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Neon Genesis Evangelion 3-in-1 Edition, Vol. 1: Includes vols. 1, 2 & 3

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The manga adaptation of the landmark animated series that changed the mecha genre. Each volume contains three of the original graphic novels and includes pages of stunning, full-color art. 

524 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 6, 2012

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1253 people want to read

About the author

Yoshiyuki Sadamoto

166 books250 followers
Yoshiyuki Sadamoto (貞本義行) is a Japanese character designer, mangaka, and one of the founding members of the Gainax anime studio.

His notable works include Neon Genesis Evangelion character design and manga.
He is also the character designer for the .hack//Games and the Package designer for the .hack//GU games.
Also publishes with the doujinshi pen name 45yen.

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5 stars
1,729 (59%)
4 stars
910 (31%)
3 stars
235 (8%)
2 stars
32 (1%)
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16 (<1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 221 reviews
Profile Image for Chi.
788 reviews45 followers
October 14, 2020
I have an old memory, as a 14 or 15-year-old, when a channel in Australia called SBS started airing subtitled / subbed anime. Possibly their second show (after "Akira") happened to be a post-apocalyptic anime named "Neon Genesis Evangelion". I would be hooked on that show, and others of the medium from that point onwards.

So, reading the manga pretty much elicited the same feelings of excitement, though tempered with a more adult view of things.

Shinji Akari, the protagonist of this series, starts out as a very apathetic young man of 14 years (coincidentally, the same age as I was when I first delved into the world of anime). He's been living with his aunty and uncle, who has been caring for him since his father, Gendo Akari, foisted Shinji onto them. Compounding the rejection from his father, his mother is also no longer in the picture. So he's had to deal with parental rejection by shielding himself (and his heart) in a shell of apathy so that no one could ever hurt him emotionally.

The world is also very much a traumatised one, where in the year 2000, a traumatic event dubbed The Second Impact, wiped out almost half of the world's population. 15 years later, in 2015, Angels have suddenly appeared once more - which is where the story begins.

On a character level, I don't think that Shinji appreciates how much the adults in his life (primarily Gendo, but also Misato) have been manipulating him, rejecting him when he didn't want to be a pilot for the eponymous Evangelion, knowing full well that eventually, he would be interested enough to remain a pilot.

For that matter, Shinji has also been testing the people around him, rejecting them as a way to prove that "see, they don't want you around anyways" before he connected too deeply, only to be rejected. I find that concept fascinating. Especially moreso since the need and desire for human connection and belonging is so much an integral facet of what it means to be human.

Adding to that are the machinations of NERV, as well as the shadowy figures aiding Gendo Akari. I know that there's more to come, but I'm hoping that I'll finally obtain some sort of clarity as to what happens in the end. (I only watched the 26-episode series, and have never watched the OVAs: "Death and Rebirth" and "The End of Evangelion", having pegged them as being too gory for me to handle).

At least the drawings by Yoshiyuki Sadamoto are aesthetically pleasing to look at, while I try to wrap my head around what I have found to be a very convoluted story... :)
Profile Image for Nikki in Niagara.
4,391 reviews174 followers
January 5, 2013
Reason for Reading: I love reading omnibus editions of manga series. One is just never enough at a time, but 3 in a row gives you just the right amount of depth to come up for a breather as you wait for the next edition to come out!

Publisher recommends this for 13+ but I'm recommending for ages 16+ because of the language which uses a lot of curse words (NOT the f-word, but everything else) and there is female nudity.

Vol. 1 starts right in the middle of things and is a fabulous way to begin a manga series. We're just thrown into an intense situation and learn what is happening at the same time as an almost clueless character. Shinji's mother is dead and he has been abandoned by his father at boarding school for the last three years when suddenly he is whisked away at his father's orders. Shinji seems like a nice enough guy though he doesn't really care too much about other's in the grand scheme of things. But we feel for him when we meet his father, a belligerent, unfeeling tyrant who shows no emotion to Shinji and has brought him to headquarters where he can (for some reason) be the only suitable replacement pilot for the huge fighting robot "Evangelion". Basically his father has brought him here to be a warrior (for which he has not trained) and realistically to meet his death in battle. Nice guy ... hate him already. Shinji doesn't want to do this but Japanese culture takes over and he does do it out of pride and honour Shinji is 14 (I think) and a young but grown-up woman scientist befriends him, sympathetic to his father's treatment of him. Great battle scenes which are very easy to follow and an immensely intriguing opening volume to this post-apocalyptic sci-fi manga. 5/5

