Quatermass
I believe the appropriate phrase is, 'Boo-yah'.
Joined: Apr 28, 2006
Posts: 21092
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 Posted: Mon May 24, 2010 9:20 am Post subject: |
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Book 53...
REVIEW: Doctor Who: The Complete Eighth Doctor Strips, Volume 3: Oblivion by Scott Gray, Martin Geraghty, Lee Sullivan, John Ross and Adrian Salmon
Being a Doctor Who fan, I have followed, in the past, the comic strip published in Doctor Who Magazine. I followed many of the Eighth Doctor's adventures with Izzy Sinclair, but missed out on a few vital issues. Eventually, because I became bored with Doctor Who, I gave up on getting the comics. But now that my interest is rekindled, and the Doctor Who comic strips are now available as graphic novels, I decided to buy one. Although I have missed a number of strips beforehand, it was this one, Doctor Who: Oblivion, that I particularly wanted to read...
Travelling through time and space has often been perilous for the Doctor and Izzy, but it has also been fun. But the fun is about to stop. Stranded in a gigantic creature, the Doctor and Izzy encounter an amphibious alien called Destrii, who steals Izzy's body, leaving Izzy in the body of an aquatic alien. And when Destrii gets herself, and Izzy's original body, destroyed, Izzy faces the possibility that she may be trapped as an alien forever. Fighting off a homicidal alien artist in Mexico with the help of Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera, and dealing with an encounter between humans and humanised Daleks seem all in a day's work, but when Izzy is kidnapped and taken to the planet Oblivion, the Doctor must find a way to save her, and finds it in unexpected quarters...
The Eighth Doctor only got one televised story, the 1996 TV movie, and three separate continuities have arisen to fill the gap: the BBC Books New Adventures (or Eighth Doctor Adventures, as they're officially known), the Big Finish audios (which are still going strong), and the comic strip published in Doctor Who Magazine. These continuities are fairly exclusive, but I am probably most familiar with the books first, the comics second, and the Big Finish audios (which I personally consider canon to the TV series) third. But I still like them all to some degree.
Reading these comic strip stories...they make a refreshing stylistic change from manga. The artwork is beautiful, and the stories are basically Doctor Who, but with the budget turned all the way to infinite. But these stories in particular are interesting in that it's about character development from Izzy Sinclair, particularly when she is forced to inhabit the fish-alien body of Destrii. In fact, my particular favourite story of the collection is the single part story Beautiful Freak, which deals with Izzy's reaction to her new body, and the Doctor's heartfelt, but ultimately futile attempts to empathise with her. It is also revealed, at least explicitly, that she is a lesbian, a first for Doctor Who, although the way it is revealed is rather heartbreaking (and heartwarming) when we see her past, and Destrii's.
What of the comic stories? Ophidius was alright, but the highlight was Destrii, a fish-alien obsessed with Earth pop-culture who has a nasty streak. I enjoyed Beautiful Freak very much, as mentioned before. The Way of All Flesh was a good pseudohistorical story with a twist involving the Mexican Day of the Dead and a sadistic artist who is easily one of the most repulsive and yet effective Doctor Who villains. Children of the Revolution was, next to Beautiful Freak, the highlight of the compilation, a sequel to Evil of the Daleks that will tell Doctor Who fans what happened to the humanised Daleks from that story. Me and My Shadow is a fairly decent side-story involving previous associate of the Doctor, Fey Truscott-Sade, a World War II-era female spy, now merged with the Gallifreyan weapon Shayde. Ouroborous...alright, but really a sequel to Ophidius that serves to set up the next story. Oblivion, the last strip in the compilation to feature the Doctor and Izzy, and where Izzy departs, coming to terms with herself. However, there is a final one-part strip, Character Assassin, where, basically, the Master kicks Professor Moriarty's derriere. Yes, you heard me right. It was written because someone got annoyed by the comparison between the two.
At the back of the book is a commentary detailing how and why the comics were created. It is an interesting, if brief, insight into the process of creating a comic, with plenty of concept art.
