TRANSCRIPTION HELP WANTED: Misato's Fan Service Center

For talking about all other entries in the Evangelion franchise: from the various manga and video games to merchandising and various video/audio releases.

Moderator: Board Staff

Forum rules
By visiting this forum, you agree to read the rules for discussion and abide by them.
The Eva Monkey
IT'S OVER 9000!!!
IT'S OVER 9000!!!
User avatar
Posts: 9109
Joined: Jun 14, 2004
Location: The Evanets.
Gender: Male
Contact:

TRANSCRIPTION HELP WANTED: Misato's Fan Service Center

  •      
  •      
  • Quote

Postby The Eva Monkey » Thu Dec 05, 2013 10:13 pm

Some of you may not be aware that a very long time ago, the Evangelion manga was published in issue-based style like American comics. And along with that, there was a letters column in (almost) every issue. As one of the earliest dialogues in the fandom, I feel that it's definitely something that needs to be transcribed and made available to fans, especially those interested in researching the show, as Carl Horn is especially knowledgeable, and dispenses a lot of valuable knowledge, and interviews with Yamaga and Sadamoto on occasion.

So like we did way back when with the Platinum booklets, I would appreciate it very much if people could help me out with transcribing the text of these letters columns. If you'd like to help, please post declaring which page you're going to transcribe, and then when finished, edit your post to include the transcribed text, which I will then review, format, and correct as needed. The letters text will then get archived so that it will be available for everyone to read and cite in research and all that jazz.

http://www.evamonkey.com/misatos-fan-service-center/

And if anyone is wondering, the filenames are formatted as follows:

Volume 1, Issue 3, Page 2 = 1_3_2.gif

Don't worry about bold or italic styles, I'll add those in when I convert to HTML. Images will also be added in later.

Thanks in advance.

UPDATE:

If you have a microphone, I've found that Google Drive's voice typing feature can be pretty useful in speeding up the process of transcribing, just take care that the output is accurate, and proper punctuation is preserved.


EDIT

Progress/Completed:

Vol. 1, issue 2 - Completed by Nuclear Lunchbox
Vol. 1, issue 3 - Completed by Nuclear Lunchbox
Vol. 1, issue 4 - Completed by gwern
Vol. 1, issue 5 - Completed by The Eva Monkey
Vol. 1, issue 6 - Completed by The Eva Monkey

Vol. 2, issue 1 - Completed by cyharding
Vol. 2, issue 3 - Completed by Nuclear Lunchbox
Vol. 2, issue 4 - Completed by The Eva Monkey
Vol. 2, issue 5 - Completed by gwern

Vol. 3, issue 1 - Completed by gwern
Vol. 3, issue 2 - Completed by cyharding
Vol. 3, issue 3 - Completed by gwern
Vol. 3, issue 4 - Completed by gwern
Vol. 3, issue 5 - Completed by gwern

Vol. 4, issue 1 - Completed by gwern
Vol. 4, issue 2 - Completed by gwern, Nuclear Lunchbox
Vol. 4, issue 3 - Completed by The Eva Monkey
Vol. 4, issue 4 - Completed by The Eva Monkey
Vol. 4, issue 5 - In progress by The Eva Monkey
Last edited by The Eva Monkey on Wed Dec 11, 2013 1:00 pm, edited 3 times in total.

Nuclear Lunchbox
Agent Ahegao
Agent Ahegao
User avatar
Age: 26
Posts: 10623
Joined: Dec 13, 2012
Location: Nippon
Gender: Male

  •      
  •      
  • Quote

Postby Nuclear Lunchbox » Thu Dec 05, 2013 11:06 pm

I'll get a jump on Vol. 2, issue 3 pg. 1-2.
The above, as promised  SPOILER: Show
Special Feature!
Gainax’s Hiroyuki Yamaga speaks about Neon Genesis Evangelion.

Despite the fact that youse (as Toji might say) been great about sending in letters (and some really cool art!), I’m preempting this month’s letter column to bring you to the scene of last Valentine’s Day weekend’s Fanime Con ’98 in Santa Clara, California, where the Japanese Guest of Honor was Hiroyuki Yamaga. Best known as the director of Gainax’s first film, Royal Space Force: The Wings of Honneamise (available through Manga Entertainment), he was also intimately involved with the Evangelion TV series as its co-producer, and is a long-time friend and creative partner of both Yoshiyuki Sadamoto and Hideaki Anno. There’s much more about Yamaga and his long-awaited new film, Blue Uru, in this month’s issue of Animerica magazine, but for now, read what he had to say in response to audience questions (summed up in boldface) about Eva just after watching Evangelion: Death (True) and Evangelion: Rebirth with a packed house of 900 American fans.

On Evangelion’s distribution and target market, which seems to be teenage boys, although sometimes the series contains concepts teenagers would smirk at, yet adults might understand....

YAMAGA: Evangelion was shown two years ago on T.V. Tokyo on Wednesdays at 7 in the evening. T.V. Tokyo is one of the smaller networks, and the first time it was broadcast, the only people who could watch it were those in the vicinity of Tokyo, Osaka, or Sapporo. As far as the target age is concerned, this may not be something that the network originally intended, but generally speaking, the range was high school through college. But personally speaking, in my mind at least, it was targeted at people who were Mr. Anno’s age- around thirty-five. [LAUGHS]

On whether he anticipated the incredible success of Evangelion....

YAMAGA: I didn’t know it would become such an overwhelming success, but I was completely convinced that if Mr. Anno was the person who created it, it would be a success. That’s one reason I was very much in favor of the project. But even Mr. Anno had difficulty visualizing the project, and there was a period of three or four years (before Eva) during which he was actually having a great deal of problems. But while this was going on, I had the opportunity to see the rushes of the first episode that Mr. Anno created. When I was that I know it was going to be a huge success, because he had really succeeded in creating a good robot-based story. I realized then that because he had been successful in creating the robot element of the story, the rest of the story he planned to incorporate would ultimately draw people in to watch the whole thing.

On whether the entire plot of Evangelion was decided before it began production, or whether the story grew as it went along….

YAMAGA: As far is the story is concerned, there were parts of the plot that were determined before the show was produced. Certain elements of the story were evident, but it wasn’t clear how they were all going to be linked together. Those linkages were established as the production progressed. This doesn’t mean that the production went forward without any clear goal in mind; that’s not the case, although that often happens in Japan [LAUGHS], and Mr. Anno, in certain interviews, has suggested something to that effect. But that’s certainly not my understanding.

On whether there are more plans for more Evangelion stories beyond The End of Evangelion….

YAMAGA: Mr. Anno is the director of Eva, and if he says it’s over, then it’s over. [LAUGHS] I don’t think he’s planning to create another sequel. Maybe this would be a good time for me to comment on the order in which the Evangelion series was released in Japan. First of all, it was released as a weekly 26-episode TV series [between October 1995 and April 1996-Ed.]. But the director apparently wasn’t satisfied with episodes 25 and 26. It was very difficult, unfortunately, to re-do them for TV, but when Mr. Anno said he wanted to re-do them as part of a theatrical feature, it was easy to get sponsors because of the TV show’s high ratings.

But the film companies opposed the idea of just taking the last two episodes from the TV series and simply showing them again in a theater. So the distribution companies requested that they re-edit episodes 1 through 2 into a movie. There would then be two theatrical releases, shown together, so the people who saw the first one [called Evangelion: Death], re-editing episodes 1 through 24, would understand what went on in the TV series, and would then be prepared for the second theatrical release [called Evangelion: Rebirth], which would give them the whole story, including what the director originally intended.

The person selected to re-edit the first 24 episodes was Mr. Masayuki [character designer of Macross Plus], who was Anno’s top staff supervisor on Evangelion. But Mr. Masayuki didn’t want to go back and just re-edit the episodes, he wanted to create something more. He wanted to make something of interest not only for those who hadn’t seen the TV series, but also for those who already had. What happened, however, was unfortunate. When Rebirth was released, it turned out it was very difficult for people to understand. Even worse, the production of Death
was so delayed that it wasn’t finished in time for the scheduled premier [March 15, 1997].

So, the next thing that happened was that in Japan last summer [July 19, 1997], a sequel, The End of Evangelion was released. There’s more to the story after the ending credits you just saw. That enabled Anno to accomplish what he had intended to accomplish, namely, and ending to the Evangelion story. [Rebirth, essentially an incomplete story, ended on a cliffhanger. The End of Evangelion consists of the footage of Rebirth plus over 40 minutes of new footage that continue the story past the cliffhanger. Therefore, The End represents the “new” version of episodes 25 and 26. Meanwhile, Death was re-edited, presumably to make it easier to understand, and was re-released this march as Death (True), together with a re-release of The End of Evangelion. It was Death (True) that was shown at Fanime Con ’98.]

On Anno’s severe depression or “crisis of the soul” as the impetus behind the development of Evangelion….

YAMAGA: Well, I think Anno may have appeared in the Japanese media as you suggest; he’s made comments about wanting to die, and so forth, but at least from my perspective, things were never as serious as they appeared in the press. [LAUGHS]

On the reasons for the use of Judeo-Christian symbolism in Eva….

YAMAGA: I don’t know exactly why. I suspect that Mr. Anno may have read some book on it, and there were some thoughts he wanted to express on it. I personally am glad that he didn’t express some obscure Buddhist theme instead of Christianity, because then it would have been linked more with Aum Shinri Kyo. [LAUGHS]

On whether or not Anno and Yamaga are fans of David Lynch, and whether Anno is the “Kurt Cobain of Anime.”

YAMAGA: As far as Mr. Anno committing suicide or anything like that [LAUGHS] I’m not really sure how to say this, but, while sometimes he might seem very emotional, when you get to know him, he doesn’t come off like that at all. [LAUGHS] As far as David Lynch is concerned, I don’t dislike David Lynch, but on the other hand, he’s not someone I’m a huge fan of, either. As far as Anno, there have been people who have called Evangelion the anime equivalent of Twin Peaks. [LAUGHS]

On how it felt to sit in a vast auditorium during the Eva movie with a “teeming mass” of American fans, most of whom didn’t speak Japanese, but responded enthusiastically anyway to a film he helped realize….

YAMAGA: First of all, I must say from the bottom of my heart that I feel extraordinarily grateful to have had this experience. How does it appear from my position? It seems to me, more and more, that language is not that big an obstacle, after all. I think you’ve all come here, and you’re making an attempt to understand what we were doing, and everybody is gathered here, in a sense, with that purpose in mind. While I can’t say that there’s no language barrier involved at all, I nevertheless feel that if we make an attempt to understand each other, this is easily surmountable. From the time I was a child, I watched American movies, and I didn’t think of the people in the movies as foreigners or strangers who were all that different from me; I felt sad in the same places, happy in the same places. I didn’t feel as though there was a barrier of race, or culture, or whatnot; I thought that there was something in those films that transcended that. That’s something I’ve felt from a very young age.

Special thanks to Frederik L. Schodt, Yehoy Lee, Tomoko Shintani, and Danielle Scott.

Carl Gustav Horn

Moving on to Vol. 1, issue 2, pages 1 and 2.
Once again, as promised  SPOILER: Show
Neon Genesis Evangelion Letters Page

Not impressed by our catchy letters page title? Neither are we! So how about suggesting a better one? The best title (i.e. the title we like the best) will win you a free subscription to all of Part Two of this very comic! (Please specify regular or decaf- er- Special Collector’s Edition.)

Send in those entries as soon as you can! If more than one of you suggests our winning title, the prize goes to whichever entry has the earliest postmark! If they were mailed on the same day, we’ll have a random drawing. You get the idea.

And if you don’t have an idea for a title, write us anyway to tell us what you think of Viz Comics’ historic translation of the most popular Japanese manga and anime hit of the last five years!

Our first letter!

Being a manga fan of a somewhat newer generation, I didn’t find out about Yoshiyuki Sadamoto until about 1992. I had never heard at all of this first work at Studio Gainax, the 1987 film ROYAL SPACE FORCE: THE WINGS OF HONNEAMISE, for which he was the character designer and an animation director, and I had barely touched upon the famous 1990 TV series NADIA (a.k.a. THESECRET OF BLUE WATER), for which he did character design. I didn’t fully appreciate the depth of his skill until just a little while ago, a fact that makes me a little embarrassed to claim that I’m a great fan of his only now that his third major work, NEON GENESIS EVANGELION, has run to its completion (as an anime) in Japan.

EVANGELION is my favorite Gainax anime/manga to date. The director of the anime, Hideaki Anno, poured a lot of this own personality and soul into the TV series, making the characters much more realistic and much easier to relate to. As a writer and artist of the EVA manga (and co-creator of the basic story with Anno and others at Gainax), Sadamoto gives his own interpretation of the actions and motives of the characters in the series, even as he re-tells the events of EVA.

One aspect of EVA I admire is its superb artwork. Everything from its attractive women to its towering mecha to its massive Geofront is carried on the shoulders of the artistic talent of Sadamoto, Anno, and mechanical designer Ikuto Yamashita. Sadamoto, being the character designer and manga artist, has to portray the drama and emotion of a diverse cast of characters. His talent in characterizing emotion is among the best I have ever seen. He is able to insert very slight subtleness in an expression, conveying joy with doubt, or agony with confusion. Of course, the style in which each individual character expresses any particular emotion is planned according to that character’s individual personality, making the effect seem even more convincing. Rarely have I seen art with an emotional subtlety on par with Sadamoto’s.

Sadamoto employs a standard illustrator’s style in all of his artwork, utilizing gouache (a sort of opaque watercolor), airbrush, and color pencil to render his color images, including the cover of this issue. Gouache has traditionally been a medium associated with commercial illustrators, rather than painters, because of its smooth consistency, vibrant colors, ease of workability, and quick drying time. Many manga artists have used it, including Katsuhiro Otomo (AKIRA0, Masamune Shirow (GHOST IN THE SHELL) and Kia Asamiya (SILENT MOBIUS). In American comics, Alex Ross used gouache to spectacular effect in his fully-painted pages for DC’s KINGDOM COME.

