NEON GENESIS
EVANGELION:
R
ILLUSTRATED ORIGINAL
FICTION
What Is EVA: R ?
What is?:
What is Eva:R? To state it plane and simple,
Eva:R is an original "fan fiction" or "Novel"
based on Gainax's original television series Shinseiki Evangelion,
taken to a creative extreme. Eva:R is
our way, as fans, to pay Homage to the talented and creative people behind
NEON GENESIS EVANGELION, on both areas of the globe. This
is the most sincere form of expression, for us, of our gratitude
and respect for GAINAX co. Ltd, Mr Hideaki Anno, Mr Yoshiyuki Sadamoto,
and for the Cast and production Crew of ADVision. Our intention?
To better understand the creative process it takes to realize so vast and
complex a vision as GAINAX undertook, while exploring the unanswered
and sometimes unasked questions that lay within the original series itself.
We wish to reiterate, for the record, that this is merely an exercise in
expression and exploration, nothing more. The concepts and characters
contained within, save for those created by us, are the property of GAINAX
co. Ltd.. We also ask that you take the time to view the disclamer
on the previous page, where this information is spelled out in full.
The Story:
The story takes place after the death of the 17th angel (Tabris,
a.k.a. Kaoru) and leads the Eva world through new twists and turns. Eva:R
brings light onto old mysteries, unanswered in the television series, and
brings new ones into the spotlight in a complex structure of mystery, secrecy,
comedy, and tragedy. New ingredients are added into the pot with the introduction
of the chosen 6th child, Lyn Anouilh, newer, different angels, and the
silent war between the group known as Seele, and their former servant,
Gendo Ikari.
The Characters:
The original characters, Shinji, Asuka, Rei, Misato, Ritsuko, and
others, are portrayed effectively with their continuing internal battles
as they strive to live their day-to-day lives in the manmade fortress of
Tokyo 3. The addition of the new characters, Lyn Anouilh, Aoi Tamashii,
Seyoko Okazaki, and others spreads the horizon of the Eva world even further,
bringing new questions into the fore.
The EVAs & Angels:
The highlight and centerpiece of the Eva series and Eva:R;
The mysterious angels and the equally as unknown EVAs. Now, along with
the recently fabricated Eva 06, there are new, different angels, with more
powerful abilities and new mysteries held within. But these are not the
same as the first 17 presented in the first series--a strange new force
drives these beings who seek to merge with Adam, as the prophecy of the
Dead Sea Scrolls is brought ever closer to completion . . .
What makes Eva:R different?:
Eva:R is different from many fan fictions
in that it seeks to present an original slant on EVA, while retaining as
authentic and as logical a presentation as is possible. Often, writers
fear to try to put in what they don't know. They fear the boundaries of
what is known of a character or thing and don't dare to stray out from
them. That is not the case with Eva:R. The
story does not fear the unknown but rather, tries to bring it into the
spotlight. Eva:R also brings out small 'background'
things that most would not think twice about, and concepts that seem right
in place, things that were never covered or brought up in the original
series, but seem like they were always there, just not shown. Also, the
small things in Eva:R are wonderful. How many
people knew the number on Rei Ayanami's apartment door before reading
this series? I for one didn't even realize it was there until it came up.
Eva:R also brings in modern day things that
make the character's seem more real; people with real lives, instead of
actors who sit back stage until their cue. Within the story the reader
is given a tangle of mysteries, some yet to be answered, but many may not
be at all. One thing the original series taught was that some questions
won't be answered. Not that they shouldn't or couldn't or weren't important,
just that they wouldn't. But still, the hunger to know more drives one
to think, "what would happen next?", "what's in store for the characters?",
"what's in store for humanity?" The never ending parade of questions
and answers which haunt a reader's mind can only be invoked by a involved
story such as this. Eva:R,
perhaps, is one such worthy successor of Evangelion.
--Charles Caranam,
Japanese Consultant/correspondant
In 1995, the world bore witness to the birth of
what was to become one of the most popular anime series ever concieved:
Gainax's Shinseki (New Century) Evangelion. Taking place in
a post-apocalyptic Tokyo in the year 2015, the series, which ran for 26
episodes, spawned a following that is seldom seen in the Anime world.
The subject of television, magazine, and radio discussion for nearly 3
years, Evangelion garnered critical acclaim both at home and abroad.
In 1997, two animated movies, Death and Rebirth and Air/ My Purest
Heart for You (respectively) aired in theatres all over the country,
bringing the series to a final, spectacular conclusion.
To some, however, the resolutions found in the concluding
two episodes of the series, as well as the subsequent movies thereafter,
were somewhat . . . unfulfilling.
Eva : R is one attempt
to resolve some of the mysteries and confront some of the many questions
left by the series, beginning immediately after episode 26. For this cronology,
events which took place in the two movies are ignored, and action resumes
after the death of the17th angel. Events in Eva : R
then continue with FULL cause and effect from the prior 26 episodes, as
a logical progression with an original twist. Eva : R
takes events to a different and pehaps more . . . satisfactory . . conclusion
after a further 26 episodes, at episode 52.
During the "new" episodes we are introduced to a
number new characters, including a 6th child, Lyn Anouilh, his guardian,
and the mysterious Tamashii Aoi. These characters all have parts to play
and, in some cases, their own agendas and secrets.
Old confrontations, conflicts, and relationships, however, do not remain
undeveloped--Shinji and Asuka's budding afinity for one-another, The ever
ambiguous Rei III, Misato and Ritsuko's wounded friendship, and the unspoken
dicotomy that exists between Nerv's supreme commander Gendo Ikari and Seele's
Chairperson, Lorenz Keel--are just some of the many that are addressed,
taking into accounts all events which have occured in the first series.
But, what OF the new characters? What of the name
of the 6th child and what of his origins? What of the many meanings of
the "R" in the series's title? The answers
to these mysteries and more can be found by those who wish to seek them.
We shall see Gendou's continuation of the Eva series
in the shape of unit 06, which may cause an entirely new breed of problem
for the E project. The "old men of SEELE" and Nerv shall continue to play
out events according to their own particular agendas, as Nerv will once
again battle the "angels" in defense of Tokyo 3 and the whole of mankind.
---David Adams (A.K.A. DP)
English Consultant/Correspondant
