What was Evangelion? A Collection of Doujinshi Works - Batch 1
Comic Box 1997 End of Evangelion Special Archiving Project - Entry #3
The majority of the rest of the feature involves submissions by ‘fans’ of Evangelion sharing their thoughts on End of Evangelion & Eva as a whole in hybrid art/essay form. I put ‘fans’ in quotation marks because this group is selective; it is almost entirely doujinshi artists or even professionals in the industry. They are certainly lovers of Evangelion; but they are also producers of content that depends on that industry, and have a unique relationship with anime in comparison to the median fan. I think this feature is truly valuable as a sociological sample of how the anime community saw Evangelion, but it is important to note that this sample is not representative.
Since their comments are straightforward, I will not provide an introductory analysis - I will instead provide the page and a translation below. Additionally, I will showcase information about the authors of these pieces; I find these works to be beautiful, hilarious, and/or heartfelt, sometimes created by artists lost to time. Hopefully I can reveal a small piece of lives of the people behind this collective response to Evangelion.
(Japanese text will be provided at the very end)
What was Evangelion?
A Collection of Doujinshi Works
Children still worry, love, and continue to live on... and we draw another Evangelion...
“The grace of god has arrived to save us all” by Ao Takegawa
I watched "The End of Evangelion" twice on its opening day. After the second viewing, a person behind me said, "I don't understand," while others in the theater said, "I don't like it," and my sister and I were upset by their words. However, I think this is truly a good thing about Evangelion. If everyone is convinced of the same viewpoint after watching, it's not really Evangelion anymore. There are parts that are extremely appealing and parts that are extremely detestable, and the fact that it doesn't try to explain everything from top to bottom is what makes it great.
I love it. I think that Evangelion is very good at handling the mentality of its characters, and probably would not have reached the eyes and ears of so many people if it had been made in a normal, preachy way. It's interesting even if you only think about the characters without thinking about anything else (laughs); I like that those who want to think about every part of the show can, and those who don't can just enjoy it without thinking too much. So, "What was Evangelion” I think my answer to that question is, "Evangelion was great.” (Laughs) ← am I an idiot?
- Ao Takegawa, 1997.8.5.
Author Info
Ao Takegawa was a member FANATICS (sometimes called FANATICA) doujin circle, and was from what I can gather one of their key artists. They published a very extensive series of doujin around Evangelion - you can see some listings on Mandarake here - which stood out for their soft-pastel art style and inclusion of detailed plots. From what I have seen there is a lot of Kaworu, though they were not restricted to yaoi works.
I unfortunately have been unable to find much more about this author - none of these doujin appear to be scanned, no extant social media presence or discussion of their works, etc. Hopefully someday this doujin series can be rendered more accessible.
By Mii Nekoi
Hello, COMIC BOX readers. I'm Mii Nekoi, and I draw Evangelion doujinshi. Watching Eva as it aired made me so happy, so I was satisfied with and not angry at whatever the ending would be. But when the TV show ended, I first felt cold and empty...but now I am burning with passion for the work ! I was attracted to it not because of the mysterious storylines or the realistic details, but because it depicted the inner lives of the characters; which may be why I wanted to try drawing Rei. Now that I have finished watching the film, "Just living life as if enjoying it like a simple numbers game doesn't cut it," was the most difficult line for me to handle. How about everyone else?
Author Info
Mii Nekoi is an extremely prolific hentai doujin author - their E-Hentai tag has 294 results - and they are still active today. They were running a booth at the latest Comiket! In regards to Evangelion, they were a major author of the “Paradise Lost” doujin series, a popular recreation of Eva’s story through a hentai lens that dozens of doujin artists at the time contributed to. Evangelion, being the universal center of the anime fandom in the mid-90’s, was equally so the center of the hentai community, and works like Paradise Lost were famous in their time and space.
You can find their twitter with the rest of their links here.
By Naoko Hinata
[TN: This comic has a ‘main’ section and several one-off notes; I have organized the notes by subject for ease of reading, a tactic I will us for future comics with similar layouts]
Overall Thoughts: When I came home after watching "THE END OF EVANGELION," I felt strange. The direct bloodshed and people collapsing into LCL felt good to me. (If I had been a little younger, I would have been so emotionally involved that I would have been lashing out at the people around me.) I guess this is what they call "catharsis" - I really feel refreshed (laughs). The "stunned" feeling of the last episode of the TV show was also resolved (laughs). Perhaps it was because of this one-year interval that I was now able to watch "Eva" with a cool head. (Well, it's okay to just watch it for fun, too (laughs)).