Vol. 2 has me hooked on this series! Concentrating on character and putting battles on the backburner we really get to know Shinji and Misato. I just love Misato! She is a lovely young woman, funny and amazingly at this point in the series, multi-layered. The relationship between the two gets off to a rocky start as both misinterpret the intentions of the other but both come to tell the other the truth of their hidden personalities. Can I say I loved it again?! We get glimpses of Rei, who the extra material at the end of each volume (interviews, etc.) let us know will be a major character and Shinji's father only shows up briefly. The book isn't entirely plot and character though as we get one good battle scene towards the end. I can't wait to read the last volume in this omnibus. 5/5

Vol. 3 brings Rei into the fold and introduces her as a character. There is mystery surrounding her; she is totally devoid of emotion, seems to have been wiped of memories prior to when she came to be an Eva pilot and most confusing of all to Shinji she is enamoured with and puts all her trust and faith into his father who still barely speaks a word to him. Shinji finds himself attracted to Rei and they have a very embarrassing first meeting (for him anyway); he sets out to befriend her. Battles feature prominently as we go into the past to learn of Rei's accident the brought about the calling of Shinji and the enemy comes again to attack headquarters prompting the sending of both Rei and Shinji in their Eva's out to work together as a team. Shinji's father is also given a bit of a break as we are shown that he has a human side after all but this doesn't redeem him in anyway in my eyes. A thoroughly satisfactory conclusion to this 3-in-1 omnibus. I greatly look forward to the next volume! 4/5
Profile Image for Darcofi.
122 reviews147 followers
March 8, 2021
Los tres primeros volúmenes del manga, que cubren los encuentros con los tres primeros ángeles del anime. Tres enfrentamientos que más tarde se volverían a mostrar en la primera película de las tres que contaban la historia de nuevo.

Bien. Más Evangelion. En otro formato y con cambios díficiles de pasar inadvertidos después de habernos comido esta historia tantas veces. Pero, bien, supongo.
Profile Image for Lucca Ángel.
130 reviews4 followers
July 30, 2023
Incredible artwork, lots of bonus content from the creator/crew members, and the same great story from the show. I’m definitely excited to continue reading the manga when I can get my hands on it!
My only complaint is that the action scenes definitely don’t have that same exciting, dramatic feel. It’s hard to really get a grasp of just how tense some situations are when you can’t hear them/see them moving. Besides that, I loved this! If you’re a fan of the show, I definitely recommend reading it.
Profile Image for Kate.
1,468 reviews62 followers
July 14, 2014
Have not seen the anime so this is brave new territory for me but I think I'm going to have to get a hold of that next. Reading three volumes in one edition was great - I always blow through one volume way too fast.

A lot of effort is put into showing how and why Shinji, our hero, stays where he is once he is thrown into the role of eva pilot by a father that he has not seen in years. There are lot of questions still at this point but the journey of Shinji's acceptance and then embrace of his role is our main concern here. I'm also invested in learning more about what is going on here with the world and with this whole project. I love that we're being kept in the dark here and are just being told things as the other characters are finding them out. No one seems to have any proper idea of what is going on and it is lovely.
Profile Image for Marathon (shadow’s version).
46 reviews1 follower
August 23, 2024
at least in comparison to the show, although it is difficult to evaluate a story in an adapted medium

i love the art! in many places i think it looks better than how the show looks even if it’s minor differences

as far as story changes i’m not sure if i’m the biggest fan of the changes made to Rei 1. the details of shinji looking through gendos glasses in the apartment does a lot to characterize the relationship between gendo and rei, as does the slap rei gives shinji later in the episode. on one hand these changes highlight the similarities that will become more apparent in shinji and his father, but on the other hand i think it may weaken reis overall character arc.

i guess i’ll find out if i can ever get my hands on a copy of volume 2.

other notes of interest:
ritsuko is already 30 during the series
the third angel swam up to tokyo 3
Profile Image for Tomungo X.
97 reviews
November 30, 2020
This trade was awesome! I could see where the inspiration came from when they did the movie pacific rim. However this trade shows more heart and mystery with the characters. So many questions i still have and i divulged already so many pages. Where are these angels coming from, why shinji’s dad so cold towards him, why is shinji such a whiney emotional character but then posseses some cool inner hero architype within his psyche.

