea what actually happened. :P

[Spore]

Uh, hi. A friend told me about this thread and I felt kinda obligated to clear up some misconceptions and confusion that arose from my translations.

First, a few excuses. When I first did this I hadn't watched Eva in years, and to make things worse I only had access to a Korean scanlation for volume 1 for reasons I don't even remember anymore (trilinguality came back to bite me in the ass here, I shoulda looked around more for Japanese raws which, if I remember right, were readily available even back then but I got impatient). But I can't really blame them for the badness because I seriously missed a ton of stuff. So, before going into things, sorry about that. I tried to fix what I could in the All Ages re-scanlation.

Anyway. A few things. The girl on the beach at the very end is just Random Girl A, not someone special. She's just meant to represent hope, and the eventual return of humanity from the red sea. This comes from what I remember of Kimigabuchi's page explaining Re-Take back when it was still up.

The surgery Asuka got was hymen restoration surgery, not an abortion or anything. She was essentially returning her body to how it was before Shinji. Might not seem like much, but I'm guessing it was a symbolic thing. Trying to go back to the way things were, denying that she'd ever fallen for Shinji, etc. Asuka's got that pride, you know. This comes from Kimimaru too.

The small miracle in the last pages of After was the fact that Asuka and Shinji actually had a daughter who looked exactly the same as the little Angel girl who called herself God, just as she promised. It "took place somewhere else" as in, she was born in the After universe and not the "core" EoE universe, but despite that it's "real nonetheless" because all those parallel universes remained and continued to exist even after Shinji faced his fears and went back to the beach and Asuka. I think this bit was from the Kimigabuchi page as well. Don't quite remember, though.

The information that Touji discovered in the computer that shocked him so much was about Asuka still being alive.

Kaworu, I have no idea. Some people in this thread have put forth amazing ideas that never occurred to me. Kimimaru might have explained him but I don't remember it if he did.

That's all I really think was left unanswered. Tell me if I missed anything and I'll try to answer, but I didn't get it all either, by any means. I gotta say, I didn't really expect R-T to garner the fandom it did, but... heh. Thanks for reading, even if you didn't like it and thought it was shit (Man, I sound like I actually wrote it myself or something. Harrdy harr harr), and I hope that cleared some things up.

[Sailor Star Dust]

The reason why manga locations/outfits (eg: one of Asuka's shirts, the lake/fountain/garden at Nerv) are borrowed is AFAIK, Universe B is manga-verse and Universe A is anime-verse. (Correct me if I'm wrong. >_>)

Hi Spore! Thanks for the clarifications!

[Lucretius]

(Correct me if I'm wrong. >_>)

Yes, you're wrong. :P I distinctly remember Re-Take Shinji mentioning the tea scene from the manga.

[IrkenEvangelion]

^^

SPOILER: Show

At the end of 01 when Rei hung herself she recalled the times their hands touched. The tea scene was one of those times.

[Lucretius]

At the end of 01 when Rei hung herself she recalled the times their hands touched. The tea scene was one of those times.

No, it's pretty clearly Shinji doing the remembering in this scene, unless Rei's corpse remained conscious after her death.

SPOILER: Show

Also, past!Asuka mentions the time Shinji saved her from the volcano, which, strictly speaking, didn't happen in the manga. :P

[IrkenEvangelion]

Shinji remembering would make more sense. I just assumed it was Rei because of the I's but I guess she did say that earlier to Shinji. You are correct.

[Sailor Star Dust]

Yes, you're wrong. :P I distinctly remember Re-Take Shinji mentioning the tea scene from the manga.

Because Shinji from Universe A inhibited Universe B Shinji's body. I just wasn't clear if Universe B IS meant to be manga-verse or not and despite a few minor things (such as anime-only Angels (like Leliel) being in Universe-B) that seems to be the case.

But yeah, since Universe B Asuka remembers the volcano incident then I guess it isn't manga-verse but just some anime/manga hybrid-universe.

[Eric Blair]

I'm quite intrigued by EB's explanation that this is anime Shinji in the mangaverse as opposed to some weird sort of blended continuity past, which bothered me the first time I read it.

I don't remember where the notion first came that Retake (after the intro and Kimochi Warui) takes place in Mangaland, tbh; after some time, it just sort of became a kind of given; I like to imagine it as simply universe A and universe B and now that Spore has explained this, and given the visual clues we get, I guess calling them universe A and universe B as opposed to Anime universe and Manga universe makes more sense.

I side with Eric's interpretation.

Seriously, stop doing that; every time you agree with me something bad happens: last time, I got a flat tire. This time I just bought a lottery ticket, so now I know that if I'm not a gazillionaire tomorrow, it'll be your fault.

Am I the only one that noticed that the author of this Doujinshi reused a lot of background/scenery/clothes/scenes from the NGE manga by Yoshiyuki Sadamoto?

List of similar scenes:

No, Kimi seemed to draw a lot of inspiration from both the series and the manga, but mostly the manga: there's even one missing in your list: in Retake After, when Asuka walks back in the room, opening the sliding door (before Shinji and Rei are eating the "units" on the rooftop) you're seeing at the same scene from when Asuka first walks into the classroom from the manga.

The surgery Asuka got was hymen restoration surgery, not an abortion or anything. She was essentially returning her body to how it was before Shinji. Might not seem like much, but I'm guessing it was a symbolic thing. Trying to go back to the way things were, denying that she'd ever fallen for Shinji, etc. Asuka's got that pride, you know. This comes from Kimimaru too.

wow, I always thought she had gotten an abortion (granted, I think getting your hymen restored is kind of far-fetched and impossible) but thanks for pointing that out. A lot of that was already posted/reposted in a lot of other places, but thanks for clearing it up nonetheless, man; it's good to see you still up and around and not kidnapped again by aliens.

Take it easy chief.