What is "Neon Genesis Evangelion"? It is a work that has achieved its large presence thanks to the energy and skill of the entire staff. It is an anime that has done a lot of things that have never been done before in terms of characters and various other aspects. It raises issues that someone, somewhere had been yearning for and takes us along the path to a satisfactory conclusion.... and then there's Anno.
Hideaki’s unique voice as a creator, where he expressed various emotions through the characters, script through vocabulary, body language and gestures through animation, and facial expressions through direction... his voice was subsumed by the TV broadcast, but at the end of the final episode he allowed us to fully hear it (laughs).
"Anyway, it was a work of fiction. The creation of one person and all the anime’s staff. However, I feel that it was real as a work of fiction! Ah... it was so interesting!! Thank you very much. Please show us your next work (live-action is good, but anime is also good) as well."
About Ritsuko: Ritsuko was betrayed and discarded, and died in a way that was the exact opposite of how Misato died - not at all cool.
Although I was a fan of her, I wondered why I was not angry and strangely accepting of her death. It may be because it was just like her to die that way, and also because I was instead moved by Maya's last (maybe?) moments - it was heartbreaking that there was someone who finally treated her with affection. Actually, the only scene that made me cry was this one. Her expression and voice seemed like that of a lost puppy being picked up by its owner who had given up on it completely. Oh, it was so cute!! Damn it, I have become such a sucker for cute things!
Even so... I think that Ritsuko was more liked by Gendo than her mother was. Not because she was more useful than her, but rather because of their compatibility and personality.
About Kaworu: The elementary school students sitting next to me at the movie theater laughed every time Kaworu appeared, saying "Kaworu-kun" to themselves each time. Why!? What did Kaworu do?1
(Note: They were making fun of him...)
About Asuka: Asuka's hair was so cool in the scene where she was fighting the mass-produced Eva units.
In the last scene, Asuka in bandages looked like a severed doll that had been stitched back together - it was kind of scary.
About Gendo: "I was surprised when Rei unexpectedly decided to no longer follow Gendo’s will. However the pathetic voice of Gendo trying to bring Rei back was lovely ♡ Shinji's father's version was brilliant; I wonder if Gendo's own father made the same choice to not involve himself with his son, to avoid being hurt? Gendo was awkward until the end... but he was also someone who couldn't be hated."
About the music: The music for the film was excellent! Both "THANATOS" and "Komm, Susser Tod" are currently my new favorites. I keep repeating them over and over.
Author Info
Naoko Hinata was an active doujin artist in the Mi!OFF Group circle; they produced a large amount of Sailor Moon doujin for the time. This comic’s text/art blend was something of a house style for Hinata; I was able to find a Sailor Uranus/Neptune doujin with a similar approach:
Alas I could not find much more about the group or the artist, and very few of their works appear to be scanned.
By Kengo Yonekura
Overall Thoughts: My name is Tou Kengo, and I'm in charge of supporting characters (laughs). In any anime or manga, there are always supporting characters, and I think that as long as those characters exist they will have fans. These fans never get any love...that is why we are not friends, GAINAX!! That's one of the cool things about Eva, though; they say that "Eva has no supporting characters!” Anyway, I'll just say that I'm a supporting character maniac.
Ritsuko Akagi: “I want you.” “I need you.” Hearing the line "I need you", it made me cry
Aoba Shigeru: I wonder if there's anyone you like...Koyasu-san (Shigeru’s VA) is the best.
Makoto Hyuga: If they existed in real life, I would fall in love with them. I'm sure of it.
Hikari Horaki: In the world of Eva, I think she is the strongest of the kids
Ryoji Kaji: So. COOOOOL!! (TN: I counted out the O’s, I am a Good Translator)
Kensuke Aida: What a cool 14 year old... his dilemma is so sad. Friendship or desire, which did he choose in the end?2
Touji Suzuhara: Personally, he is my favorite character. I can't tell you why because it would be too long (laughs). At JAFCON, (TN: a popular Japanese models/figurines convention) a dealer had a very nice figurine of Touji in a plug suit.