Sadamoto uses gouache to create presentations that are both sharp and colorful, with a good sense of balanced design; many times using obviously schooled techniques of focal point manipulation by shape, contrast, and opposing hues. Some might argue that using such a “school book” method of composition and color theory could lend itself to a boring finished piece, but Sadamoto has consistently proven that to be untrue. Unlike many other manga artists, Sadamoto actually did go to art school, a fact that shows through in the quality of his work.

Using a similar philosophy to render the monochrome pages of the manga, Sadamoto takes a very artistically standard yet effective stance on layout and inking. Drawing on his knowledge of visual style, composition, and contrast, Sadamoto’s pages are easy to comprehend as well as being beautiful to look at. Again his schooled manner shines as the darks and lights of a picture are carefully planned and executed. The pages show a full range, from dark shadows to light highlights. Unlike many manga artists, he often uses lighting in a very realistic fashion, which creates an effect on the viewer of a tangible world that his characters inhabit. The characters themselves are treated with the same level of care, which proper line widths and cross-hatching used to rill out their features.

All of these elements, mixed with Sadamoto’s sense of style, humor, and composition, combine to make EVANGELION one of the hottest manga on the marker. Happy reading!

Kiyoshi Okuma
San Mateo, CA

Thanks for the perspective and the cool drawing, Kiyoshi! Kiyoshi Okuma is a doujinshi artist, filmmaker, and animator, and is currently in the B.F.A. program at the Academy of Art in San Francisco. Kiyoshi mentions Ikuto Yamashita, who as EVA’s chief mechanical designer was in large part responsible for refining the highly distinctive look of the Eva Units based on concepts by Anno and Sadamoto. We’re hoping to include more of Mr. Yamashita’s comments on the series in this space later on. You should check out his superb manga, DARK WHISPER (published through Bandai, but now out of print). A portion of it was published in English as part of the only issue over released of MEGA COMICS, a magazine put out by the now-defunct merchandising arm of Gainax, General Products. MEGA COMICS can be found with a little searching at your anime con dealers’ room.

Carl Gustav Horn

Moving on to Vol. 1, issue 3, pages 1-2.
Finished whilst on the crapper  SPOILER: Show
NEON GENESIS EVANGELION LETTERS PAGE

Yes, we’re still taking entries to improve our letters page title (and it won’t take much to improve what we’ve got above, as I’m sure you’ll agree. Be the first to send in the winning title and you’ll receive a free subscription to all of PART TWO of this very comic! Please specify which you’d prefer, regular or Special Collector’s Edition.)

And if you don’t have an idea or a title, write us anyway to tell us what you think of Viz Comics’ historic translation of the most popular Japanese manga and anime hit of the last five years!

Yo, ‘sup.

I am stoked that the NEON GENESIS EVANGELION manga is now being translated here in the States. In fact, I am very happy about the props GAINAX is reviving over this great anime and manga series. Even tho’ the manga may be a li’l happier than the anime version, I often do wonder if maybe Hideaki Anno ever listened to Nirvana when directing the series (I wish I asked him when he was a guest of honor at Anime Expo ’96). A lot of the episodes (esp. near the end) remind me of Nirvana songs, esp. from their very last studio CD, IN UTERO, whose album title is also fitting for EVA’s storyline. I do wonder If anybody else who has seen the anime and read the manga has also had that same feeling about Nirvana and EVANGELION.

I also wonder the same thing about the popular (and my favorite) rock group, U2, whether any of them have seen EVANGELION, because their latest CD, POP, seems to have the same tone as the series. I’m thinking of “MoFo,” “Wake Up Dead Man,” “Gone,” “Please,” and “Last Night On Earth,” among other songs on the album. I did read in an article that U2 is aware of anime (since their drummer, Larry Mullen Jr., did that track “One Minute Warning” for the American release of GHOST IN THE SHELL). Is it possible that U2 may be on the same artistic wavelength as Anno? Wouldn’t that be a trip to see.

And on the other tip, I do think the ultra-lean,, mean, on-the-edge, completely rocking machine (and my second favorite) group, Smashing Pumpkins, should consider Rei Ayanami as the poster child for their line of Zero T-shirts (she is the pilot of Unit Zero after all)! I do with that their latest song, “The End Is The Beginning Is The End” could have been used for THE END OF EVANGELION instead of the lame-ass BATMAN AND ROBIN movie (Aargh, such a tragic fate that Uma Thurman decided to act from that terrible script). At least the music video for the song would probably be a lot more interesting with the EVA characters. Hmmmm…which reminds me, if Shinji was older and shaved his hair and started a band, would he look and be like Billy Corgan? Hee hee…who knows.

Good Luck!
Danielle Scott
Santa Clara, CA
[email protected]

“Bitterness of one who’s left alone…”
Talented Ms. Scott was also kind enough to send in the lovely drawing of Asuka and Rei reproduced on this page. You may know Asuka from the anime, but she won’t show up in the manga for a while yet (even though she’s on the cover of issue #2). My guess is this picture depicts them in the parking lot of the Valley Fair Mall.

I agree: it seems to me that Nirvana, U2, and Smashing Pumpkins would be a good accompaniment to EVA. As for being a spokes- (or non-speaking-) model for the Zero-wear, it should be noted that Rei’s name actually means “zero”. Beyond IN UTERO, I also think of the song “Been A Son” (from Nirvana’s INCESTICIDE and performed live on FROM THE MUDDY BANKS OF THE WISHKAH) as a theme song for Unit Zero’s pilot. I’d regard Nine Inch Nails’ THE DOWNWARD SPIRAL as rather evocative of EVA as well.

Indeed, who knows what strange stations creators receive? But although Gainax got hip to the MTV concept very early (as witnessed by their 1983 Daicon IV Opening Anime back when they were the amateur film group Daicon Film) and EVA uses many experimental techniques that would seem right at home in a video (especially in its later episodes), very little is known about Anno’s taste in hey-hey-my-rock-n’-roll-and-never-die. Except for his response at Anime Expo ’96 to a question of Mr. Widya Santoso of Her Majesty’s Excise and Customs, Canberra:

Santoso: Would you consider yourself to be more of the John Lennon or Paul McCartney of Gainax?

Anno: I don’t listen to the Beatles, so I don’t know.

Carl Gustav Horn

[s]I've been beaten to four. I'll take pages one and two of Issue 5.[/s]
NOTE: The italicized and bolded sections seem to disappear upon copy-paste. I'll deal with it if Evamonkey doesn't get to it first.
Last edited by Nuclear Lunchbox on Tue Dec 10, 2013 1:47 am, edited 2 times in total.

The Eva Monkey
IT'S OVER 9000!!!
IT'S OVER 9000!!!
User avatar
Posts: 9109
Joined: Jun 14, 2004
Location: The Evanets.
Gender: Male
Contact:

  •      
  •      
  • Quote

Postby The Eva Monkey » Fri Dec 06, 2013 11:34 pm

View Original PostNuclear Lunchbox wrote:NOTE: The italicized and bolded sections seem to disappear upon copy-paste. I'll deal with it if Evamonkey doesn't get to it first.

Don't worry about it, I'll be doing formatting for HTML anyway.

Thanks for your help, your efforts are beginning to be reflected here:

http://www.evamonkey.com/misatos-fan-service-center/mfsc.php

gwern
Ireul
Ireul
User avatar
Age: 93
Posts: 667
Joined: Jun 02, 2010
Gender: Male
Contact:

  •      
  •      
  • Quote

Postby gwern » Sun Dec 08, 2013 5:51 pm

This seems like a worthwhile project. I will try to transcribe 1 page a day until it is done. Hopefully Markdown will not be an issue.

The first one: http://www.evamonkey.com/misatos-fan-service-center/1_4_1.gif

Volume 1, Issue 4  SPOILER: Show

# Neon Genesis Evangelion Letters Page

c/o
Viz Comics
P.O. Box 77010
San Francisco, CA 94107

Dear Rei Ayanami,

[image center: envelope with drawing of Pen-Pen and stamp of snakes.]

Hi. My name is Charlie, and I heard that later this year there will be a full-length motion picture of the ***EVANGELION*** series. Is this just a rumor? Also, I would like to know if someone in "high places" there could maybe get me a data with Rei Ayanami. I think she is the greatest thing to happen in my life, even though I have not actually met her. I would like to speak to her in person rather than write, but it's worth it anyway. Although Rei is not very talkative, I believe I will be able to make her smile. There is something special about her, and I'd like to tell her how special I think she is, also.

I'm nineteen and Rei is fourteen. I know there's a big difference in our ages, but I can't help it. If I could be any girl's boyfriend, it would be Rei. Oh, I love her so much. I even draw pictures of her and daydream about her all day! Well, anyway, please tell her how I feel, and if she'd like to respond, my address is: P.O. Box 7038, Nikiski, AK 99635.

Thanks a lot!

Charlie Boucher

P.S. I LOVE YOU, Rei!

P.P.S. Tell Pen-Pen, "Hello."

[images bottom right: Rei, Boucher]

> Although Mr. Boucher's letter was directed towards ANIMERICA, we hope he won't mind it being re-routed to these pages instead, as it seems most appropriate for it to be included here. He drew a picture of Pen-Pen on the envelope (which, we noted, was mailed with a stamp that depicts the San Francisco garter snake). As fans of the EVA anime know, Pen-Pen (a.k.a. Pen^2^) is Misato's pet hot-springs penguin, whom we meet in Episode 2 of the TV show, but not until Stage 7 of the manga.
>
> There are actually two EVANGELION movies: EVANGELION: DEATH AND REBIRTH, which premiered March 15 in Japan, and THE END OF EVANGELION, which premiered July 19 in Japan, and which, like the EVA TV episodes, bears both an English and Japanese subtitle (AIR and MY PURE HEART FOR YOU, respectively). As of this writing, no plans have been announced for their release in the United States. A.D.V. Films, which is currently releasing the EVA TV episodes, has indicated that they have no plans to acquire the movies, but it is expected that they will be available as import Japanese LDs (and/or DVD's) before too long.
>
> Mr. Boucher enclosed a drawing of himself rather than a photograph, demonstrating that he's considerate enough to meet Rei on her own two-dimensional terms. Nevertheless, the problem remains that Rei isn't really fourteen right now; she's minus - that is to say, as EVANGELION takes place in 2015, Rei presumably won't be born until 2001. This would seem to hearken a true May-December romance, but if Mr. Boucher can slip the bonds of sphereland, perhaps neither will he be restrained by the hands of the clock. It is said that love is a fortress exceeding both time and space.

Dear Carl,

***NEON GENESIS EVANGELION*** is one of those very rare series that takes a particular genre and shakes the dust off. The giant robot genre is a venerable one both in Japan and in the United States. I have fond childhood memories of ***ULTRAMAN***, ***JOHNNY SOKKO*** (the English dub of the 1960s Japanese live-action film adaptation of the original ***GIANT ROBO*** manga by Mitsuteru Yokoyama), and ***SPACE GIANTS*** (the English dub of the 1960s Japanese live-action

The Eva Monkey
IT'S OVER 9000!!!
IT'S OVER 9000!!!
User avatar
Posts: 9109
Joined: Jun 14, 2004
Location: The Evanets.
Gender: Male
Contact:

  •      
  •      
  • Quote

Postby The Eva Monkey » Sun Dec 08, 2013 8:55 pm

Claiming Vol. 1, issue 6.

Thanks for joining in gwern, your help is most appreciated.

cyharding
Our Man in Tokyo 3
Our Man in Tokyo 3
User avatar
Age: 42
Posts: 1924
Joined: Jun 08, 2007
Location: In Glorious Technicolor
Gender: Male

  •      
  •      
  • Quote

Postby cyharding » Sun Dec 08, 2013 10:40 pm

I'll volunteer for Volume 2, issue 1 if no one else hasn't taken it yet. I also have a quick question, would you include with these pieces, the article he wrote at the end of volume 8 where he concludes the series, as I think starting with that volume, it was no longer appearing in serialized installments?
Finding intelligent life on the web is not easy, we must all be glad we found EGF. - A.T. Fish
You Can Start Again. Chapter 32 now released. Now on FF.net
Oh, Eva, you never cease to amaze me. Your fans are analizing a calendar, for god's sake.- Alpha

The Eva Monkey
IT'S OVER 9000!!!
IT'S OVER 9000!!!
User avatar
Posts: 9109
Joined: Jun 14, 2004
Location: The Evanets.
Gender: Male
Contact:

  •      
  •      
  • Quote

Postby The Eva Monkey » Sun Dec 08, 2013 11:42 pm

You mean at the end of Volume 7? That's actually one of the issues I'm missing.

That would definitely be something I would like to have transcribed.

Also guys, don't worry about special formatting like bold facing, italicizing, or indentation, image description, or anything like that, I will handle all of that as I convert them into HTML. The only thing I would ask is that you follow how things are capitalized.

Nuclear Lunchbox
Agent Ahegao
Agent Ahegao
User avatar
Age: 26
Posts: 10623
Joined: Dec 13, 2012
Location: Nippon
Gender: Male

  •      
  •      
  • Quote

Postby Nuclear Lunchbox » Sun Dec 08, 2013 11:44 pm

Out of curiosity, are the members helping in the transliteration going to receive any sort of credit for their work?

gwern
Ireul
Ireul
User avatar
Age: 93
Posts: 667
Joined: Jun 02, 2010
Gender: Male
Contact:

  •      
  •      
  • Quote

Postby gwern » Mon Dec 09, 2013 1:26 pm

http://www.evamonkey.com/misatos-fan-service-center/1_4_2.gif

Volume 1, Issue 4  SPOILER: Show

television adaptation of the original ***MAGMA TAISHI*** ["Ambassador Magma"] manga by Osamu Tezuka). ***EVANGELION*** takes all the best and the worst parts of these shows and puts a new spin on them, creating a new and powerfully different entity.

