"A step forward into terror." by V. Krätke (Netherlands) on May 4, 2006

This is the manga equivalent of the events from episodes 17 and 18 of the TV series. The book's first half features some striking differences compared to the TV series. Unlike in the anime, Shinji isn't left in the dark about the fourth pilot's identity. We also get a better handle on the Tohji character in the manga. He's a little more developed than his celluloid counterpart. From the moment of Eva-03's activation test onward, however, things go drastically wrong pretty much exactly like they did in the anime. In fact, the panels and the page layout during this volume's battle scenes play out in such a way that they mimick the equivalent scenes from the anime almost shot for shot. The battle in question was one of the most intese from the anime, and it translates well on paper. It's a memorable, terribly violent clash. But if you've already seen these events once in animated form, this volume is little more than a glorified game of spot the difference. Worth it for Evangelion diehards, but others will probably get more out of just watching the equivalent episodes of the TV series.