Closing Thoughts: As for End of Evangelion, it's so poignant and lovely that I can't put it into words. I'm glad I was born in the era of Eva. Thank you, Gainax.
Author Info
Kengo Yonekura is a very accomplished manga author still working in the industry today. She primarily draws hentai, tackling a diverse array of genres, and has done other manga and game projects as well. Of note for our purposes, she did the charater designs and original artwork for Shinji Ikari Raising Project, a 2004 video game produced by GAINAX applying their successful Princess Maker gameplay model to the Evangelion universe.
She is active on Twitter, and can find her links here
Japanese Text: First Comic
武川あお
AO TAKEGAWA
エヴァンゲリオン とは何だったのか
同人作家作品集
子供たちは今でも悩み、愛し、生きつづける 僕たちの描く、もう一つのエヴァ
「THE END OF EVANGELION」観ました 「やーもう感 動!!」とか言って初日に二度観たのですが、 二度め観終ったら後ろの席の 人が「わけわからん」とか言ってて、他)も「嫌だ」という人とかいるみた いざ、妹と二人で憤慨したりもしました。けれども、やっぱそういう所が EVANGELIONのいい所かと思います。全員が全員 納得して同じような感想持ったりしたらそれは もう EVANGELIONじゃないと思いますし。 ものすごく魅力を感じる所と 嫌悪を感じる所が共に ある所と1から10まで全部 説明してしまわない所が
好きです。普通に説教くさく 作った他の手段ではたぶんいま で多くの人の目や耳にふれることは できなかったろう、精神的なものも、E VANGELIONはうまいこと丸めこん でいてそれがとてもエライなぁ、と思う のです。 何も考えないでキャラのことだ け考えてもおもしろいですし(笑) いろいろ 考えちゃう人だけ考えなさい、というような 所も好きです。 というわけで 「EVANGELIONは何だったか?」 「EVANGELIONはエラかった」それが私の考えた答えな のでした(笑)←バカですか? AO.TAKEKAWA 1997. 8.5.
Second Comic
猫井ミィ
COMIC BOX読者の皆様はじめまして。 私は同人誌でエヴァのマンガを描いたり している猫井ミイとゆ者です猫井にとってエヴァンゲリオンは毎週リアルタイムでTVをドキドキしながら見ていた時が 1番シアワセでした。 だから結末がどうあれそれはそれで良かったし、別に怒ったりもなかったです。 ただTVが終わった時から急に冷めていっていたと一気もしますが・・・今思えば、この作品に! ひかれていたのは、謎だらけのストーリーでもリアルなメカ描写でもなく、キャラクターの内面を描いていたからでだから猫井もリアで何か描いてみたいと思ったのかもしれません。今、映画を見終わって、あの最後のセリフは後で考えたら たと思います。あれで良かっ ただ猫井としては、「楽しむことだけ数のように 生きていられるはずがつむいでないんだよ」 とゆーセリフが1番キツかったス皆様はどーでした?
Third Comic
日向直子 - Naoko Hinata
THE END OF EVANGELION」を観終えて家に帰ると、妙にになってました。 あの直接的な流血やLCLに還ってゆく人々の 様がここまで行くと気持ちよかったというか。(もうち歳若い頃だとどろどろ に感情移入しちゃって周囲にアタリ散らしてたろうけど。)カタルシス、という ヤツですかね。なんだかホント、スッキリしてます。(笑)第弐拾伍話、最 終話の呆然”も解消したし(笑)。 もしかしたらこの1年のインター バルがあったからこそ、「エヴァ」という作品を冷静に観賞できたのか もしれませんね。(いや別に、鑑賞でもいいんだけど(笑))
「新世紀エヴァンゲリオン」とは? スタッフ全員のエネルギーと技 術で、ここまでの存在の大きさを持つに至った作品。今までにない キャラや諸々の描写をとにかくやっちゃったアニメ。誰かがどこと なく欲していた問題提起と、納得できるまでの 道のりの連れ ・あい・・・そして、庵野
秀明氏の、作り手としての独 特の叫び声 (感情をキャラクターに、語彙を脚本に、ボディランゲー/ ジを動画に、表情を演出に代えて 語ってくれた様々な心象・・・・肉声が テレビ放映に代わってたから、 最終話近くはさせ くれたっちゃっ たけどね(笑))。
・・・とにかく、作り物だった。一人の人物の、アニメ制作者 皆さんの。でも、作り物 として本物だった!とは感じています。ああ・・・面白かった!!本当に有難うございました。次回作(実写もいいけどアニメも。)も 是非観せて下さいね。
NAOKO!!ひうが なほこ samedi 2 juillet,1997
[About Ritsuko]: 実にあっけなく、決して格好良くなく、 裏切られ捨てられて、ミサトの正反対 ともいえる死に方をしたリッコ。
ファンだったのになぜこうも立腹せず 受け入れられたのだろうとフシギに 思っていたのだけど。 彼女らしいといえばらし かったのと(下へつづく)
(上から)このマヤちゃんの 最期(?)があったからではないでしょうか(愛情をもって接してくれる人が 居たんだね、と。 秘め てたあたりが切ないが。)。 実は唯一泣けたのがこの カットなんですって まるで道に迷った 仔犬が来てくれないとあきらめ てた飼い主に抱きあげられた よーな表情(カオ)と声!うわあああ、 かわいいじゃないかっっ!!ちくしょう!
