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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…
Carl Gustav Horn