What is ***EVANGELION*** really about, though? Is it about man's search for God as we come closer and closer to being able to "play" God on a major scale? Is it about the search for self that the characters undertake as the series progresses? Or is it merely a really good giant robot show with better than average characters for a television series? I've seen half of the series so far and these questions (and many, many others) have yet to be answered. There are more questions now than there were at the beginning.

The manga version of the story is interesting because it's a good adaptation of the story and yet it's different enough that those fans who've seen all of the series so far will be coming back each month to see where the story goes. Sadamoto's art is wonderful. The characters look even more realistic here than they do in the anime. The only complaint I have here is the use of color on only a couple of pages. I'd prefer either a fully colored book or a fully black-and-white book. The move from full color to black-and-white is extremely jarring.

So, I'm hooked. I was hooked by the end of the first episode. ***NEON GENESIS EVANGELION*** is a classic in its own time.

Sincerely,

Matthew Wilbur \
Santa Rosa, CA

> The **EVA** manga is definitely its own experience, and Sadamoto feels free to change dialogue, remove scenes, put in new ones, put characters in different places, and speed up or slow down events in relation to the TV show. Of course, as has been said before, **EVA** was a co-creation of Sadamoto and anime director Hideaki Anno (as well as others at studio Gainax, which has always had a collective creative ethic). It has always been understood that the manga (which began before the anime first aired) is Sadamoto's own interpretation of the story. And of course, I imagine that neither he nor his readers would enjoy the **EVA** manga for very long were it simply a note-for-note adaptation of the anime.
>
> Regarding the four pages of color which open issue #1, whereas the rest of the issue (and most of the **EVA** manga in general) is in black-and-white, this is of course how things were in the original Japanese printing. Readers may be aware that although the vast majority of comics in Japan are printed in black-and-white, publishers often call attention to a new story by printing its opening pages in color. Sometimes, a manga may have occasional color pages later on in the story as well (as is the case with **EVA**, as well as, for example, Masamune Shirow's **GHOST IN THE SHELL**).
>
> While many manga artists are certainly proficient with color, various factors account for why it is not the general practice in Japanese comics. Before the Second World War, many manga were in full color, as is common (but by no means any longer universal) in the U.S. But the manga industry as we know it today was born in the ashes of the post-war period, when a dirt-cheap entertainment medium was all people could afford. That meant black-and-white printing, but it also meant a tremendous opportunity to lay the foundations for an incredibly vital comics industry, which would reach practically every segment of society.
>
> As manga became more and more popular, the demand for output also expanded, to the point where a single manga artist might be contracted to produce several hundred pages a month. Even with the ubiquitous staff of assistants to help with laying tones, drawing backgrounds etc. (Sadamoto at times has had five assistants on **EVA**), the volume of pages required helped to ensure that the less time-consuming black-and-white remained the practice. This holds true for artists such as Sadamoto, who don't have to churn out manga at such a great pace. Finally, the economy of scale that enables a Japanese publisher to put out five million copies a week of a 400-page manga magazine and sell it to five million customers for the equivalent of $1.85 each (to cite the example of industry champ Shueisha's **SHONEN JUMP**) is all predicated on producing in black-and-white.
>
> And so color is a special occasion in manga. While on one level it's a shame we can't see more of it, especially when the artist has the color talent of Sadamoto, manga has taken the pleasures of black-and-white comics into many new artistic directions. And, of course, you wouldn't be reading this if you didn't enjoy comics in black-and-white as well. The transition between the two formats may seem a little strange at times, perhaps, but what Sadamoto does in color, we're glad to have the opportunity to reprint in color. We think our printer, Quebecor Lebonfon of Quebec, did a very good job with the separations - the four pages in issue #1 create a soft, clear, watercolor-like effect. The next color section, by the way, will be coming up in **EVA** Book Two: 2.

[image bottom right: signature, "Carl Gustav Horn"]

The Eva Monkey
IT'S OVER 9000!!!
IT'S OVER 9000!!!
User avatar
Posts: 9109
Joined: Jun 14, 2004
Location: The Evanets.
Gender: Male
Contact:

  •      
  •      
  • Quote

Postby The Eva Monkey » Mon Dec 09, 2013 11:44 pm

Finished with Vol. 1, issue 6. Claiming Vol. 2, issue 4.

View Original PostNuclear Lunchbox wrote:Out of curiosity, are the members helping in the transliteration going to receive any sort of credit for their work?

I hadn't put a whole lot of thought into it, but yeah, I can see to it that people get some sort of thanks or credit for the effort.

cyharding
Our Man in Tokyo 3
Our Man in Tokyo 3
User avatar
Age: 42
Posts: 1924
Joined: Jun 08, 2007
Location: In Glorious Technicolor
Gender: Male

  •      
  •      
  • Quote

Postby cyharding » Tue Dec 10, 2013 12:20 am

View Original PostThe Eva Monkey wrote:You mean at the end of Volume 7?


No. I'm talking about a piece at the end of Volume 8 where he talks about the column and some of the people that graced the pages we're transscribing. I thought it would be a nice capstone to the whole project.

Volume 2, Issue 1:

SPOILER: Show
As the guy said the Fukuhara in Otaku no Video, “You mean a trendy girl like you came up with a design like this?” Yes, the brilliant Katy Isaacs of CALTECH (as the sign on the Hollywood Hills once read briefly) is the winner of the contest to the name the Neon Genesis Evangelion letter column. A number is people suggested letter column titles that were more on the serious tip, but I couldn’t resist “Misato’s Fan Service Center” because 1.) each episode of the Eva anime ends with Misato’s voice doing the trailer, often promising “fan service,” so why not conclude each episode of the manga the same way? 2.) this is where I attempt to provide service to the fans—if not fan service –by answering questions , and 3.) as David Letterman once said, “When I was chosen at random from the Indianapolis phone book to host this show, I knew what the American people wanted—cheap laughs and plenty of them.” Congratulations, Ms. Isaacs! You win a subscription to Neon Genesis Evangelion Special Collector’s Edition Book Two.

By the way, Otaku no Video was Gainax’s production previous to Evangelion, created in 1991. Between 1991 and the initial planning for Eva in 1994, the studio took a hiatus from original anime productions and developed their successful line of software. In addition, they worked on other companies’ production, perhaps most notably on Giant Robo, for which Hideaki Anno did a spectacular turn as special effects director. Otaku no Video is sometimes called the “Spinal Tap of anime,” is a 100-minute, half anime, half live-action “documentary” about the otaku lifestyle and the rise, fall, and rise again of a company bearing a suspicious resemblance to Gainax itself. With character designs by Ken’ichi Sonoda (Gunsmith Cats—now available from Dark Horse Comics!). It’s highly recommended. It’s available subtitles from AnimEgo/New Market Sales (1-800-242-7961) and includes four pages of liner notes explaining the in-jokes.

Dear Carl,

I have to compliment Sadamoto-san on this marvelous manga! Yoko dekimashita! The art is gorgeous and the characters are perfectly in sync with the characterization going on in the anime. It certainly has me curious how closely Sadamoto-san will stay with the storyline of the anime, and how much creative license he will take. Already a few tidbits of information unavailable in the anime have been revealed, such as the fact that Shinji was left with his uncle when Commander Ikari abandoned him, or the exact nature of the fluid that fills the plugs. I’m hoping that the manga will clear up more mysteries in the future.

I also appreciate the long and thoughtful responses you are giving to the letters, Carl. I’m used to the mainstream comic format where they keep their comments short to print as many letters as possible.

With regards,

Jenni Bomford
Prince George, BC, CANADA

Thank you, Ms. Bomford. This is the first time I’ve ever edited a comic, and I still have a great deal to learn , such as how to avoid switching between “I” and the more evasive “we” in my responses. My own favorite letter column is the one Garth Ennis edits for his own comic, D.C.’s Preacher. (When will someone send in their “I was the biggest wanker in the world” story?) On the Ennis Eva tip though, I can say that the “Yebisu” that Misato knocks back is a real beer made by Sapporo, although I’ve only seen it here in Japanese groceries and then only in bottle. It’s all right. I’m more of a fan of Suntory Whisky (“Very good, though I, a Scot, say it”—Ian Fleming. Thrilling Cities).

Evangelion is a series that encourages a great deal of [s]drinking[/s] thinking from its fans. That is really the secret of its success; Sadamoto’s faces are pretty (according to Misato, even Shinji’s), but what lies behind them? The reference to Shinji having been left with his uncle (and aunt—Book Two will go into this further) is actually an instance in which the manga differs from the anime, in which Shinji speaks of having lived with one of his teachers. Since the Eva anime is finished, it’s all Sadamoto’s game now, and, as you said, it’ll be interesting to see where he’ll take it.

A fair amount of research goes into editing the Eva manga. Besides using such sources as Kadokawa’s Newtype 100% Collection: Neon Genesis Evangelion and the Newtype Film Book series covering the TV show and movies, I’ve also sought help from American manga industry shooting star Mari Kamada of Digital Manga (www.emanga.com) , who has advised me on the rendering of Toji’s accent. There is, of course, no such thing as an exact English “equivalent “ of his “Kan-saiiiiiii,”—or Japanese Osaka-speak, but it was an element of his character that I wanted to preserve in the manga, as it was left out of the English version of the anime. Some have suggested the Kansei-ben be rendered as an American Southern accent; Dan Kanemitsu, in his translation of Tony Takezaki’s A.D. Police manga, even went for the Rasta sound! But for me, the tough guy, cash money-makin always ready to throw down characteristics of the stereotypical Osakan suggested Brooklyn. Why a character from Osaka, anyway? That’s where Gainax is from originally and where its founders went to college together back in the early eighties. I am also indebted to one of the most serious, conscientious, and genuinely intellectual students of the series, Dave Fleming.

As for fan art, check out this bad-ass, kick-ass piece below from Rich Anderson, also of Indianapolis. Aw, man!—I wish I could reproduce this in color! Mr. Anderson put his drawing in a padded envelope “for safekeeping, since who knows who might decide that they like it and keep it…” Around here, ain’t that the truth, baby. He continues, “Asuka told me to put a proper German shirt on her, so I obliged and her in KMFDM, instead of that U2 stuff (smile). Rei stated no preference, so I put her in PWEI gear.” (That would be The incredible PWEI (die Englanderbund Pop Will Eat Itself), whose “Can U Dig It?” is an otaku anthem, and whom I was introduced to by Dr. Kinski-Merkwverdigicheliebe, a.k.a. Jim “Unspoilt By Progress” McLennan, whose amazing anime fan music video set to Ministry’s “Jesus Built My Hotrod” you may have seen.

Mr. Anderson, who looks like he’s in some cool band or something , will be running the Con Suite at the upcoming Anime Central . Did you the aforementioned Ken’ichi Sonoda is their Japanese Guest of Honor? There’s still time to make plans to attend! Anime Central is at the Holiday Inn O’Hare International Airport in Rosemont, Illinois, from April 3-5. Check out www.anime.net/~acen/ for more details. Mr. Anderson, right now I’m listening to “Them Bones” by Alice in Chains. If only every band could be Alice in Chains. That would be cool.


Also, are you planning to link the original scanned pages along with the transcriptions? I'm wondering because he talks about a particular piece of fanart that was published with this article and it would be nice if people would see what he's talking about.
Finding intelligent life on the web is not easy, we must all be glad we found EGF. - A.T. Fish
You Can Start Again. Chapter 32 now released. Now on FF.net
Oh, Eva, you never cease to amaze me. Your fans are analizing a calendar, for god's sake.- Alpha

Nuclear Lunchbox
Agent Ahegao
Agent Ahegao
User avatar
Age: 26
Posts: 10623
Joined: Dec 13, 2012
Location: Nippon
Gender: Male

  •      
  •      
  • Quote

Postby Nuclear Lunchbox » Tue Dec 10, 2013 1:48 am

The real world is calling, and it looks like this is all the work I can do for the time being. Vol. 1 Issue 5 open for transliteration. See departures thread.

gwern
Ireul
Ireul
User avatar
Age: 93
Posts: 667
Joined: Jun 02, 2010
Gender: Male
Contact:

  •      
  •      
  • Quote

Postby gwern » Tue Dec 10, 2013 11:39 am

http://www.evamonkey.com/misatos-fan-service-center/2_5_1.gif

Vol 2, Issue 5  SPOILER: Show

# Misato's Fan Service Center

[top left image: drawing of Rei Ayanami laying down reading a piece of paper]

c/o Viz Comics P.O. Box 77010 San Francisco, CA 94107

[email protected]

[middle image: drawing of a small Sachiel superimposed on a large Pen-Pen superimposed on lightning bolts]

> First of all, appy polly logies to Gene W. Chin of Oakland, CA - Jerry Brown's town, and a fine town it is! - who wrote in with a whole bunch of suggestions for the *Eva* latter column, but whom I don't think I ever acknowledged. Now Leon van Hooydonk from Haarlem - the one with two "a" - I mentioned last issue, but he then sent in another letter with this choice illustration (above). We could all learn something from the Dutch; particularly, our federal government could learn something from them, if you take my meaning, and I think you do. Toont u een waarachtig Nederlander, read *Neon Genesis Evangelion*! And a special ethnic shout out right now to my man from Indoe-nesia, Casey van Maanen! Smooth it out back East!