Is it any good? If you're a Doctor Who fan, then I have to say, yes. There's not much to have if you're not a fan, but it certainly adds to the overall mythos of Doctor Who...
8.5/10
First words: Where does he get all this stuff...?
Last words: Loved that tiger!
Next will probably be You're Him, Aren't You?
_________________
Yami: Wait, did you just summon a bunch of monsters in one turn?
Kaiba: Yeah, so?
Yami: That's against the rules!
Seto Kaiba: Screw the Rules, I Have Money!!
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Ambivalence
The Obvious Factor
Joined: Nov 09, 2008
Posts: 3638
Location: Peterlee (for Industry)
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| Posted: Mon May 24, 2010 5:09 pm Post subject: |
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| Quatermass wrote: | | Good to hear. Any interest in the books I've reviewed? Any dissenting opinions? |
I'm not too good at proper summaries, I'd struggle to write your many paragraph-ed reviews. I tend to stick at "...and I thought it was good" without explaining why. 
Princess Bride - agreed, and was delighted to realise it was the author of Marathon "call me Janey" Man.
Fight Club - too long since I read it, thought it was pretty good.
Flashman - I'd like to read. I have his Candlemass Road and Steel Bonnets, which are interesting.
On Basilisk Station - mildly enjoyed it the first time round, tried to reread recently, but couldn't; since reading Telemachus Sneezed I'm having bad reactions to anvilicious author tracts... and never mind the treecats. Weber does try a little harder than some of his "military sf" peers, but I'd give him 6/10 at best.
H. P. and the Whatevers - mostly agreed, they picked up after the long drawn-out Order of the Phoenix.
Invisible Man - too long since I read it, didn't think much of it.
Ruby in the Smoke - agreed, I mean, it's cliched and all, but a good romp. I liked the way he gets a Commissionaire into each of the Sally Lockhart books. I used to be one, they're still going (though not exclusively ex-forces these days.) 
Twilight - think you're being generous, there. I agree that it's not the appalling horror that it's sometimes described as, but it really isn't a good book. The setting is nothing new, the characters mostly deserve a slow introduction to a blunt stake and the plot is tediously predictable. I'd give it 4/10, and then dock another point for including at least two ear-grating misuses of "of a."
Heart of Darkness - I think I've read it. Which says a lot.  No idea why there are so many pastiches.
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Quatermass
I believe the appropriate phrase is, 'Boo-yah'.
Joined: Apr 28, 2006
Posts: 21092
Location: Right behind you...
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| Posted: Mon May 24, 2010 6:51 pm Post subject: |
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| Ambivalence wrote: | | Quatermass wrote: | | Good to hear. Any interest in the books I've reviewed? Any dissenting opinions? |
Flashman - I'd like to read. I have his Candlemass Road and Steel Bonnets, which are interesting. |
It was a fairly good yarn. I guess one of the reasons I was able to cope with reading it was that I had sort of read stories on India at that time, like the Doctor Who New Adventure (and Sherlock Holmes crossover) All-Consuming Fire.
| Ambivalence wrote: | | On Basilisk Station - mildly enjoyed it the first time round, tried to reread recently, but couldn't; since reading Telemachus Sneezed I'm having bad reactions to anvilicious author tracts... and never mind the treecats. Weber does try a little harder than some of his "military sf" peers, but I'd give him 6/10 at best. |
I haven't read any of his other books, although I am sure that I will probably give the rest of his books lesser scores. But On Basilisk Station was enjoyable enough, if you look past the, uh, tech-w*** as I call it. The battle sequence at the end, even if I didn't understand half of what was being done, was still thrilling.
| Ambivalence wrote: | | Twilight - think you're being generous, there. I agree that it's not the appalling horror that it's sometimes described as, but it really isn't a good book. The setting is nothing new, the characters mostly deserve a slow introduction to a blunt stake and the plot is tediously predictable. I'd give it 4/10, and then dock another point for including at least two ear-grating misuses of "of a." |
I think trying to read at high speed helps make it more bearable. I gave it a higher score than you feel it should have because I thought that it had real potential. Stephanie Meyer just cocked it up. Believe me, you haven't read a bad book until you've read Atlas Shrugged. Ayn Rand makes Stephanie Meyer look like JK bloody Rowling by comparison...
