By The Eva Monkey
on Wednesday, December 15th, 2004
Eva Manga Volume 9 on shelves
That’s right, its been due out for some time now, and it should now be available in local book stores, and available for order online. This volume is either good or bad, depending on whether you’ve enjoyed Sadamoto’s take on Eva. Volume 9 is one of the volumes that really differentiates itself from the anime. Like volume 5, there are stark differences. In volume 9, Kaworu is introduced, and he is much more cold and calculated than kind and compassionate. Kaworu also is introduced earlier on so that he can actually bump Asuka from the duty roster. Volume 9 also has the biggest cliffhanger ending of any volume thus far. You’ll just have to read to find out.
New Manga Stage in Shonen Ace This Month
Bochan_Bird, fan translator of the Eva manga, posted to the Evangelion Mailing List that there will be a new stage in this month’s installment of Shonen Ace. So after a year long break, Volume 10 is underway. Bad news is that this still means we most likely won’t get volume 10 in English for another year. I’m hoping that Sadamoto buckles down and plows through the last 3 volumes of the manga to completion.
Evangelion Edition Ipod
Ipods have been around for some time now, but only recently have they become trendy. I didn’t see this coming, however I’m not surprised to find out that they will be releasing a limited edition Ipod sporting the iconic Nerv emblem. Also included are a set of headphones, a slip, and a hard enamel case, all sporting the Nerv emblem. For more details on this promotion, check out TechJapan’s news post. For general info about Ipods, take a look at Apple’s official page.
Hideaki and Mayoko Anno appear in Koi no Mon
That crazy Hideaki Anno, and his wife Mayoko Anno appear in the new Japanese film Koi No Mon. The film is about the lives of otaku couples in Japan. A bizarre concept to say the least, its bound to be a huge hit among the otaku sub-culture. Who’s to say if it’ll ever see an English language iteration, but it does feature a cameo by the famed director and wife.
Click here for an image of the couple that I stole.
New Affiliate
Gainax Pages is now an Affliate of Eva Monkey, and if you haven’t taken a look, its a great place to look for more info about the studio that gave you Evangelion. Gainax has long been a counter-conventional studio and its works are anything but ordinary. From gaint robots, to echi fan service, to shoujo drama, Gainax has done it. So check out Gainax pages to get a feel for Gainax’s other less appreciated masterpieces.
The NGE Fan-Geeks Commentary Project finds a home on Eva Monkey
If you’re not familiar with The NGE Fan-Geeks Commentary Project, you ought to get aquainted. The “brain child”, or shall we say… “love child” of Rachel Clark, whom you may know as “Reichu”. It is in fact an exhaustive textual fan commentary project that anime fandom has yet to see. Take a look and you will notice that it is a frame by frame resource mimicing the presentation of audio commentary, however executed in a visual web format, with screen shots, cut numbers, dialogue, and of course, fan commentary. So if you are one who has been dissapointed by Platinum Edition’s lacking commentary, take a look at this, you’re bound to learn something.
http://www.evamonkey.com/commentary/
Posted in: Manga, Merchandise, Neon Genesis Evangelion (manga).
By The Eva Monkey
on Wednesday, December 8th, 2004
While searching for info on Platinum Volume 4 on Anime On DVD, I came across this. Apparently, the English dialogue track of episode 3 is missing some lines of dialogue just before Shinji goes into battle against the fourth Angel Shamshel.
The line “Why am I piloting this thing again, even though my father’s not here? Even though I was beaten.” is absent when Shinji is first loaded into the Eva. On further inspection I’ve noticed that Shinji’s two sarcastic “Yes.” lines from right before his Eva is launched are absent as well.
You can request a replacement disc from ADV directly from their corporate site’s contact page.
http://www.advfilms.com/
No indication of similar defects on other episodes or volumes, so keep an eye out, and if you spot a missing line or something similar, be sure to inform Anime On DVD or even myself.
Posted in: Merchandise, News. Tagged: ADV Films.
By The Eva Monkey
on Thursday, December 2nd, 2004
As you may know, after Evangelion Hideaki Anno got into the habit of jumping back and forth between animation and live action film making. After The End of Evangelion, he went on to make Love and Pop, his first and possibly most distinctive live action work. He returned to animation to make His and Her Circumstances, and frustrated with the production he returned to live action with Shiki-Jitsu, which some argue is one of his best works, and certainly his best live action film. Afterwards he was absent from the director’s chair for some time until he took on what is probably the biggest eyebrow raiser of them all.
Cutie Honey.