Dear ***Eva*** letters page,

[letter column title suggestions deleted] ...Since I'm already writing to you I have some concerns. The letters page is becoming tiresome to read. I don't care about the opinions from the people talking about other animes. I buy the ***Evangelion*** comic to read just about that and nothing else. While I sometimes enjoy reading about **Evangelion*** past influences, I'd rather see art from readers and ***Evangelion*** merchandise ads.

Also, I believe that Andrew J. Capraro is a con artist. I mean, come on, how low can you go using a children's hospital to get posters that you'll just end up keeping for yourself? Trust me, I've written letters like these implementing the same methods like using old folks' homes and orphanages.

> As Dieter would say, "Your letters page has become tiresome." I didn't print the name or address of ex- (?) grifter Mr. "S", but however his (or my own) past may be, he was wrong to suspect criminality of everyone. Dr. Capraro is a real-life, true-code blue, ass-working-off resident at a children's hospital (Dont'cha think I'd check that out?). No posters for you, Mr. S! Shame on ya! Shame! And keep buying *Evangelion*!

Attention All NERV Personnel,

I have existed for about two decades but have spent nearly 75% of that watching and adoring anime. Over the years I have opened my perceptions of anime to a much wider level. I used to watch it just for extreme violence, but nowadays I have evolved into a state where I can appreciate anime for not only its content but its constructive crew as well. I feel that this has given me an ability to not just judge something on what the story is about but to look into the animation, soundtrack, and voice acting. To that end I would like to say that ***Neon Genesis Evangelion*** is one in a million! It grabbed ahold of me the second I saw the first trailer for it, when I heard the opening to "Cruel Angel's Thesis". It is rare when someone can take a certain genre such as the giant robot style and blow off the dust and make a damn fine series. In my official opinion ***Evangelion*** is number one on my top list of anime ever!

...I feel it is now my time to brag about who's my favorite character...My favorite character in the series is Asuka Langley Sohryu. I don't know why, I think it's because she has one of those irritating yet interesting personalities. I love how she always does whatever it takes to win - but a lot of times it's not just enough in the Angels' eyes. I believe she has a "Ranma-to-Akane"-type relationship with Shinji. They both fight all the time but they still end up looking like a couple...I think Misato is a very pivotal character and has become more of a big sister/surrogate mother to Shinji. Her character is well organized and is really what keeps Shinji in the story, literally. Shinji is a great protagonist. He's the one kid who gets to live out the giant robot fantasy but really doesn't want to...

I think my time is up and I would just like to say what a great job you're doing with the manga series. Keep it up! And remember...

The Eva Monkey
IT'S OVER 9000!!!
IT'S OVER 9000!!!
User avatar
Posts: 9109
Joined: Jun 14, 2004
Location: The Evanets.
Gender: Male
Contact:

  •      
  •      
  • Quote

Postby The Eva Monkey » Tue Dec 10, 2013 1:57 pm

View Original Postcyharding wrote:No. I'm talking about a piece at the end of Volume 8 where he talks about the column and some of the people that graced the pages we're transscribing. I thought it would be a nice capstone to the whole project.

I didn't think about that, but I'll keep that in mind as I continue to work on this.

View Original Postcyharding wrote:Also, are you planning to link the original scanned pages along with the transcriptions? I'm wondering because he talks about a particular piece of fanart that was published with this article and it would be nice if people would see what he's talking about.

No, not the pages, however I am also scanning the fanart for inclusion.

View Original PostNuclear Lunchbox wrote:The real world is calling, and it looks like this is all the work I can do for the time being. Vol. 1 Issue 5 open for transliteration. See departures thread.

Thanks very much for your help. Hopefully it will all be done and nicely formatted by the time you return.

The Eva Monkey
IT'S OVER 9000!!!
IT'S OVER 9000!!!
User avatar
Posts: 9109
Joined: Jun 14, 2004
Location: The Evanets.
Gender: Male
Contact:

  •      
  •      
  • Quote

Postby The Eva Monkey » Wed Dec 11, 2013 1:01 pm

Finished with Vol. 2, issue 4. Claiming Vol. 1, issue 5.

Progress has been updated in OP.

gwern
Ireul
Ireul
User avatar
Age: 93
Posts: 667
Joined: Jun 02, 2010
Gender: Male
Contact:

  •      
  •      
  • Quote

Postby gwern » Wed Dec 11, 2013 3:19 pm

http://www.evamonkey.com/misatos-fan-service-center/2_5_2.gif

SPOILER: Show

"Any place can be haven, as long as you try and live" --*Yui Ikari*

Sincerely, \
John M. Wilson \
Dothan, AL

> "The day I tried to live...I tried..." --Soundgarden. I apologize for trimming the letter. We are currently at Asuka minus seven months and counting in the manga, so please hang in there (Rei is the keynote of Book Three). Sadamoto seems to have great affection for Asuka, too, and expands certain scenes with her. As for Asuka and Shinji looking like a couple, as they'd say, "Chigau!" But Asuka is more like Shinji than she would admit; her response in the anime, when Shinji reveals why he pilots the *Eva*, is telling later on. There have certainly been some dōjinshi which speculated on Asuka and Shinji healing each other - quite often, in the Marvin Gaye sense. Your observation about Misato (who *does* admit she's like Shinji) is especially borne out by this issue.
>
> Special thanks to Keith Miynarski from Roswell, Ga., Lauryn Bushy from Leesport, PA - Rei and Shinji are in the 8th grade - and to A. Callaway, a.k.a. Dizzy-chan, from Sarasota, FL, who sent in some KA-WA-II SD *Eva* images (seen on the upper right). As a matter of fact, Dizzy wants to be an Eva pilot herself, an includes this concept illo of her (green streak in her hair) in a plug suit. Yes, NERV is supposed to have two branches in the U.S., although, if you want my advice, stay away from the one in Nevada. Anyway, in Dizzy-chan's honor, Rei boots Shinji off the title of the letter page. What could the letter possibly say to make *Rei* smile? My guess is that it's her merchandising contract.
>
> Special Notice! Don't forget to check out Vol. 1 of the *Eva* graphic novel, out this very month from Viz! It contains a bonus: four pages of commentary from *Eva* director Hideaki Anno and mechanical designer Ikuto Yamashita - never before printed in English in its entirety! You don't want to miss Anno's essay in particular, written before the first episode even aired - you've heard this and that said about his personal motivations for making *Eva* - now hear it from Anno himself. By the way, remember that bit under "Tokyo-2" in the Dossier section of Book 2:1, where it said, "The Temporary Government of Japan"? Pretend it said "The Provisional Government of Japan" instead. Thank you. Thanks as always to my main gōmanizumu sengen-jin, Dave Fleming.
>
> Carl Gustav Horn

[top right image: BW drawings of Touji and Shinji in super-deformed style]
[middle right image: BW drawing of girl in dark-colored plug suit, number 04, with shoulder-length hair with dyed forelock]
[bottom right image: signature "Carl Gustav Horn"]


EDIT: http://www.evamonkey.com/misatos-fan-service-center/3_1_1.gif

SPOILER: Show

# Misato's Fan Service Center

c/o Viz Comics P.O. Box 77010 San Francisco, CA 94107

[email protected]

Drawing by Vincent D'Elia

[image left center: BW image of Rei Ayanami in plugsuit leaning back]

> Another letter from Jason Green, Fairview Heights, IL - yes, Sadamoto does reveal Eva's secrets at a different pace. Thanks to Vincent D'Elia of Schuyler Falls, NY, who sums up the series as "Believable characters in a powerful, human story" ("Know ye not that we shall judge angels? how much more things that pertain to this life?" -I Corinthians 6:3) and who did this heroic drawing of Rei. Matthew Treusch - address lost in the rinse cycle - is collecting the models of the Eva units. My personal favorite is the original, yellow Unit-00; I think it's unadorned and elegant, much like its pilot. If you're fascinated by the design of the Eva Units and the other mecha of the series, you might want to check out a new book by series artists Ikuto Yamashita and Seiji Kio, called Sore o Nasu Mono ("That Which Makes"), also known as Neon Genesis Evangelion Design Works. It's 1400 yen, published by Kadokawa, and contains all the behind-the-scenes discussion (with many sketches and illustrations) about the designs that were used (and the designs that weren't used - Yamashita's own, unmade ideas for the Eva movie are also included here). Thanks to Dave Van Domelen for his online review of Eva Book One, Number Six. Also giving greetings from online land (Sacramento, CA actual) was Paul Dale Roberts, president of Jazma Universe.

Greetings...

O.K., I suppose it is too late; so I gather from the latest issue of Neon Genesis Evangelion. In any case, "NERV Center" seems way too obvious, and probably is on half of the entries! "EVopcenter"? Goofy acronym, as you'd expect from a grunt who's spent 20+ years dealing with DODACs, FEBAs, MREs, and EAs (we once launched a virtual tactical nuke in the middle of California!) Yeah, I used to have the equal of Misato's job, although at a sufficiently low level that it only required a Staff Sergeant, not a Major; Major is the proper rank for a S-3, of course.

Anyway, here's my next best offer: "S-3, NERV". Unless NERV is considered a little more like Division level, or higher, in which case it should be: "G-3, NERV".

I got started with a "so goofy it's really cute" shōjo anime which made U.S. broadcast - Sailor Moon. I went looking for the comic on which it was based, and while I ultimately did find it (untranslated, then, no less!), I found a slew of neat stories along the way. Some available in English (Oh My Goddess! and Inuyasha), others not (Yokohama Kaidashi Kikō and Gogo San-ji no Mahō).

Now, I've got a new imaginary crush. No, the crush is real, the character is imaginary. My solution to, "The Hedgehog's Dilemma", I think! Now Rei Ayanami is both sweet and enigmatic, while Asuka Langley Soryu is feisty and fragile. However, as soon as I got a look at the inside of Chez Katsuragi, my heart was undone; I'd go anywhere with Misato Katsuragi! (sigh)

Norman S. Miller \
Sheridan, CA


http://www.evamonkey.com/misatos-fan-service-center/3_1_2.gif

SPOILER: Show

Drawing by John Doud

[image top: BW drawing of Misato laying on her back on a beach giving the V sign, saying "Love", and Pen-Pen looking nonplussed]

> How nice to hear from someone who likes imaginary older women! ("I don't want a phone that never rings / I want your love" --Everything But The Girl, "Before Today"). I'm still two years before the mast of Ritsuko and Misato, who both get more time on stage in this issue. Of course, Misato has not yet made Major at this point in the manga... My favorite part of the MRE is that little package of condiments, which always seems to have more choices than a Swiss Army knife. I appreciate your restraint on the tac-nuke, but you could have probably used a real one anywhere along I-5 and no one would notice. Yokohama Kaidashi Kikō I'm not familiar with, but I understand Gogo San-ji no Mahō is another manga by Narumi Kakinouchi, whose New Vampire Miyu (done in partnership with Toshihiro Hirano, who did such wonderful work on Mako: Sexy Symphony), is published in English by Kuni Kimura's Studio Ironcat. Kuni loves MREs, so that includes this installment of Connections.
>
> Agreeing with Vincent D'Elia is Nate "TG" Cothran of Shelby, NC, who calls Eva "the most HUMAN of anime as whole", and who sent along this picture of perhaps the most human of its characters, Ka-Ka-Kaji. Keith Greene of Kelowna, B.C. Canada, has been hitting the scrolls - Dead Sea, that is, and came up with some very interesting quotes, including, from the "Community Rule", this one which he relates to Gendo and SEELE (which is pronounced "zay-leh", by the way): "...no man shall argue or quarrel with the man of perdition. He shall keep his council in secrecy in the midst of the men of deceit and admonish with knowledge, truth, and righteous commandment those of chosen conduct..." Greene also gives a quote from Enoch that should lead you all right to Genesis 6:1-4, a little passage which will make you think.
>
> [image middle left: black-white drawing of Kaji in profile]
>
> Corinthians also says, "the saints shall judge the world"; on that note, John Doud of Salt Lake City, UT sends this picture of Misato and Pen-Pen chillin' in the heat. Can you really see things like this by the Great Salt Lake? Mr. Doud is one of the man people who miss Biobooster Armor Guyver, and wants to know if there will be any more. I'm sorry, but it is still - as we like to say around here - "on hiatus".
>
> [image middle: signature]
>
> Carl Gustav Horn

cyharding
Our Man in Tokyo 3
Our Man in Tokyo 3
User avatar
Age: 42
Posts: 1924
Joined: Jun 08, 2007
Location: In Glorious Technicolor
Gender: Male

  •      
  •      
  • Quote

Postby cyharding » Fri Dec 13, 2013 11:55 pm

If no one else has claimed it, I'll work on volume 3, issue 2.
Finding intelligent life on the web is not easy, we must all be glad we found EGF. - A.T. Fish
You Can Start Again. Chapter 32 now released. Now on FF.net
Oh, Eva, you never cease to amaze me. Your fans are analizing a calendar, for god's sake.- Alpha

gwern
Ireul
Ireul
User avatar
Age: 93
Posts: 667
Joined: Jun 02, 2010
Gender: Male
Contact:

  •      
  •      
  • Quote

Postby gwern » Sat Dec 14, 2013 6:09 pm

http://www.evamonkey.com/misatos-fan-service-center/3_3_1.gif

SPOILER: Show

# Misato's Fan Service Center

c/o Viz Comics P.O. Box 77010 San Francisco, CA 94107

[email protected]

