"Worth the wait? Eh, sort of..." by V. Krätke (Netherlands) on Sep 15, 2007

Over a year has passed since the release of volume 9. The tenth volume of the Evangelion manga has finally been released this year, but did it bring the phenomenal developments readers were expecting?

Well, yes and no. This is a pretty good new volume of Evangelion, all things considered. The art is still exceptionally good, and there are plenty of bits and pieces that significantly deciate from the anime version to keep die-hards interested. Kaoru and Shinji, in particular, have a much rockier relationship here compared to all the warm and fuzzy stuff that went on between them in the anime.
So volume ten delivers more of the same good, solid and exquisitely drawn Evangelion manga. Which isn't a bad thing, but it would've worked better if there hadn't been a year-long hiatus between this volume and the last.

Another problem is that this volume spends a lot of time unveiling details about Rei. Trouble is, Rei's true nature is a plot twist that had already been revealed in the anime roughly ten years ago. Said anime being ridiculously popular, I doubt many readers will be taken by surprise by this volume's big plot twist concerning Rei as it's exactly the same as it was in the anime. Like 'Luke, I am your father', the revelations about Rei have gone from being a shocking twist to something nearly everyone knows of beforehand. Which means that a large chunk of this book doesn't pack quite the punch it should have. Which is a bit of a let-down after such a long wait. I'm definitely still interested in further volumes of the Evangelion manga, but it would be nice if we're not kept waiting for another eighteen months or so.