This is not so odd if you take into account the fact that Anno is a huge sentai fan, and equally large a fan of the works of Go Nagai, a director whom some American fans are familiar with, but few understand the importance of. Go Nagai’s works, such as Getter Robo, Mazinger, Devilman, and Cutie Honey played a very big role in the pioneering of the modern anime industry. Especially when taking into account shows like Getter Robo and Mazinger, you will see just where the influence in Anno’s work comes from. Anno’s first directorial work is Gunbuster, which features quite a few elements drawn directly from Mazinger among others, such as Macross, which he also worked on, which is in itself very similar to Space Battleship Yamamoto, which enamored Anno as a child and put him on the path to the director’s seat.
It is interesting to see just how these trends re-emerge, and just where the influence comes from. And in the case of Anno, he actually got the tremendous opportunity to take the work of a director he admired and respected, and honor the series by creating another chapter of it.
Considering that, Cutie Honey doesn’t seem like such a ludicrous thing for Anno to be doing. And with that, I suggest (yet again) taking a look at both the live action Cutie Honey movie, and the Re: Cutie Honey OAV. Both of which are now available on fan sub, and if you’re curious to see them, you might want to grab them now while people are still seeding them on bittorrent, because who knows if these will get licensed. As I’ve frequently described Cutie Honey as a “guilty pleasure”, I’m uncertain if either of these will make it out of Japan, as it may be a bit too niche interest.
And some random screen caps.
And some random screen caps.
And I swear this will be the last time Cutie Honey is the subject of a news post. At least until either the movie or OAVs are licensed that is. Tune in next time for something bordering on productivity.
Posted in: Mildly Evangelion. Tagged: Cutie Honey, Hideaki Anno.
By The Eva Monkey
on Tuesday, November 23rd, 2004
Hi, its your old buddy Eva Monkey. And I’ve got an eency weency teeny weeny request from you. There’s this online fanzine called Anime Fringe, and every year they do a top 25 anime related website award. I can guarantee who will be at the top of this list. Anime News Network, Anime Nation, Anime on DVD, etc etc etc. But just once, just once… wouldn’t you like to see the under dog get a slot, even if its at the bottom? Wouldn’t you like to see this site on the list, even if its #25? I would be greatly honored if you could go on over to their voting page and put my URL in for a vote.
Posted in: Eva Monkey.
By The Eva Monkey
on Wednesday, November 3rd, 2004
Cutie Honey Live Action on Bittorrent
Okay, I don’t know if this is going to come our way, which is why I’m posting it. This is a raw unsubbed DVD rip, so if you know absolutely NO JAPANESE WHATSOEVER you’ll be really lost. I know a little bit, and was able to piece together bits and pieces. However, I’m waiting on a subbed version before I pass judgement. But in the meantime, you can watch it in its pure, raw, undoctored format.
Source: http://torrents.theppn.org/details.php?id=19522
Torrent: Cutie Honey.torrent
Torrent (Mirror): Cutie Honey.torrent
And speaking of Cutie Honey, the first two Re: Cutie Honey OAVs are available fansubbed. Just go on over to Anime Suki and grab em while people are seeding them. Who knows if they’ll be licensed. They’re pretty crazy. I would describe it as FLCL with boobs EVERYWHERE. No joke. And I know you’re interested to see how Anno’s return to directing anime has turned out, you’ll just have to watch and see.
Evangelion Audio Drama “Subbed”
Here’s something else that will never see a domestic release. This is audio drama piece from the addition cd. Now, you may ask youself, how can something from an audio cd be subtitled? Well, the person who authored this took a translation, and created a video from it where characters speak in speech bubbles, much like in a dating/sim game. Its certainly an interesting experience to watch. Pretty funny, give it a shot.
Source: http://kazoo-fansubs.cjb.net:6969/
Torrent: [zua]-Eva_After-the-End_Picsub[1][1].avi.torrent
Torrent (Mirror): [zua]-Eva_After-the-End_Picsub[1][1].avi.torrent
Featured Site
I’d like to give a shout out to Gainax Pages, a new site dedicated to Gainax fandom of all kinds. I’ve always made an effort to promote other works of Gainax and its members here at Eva Monkey, and I like to see a site like this pop up to promote Gainax in a way I wish I had time to.
Posted in: Mildly Evangelion, Movies, Video. Tagged: Gainax Pages.