> "I like THC with my DVD!" -Fred Norris as Jackie Martling. Well, you know what I'm listening to as I type. First of all, I apologize for missing Allen Lau's letter (from back in April), who wants to know why Viz doesn't publish *Evangelion* "all in graphic novel form? I mean, that's how it's done in Japan! And it's convenient to read, not to mention it'll be cheaper for cash limited people like me". I know what you mean, but technically, *Eva* is indeed published on a monthly basis in Japan - in a magazine called SHONEN ACE (for those of you who watched *Eva* taped off Japanese TV, SHOOOOOONEN AAAAAAACE!!!) - before being collected into its Japanese graphic novel form. Admittedly ACE also contains 16 or 17 stories besides *Eva* (including the charming mermaid story, *Marine Color* - available in graphic novel form from Kadokawa, by Suezen, a.ka. Fumio Iida, Sadamoto's partner when they were both animation directors on *The Wings of Honneamise*). However, you have to pay ¥390 to get your bit o'*Evangelion* within ACE - currently about $2.65, not much less than the monthly English version, while the English version is printed on better paper (which means the art comes out better, as well), and you get a new installment every month, which isn't true of the original version - the last three months of SHONEN ACE have been *Eva*-less. Of course, Sadamoto's also busy with Hiroyuki Yamaga's *Aoki Uru*, so it's all good, and it means we're catching up with where *Eva*'s at in Japan.
>
> Mr. Lau, who is from Elk Grove, IL, wants to know what you have to do to get into this business. That's an interesting question; there are different paths. Some of the people at Viz (and, I would imagine, at Dark Horse, Mixx, CPM, ADV, or any other comparable company), had no particular interest in manga or anime culture before they came there - they just wanted a job, had a willingness to work for the company, and the skills the company needed: marketing, layout, editing, a strong back. Others at this and other companies began at otaku first, and entered the industry out of their personal interest. Many already had considerable experience doing things such as translation, writing, editing and promotion when they became professionals ("professional" status is when you have to start paying taxes on what you do as a fan). Some of these otaku went to work for companies, and some started their own - an admirable but considerably more difficult proposition for which you need the skills of an entrepreneur (a education in business, self-learned, or from a school, is just as necessary and valuable in this field as writing or graphics skills), But in any of those examples, the person developed a skill important to putting out anime and manga in America. Anyone who wants to get into it should do the same.
>
> It's not too early to get started: in my own case, I began when I was 15, writing about anime for my school paper and for the video program book of a local SF convention. I was definitely inspired back then (A.D. 1986) by Toren Smith, who had already done a great deal to articulate and promote the culture to the West as a fan, and would soon take it to what Geto Boys call "that other level of the game" with his Studio Proteus (and as Above The Law would say about Rally Vincent, "A lot of drama on her block but she never stress / Because she's built like a Presidential Rolex"). I wrote for various fanzines, convention programs, club events, and from 1990 on, for the Internet; it was from the Net that Trish Ledoux, already working for Viz, asked me in 1993 to write for *Animerica* (it was also Trish who asked me to edit *Evangelion*). However, it wasn't until 1996 that I decided to make this field my sole source of simoleons. If, like Mr. Lau, you're determined at a young age to make this your vocation, you have one up on me. You also have the advantage that people like Smith and Ledoux (not to mention Seiji Horibuchi, John Ledford, Mike Richardson, Gary Groth, John O'Donnell, Gareb Shamus, etc...) have led by example and created the opportunity for many more people to work in this field professionally, opportunity that simply didn't exist when I was in high school. And you hear new names every day; this industry is expanding. So whatever you'd like to do in this line of work, practice doing it in any way you can! (Can you tell I was a Boy Scout?)
>
> David Reid (240 W. 64th St., Hialeah, FL 33012) wants to know if anyone out there wants to part with their Book 1, #3 of the *Special Collector's Edition* of *Eva*. We ain't got none ere: issue #3s of any magazine tend to be rare, because when you place your print order for #3, you usually don't have figures back yet on #1, so you tend to be conservative. Mr. Reid is one of a number of people who pointed out the appearance of Rei on a t-shirt on NBC's "Veronica's Closet". Keep on keepin' on...

Dear Misato's Fan Service Center,

(Cool name btw). I was surprised to see my drawing of Misato in Book One, Vol. 6. I'm also rather ashamed. That early piece lacked accuracy. My current work more closely mirrors Sadamoto-sama's style. Here is my latest (of Misato again, just love that gal). I've also drawn Asuka, Rei, and Maya Ibuki.

One odd point in the manga is that it fails to emphasize the connection between Eva-01 and Shinji Ikari. An important part of the anime but oddly absent in the manga. If this trend continues I wonder how Sadamoto-sama will deal with the events from the Twelfth Angel to the end? I love the Special Edition's Japanese layout. ***Eva*** has eclipsed ***Blade of the Immortal*** as my all-time favorite manga!

Hugs and kisses, \
Alvin Yeo \
Christchurch, New Zealand


Interesting capsule bio by Horn. But this was '98, right? I'm guessing he's not so sanguine about going into the North American anime/manga business now.

http://www.evamonkey.com/misatos-fan-service-center/3_3_2.gif

SPOILER: Show

> This is an elegant drawing, and you're right, it does approach Sadamoto! How about doing one of Dr. Akagi? Though I think the manga actually hints at the connection *earlier* than the anime did, in the vision Shinji has in Book One, Part 5. Well, if *Eva* can best Hiroaki Samura's superb style on *Blade* (insert shout-out to Rachel Penn here) then it's really something. I can just see Asuka slicing Manji in two, and then crying "it's not fair!"

Dear Viz-Gods,

I have just recently delved into the magical realm of manga, being first introduced by the U.S. anime release of Naoko Takeuchi's ***Sailor Moon***. I got interested in the ***Evangelion*** manga through an ad, and was delighted to find it in a superb comic shop in downtown Chicago called _Comic Relief_ (at Wabash and Madison for you Chi-towners). Besides my desire to express my profound admiration of Shinji's good looks, I'd also like to ask a few questions.

First, are the original episodes of the ***Eva*** anime really an hour long, or do you bundle them? Secondly, is it possible to get merchandise (i.e., posters, T-shirts, etc.) from your catalog? You have pages of stuff dedicated to ***Ranma 1/2***, but not one bit for we ***Eva***-lovers (besides a graphic novel and some videos). Also, I want to know what Dr. Akagi meant when she said that Eva-01 was the first unit... what happened to Unit-00, which happens to be the number on Rei's uniform? (Forgive me if this question is answered later in the series). Finally, how long did the ***Eva*** anime run in Japan?

[image, background center: BW drawing of young girl in bell-bottom jeans with short blonde hair and a headband sitting on the floor]

But I really can't complain about you guys, because you've opened up a whole new world of thought to me (gee, me, thinking, my parents will be so proud!). I can't say how many fights I've gotten into with friends who labeled my beloved manga as, "those stupid Japanese comics". Manga is more than just your average dime store funnies strip. There's a whole mindset to it (hint: don't read too much into the whole mindset thing, I'm not obsessive). The ***Evangelion*** series is solid proof that giant robots and spandex suits don't necessarily mean ***Power Rangers***.

Send my love to Shinji, \
Ariel Anderson \
Chicago, IL

P.S. I think that Nirvana might express a lot of Shinji's sentiments. Of course that only applies B.K.D. (Before Kurt's Death)

P.P.S. If possible, could y'all see that Shinji gets the enclosed self-portrait? Thought he may be a little too depressed to be thinking about a girlfriend now, I think I could shake him out of it.

> Viz-Gods? Is that like the Elder Gods, the monotonous piping of the letter column at the center of the Universe? So you want to be Shinji' girlfriend of steel, huh? With your flares and sneaks, you look pretty fly (Shinji wears Converse Hi-Tops, worn also by Kubo in _Otaku no Video_ and Minnie-May in _Gunsmith Cats_) As a matter of fact, although Viz does feature the *Evangelion* anime in our Shop-By-Mail catalog - 800.394.3042, operators are standing by - the English version is of course produced by ADV Films in Houston, Texas. The episodes were half-hour (technically, about 24 min. - the fact that Japanese shows tend to have fewer commercial breaks built in than the American norm is a factor that sometimes requires their editing when on U.S. TV); they just come two episodes to a volume.
>
> There is no U.S.-licensed *Eva*-related merchandise available yet (Virginia's manga house, Studio Ironcat, has announced an agreement with Gainax to release English editions of some of the *Evangelion* CD-ROM games and art collections, but has no release date for them as of this writing). One reason - perhaps the major reason - anime shows get or don't get on commercial television in the U.S. is that they either have or don't have U.S.-licensed merchandise, and on a large scale, to back them up. And merchandise rights are handled separately from other rights; each and every *Ranma* tchotchke is negotiated for - because as Yogurt said, merchandise is where the real money gets made. That is ten times true for *Evangelion*, perhaps the largest anime goods phenomenon in the history of Japan. That isn't to say you won't see U.S.-licensed goods here, just that it hasn't happened yet.
>
> Dr. Akagi *did* say, "the first"; the apparent implication is that Unit-01 is the first model useful for actual combat (therefore, "01") - at that point in the story, Unit-00 had not seemed useable (though as you see, that has now changed). Oh, the *Eva* TV series ran for six months, between October 1995 and April 1996. I don't necessarily condone fisticuffs on those who talk trash of manga, but sometimes you just have to roll sets on homeboy's jawin'.
>
> Toshiyasu Kimura sends e-mail from Japan, pointing out that many of the characters in *Eva* bear names from W.W. II warships - the _Soryu_, the _Akagi_, the _Katsuragi_, or the _Langley_. However, Staff Sgt. Norman S. Miller (Ret.), of Sheridan, CA, our military consultant, was the *first* person to notice that the gun muzzle on page four, Book One, Part One of the *Eva Special Collector's Edition* is pointing the wrong way (Yes: but it's fixed in the graphic novel). Miller points out also that the muzzle is obviously not from the guns on the tanks you see on page 5; to him, it looks like a M109A5 S.P. 155mm howitzer. So where are the howitzers hiding? Them boys at Gainax are on the Kensuke tip; I'm sure they know what they're doing. But, asks Miller, why is it that "Shito" is the Japanese word used in *Eva* to refer to the Angels, when it means "apostle" ("angel" is "tenshi")? The short answer is that is an extension of the already-observed phenomenon in *Eva* of using different "titles" in Japanese and English (for example, the names of the episodes and of the series itself).
>
> Before we go, I want to thank my manna Yoko Kanno for making *Cowboy Bebop*'s theme - *Barnaby Jones* in outer space, and *Cowboy Bebop*'s hero, Spike Spiegel, for doing his part to make anime a little less goyische; Bernard Wiseman, the Zeonist from *Gundam 0080: War In The Pocket* (written by Gainax's Hiroyuki Yamaga, coming soon to the U.S. from animevillage.com!) also comes to mind, but otherwise there seems to be some kind of gentlemen's agreement. I've already started thinking about an "AlternativEVA" soundtrack for *The End of Evangelion* move, but so far I've been coming up with songs like Nirvana's cover of "Lake Of Fire", Beastie Boys' "Instant Death", The Clash's "Death Is A Star", and U2's "Wake Up Dead Man". That should tell you something, huh? As The Specials said, "You're wondering now what to do / Now you know this is the end." And Ba Ba Booey to y'all.
>
> [image right bottom: signature]

cyharding
Our Man in Tokyo 3
Our Man in Tokyo 3
User avatar
Age: 42
Posts: 1924
Joined: Jun 08, 2007
Location: In Glorious Technicolor
Gender: Male

  •      
  •      
  • Quote

Postby cyharding » Mon Dec 16, 2013 12:07 am

Volume 3, Issue 2.

SPOILER: Show
We hear from Cloud (Jon) Porter of Round Rock, TX, a small town north of Austin (the city I love for its bars, ladder factory girls, and the fact that Gainax’s The Wings of Honneamise had a longer run there than in any other American city). Mr. Porter is 14 and in love with Rei Ayanami; to quote Gainax themselves, “That girl’s popularity just keeps on keeping on.” Maybe it’s just because she’s so thin, but I know women, too, who perceive a style about Rei and tack her up on the wall like her name was Lil’ Kim. Christy McGuire of Kitcher, Ontario, Canada (home of Cerebus’s Dave Sim, who refers to manga as “illiterate Japanese commuter comics,” although he many have speaking only of Yukio) is another Rei admirer. To Kenneth Lim, via e-mail, I should mention that when I spoke (in Book 1, No. 6) of the Eva movies being possibly released this spring, I was referring to their release on home video; the films themselves were released to theaters in 1997.

As a matter of fact, the Japanese edition of Genesis 0:13, containing TV episode #25 and the first part of The End of Evangelion, and Genesis 0:14, containing TV episode #26 and the second part of The End, will be released in Japan this August and September respectively; both should be available as imports by the time you read this. A.D.V. Films, by the way, has not yet given up on attempting to acquire The End and presumably Death (the theatrical edit of episodes #1-24, with a small amount of new footage) for U.S. release, but it’s a complicated matter. Making things somewhat complicated for the American fans, it has now become apparent that Gainax has actually made some new footage and at least one entirely new scene for the latter Japanese volumes of Eva (after 0:10), which were released after the A.D.V. release was complete (but keep in mind that A.D.V.’s version is the original version that showed on Japanese TV—which the Japanese fans aren’t getting –and except for those few extra minutes of footage, it is exactly the same as the Japanese video release).

The rather elegantly-named Dawn Huestis (address; 1843 Baby Doll Rd., Port Orchard, WA 98366) wants pen-pals; she is also a fan of Gainax’s Gunbuster as well as the TV series Escaflowne and Fushigi Yugi, both of which are coming to the U.S. soon (and Viz will be releasing the FY comic in our new magazine ANIMERICA EXTRA). Ms. Huestis, who included this pic of Misato representin’ her “fave anime show (wink)” is enjoying the new perspective on the anime story that the manga provides ; I can assure you that Sadamoto will continue to give you a fresh view on Eva’s characters. Via e-mail, Shermie wants to know what I meant when I remarked that because the anime was over, the Eva story is all up to Sadamoto now. It’s true that the manga pre-dated the beginning of the anime, but it’s also going on after the anime was finished, and we don’t know how Sadamoto will end the manga—the story has already diverged to an extent from the anime (and always bear in mind that both anime and manga are separate and equally “correct” versions of the story, the first being Anno’s take on it, and the second, Sadamoto’s). How much of the Eva manga is there? As I write this (July 22) there are 4 books and two chapter’s worth; i.e., as this issue of Book 3, No. 2, in Japan they would be up to Book 5, No. 2 right now.