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Yami: Wait, did you just summon a bunch of monsters in one turn?
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melbi
Phoenix
Joined: Apr 17, 2010
Age: 25
Posts: 614
Location: Australia
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| Posted: Tue May 25, 2010 12:09 am Post subject: |
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| Ambivalence wrote: | | Quatermass wrote: | | To anyone still bothering to read this thread |
I'm bothering. So's ya know.  |
Melbi is here too
Seems like all the Doctor Who ones get really high score 
I don't like Twilight either.... never read the book... but just by watching movies... i don't like it.
Melbi should starts reading again soon...soon after exam... soon soon soon... Melbi should learn to read English books...
So that when Quatermass publish his book, Melbi can fully enjoy it |
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Quatermass
I believe the appropriate phrase is, 'Boo-yah'.
Joined: Apr 28, 2006
Posts: 21092
Location: Right behind you...
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| Posted: Tue May 25, 2010 12:49 am Post subject: |
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| melbi wrote: | Seems like all the Doctor Who ones get really high score
I don't like Twilight either.... never read the book... but just by watching movies... i don't like it.
Melbi should starts reading again soon...soon after exam... soon soon soon... Melbi should learn to read English books...
So that when Quatermass publish his book, Melbi can fully enjoy it |
Well, the novelisations The Edge of Destruction and The Massacre got average scores (7.5 is an average score out of ten for me), but Spiral Scratch and Oblivion did get high scores, for good reason. But amongst the higher scoring books were the first two volumes of Monster by Naoki Urasawa, and the last two volumes of the Harry Potter series. I have to say that some of my favourite books besides those mentioned above (I really, really enjoyed Monster and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows) were Making the Cut, House of Cards, West of Eden, The Princess Bride, Flashman, Black Jack, and The Ruby in the Smoke. In terms of genre, that makes one book of surgical anecdotes (Making the Cut), one political thriller (House of Cards), a science fiction novel (West of Eden), a fantasy/postmodern novel (The Princess Bride), a historical comedy (Flashman), a medical drama manga (Black Jack) and a historical mystery (The Ruby in the Smoke).
And in the previous book-reading blog, I really enjoyed Artemis Fowl, Wild Cards, Atomic Robo, Bleak House, and Grendel.
_________________
Yami: Wait, did you just summon a bunch of monsters in one turn?
Kaiba: Yeah, so?
Yami: That's against the rules!
Seto Kaiba: Screw the Rules, I Have Money!!
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Ambivalence
The Obvious Factor
Joined: Nov 09, 2008
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| Posted: Tue May 25, 2010 5:52 am Post subject: |
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| Quatermass wrote: | | Believe me, you haven't read a bad book until you've read Atlas Shrugged. Ayn Rand makes Stephanie Meyer look like JK bloody Rowling by comparison... |
I have - sorry, I was being wilfully opaque and called it by the name of its Illuminatus parody before.
Have you read The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen? If you have, I highly recommend you to get hold of a copy of Anno Dracula, which I've just read, you'll find it interesting. ^^
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Quatermass
I believe the appropriate phrase is, 'Boo-yah'.
Joined: Apr 28, 2006
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| Posted: Tue May 25, 2010 6:12 am Post subject: |
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Book 54...it might be the last one, but is a good one to finish on...
REVIEW: You're Him, Aren't You?: An Autobiography by Paul Darrow
I regret coming to Blake's 7 fairly late in my life. Although I had heard about it a few times earlier, usually through the association of actors who appeared both in Blake's 7 and Doctor Who, I never got around to examining it in-depth. However, I enjoy it, and particularly the character of Avon, a snide computer hacker played by Paul Darrow. Some years ago, Darrow wrote an autobiography, appropriately titled You're Him, Aren't You? He explains that the title comes from being stopped in the street or in a shop and being asked, "You're him, aren't you?"