By The Eva Monkey
on Thursday, October 28th, 2004
I try to stick with Eva oriented stuff with this site as much as possible. But I must acknowledge that I do have somewhat of a voice on the internet, and can reach a few people. And this is something I feel very strongly about. I am an Eva geek, I am an anime enthusiast, and I am also a gamer. I’m also a huge Penny Arcade fan. So I can’t help but want to spread the word about Child’s Play. If you don’t know, Child’s Play is a children’s charity conducted by Michael “Gabe” Krahulik and Jerry “Tycho” Holkins of the insanely popular and widely read web comic Penny Arcade.
They were irritated with the mindset people have that gamers are insensitive and violent individuals. So they started Child’s Play, a children’s charity that gives games and toys to children with serious and terminal illnesses. Last year they gave $250,000 worth of toys and games to the Seattle Children’s Hospital at Christmas time. And they’re doing it again, but this time, they’re doing it at five children’s hospitals across the country. Seattle, Oakland, San Diego, Texas, and Children’s National Medical Center. Simply go to the Child’s Play website, click on a hospital you would like to send a toy to, and purchase off of the Amazon wish list for that hospital. Its that easy. I’m doing it, won’t you?
Posted in: Personal.
By The Eva Monkey
on Monday, September 27th, 2004
I’m very tired right now, so I’ll try to keep this brief. My computer is afflicted with a nasty case of…. something. And I’ve been slipping into some sort of state of depression. Meaning I’ve lost interest in many things I was interested in previously. And though some things, like this site, aren’t all that interesting to me in my current mental state, I’m going to still try to find time and energy to put something up on the site, even if it is minor. More consistant updates and site work will commence once my computer is in good working order once more.
Untill then, lets scrape together some stuff, shall we?
Eva Platinum Edition status.
Volume 2 was released last week, it contains episodes 5-10. It comes with a Rei cover and metallic slip. Special features are an animatic of episode 9, clean opening and closing animations, and episode 8 commentary by Tiffany Grant (Asuka) and Allison Keith (Misato). The animatic and clean opening / closing animations are nothing to rave about. The commentary with Tiffany Grant and Allison Keith has slightly more substance than the one with Spike Spencer (Shinji) and Matt Greenfield. Same deal, slightly more substance, and some fan girlish levity.
Platinum Volume 3 is to be released November 11.
Eva Manga Volume 9 coming soon
Very much to my surprise, Carl Horn himself reported to the Eva Monkey forums that Volume 9 of the Eva manga will be released in October courtesy of Viz. This requires some clarification, as it has been listed as being for release November 10th by RightStuf. This comes as a surprise as Viz has consistantly put out a new volume each summer the last several installments.
The second editions of all the volumes thus far should be available at your local Borders or other similar book store chain.
Other Random Findings
I’ve some across two interesting findings, which you may or may not have had brought to your attention. First is one of the illustrations from Volume 9 Kadokawa edition of the Eva Manga.
Second is a photograph of a sculpture by an artist named Antonio Canovo, who was of particular importance in the 18th century.
The sculpture depicts cupid embracing his mortal lover Psyche. The myth goes that Cupid was instructed to make Psiche fall in love with a beast as punishment for angering the Venus. He fell in love with her and refused his orders. Its a long story, so I’ll spare you the details. Suffice it to say that there is a vague parallel between Cupid and Kaworu. Or at least, possibly Sadamoto is trying to indicate that there is.
Next is an illustration from the End of Evangelion.
And the following is an illustration by Karel Thole. It first appeared as the cover illustration for the Italian Sci-Fi magazine Urania in the 1960s.
This illustration possibly indicates that some inspiration for the final scene of Eva was lifted from this illustration. Is it possible? Yes, certainly, after all, Hideaki Anno is know to be a rather well rounded science fiction buff, and it is possible that he, growing up on a diet of vintage science fiction, may have taken a few ideas, putting context to an abstract image such as this illustration.
Posted in: Manga, Neon Genesis Evangelion (manga), Platinum.
By The Eva Monkey
on Tuesday, August 17th, 2004
It has become difficult recently to find stuff worth mentioning or commenting on. On occasion I come across something like what I have in store for you today. Some of you might be aware that Hideaki Anno filmed some live action segments for the End of Evangelion. Much of the live action you see is without characters or dialogue, just serene imagery of daily life in Japan. However one segment he did have filmed featured a world where Shinji did not exist, where Asuka and Touji live together, where Misato is their neighbor, and Rei is Asuka’s Senpai. The segment deals with Asuka’s life without Shinji, and at the end, Shinji adresses that he is not within that world.