Artwork is great and the dialogue is cool, already loving all the characters can’t wait to see how all this unfolds.
Profile Image for Leandro.
254 reviews1 follower
July 8, 2019
Manga que consiste en 14 libros.
Para no arruinar mi conteo en goodreads, solo subiré el tomo 1 de las colecciones de manga en lugar de subir toda la serie.
Conocí esta historia en 1998 y quedé inmediatamente enganchado con ella.
Me enamore de la profundidad y conflicto de sus personajes.
Colecciono sus libros de arte, las figuras de sus personajes, sus series, estampas, discos de música, de todo. Mi percepción y gusto sigue más fuerte que nunca!
Hace unos años que terminó la publicación en japón, pero hasta esta semana es cuando decidí terminar los 14 libros y de corrido.
Que buena historia! Realmente ya no hay dudas.
El manga aterriza todo. TODO. Realmente reforzó todas las teorías que tenia.
Quizá me perdí de algo.... Pero cuando lo vuelva a leer en 10 años lo descubriré.
Shinji es menos llorón y más complejo.
Reí tiene más personalidad.
Asuka es más doble cara y más explosiva.
Y Misato es perfecta! Mucho más.
Kaji es un personaje menos misterioso pero más impactante.
Pen pen sale más y es más adorable.

El arte de Sadamoto me encanta! Y muchas ilustraciones que ya había visto y que creí que no tenían contexto ahora si lo tienen.

Es una historia de ciencia ficción perfecta para mi.
Profile Image for Chelsea.
12 reviews1 follower
April 9, 2025
somehow, all of this could have been fixed if we just swung on shinji's father
Profile Image for Gracie Bee.
8 reviews
October 31, 2022
god damn it Shinji quit PTSDing about and get in the robot already
Profile Image for Kelsey Hlavaty (readingwithkelsey).
1,251 reviews47 followers
July 5, 2021
Second read: 2021
Apparently I have read this before? And I don't even remember reading this AT ALL. I have seen the anime so many times at this point that it all blurs together but it is still so good. I don't think I will ever not love this series. Shinji's struggles are so real; the way it paints his (granted, WARRANTED) depression and his reluctance acceptance of the hero role is fascinating and heartbreaking. And just knowing what is about to come for this poor boy? I can't wait to continue.

(I would give this a biased 5 stars because I love the series so much, but because I gave it 4 stars 5 years ago and also did not remember doing so, means it deserves to remain at that rating. Right? Right.)
---------------------------
1st read: 2016 - 4 stars
Profile Image for cheer.
77 reviews17 followers
October 4, 2022
It's the manga adaptation of Neon Genesis Evangelion— obviously it gets five stars!

The art is fantastic. The volumes contained in this book are pretty much identical to the anime, but I still recommend it if you're a fan of the show.

By pure coincidence, I always seem to get back into Evangelion whenever it's the exact thing I need to get me through whatever I'm going through in my life. It impacts me in a way that few things do.



but really why can't this kid just quit his crying and get in the robot, am i right folks??!
Profile Image for Torren Mullens.
59 reviews
February 25, 2025
After binging the anime in late 2024 I became super absorbed into the world of Evangelion and wanted to try my hand at the manga.

This is the first manga I've ever actually read all the way through and honestly I'm amazed. The way in which the black and white art manages to convey so much arguably at times serving a higher impact than if it was in colour.

This introduction follows the anime pretty much bar for bar with some interesting smaller changes that I feel will grow out as it goes on. Essentially all the main characters so far resemble their series counterparts with the exception being Toji (who for some reason talks like a new yorker) but it's fresh seeing Shinji, Rei and Misato again even in another medium.

This goes up until the Operation Yashima and the closing moment where Shinji rescues Rei hit just as hard as in the anime. Going to definitely try and read this entire series. It's astonishing !
Profile Image for Francisca Pinto .
385 reviews31 followers
December 30, 2019
Como siempre... Neon Genesis Evangelion es un clásico del manga y animé.

Para los que no sepan, este es mi segundo favorito de la vida luego de Fullmetal Alchemist y al igual que éste, he disfrutado mucho leer el manga para revivir esta historia de forma escrita.

Pronto compraré los otros tomos para tener esta colección que encuentro tan maravillosa, y gente MUY IMPORTANTE! si no entienden a la primera es NORMAL, es el clásico animé con el que quedas marcando ocupado por su nivel de complejidad. NADIE LO HA ENTENDIDO A LA PRIMERA.

Ahora, ¿cuándo saldrá la película? aún esperando con ansias que salga :3
Profile Image for NJ Speed.
10 reviews1 follower
September 1, 2024
Of all manga i’ve ever read in my lifetime, I could clearly say this is the absolute BEST. It is engaging and fun, yet philosophical and genuinely made me question my own existence.

This author has definitely created a work that may have been impacted by their own life, because I could never understand how a person could simply dream these themes up.

This series deals with religious symbolism, one’s existence, the weight of the world, post apocalyptic themes, abuse, soul crushing romance, and the murkiness of life/death.

