Similar to Akira, Neon Genesis Evangelion is hailed as a master piece, or perhaps just a masterpiece of watching some director succumb to depression, but few ever realize that Neon Genesis Evangelion is – in fact – based on a manga series. However, is it the same messed up product as the original attempt at the anime or were the Reboot movies made to do the manga justice?
Alternative Titles:
- Shinseiki Evangelion
Year Anime Premiered: 1995
Animation Studio: Gainax, Tasunoko Production
Number of Seasons: 1 + 1 Movie + 4 Reboot movies
Source Material Country of Origin: Japan
Source Material Available: Manga
Is It Officially Licensed Past Where The Anime Ends?: Yes
Is It Fan Translated Past Where The Anime Ends?: Yes
Entry Last Updated: August 26th, 2024
Where To Start The Neon Genesis Evangelion Manga After The Anime?
If you finished the Neon Genesis Evangelion anime and want to continue the story with the manga after the anime, you can start at:
- If you only watch the TV Neon Genesis Evangelion anime – You can start the manga at Volume 11, Chapter 75.
- If you also watched the End of Evangelion Movie – The anime is a full adaptation of the manga story but with a number of differences.
The Neon Genesis Evangelion anime is often a “similar, yet different” affair compared to the manga with the manga being far more detail-rich, filled with character differences, and with several events not adapted into the anime. It is strongly recommended to read the Neon Genesis Evangelion manga from the beginning.
As far as the Evangelion Remake movies go, they are even more different from the manga story with their injection of fully original characters.
What to Expect From The Neon Genesis Evangelion Manga?
When you are watching Neon Genesis Evangelion, the anime, you are very much experiencing a story through the mentally unwell eyes of the director. The NGE anime is very much Hideki Anno’s vision of the Evangelion story in a very distinct, memorable way.
When you read the Neon Genesis Evangelion manga, it is just a story. This means the characters are a little less extreme and you are essentially just reading a “still grim, but not as weird” mecha story.
This means the manga is a similar story to the anime, but in its own ways, feels very different from it.
It is also worth mention that the author who wrote the manga is also one of the founders of Gainax (the studio that made Evangelion) and the manga was originally going to be released with the anime before the anime got pushed back. However, while the manga likely began specifically to be made into an anime, the manga went on long past the anime and developed its story in a different way rather than just repeating what the anime fed you.
As the manga added in new angels and a lot of character stories and moments are very different from the anime, it is highly recommended to read the Neon Genesis Evangelion manga from the beginning.
Is The Neon Genesis Evangelion Manga Over?
The Neon Genesis Evangelion manga is complete. It ended in 2013 with Volume 14, Chapter 97.
Neon Genesis Evangelion Spin-Offs
There are more than you’d expect.
- Neon Genesis Evangelion – Legend of the Piko Piko Middle School Students (Manga, 5 Volumes, Complete) – Comedic school-set series about the characters playing video games to train for an alien invasion. It’s a fun gag manga.
- Tony Takezaki’s Neon Genesis Evangelion (Manga, 1 Volume, Complete) – Stories spoofing Evangelion characters and moments.
- Neon Genesis Evangelion Anima (Light Novel, 5 Novels, Complete) – Alternate Universe where four clones of Rei are on an anti-angel strike force, one goes rogue, and Shinji has to stop her.
- Neon Genesis Evangelion: Campus Apocalypse (Manga, 4 Volumes, Complete) – Serious alternate take on fighting angels with no mecha.
- Neon Genesis Evangelion: The Shinji Ikari Raising Project (Manga, 18 Volumes, Complete) – Ecchi harem school rom-com.
- Neon Genesis Evangelion – Angelic Days (Manga, 6 Volumes, Complete) -You know that rom-com at the end of the anime? That’s this, but for real.
- Petit Eva (Manga, 3 Volumes, Complete) – Chibi gag manga.
- Neon Genesis Evangelion – Shinji Ikari Detective Diary (Manga, 2 Volume, Complete) – Detective story, but with NGE characters.
I could be misreading things, but at least from what I can tell from the Wikipedia page, it seems like NGE wasn’t “based on” a manga. While the manga did come out earlier, it was still an adaptation of the then-unreleased anime, not the other way around.
Sure, As I said in the article, though I was worried I didn’t emphasize it enough.
It was even on my list of original anime with no source material prior to this as well. (https://wheredoestheanimeleaveoff.com/original-anime-with-no-source-material/)
It just required some elaboration and, to be fair, the manga is different from the anime.