Dear Viz Comic Maker,

…I am 11 years old and I’ve been wondering if Evangelion is for every age, or below a certain age they can’t watch, or whatever it is? I am a big fan since I noticed last year it was a big hit in America. I had the Chinese comic book which is like in graphic novel form and it cost very cheaply, unlike your comics. It cost like U.S. $6-7. I have only book 1-4 which ends in Asuka. Why are your comics so expensive? Like your x/1999 which my sister collects, that costs about $5-6. In book 3 about Rei, there’s some nudity and I want to know if it is appropriate for young kids like me. What does Neon Genesis Evangelion mean? Well, that’s all I want to tell you.

From your #1 fan,
Nancy Thai
San Jose, CA

Dear Ms. Thai,

Manga are very popular in Taiwan, Singapore, and Hong Kong, and they are starting to be popular in mainland China as well. As a matter of fact, there are many more people who read manga in Chinese than who read them in English. That is one reason why manga in Chinese cost less than manga in English. It is a principle called the “economics of scale,” which means if there is a big demand for your product, you can sell it for less, but if there is small demand for your product, you have to sell it for more.
The scene in Book 3 with Rei that you mention is interesting, and is connected to your question about what “Neon Genesis Evangelion” means. It’s a transliteration into Roman letters (the kind Western European languages, including English, are written in) of the Greek (which had a different, but related, alphabet than the Roman letters) words for “New” (“Neon”), “Origin” (“Genesis”), and “Good News.” (Evangelion). So “Neon Genesis Evangelion” means something like “The Good News Of A New Beginning.”

But there’s another way to put it; as you may know, Evangelion has a number of references to the Bible, part of which was written in ancient Greek. The Greek title of the first book of the first part of the Bible, the Old Testment, is “Genesis,” a word that has also become part of the English language. The first four books of the second part of the Bible, the New Testement, are called in English “Gospels,” or the “Gospel.” But the original Greek word for “Gospel” was “Evangelion” (we use the “v” sound where the Greeks would use “u”). So you could also say “Neon Genesis Evangelion” “New Genesis Gospel.”

What does this have to with Rei’s appearance and behavior in this issue? You’ll notice that if this was, say, Ranma 1/2 , she’d be smacking Shinji with cries of “Iya da!” or “Ecchi!” But it’s Shinji, not Rei, who is disturbed by the situation. Some “students of Eva” have interpreted Rei here in terms of the book of Genesis, specifically, Genesis 2:25 and Genesis 3:7. The very first thing that happened to Adam and Eve after they ate from the tree of knowledge of good and evil (and by doing so, committing the original sin of mankind by disobeying God’s order not to eat from it) was that they noticed they were naked, and felt ashamed. The argument is that the mysterious Rei is somehow not “fallen” as are other human beings, and therefore it doesn’t matter to her.

I don’t know if Eva is appropriate for young kids in general; I’m twenty-seven years old and there’s a lot of it I don’t understand myself; Gainax’s Mr. Yamaga said, only half-jokingly I think, that the creator of the anime, Hideaki Anno, intended the series for thirty-five-year-olds! But the fact that you’re asking these questions, makes me think it’s O.K. for you. At any rate, Eva isn’t as violent as X/1999. If you’ve seen that, I could say that since you now know what the inside of a person looks like, there’s nothing wrong with seeing the outside.

Last this month we have a letter from Mary Ann A. Gutierrez of San Gabriel, CA who would like the staff of Evangelion to know that she’s learned a lot about life through Rei, because she;s just like her: “It was so scary looking at her because I saw myself through…” Ms. Gutierrez also wants to praise the music of the series (composed an arranged through Mr. Anno’s partner in Nadia, Shiro Sagisu—Anno named the various pieces of music himself, and wrote the lyrics to the show’s theme, “Thesis of the Cruel Angel.”) The full-length version of the song is available on “Neon Genesis Evangelion I,” the first of the TV soundtrack albums; you can get it at conventions for from almost any anime store. She also wants to praise the animation itself, but, most of all, Ms. Gutierrez wants to let you know she’s in love with a “younger man” (she is 17)—Shinji Ikari! “Sorry, but I can’t help myself. I think of him all the time, that I even buy ANYTHING I see as long as HE’s in them. Many people find him pathetic, but I find him very sweet and cute…but he just doesn’t know it.” Well, you may have something of a rival in Misato, but it’s nice to see some affection for the boy who—ex-squeeze-me?—Is trying to save all mankind, you know. Save them for what, though? That’s the question…


I could not figure out how to put it the heart symbol after in the thrid paragraph where it says "fave anime show (wink)." Otherwise, it's good to go.
Finding intelligent life on the web is not easy, we must all be glad we found EGF. - A.T. Fish
You Can Start Again. Chapter 32 now released. Now on FF.net
Oh, Eva, you never cease to amaze me. Your fans are analizing a calendar, for god's sake.- Alpha

gwern
Ireul
Ireul
User avatar
Age: 93
Posts: 667
Joined: Jun 02, 2010
Gender: Male
Contact:

  •      
  •      
  • Quote

Postby gwern » Mon Dec 16, 2013 3:18 pm

http://www.evamonkey.com/misatos-fan-se ... /3_4_1.gif

SPOILER: Show
# Misato's Fan Service Center

c/o Viz Comics P.O. Box 77010 San Francisco, CA 94107

[email protected]

> I'm watching the President's grand jury testimony on television right now. It kind of reminds me of the last two episodes of *Eva*, especially the parts with Misato. Christy McGhie of Kitchner, ONT, Canada sent in this drawing of my favorite *Eva* character, Ritsuko. Thanks!
>
> [image center: BW drawing of Ritsuko Akagi in lab uniform, profile facing right/center]
>
> Andrea Bruce - whose postage stamp reminds us this is the année du Tigre - is also of that great province. She also drew Rit-chan, but says, "Ritsuko is not my favorite character - Kaoru is - but what can you do?" She drew Tiramisu from *Bakuretsu Hunter* on her envelope as well. I will say that I ate a lot more tiramisu after that series came out. Please be on the look out for the *Bakuretsu Hunter* manga from MixxZine and the anime from A.D.V. Films.
>
> [image center: BW drawing of woman with long wavy black hair, head profile facing viewer]

Dear Carl-*san*,

**Eva** isn't just another robot series so don't compare it to one (see stage 4 letters, he's got the idea)! It's about trying to find one's self. I know this isn't apparent at first but later it is evident.

Now for my big bone pick; the music of ***Evangelion***. I've noticed a few letters (in stage 3 and 6) that recommend that alternative, industrial and heavy metal be the setting of ***Eva*** or what would make a good theme song. I would like to point out that I'm a big Smashing Pumpkins fan (went to the concert, own all the albums and 7 singles) as well as most of the other bands mentioned (Metallica, Nirvana, U2, Nine Inch Nails, etc.). ***NONE OF THESE WOULD DO JUSTICE TO THE SERIES!!!!*** I'm not a big classical music fan (though I am a fan of Tokyo Pop), but ***Evangelion*** has the best background music and theme songs (besides ***Rurôni Kenshin***, ***Bakuretsu Hunter*** and ***Sabre Marionette J****). I own the ***Evangelion: Death*** CD (I don't own the ***Rebirth*** CD yet) and a '96 anime music polling CD with "Thesis Of A Cruel Angel", as well as the "original cast" version (one of the greatest theme songs to date)... As for the closing theme, "Fly Me To The Moon" - blame Frank Sinatra!

Thanks for the time. I know you won't end up printing my letter but I just wanted you to hear what I had to say.

_Domo Arigato Gozaimasu_! \
Andrea Bruce, a.k.a. "_Baka-chan_" (cute idiot) \
Nepean, ONT Canada
[email protected]

[image center: black-white drawing of Ritsuko Akagi, profile faced left, on an envelope]

P.S. If you know the people who are dubbing ***Rurôni Kenshin***: MAKE THEM STOP!!

> As Coach Ota of *Gunbuster* (Hideaki Anno's first major anime project as a director - see it from Manga Video) would say, "The first and last words out of your mouth will be '-_san_'!" -"Sir! The RX-7 Trainer's name is Charlene, sir!" But as Sergeant Hulka in *Stripes* would say, "You don't call me -_san_, I work for a living!" -"What kind of training, son?" "Oooootaku training, sir!" "OTAKU TRAINING, SIR!" Enough already.
>
> I shouldn't say that I don't like *Eva*'s BGM. I do; especially the first album, which lays down most of the basic melodies. My favorite *Eva* albums are in fact those from the movies and the image album *Evangelion: VOX*, which I recommend highly. Naturally, the *VOX* songs are all in English, and done in American music styles... which, of course, returns to my original desire to express *Eva* through what Consolidated


http://www.evamonkey.com/misatos-fan-se ... /3_4_2.gif

SPOILER: Show
[code:1]
> would call "alternative/progressive" music. That's just a certain viewpoint of an American fan. I always bear in mind that *Eva* was not made for any audience but a Japanese one, and for any sensibilities but those of Hideaki Anno (who wrote the lyrics to *Eva*'s theme song) and Gainax. I'm sort of imagining the album cover for "Come Fly With Me", with Mr. Anno, instead of Sinatra, in the cocked hat and the smile, beckoning you to board a JAL hypersonic...
>
> I'm not sure that *Rurôni Kenshin* is being dubbed into English per se, although there appears to be that sample on the Web you may be referring to. I believe it's just for promotion (this kind of "sample" has been done before, for example, with *Record Of Lodoss War*), and doesn't necessarily reflect any actual production version. I'm not aware of any plans to bring the show to North America at this time, although it has been sold to other countries under the name *Samurai X*. Naturally, saying "I know you won't end up printing my letter..." is a sure way to get someone to go ahead and do so. So, everyone, make sure to include that phrase in all of your letters. Speaking of everyone...

Hello!

I just have to thank *everyone* who made the translation version of the ***Evangelion*** manga possible. I can say, without a doubt, that ***Evangelion*** is one of my favorite comics. The story is thoroughly gripping and enjoyable. It is also very *convenient*, seeing as how I don't exactly have $25 to fork over for a video. Plus, this way, I get to savor the art more.

It's also a very unusual, yet delightful treat to be able to read a manga in its original right-left format. I had often wondered about how some things like sound effects or art may differ from a reversed comic and its original, unreversed counterpart, and comparing ***Eva***'s manga Special Collectors' Edition and regular format has really cleared up a few things. So *thank you* once again, you wonderful people, you!

Well, I think that's all I have to say for now. _Au revoir_, peoples!

Renee Lott \
Rogers, AR

> EVERYone? Well, of course, Yoshiyuki Sadamoto writes and draws the *Eva* manga; the screentones and finished backgrounds are done by his assistants (there have been six so far). Mr. Sadamoto gives special thanks to "Mako" - Mako Takaha, that is, his wife, who checks his pencil layouts and is herself a manga artist (_Tatakae okāsan_, about raising their children - Ippongi Bang, whose _Virtual Bang_ is currently coming out here from Studio Ironcat, check it out - has made the observation that manga artists often marry their peers because they're so busy they have no time to socialize outside of industry parties!). Then there's the Kadokawa editorial staff who work on SHONEN ACE, the magazine in which *Eva* appears in Japan, Then, there's at least a dozen different people working for Viz besides me who have some essential share in the production of the English *Eva* manga: licensing (Kumi Kobayashi), clearances with Kadokawa, publication schedule and page plan (Hyoe Narita), cover layout (Hidemi Sahara), interior layout (Benjamin Wright), translation (Lillian Olsen), English adaptation (Fred Burke), printing photostats (Kiyo), lettering and retouch (Wayne Truman), proofing and helpful advice (Annette Roman, Jason Thompson, Toshi Yoshida, Bill Flanagan). All of these people have many other plates to load on the endless carbo-sucrose feast that is publishing, so I am certainly grateful that they do such a wonderful job on *Eva*. The eye of the needle in putting out a comic is the printer, and Quebecor does it very well for us, even on our relatively small run. It's too bad there's no Academy Award to take home at the end of this speech. But Rene Lott includes this Courtney-esque vision of Rei.
>
> [image center: BW drawing of Rei, profile right, in black dress with black choker; caption: "Here B Rei!!"]

I am writing to express my disappointment in Book 2, No. 3 of ***Neon Genesis Evangelion***. In general I have no complaints, the artwork is excellent and the story is good, but on occasion Sadamoto-san departs quite dramatically from the spirit of the original anime on which it was based.

In this particular installment, on page 5 & 6 we see Shinji-kun defying Misato-san by opening the entry plug in order to let Kensuke-kun and Toji-kun into the Eva. As I see it, the defining features of Shinji-kun are indecisiveness, a lack of self-esteem, and a fear of failure. In my humble opinion, in this case, the comic isn't true to the character - we all know that in the anime, it was Misato-san who ordered the entry plug open.

Later, from page 13, we see Shinji-kun courageously attack the Angel. I think - at least, it came across to me this way - that here, Shinji-kun attacked in what I would describe as a very decisive and proactive way. In the anime, Shinji-kun is always the reluctant hero who does what he does for acceptance... even though it causes him great torment.

That said I have very few other criticisms about what is a brilliant work of art.