ミーハーしちゃったよ!!
ナオコ それでもね・・・・リツコは母親 よりもゲンドウに好かれてたと思う そりゃ経産婦よりは・・・・じゃなく てね、相性というか性格上
[About Kaworu]: ・映画館で となりに座ってた小学生ら (♀)は、登場する 度「カヲル君」と 一口にしながら 笑っていた。 ナゼ!? カヲルが 何をした
(注)バカにするよーに・・・
[About Asuka]: エヴァシリーズ と戦ってた アスカの髪 1の動きが すぎかっこよ かった。
ラストシーンの包帯姿のアスカは、つなぎ直された人形みたいで何となく怖かった
[About Gendo]: ゲンドウの意に添わなくなったレイには、 こっちまでおどろいたが、ゲンドウの レイを呼び戻そうとする情けない声がステキ♡
見事なまでにシンジの 父ちゃん版だったがゲンドウの父親も傷つける (傷つく)よりは関わらない方 を選ぶんだったのか?最期も 不器用な人だった…でも 憎めない人だった。
[About the Music]: 今回の歌もピカイチだった! 「THANATOS」も「Komm, Susser Tod」も現在カンペキにマイブームです。 リピートしまくり
Fourth Comic
脇役担当の(笑)糖けんごです。 どんなアニメやまんがにもサブキャラって ものが居て、どんなに扱いが小さかろうと キャラクターがいる限りそのファンって存在する と思うのです。 そんなファンに対してのあから さまなコビが無いトコロ... ツレないぜガイ ナックス!! そこがまたエヴァという作品の クールでかっこいい所でもあるのですが。 「エヴァに脇役はいない!」って説もある けどね。とりあえず、脇役マニアの タワゴトってことで。
1997.AUG. けんご!!
[About Ritsuko]: 赤木リツコ
「あなたが欲しい」
「あなたが必要なの」
"I need you” で泣きました。
[About Shigeru]: 青葉シゲル
好きな人、いないのかな・・・。
子安さん、サイコー
[About Makoto]: 日句マコト
現実にいたら、ホレるな。絶対。
[About Hikari]: 洞木ヒカリ
エヴァの作中、
いちばん強い子だと思います。
[About Kensuke]: 相田ケンスケ
なんてクールな14才・・・
てもジレンマが切ない。 友情と欲望さいごはどっちをとったの
[About Touji]: 鈴原トウジ
個人的に、いちばんすきなキャラです。
理由は長くなるので、言えない(笑)。
JAFCONで、とあるディーラーさんがスゴイ出来のイイ プラグスーツのトウジのフィギア出してました。
[Final Thoughts]: 完結編については、切なくて愛しくて、何も言えません。エヴァの時代に生まれてきてよかった。ありがとうガイナックス
This is presumably obvious, but just in case - Kaworu was an extremely popular “pretty-boy” type and a focus of yaoi fan works of the time, which is what they were ‘making fun’ of him in relation to (not how I would put it, but its how the author puts it).
I actually do not know what this is in reference to - Kensuke never has a dilemma in Eva? He is probably the most problem-free member of the whole cast