By Various Artists, based on the franchise created by khara and GAINAX. Released in Japan by Kadokawa Shoten direct to tankobon. Released in North America by Dark Horse.
We’ve been seeing more and more of these doujinshi anthologies over here in North America. Quite common in Japan, both official product and fan-produced, doujinshi in this case doesn’t mean porn featuring the characters (at least not yet; Kadokawa just announced another Eva spinoff and I think they’re running out of other ways to make it work), but getting other artists around the office to draw parody comics making fun of said franchise, with the tacit approval of the creators. Given that Anno is quite happy making fun of his own work, an anthology like this was probably inevitable. But the question is, is it readable?
Well, yes, but only if you’re a hardcore Evangelion fan. As you’d expect, this volume makes absolutely no attempt to interest casual readers, and relies on everyone knowing not only the series itself but also the fandom and cliches regarding said series. The very first story involves the pilots dealing with their public approval rating dropping because they’re whiny and morose, there’s mocking of the fake “episode 26”, Shinji Ikari Raising Project, and even the live-action Eva that was in production at one point. Everyone is equally skewered, though admittedly Shinji gets the majority of the abuse here. And fear not, Eva fans who like to admire the girls, there’s lots of fanservice here, from normal “Ooooh, pretty girl” art from the Macross character designer all the way to leeringly horrible “Look, boobs!” parody as Misato and Ritsuko try to get Shinji to study by dressing in increasingly skimpy outfits.
That said, I feel pretty safe in saying this isn’t for everyone. It’s almost entirely comedy, with only the author of Loveless, Yun Kouga, providing a serious character study towards the end. Much of the humor relies on knowing the other titles the artist is famous for, which is fine if it’s say, the Sgt. Frog artist (who did the cover, of course) but verges towards incomprehensibility when you see artists such as Keiichi Tanaka and Tony Takazaki clearly making use of their own stylistic humor… which is lost on me. Given this is edited by Carl Horn, some liner notes might have been appreciated. Then again, given there’s a Sambo joke towards the end, maybe they were better off without them.
All that said, I did laugh quite a bit while reading this, even if it was sometimes “what the hell, this is so stupid!” laughter. Easily the best bits in here are the ones by Yushi Kawata and Yukito, “Neon Genesis Revolutionary Legend Evangelion”. They get three short chapters all to themselves, so I suspect the editors liked them as well, and have just the right amount of humor, snark, and insanity. Yoko Sanri’s Eva-san (the author of B Gata H Kei) is also fun, an amusing 4-koma Eva that feels like a relaxing breeze amidst all the loud Osaka comedy in this that tries a bit too hard.
I think Evangelion fans will like this, but even for them it may be a bit of a risk, as it’s simply so diffuse. The sort of book you’d describe as madcap. But recommended to Eva fans anyway, provided you don’t mind a lot of making fun of the cast. Oh yes, and Rikdo Koshi does a color page at the start, in case people wondered if my Excel Saga radar hadn’t gone off.
MICHELLE: Wow, 
ANNA This is somewhat sad. So sad in fact that I’m going to pick something that isn’t even manga at all! It looks like the 10th issue of Brian K. Vaughn and Fiona Staples’ 
SEAN: Sheesh, I do all I can to expand 
MJ: I’ll admit that I feel hesitant about choosing from Sean’s lovely selection of Yen titles, as even online retailers list their release dates as yet a full week away, but I guess I’ll take this opportunity to highlight a series that rarely makes it into our Picks. That series would be 
I’ve spent quite a few posts discussing Shonen Sunday, and Viz’s lack of enthusiasm about the titles as opposed to Shonen Jump. Of course, this is a vicious circle, as SS series tend not to be among the best-sellers or ‘fan-obsessive’ series. That may change with this new license, however. If ever there was a series running in Sunday that cried out to be licensed, Magi was it. The author has been seen on these shores before with Yen Press’s Sumomomo Momomo, but Magi is a better, more mature work with a manga take on Aladdin and the Arabian Nights. This has the potential to be the first really big Sunday title over here since Inu Yasha, and comes highly recommended.
I was always a big fan of S.A. and its dense as lead heroine, so I’m quite happy to hear that they’ve licensed Maki Minami’s next series that ran in Hana to Yume, Seiyuu Kaa!, which will come out here as Voice Over! – Seiyuu Academy. The title describes the series – our heroine is enrolled in a voice actor’s high school, and not only has to deal with her less than stellar voice qualities, but also the usual high school shenanigans. This being a Hakusensha shoujo series, I’m certain that there will be a few pretty guys to help her out. The series should be 11 or 12 volumes.
The last, and possibly biggest license from Shojo Beat is Midnight Secretary, Tomu Ohmi’s 7-volume story of a secretary who becomes the personal assistant – and so much more – of her company’s president. Unlike Happy Marriage?!, however, this president is a vampire as well! Despite not having the word Vampire actually in the title, I predict this is going to sell like hotcakes, if hotcakes that have to be shrinkwrapped due to content – this, like Happy Marriage?!, will definitely be an M for Mature title. That said, there’s more here than just put-upon heroine and abusive-yet-oh-so-hot boss, and I am very pleased we’ll get to see this.
Jigokuren – Love in Hell is from Futabasha’s Web Comic High, and features a guy who dies one day and finds himself in hell. But he has the chance to repent. Judging by the art and descriptions I’ve seen, however, this title seems to aim at the reader who enjoys seeing young-looking girls torturing guys in various ways. I’d put it in the I Don’t Like You At All Big Brother/Mayo Chiki category.