Ian D.G. \
Sydney, NSW Australia
[/code:1]


http://www.evamonkey.com/misatos-fan-se ... /3_4_3.gif

SPOILER: Show
[code:1]
> It is true that the Shinji of the *Eva* manga is a departure from the Shinji of the *Eva* anime (I would describe him as more forthcoming about his nihilism) but it is important to reiterate that the manga is not based on the anime. Indeed, Sadamoto's manga began running in Japan's SHONEN ACE several months before the anime first aired on TV. Moreover, the *Eva* concept was a joint creation of Hideaki Anno, Yoshiyuki Sadamoto, Ikuto Yamashita, and many other people at Gainax. From that basic premise, it was understood that Sadamoto would interpret it his own way in the manga, while Anno would do things his way in the anime. Since the *Eva* anime was a highly personal work for Anno, and since Sadamoto and Anno are different people (although they have been friends and collaborators for fifteen years), it is not surprising that Sadamoto's take on things should be his own. Neither is the "correct" version of the story: they are different versions of the story. This will become even more evident beginning with Book Four, where Sadamoto starts to diverge more and more from the story structure as seen in the anime. In other words, once Asuka steps on the scene, watch out!
>
> [image left center: black-white drawing of background Shinji in school uniform facing right, foreground Rei in gym t-shirt facing viewer]
>
> [image right top: black-white drawing of Eva Unit-01 crouching, profile left]
>
> Katrina Bernardo from Jamaica, NY sends us these drawings of a fashionable Shinji and Rei, as well as the Unit-01! She was kind enough to use the same font in her letter that "Misato's Fan Service Center" does! s. Bernardo asks, and so I must answer: 1. there are no plans for any new *Eva* anime at this time, 2. but Gainax does have a new anime on TV right now: the shōjo show _Kareshi Kanojo no Jijō_, written and directed by *Eva*'s Hideaki Anno and based on the manga by Masami Tsuda. As far as I know, Yoshiyuki Sadamoto is not involved with this project, but 3. if you want to send a fan letter directly to Sadamoto, write him c/o Gainax Co., Ltd., Nakamachi Bldg., 2-5-22 Nakamachi, Musashino-City, Tokyo 180 Japan, and 4. there's still no word on when the *Eva* movies will come out in the U.S.. Ariel Valluzzi (via e-mail_ says she's pretty good at spotting who's going to be getting together. That's why she's disturbed by the "serious love vibes from Misato and Shin" she's getting. "Now not to be rude or anything, I HATE THAT!! For some unknown reason I HATE Misato! No, I don't have a good reason, I just DO." No comment, but on those vibes, keep watching and reading the series... Paul Dale Roberts of the Peoples' Comic Book Newsletter / <http> Sacramento, CA, says of *Eva*, "2015 A.D. is a great place to be at. The artwork is incredibly drawn with perfection and the story moves like a runaway locomotive!" That's all for now. By the way, the soundtrack for this column was the soundtrack from _Life in 1472_.
>
> [image bottom right: signature of "Carl Gustav Horn"]
[/code:1]

One thing I'm noticing this re-read is how even back then, Carl was really sensitive about the manga's artistic status in trying to defend it as an independent work and Sadamoto's contributions on par with Anno's. For example, in response to a critic, he points out that the manga technically was published before the anime. This is irrelevant at best; and borderline dishonest if he was trying to imply that the manga idea preceded the anime, as the anime was in production long before the manga was, the manga was produced to promote the anime, and if one really wanted to split hairs, I believe ep01 was shown at the Gainax Festival before ch01 of the manga was ever printed.

This is particularly ironic since now that the manga is finished, all promissory notes like his constant refrain of 'keep reading' have been cashed, and we can evaluate the manga in full - it was an inferior work which added nothing of value and much that was bad (kitten-killer-Kaworu, anyone?), and Sadamoto clearly wanted to stop doing it decades before he finally dragged it to its agonizing finish. Now in retrospect, Carl just looks like he was trying to desperately justify his job or something like that, because the manga clearly was not an unjustly-unheralded work of genius vindicated in the eyes of posterity.


http://www.evamonkey.com/misatos-fan-se ... /3_5_1.gif

SPOILER: Show
[code:1]
# Misato's Fan Service Center

c/o Viz Comics P.O. Box 77010 San Francisco, CA 94107

Dear Misato's Fan Service Center,

I think ***Neon Genesis Evangelion*** is the best series I've ever seen. The night after I first watched it, I couldn't sleep because it was all I could think of! Ever since last year, I've been collecting cards, postcards, tapes, CDs, models, and comics (of course...) of ***Evangelion***. By the way, I have an ***Eva*** game for PlayStation and I was wondering about this new character named Mana Kirishima or something...

Is she supposed to be Shinji's girlfriend or what?! I sent in a drawing of her. Mana looks like a cross between Rei and Asuka, because she has the same color hair as Asuka, and the same hair style as Rei. I just want to know who Mana Kirishima (or whatever...) is.

Thanks \
Bianca Calvo \
Vallejo, CA

P.S. Where can I find Pen-Pen and/or Shinji stuffed toys? \
P.P.S. I love you Shinji!!!

[image right: black-white line drawing of Mana Kirishima, facing viewer, in dress]
[/code:1]


http://www.evamonkey.com/misatos-fan-se ... /3_5_2.gif

SPOILER: Show
[code:1]
> Bianca Calvo! Seriously, that's a great name - it sounds like a Nobel laureate in literature. That's a good question about Mana Kirishima. As you say, she's from a computer game, in this case Gainax's _Neon Genesis Evangelion: Girlfriend of Steel_, originally released in 1997 for Windows 95 and then for the Macintosh, Sega Saturn and Nintendo PlayStation in 1998. The majority of Gainax's staff - currently, about 100 people - work not on anime, but on computer games and CD-ROM art collections based on a fairly wide variety of subjects: everything from (of course) _Evangelion_ itself to the traditional demons of Japanese folklore, to the history of the Jeep in the military. Software is something Gainax got into years ago, for the reason that unlike their anime, which needs production deals and many other studios in partnership to put together, software can be created entirely in-house, offering the studio more control over content and rights (it wasn't until _Eva_ that Gainax actually ever owned even a partial share in one of their anime productions, as opposed to their previous works done on a "work-for-hire" basis).
>
> Software also provides opportunities to do "spin-off" stories outside the strictures of the original story, and so is _Girlfriend of Steel_ such a spin-off from the _Eva _ TV series. Its plot derives from three mysterious new students at Shinji's school: a girl, Mana Kirishima, and two boys, Lee Strasberg Musashi and Keita Asari. Mana, who appears as you describe her, starts coming on to Shinji, and Shinji, surprisingly enough for him, actually asks her out for a date. Asuka (although not Rei) is highly suspicious of Mana, which brings up the question of whether she thinks she's dangerous to the security of NERV, or if she's just jealous? Lee Strasberg (he is named, by the way, for the famous theatrical director under whose "method acting" approach actors such as Marlon Brando studied) and Keita dress exactly alike; but they appear complete opposites, Lee being fierce and Keita quite mild in expression. Since who these three are and what they want is the point of the game, it doesn't seem quite right to discuss it here. Is _Girlfriend of Steel_ part of either the anime or manga version of _Eva_, or a still third version? As far as I know, there are no references to its characters to be found in the TV show, movies, or comic - although it may relate to the "version of events" suggested in episode #26.
>
> Shinji stuffed toys exist, at least what the Japanese call "UFO Catcher" (those games at arcades where you try and fish for prizes with a remote-controlled claw) dolls - and look closely at the dolls Asuka is fish for in Book Four, #1! And there are stuffed Pen-Pen dolls of various sizes, ranging up to life-size. You'll want to try your local anime shop or go to an anime convention (in Northern California, try Kimono My House in Emeryville or Nikaku in San Jose - or FanimeCon '99 in March, also in San Jose). Unfortunately, these things aren't easy to lay hands on. But don't let that stop you!

Dear Viz Comics,

I saw something in one of your ***Evangelion*** comics about a "Misato's Fan Service Center". I was wondering if this was a Misato fan club or something. If it is a fan club, would it be possible for me to join? Same goes for any of the other characters like Asuka or Rei. Anyway, I think this manga series is the best out there, so keep it up!

Sincerely, \
Seth Chaps \
Louisville, CO

> "...characters like Asuka or Rei." I notice you didn't mention any male names. It's a good thing Shinji is so popular with the ladies, because he doesn't seem to have any pals here! Just kidding, or as Asuka would say, "naaaaaaan chatte!" Well, this isn't really a fan club for Misato, although you might think so with that great portrait of her Alvin Yeo did in Book Three, #3. What would you do at a Misato fan club meeting, anyway? I don't think you should be allowed to join until you're old enough to drink. Mr. Chaps, may I put in a word for my friend Alf Kremer and his "All-Request Retro Show" on KTCL 93.1 Denver? Even in college, he called himself the "otaku 'bout pop music", and was into the '80s well before Adam Sandler. He's kind of like Kaworu.
>
> Did any of you dress up as _Eva_ characters for Halloween or Day of the Dead? (ow!)
[/code:1]


http://www.evamonkey.com/misatos-fan-se ... /3_5_3.gif

SPOILER: Show
[code:1]
> [image left: photograph of white woman cosplaying as Ritsuko Akagi at an anime convention, with a dealer table as backdrop]
>
> Here's a great Dr. Akagi from the great Anime Weekend Atlanta. I'd like to give her some credit, so if you know her name, please let me know. One more thing I'd like to say, and that's about Gainax's new TV series, currently running on Japanese TV, called _Kareshi Kanojo No Jijoo_ ("His And Her Situation"). It's written and directed by _Eva_'s Hideaki Anno, based on the manga of the same name by Masami Tsuda. J.C. Staff, the studio behind the eye-catching series _Revolutionary Girl Utena_ (now available from Central Park Media), is fulfilling the production role on "KareKano" (as Gainax has nick-named the show) that on _Eva_ was done by Production I.G.
>
> _KareKano_, which began on Oct. 2, seems very different at first from _Eva_, but it may represent a natural progression from the thoughts and ideas Anno developed in the course of the series. Visually, first of all, its characters (designed by Tadashi Hiramatsu) are a step away in look from _Eva_, having that "softer" shōjo appearance (although it's perhaps not that much of a departure from Sadamoto's theories on Shinji - DON'T MISS his essay in the collected Book Two of _Eva_, out this month from Viz!). _KareKano_ is a romantic comedy, and Anno employs all the tricks, techniques, and styles that were associated especially with the latter portions of _Eva_ right from the beginning of _KareKano_, but this time in the service of comedy. The first episode (all I've seen thus far) is VERY funny - the humor is so well-directed that it (and the "situation" of the story) is clear even without translation. The fast pace is intercut with the kind of realistically painted and lit, and obliquely angled, background paintings (often, used in a rhythmic fashion) already well-associated with _Eva_.
>
> What is the "situation" of this "his and her"? It's a high school love affair between Yukino Miyazawa, whose single-minded goal is to always be the center of attention, and Souichirō Arima, a handsome, brilliant boy who, without really seeming to mean to, has knocked her out of the spotlight for the first time in her life. By the end of the first episode, Yukino has made a total and complete fool out of herself in front of Arima - not in public, but in private! In _Eva_, feelings between characters and their secrets inside are suggested only later, when it becomes clear that the main theme of the show is the war inside, not outside. In _KareKano_, the secret self is a monkey screeching on your back as you walk down the hall (half of the dialogue in the first episode is what a character says, the other half is what they really think) and the boy tells the girl he lovers her twenty-three minutes into the story. So _KareKano_ doesn't fool around! I'll let you know more about it next time.
>
> [image center right: signature of Carl Gustav Horn]
[/code:1]


http://www.evamonkey.com/misatos-fan-se ... /4_1_1.gif

SPOILER: Show
[code:1]
# Misato's Fan Service Center

c/o Viz Comics P.O Box 77010 San Francisco, CA 94107

[email protected]

> First of all, my face is red like the Eva Unit-02; I just discovered this letter dating June 18, 1998 from Metro Manila:

Dear Dude,

Mabuhay! I have just read the last issue (book two #3). It was great! Shinji had real guts to save Kensuke and Toji from danger. He destroyed the Angel and didn't obey Katsuragi's orders. Wow! hey, was the destroyed part of the Angel its power source? Or somewhat like a brain? Hey, about the comics. Sure had great covers, eh?...I used to have the trading cards, got no posters or action figures, but I'm thankful to get the comics, dude! Where, or more precisely, when is the coming of the ***Neon Genesis Evangelion*** graphic novel? I gotta have my ***Eva***! About the Eva. Does the Eva have special fighting skills or techniques? Can it do combo? Special powers? About the others. Can Pen-Pen do tricks? What about Gendo? He looks like an Oasis vocalist singin' "Stand By Me", and I wish he was. He was quite a cold man, freezing like Freeza (from ***Dragonball Z***)... How about Asuka Langley, when will she appear in the comics? I thought she was more active than Rei because Rei was some kind of a silent dudette? Is Langley Toji's best friend? Hikari's? I think not. How old is she? Gusto ko siyang pakasalan dahil mahal ko siya at "age doesn't matter". Is Kensuke a nerd or somewhat Albert Einstein? By the way, where the hell did the Angels come from? Is it some kind of an underwater probe-station? or a cyberdude underwater fortress? If not, then where? Tell me, please! Hey, did you notice something? My letter was full of question-marks. Isn't it cool? So, I am looking forward to the next-next issues and the graphic novel! Paalam!!

Sincerely, \
Vincent "Krimen" Josue \
Pasig City, Philippines

P.S. I wish to be an artist like Mr. Sadamoto. Take a look at my own drawing. Isn't it cool? Thank you, Mr. Carl.