THIS BOOK AND MOVIE SEIRES HAS GENUINELY CHANGED MY LIFE.
Profile Image for Lars.
173 reviews1 follower
October 15, 2024
Neon Genesis Evangelion is a classic anime and manga series. I thought the series was based on the manga, but I guess its the other way around.

In any case, NGE is a Mecha manga about robots fighting Kaiju's in a dystopian future. I struggled to understand what makes this manga series stand out above the rest. It's a shonen so the story is all about coming of age and the emotional turmoil that comes with it. It's all been done before and has been done better. I doubt I'll continue past this first omnibus even though I own the entire series
Profile Image for Matt.
240 reviews5 followers
July 14, 2019
Really great manga version of the famous anime. I re-watched the series recently and thought I'd give this manga version a try. The anime is fast and furious so it's really nice to be able to slowly savor the story in manga form. It appears there are five "3-in-1" volumes to this and I'll be sure to read them all. Maybe reading this manga will help me actually make sense out of the story..... ;-)
99 reviews1 follower
June 27, 2021
While it lacks the sound design and score of the show, it works well as a cogent companion to the anime. It makes minor dialogue and scripting changes to differentiate itself - Shinji is more active, and the panel provides the reader more of a pause to take in the scale and sense of how the world depicted functions. Having experienced the show before reading I can't speak for how standalone it functions, but it succeeds in evoking the same tonal and thematic wavelength.
Profile Image for ms1v.
26 reviews1 follower
October 6, 2023
The smash hit series Evangelion has made the transition from TV to Book. It's good! From the brain of a 2023 Person, this feels almost like the first Rebuild movie, in that it feels almost like a recap of the first couple episodes without many changes. However, that's not a bad thing, as the first couple episodes of Evangelion rule! I've heard the manga departs from the anime more significantly as it goes on, and I'm excited to see where it goes.
Profile Image for Charlie Benjamin Matthews.
9 reviews
November 18, 2024
A perfect anime. A perfect manga (at least so far)! Everything about this world is just so enthralling and beautiful. The art alone is enough to make this manga a five star, but when you dig deep enough into the story’s meaning it makes everything about it just seem so much more masterful. I am absolutely loving this manga so far - and I love everything about Evangelion (TV show and film/s included!)
Profile Image for Kyle Bateman.
31 reviews2 followers
June 24, 2020
I have been in a serious Evangelion mood lately, having recently completed my first viewing of the original series and film for the first time in years. I got roughly half way through the manga a few years ago but remembered almost nothing about it specifically. There is a good amount of very subtle but interesting changes so far, the biggest to me being the way it emphasizes Shinji and Rei’s relationship. Rei is humanized ever so slightly more already than in the anime which is neat. Overall a great edition (the spines for the whole series look incredible lined up together) with breathtaking artwork. I don’t know if I would necessarily recommend this as an entry point to Evangelion (I think just starting with the original show is still the best method), but this is excellent regardless.
My only complaint about the book itself is that the paper seems to be just slightly too thin causing a LOT of page bleed, especially considering how much negative space/whiteness there is on many of the pages. Flipping through later volumes, they seem to have rectified that issue, hopefully that will be the case.
Profile Image for Nico Șimon.
11 reviews1 follower
August 12, 2021
For a manga that was only started to promote the ongoing series I am genuinely fascinated by the level of detail and dedication that went into the artstyle. The story as well flows easily and coherently and the bits of inner dialogues offered by Shinji give an extra depth to the character. Can't wait to see what direction its going to take, but so far I am pleased.
Profile Image for Taylor Hickson.
28 reviews
March 22, 2023
The start of something amazing. I’m just one volume, there’s already so much more explanation and depth to the world of Tokyo-3 and the characters. Things that didn’t make much sense in the anime are already clicking way easier in this first volume.

Misato, I’m free this weekend if you want to hang out.
Profile Image for Kim Novice.
168 reviews1 follower
September 17, 2023
It's largely the same as the show, so good, but the changes, what's missing and what's added is interesting and makes it worth reading even if you've seen the show and Rebuilds. Some changes are definitely noteworthy, like Shinji's inner perspective and how he's characterised, though the lessened build up before the sniper battle is a bit sore.
Profile Image for Héctor Méndez Gómez.
75 reviews5 followers
August 17, 2019
Uno de mis mangas favoritos. Me gusta esta edición por tener tres volumenes en uno. Si nunca han leído el manga o visto el anime de evangelion se los recomiendo. Es un manga que abarca muchos temas, el más interesante para mi tal vez sea el psicológico.
Profile Image for Riley.
209 reviews13 followers
October 5, 2020
GET IN THE ROBOT SHINJI!
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