This segment was unused, and was eventually chopped up into bits, and can be found at the very beginning of the End of Evangelion. For a bit more info on this segment, check out the Eva Otaku’s page on this segment, it has some details and translation of the audio. I’m not certain if this copy of the video is complete, as there is some additional dialogue at the end that is not in this video file. It might have not been completed, I’m not certain. But nevertheless, this video offers an interesting look into the creative process of the End of Evangelion.
Enjoy! (to download right click and “Save Target As…”)
Posted in: Neon Genesis Evangelion, The End of Evangelion, Video. Tagged: Eva Otaku.
By The Eva Monkey
on Monday, August 2nd, 2004
Another convention under the belt. And after eleven conventions in the last five years, I think I just can’t attend as a regular fan anymore. Without something like panelling to keep me busy, I wouldn’t know what to do with myself.
First thing’s first. The Eva Panel rocked. I completely filled the room to capacity. People had to stand. No pictures right now. But there will be a few pictures of the crowdedness of Panel Room 1 once I get film developped. I spent too much time on detailing stuff like Platinum, the Unofficial Guide, and Love & Pop, but overall, a good time was had by all. I made people laugh, the kids from Gangsta City held up a sign saying “Eva Monkey is teh sux”, and a good time was had by all. Feedback from the panel was really positive. Thanks for attending people, I’m glad you enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed doing it.
Other than that, I have nothing significant to offer. While I’ve been working behind the scenes on some stuff, I have nothing awesome to show or report. I’ll bringing you another Eva Webmaster interview, akin to the one I did of Rhine of Eva Comics a month back. I’ll also be doing what I can to contribute to the Anime Nation Forums Eva Geeks Commentary. I’m going to see what I can do to bring about some decent audio commentary, and take it as far as ADV if at all possible. I’ve gotten some more support for the Eva book project I’m putting together. So that’s looking positive. I’ll also be receiving some additional support, which will make providing materials such as scripts quite a bit easier.
Lots of exciting stuff happening, meeting lots of cool people, and the site’s future is looking more and more promising to me.
Posted in: Conventions. Tagged: Otakon.
By The Eva Monkey
on Sunday, July 25th, 2004
Its that time of the year again. Time for some Otakon madness. For three days, anime geeks from hundreds of miles around will descend upon the unsuspecting city of Baltimore Maryland. Simply picturing the confused and disturbed looks on the faces of Baltimore natives makes me tingle with anticipation and excitement.
This Otakon promises to be a big one for me. It will be in effect coming full circle. Having paid plenty of attention to my traffic stats, I am well aware that my traffic and readership took a noticible increase after Otakon, and its undoubtadely due to the panel I held there. The panel one year ago acted as a kind of catalyst, sending me on a journey of Evangelion fandom and obsession. It hit me one day that I had no less than one hundred people visiting the site each day. I don’t know how it happened, but a lot has changed since last year. I went from aspiring “n00b” webmaster to prominant figure. And in a way, I have Otakon to thank.
This year, I’m pulling out all the stops. This Otakon, the Eva Monkey held “Evangelion Q&A” panel returns with a vengence. If you just so happen to be attending Otakon this year, please join me Saturday afternoon, from 5:30-6:30 in Panel Room 1. Even if you think it’ll all be old news, you may be in for a treat. Regardless, I have the smallest panel room, and given that fact, I want to see the room PACKED. I want to see people standing against the wall in the back. I want to see people sitting on the floor. I want to see people come in the room and say quietly “Wow… crowded…”. Make my weekend, show up and show your support for Eva, and the site as well.
Whether you make the panel or not, be sure to check out the remastered edition of Eva ReDeath. Thats right, the hilarious fan parody by Studio Sokodei has finally been remastered. It will be shown at Otakon, and if you haven’t seen it, be sure to. And if you’ve already seen it, go see it again.
As I’ve mentioned previously in the forums I’m going for a rare book hunt (mainly “2015//The Last Year of Ryohji Kaji” and “The Red Cross Book”) in the Otakon dealers room. And there will be some resulting schenanigans in the forums shortly afterwards. I can’t just give these books away, but I can issue people challenges for a shot at buying the book off of me. I know, I’m so generous…[/sarcasm] If I could give them away, I would. However, I’m not made of money. But I can guarantee you that it will be fun, and it will be something to look out for.
Platinum Edition Volume 1 to be released
That’s right, the first volume of Platinum is being released this week. You can purchase it from your preferred vendor, or get a big thumbs up from me by purchasing it through Anime Nation. Just click on the affiliates link to the left of this news post.
Posted in: Conventions. Tagged: Otakon.