[image right center: black-white drawing of Eva characters, clockwise: Ritsuko Akagi, Shinji Ikari, Touji Suzuhara, Asuka Langley, Kensuke Aida, Rei Ayanami, Pen-Pen, Misato Katsuragi]
[/code:1]


http://www.evamonkey.com/misatos-fan-se ... /4_1_2.gif

SPOILER: Show
[code:1]
> As Wood-Yi would say, "hoofah". Starting from the first two question marks, a.) and b.) it's sort of both, emphasis on the "sort of". c.) Yes, great covers. This one's pretty coy, isn't it? d.) The first two Eva graphic novels are out now - don't miss Sadamoto's comments at the end of Vol. 2! e.) Skills and techniques depend more on the pilot than the Eva; f.) Yes: as a matter of fact, the combo issue is the major plot wheel of Book Four; g.) The Evas do have special powers, based on their mysterious nature. h.) The only trick Pen-Pen has ever been observed to do is swipe other people's food; i.) "what about Gendo", indeed, and yes, you're right about his resemblance to the Gallaghers; as far as I know, the first person to point that out was Ed Hill; j.) like, now; k.) Asuka is more noisy than Rei; l.) Asuka thinks Tojo is a dumb jock; m.) Asuka and Hikari get along pretty well; n.) Asuka is 14 years old; o.) probably more the former; p.) the Angels don't "come from" anywhere; q.) no; r.) nix; s.) they're part of creation; t.) yes, u.) Well, sort of; and finally, v.) your drawing is indeed cool.
>
> By the way, James Abellar here took one look at your letter and said, and I quote, "Asuka Langley? No way! Hindi pwede asawa ko na siya at hindi siya bagay sa-iyo. Kay Rei kana lang okay naman siya kahit na experiment lang siya (ha! ha! ha!)"

Dear Editor,

Ulterior motives.

As this cynical world approaches the new millennium, it seems that trust is hard to find. And everyone is seeking the ulterior motives behind good deeds. "What's the catch?" is heard more often than "thank you". I sometimes find this attitude frightening. I always find it disheartening.

In my job as a pediatrician, my first goal is to establish trust with the patient. Remember, it is much easier for a doctor to discuss matters with an adult who can understand everything that is going on. Trying to explain to a 4 year-old why you are inserting an I.V. or why they need to stay in this strange building called a hospital is a much harder task. I am often able to achieve a bond with my patients easier than my colleagues because of my outside interests. With teens I can discuss _Magic: The Gathering_ and anime. With younger kids ***Animaniacs*** and ***Rugrats*** are all the rage. Regardless, I know about this stuff and a common interest can help establish a friendly relationship. I find that kids don't often look for ulterior motives; they trust what you tell them.

So, you must understand my reaction to the letter in your manga that was looking for ulterior motives in my asking you for promo material: a long sad shake of my head. My friends were angry; my comic book store owners asked if they could write a letter for me confirming my good intentions. It didn't matter. You defended my honor better than I could have. What did strike me is that someone felt that the nature of man was such that an individual would use "sick children" as a way for personal gain. As if I really could have a personal use for the (literally) dozens of ***Dragon Ball Z*** posters you sent me (and thank you very much, by the way). They were placed in the clinic here at work and given out to the patients. They brought smiles to kids who have lived more in their 7 years than I have in my near 3 decades.

Which nicely segues me into the reason I have a relationship with you: ***Neon Genesis Evangelion***. Obviously, ***Evangelion*** is a dystopia. Why else would people be hurtling themselves towards an uncertain "Instrumentality Project"... No one trusts anyone in this show... and why should they. Certainly Gendo is playing by his own rules; almost everything he does has an ulterior motive. Kaji certainly has his own agenda and is willing to double (or is it triple) cross anyone he can. Even Ritsuko turns out to have been fooling her friends throughout the show. As a result, characters like Misato and Shinji, people who are trying to make do in this harsh future, have to always cast a suspicious eye at everyone. Even in (Book Two, Chapter Five), we see that Shinji can't understand why Misato would want him living with her. He fears an ulterior motive until she finally tells him that what is apparent (she cares for him, and wants to care for people in general) is not an act or a ruse, but is the truth.

***Evangelion*** is a fabulous anime in that it has always made me think. It pushes you to ruminate over the issues it raises while trying to solve the riddles inherent in the show. One thing I do know, I do not want to live in such a distrusting society as Misato and Shinji live in. The sad thing is... I think I already do.

Sincerely yours, \
Andrew J. Capraro \
Connecticut Children's Medical Center

> Another letter that I am afraid was long overdue in printing. Both Yoshiyuki Sadamoto and Hideaki Anno have made clear that they intended Eva to be as much a statement on today as a fictional vision of tomorrow. Dr. Capraro is a very interesting correspondent for a number of reasons - one, it seems appropriate to note, would be that he is about the same age that Gendo would be now. Yet, shall we say, unlike Gendo, Dr. Capraro works to save people, not "humanity".
>
> There's a new fellow in the office, former Electronics Tech 1st Class/Reactor Operator Joe Bankhead, who served on hunter-killer submarines out of Pearl Harbor. Because of his background - he was not unlike Scotty on Star Trek, the way I thought all "engineers" were when I was a kid - I asked him about the positron rifle used by Shinji against the Angel Ramiel. Mr. Bankhead points out that while a stream of positrons (which create a powerful matter/antimatter explosion when they encounter the electrons of normal atoms) might be a practical weapon in the vacuum of space, a positron beam used in Earth's atmosphere would be the equivalent of putting the barrel of your grenade launcher right up against a wall. The matter/antimatter reaction, in other words, would start to occur within nanometers once the positrons leave the (presumed) magnetic containment field within the barrel. Boom. Bankhead adds that in theory you could prevent this from happening by surrounding the positron beam with some kind of generated neutrinos. I feel like Noriko getting a science lesson from Kazumi. But perhaps we're worrying too much. This is NERV in 2015, so we're talking that Jack Kirby SUPER-SCIENCE. Mr. Bankhead, by the way, is also a crystal (dilithium?)-carrying Wiccan. Our office is so diverse that I sometimes think we could reconstruct all human knowledge and culture after Y2K. For example, I know how to jiggle the handle of a broken parking meter to get your quarter back.
>
> [image bottom right: signature of Carl Gustav Horn]
[/code:1]


http://www.evamonkey.com/misatos-fan-se ... /4_2_1.gif

SPOILER: Show
[code:1]
# Misato's [etc]

[etc]

[etc]

Dear MFSC,

Imagine my surprise when I finished Book Three, Issue 5 and saw a big black-and-white picture of myself in the back! Yaiee! Yes, that's me as Dr. Ritsuko Akagi at Anime Weekend Atlanta 4. (I borrowed the white lab coat from the Chemistry department, wore my own black miniskirt, pumps, and reading glasses, and made the top myself. Would you believe the zipper pull actually came from a teething toy?) Hee hee! Thanks for the compliment on my costume! (By the way, Carl, I remember you fixed me a gin & tonic on my 21st birthday at AWA! Sorry for interrupting your movie! Thanks for the dink!) Congratulations on a great job with the ***Evangelion*** translation. I'm probably the biggest ***Eva*** fan in the South - well, okay, that's debatable - and in comparing the original tankōbon with Viz's English translation, all I can say is, "Good Work!" I especially like how Toji's Kansai dialect was translated as a "tough guy" Brooklyn accent.

Also, I had the opportunity to catch the episode of ***KareKano*** which made it to AWA (I believe that was your doing - if so, three cheers!), and loved every minute of it. I don't think I ever stopped laughing. Hopefully this show will be acquired in the U.S. soon... I'm keeping my fingers crossed, since I haven't been able to find the original manga ANYWHERE... You may want to mention this in your lettercol: For fans who have seen the entire series and want more, there is a great online multimedia fanfic ***Neon Genesis Evangelion: R***. It's located at <http>. You can read the illustrated fic, download opening and ending animations, and listen to dialogue (in English) from various scenes. It's a real treat for any ***Eva*** fan. (I'm also working on my own fic, entitled ***The Bitter Glass***, but I've only gotten the first couple of chapters written... if you like, you can check it out at <http>.)

One more thing to note: as of December 23, the ***End Of Evangelion*** laserdisc box set will be available in Japan. Hopefully you've put in an advance order already... if not, there's bound to be a second release soon. In previous columns you discussed music which seemed to "fit" ***Eva***. I always thought Nine Inch Nails' "The Becoming" and "Mr. Self Destruct" suited Shinji rather well. also, the eerie tones of Bjork's songs complement the series... "Human Behavior", "Hyper-Ballad", and a few others come to mind... I did a music video to "Army Of Me" with footage from the TV series for AWA 4. If you're at A-Kon or AWA 5, I'll have another, with footage from ***EoE***, set to "O Fortuna" from Karl Orff's ***Carmina Burana***. (Don't worry, just the first two minutes...) But enough shameless plugging... Another fun online resource for ***Eva*** fans - if you have access to AOL - is the Eva message board at Keyword: Japanimation. Things get pretty wacky there, but if you're looking for any info, whether it's move rights negotiations or the tech specs of Ritsuko's truck, you can find it there if you ask.

Anyway, thanks for a great translation of a great comic! I'm looking forward to seeing more of Sadamoto-sensei's interpretation of ***Eva***. (Seeing how differently the crew first encounter Asuka, I can't help but wonder how later events will be handled in the manga.) Just out of curiosity, how far along in the story have the Japanese comics come? I don't have any past Book Four, and every manga store seem to be sold out... Thanks for reading this letter! Sorry about ye olde fashionde typewrytre, but I'm on vacation in a non-computerized household. I'm enclosing some artwork. Hopefully you can print it; if not, enjoy! Congratulations again on a great comic!

Sincerely, \
Elizabeth Kirkindall \
Madison, AL

P.S. If other ***Evangelion*** fans wish to contact me via e-mail, you can write to me at: <unit_03>. Thanks!! \
P.P.S. If you're in the mood for a laugh, I have some translated ***Eva*** aniparo (***A Japanese contraction of "anime parody" - in this case, 4-panel gag strips - C.G.H.***) up on the Web at <http> Or you can get to my ***Eva*** page from <http>.

> Thank God for someone who laughs "hee hee" instead of "hehe". You may feel it was superfluous of me to repeat that anecdote about alcohol. But now that _Preacher_ has moved its letter column online, I feel the need to pick up the slack. As you yourself point out, Ms. Kirkindall, it's Sadamoto's world; we only live in it. _Evangelion_ was considered an unusually difficult manga to retouch, but all difficulties have been overcome by the brilliant Wayne Truman, whom I hope will forgive me for all those times I wrote instructions with those near-invisible fluorescent pens. As for how far into the story the manga is in Japan, Sadamoto certainly feels free to create his own continuity (did you notice how the events of episode #7 are not portrayed in the manga?), and two installments after the end of Book Four, he's doing events from episode #15, accelerating from the two episodes per book pace of before. _Carmina Burana_, eh? Always makes me think of Arnold praying to Crom. And don't worry about the typewriter; I have an old Royal manual - heavy, like that one in _Misery_ - which I'm planning to bring in to
[/code:1]


All the URLs are dead, needless to say (this is from what, 1999?). I have no access to AOL keywords, so dunno about that. I pinged her Hotmail out of curiosity, and there hasn't been any mail daemon error reply yet, so maybe it's even still active! How about that?

http://www.evamonkey.com/misatos-fan-se ... /4_2_2.gif

SPOILER: Show
[code:1]
[image top left: black-white pencil drawing of long-haired girl (original character "Madoka Nikushita") in black/white plugsuit sitting in front of wall with NERV logo, facing viewer]

> the office to beat Y2K.
>
> Yes, I was the one who brought in the first episode of _KareKano_ (short for_Kareshi Kanojo no Jijō_ - "His And Her Situation", the new anime series from Eva director Hideaki Anno), although I could only do that because my man Kyle Johnson was kind enough to mail me the tape in two shakes of a lamb's tail. I've now seen up to episode 12 of _KareKano_ - which takes us through about 2/3 of vol. 4 of the manga - and I think it is getting more enjoyable with every episode. I don't know if it's gotten any easier to order Masami Tsuda's manga since the series began. For the record, I got my copies from Asahiya Bookstores U.S.A. Inc., 333 S. Alameda St., Suite 108, Los Angeles, CA 90013 (Tel: 213-626-5650, FAX: 213-626-1746). _KareKano_ runs currently in the Hakusensha monthly magazine LaLa, known for the famous story _Emperor of the Land of the Rising Sun_, which Fred Schodt discusses in his book _Dreamland Japan_ (from Stonebridge Press, http://www.stone-bridge.com - you really MUST get his book if you like manga).
>
> (Ms. Kirkindall says of her fan art, "Here's Asuka beating the heat with a popsicle. Like her shirt?" The original character is "Madoka Nikushita... from my fanfic. She's 20 years old, and can't pilot an Eva in combat; only minimally in tests. She's in a rare contemplative moment - usually she's seething with barely-controlled rage... As for the reason for that - and her personal history... that involves a few spoilers - but she does go back a ways with NERV") Well, the personality is right on target, but I thought they retired Eva pilots at 15... I do like the "n" on Madoka's plugsuit. While I assume it stands for her last name, might it also stand for the algebraic "n", as in an unknown number?

Continued on page 31! \
(Keep going towards end of comic!)

[image bottom right: black-white pencil drawing of standing Asuka Soryu Langley, facing left/viewer, sucking on popsicle, wearing midriff-baring t-shirt with Sachiel on it and cutoff shorts with sunglasses hanging from belt; signature: "EK 12/98"]
[/code:1]


EDIT: I've been the only person commenting *or* contributing for half a month now. If this is of no value to other people (I haven't learned anything I didn't already know so far), then I will be stopping. [1 Jan 2014]


Return to “Everything Else Evangelion”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 6 guests