I haven't read that many autobiographies before. I have read most of Spike Milligan's Adolf Hitler: My Part In His Downfall, not to mention the harrowing Not Without My Daughter and For The Love of a Child by Betty Mahmoody. I guess Michael Palin's diaries could also count as autobiographies. But the king of all autobiographies that I have read is Who On Earth Is Tom Baker? The title says it all, really. And I have to confess, it is hard not to make comparisons. Both Tom Baker (the fourth Doctor Who) and Paul Darrow have been closely identified with a significant role in a British cult science fiction series, and this, sometimes, makes it difficult to get other roles. Darrow even said that he was 'Forever Avon', the title of a documentary on his career as Avon. Both have had extensive acting careers, particularly on the stage. They even belong to a not dissimilar generation, Darrow being born not more than a decade after Baker.
However, reading Darrow's autobiography reveals a world of difference to Tom Baker. Tom Baker is an eccentric, and some of the time, you have to wonder how many of the anecdotes of his life he is making up. Ironically, however, when he drops names, he does so in a good way. Paul Darrow, by contrast, has a relatively normal, if, when you take his acting roles into account, eventful life. Compared to Tom Baker's near-madness, Paul Darrow's anecdotes are, while entertaining, written from a fairly sane viewpoint, although he drops names rather heavily (he even pulls a lampshade hanging on this, although it is as interesting to hear his anecdotes of famous actors as it is to hear Tom Baker's). And Paul Darrow is a island of stability in his personal life, compared to the drinking and three-times marriage of Baker.
Another difference is how they deal with their respective shows. Baker, interestingly, devotes only two and a half chapters (out of twenty) and perhaps a sixth of his book to his time in Doctor Who. Paul Darrow devotes perhaps half of his book to Blake's 7. This is by no means a bad thing, especially for Blake's 7 fans, but I would have been satisfied with more anecdotes from his early days in the theater and maybe his childhood. I dunno whether this is pandering or not to Blake's 7 fans, but I would have loved some more anecdotes not directly related to Blake's 7, or Doctor Who (which takes up a substantial chapter of Darrow's book, not counting a chapter on conventions). Not that I am complaining, mind, I just would have loved a little variety.
There are a number of amusing anecdotes about the filming of the series, and Darrow makes less mistakes about the series than Baker does about his own episodes. Darrow is surprisingly philosophical about the fact that he is permanently associated with Kerr Avon, and takes a fairly positive view, saying in the introduction that "I do not complain. I don't mind being forever Avon."
You're Him, Aren't You? is a very worthy autobiography of an actor's career. Paul Darrow may be forever Avon, but that is, by no means, all that there is to him.
8.5/10
First words: Blake's 7 took four years of my life.
Last words: On the other hand, I might still be alive and you can say, 'You're him, aren't you?'
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Yami: Wait, did you just summon a bunch of monsters in one turn?
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Yami: That's against the rules!
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Quatermass
I believe the appropriate phrase is, 'Boo-yah'.
Joined: Apr 28, 2006
Posts: 21092
Location: Right behind you...
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| Posted: Tue May 25, 2010 6:25 am Post subject: |
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| Ambivalence wrote: | | Quatermass wrote: | | Believe me, you haven't read a bad book until you've read Atlas Shrugged. Ayn Rand makes Stephanie Meyer look like JK bloody Rowling by comparison... |
I have - sorry, I was being wilfully opaque and called it by the name of its Illuminatus parody before.
Have you read The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen? If you have, I highly recommend you to get hold of a copy of Anno Dracula, which I've just read, you'll find it interesting. ^^ |
Sorry? Oh, was that what you meant when you named a book Telemachus Sneezed?  Now I get it. I thought, that's a weird name for a book, but it doesn't sound THAT out of character for David Weber. I don't think I have read an Illuminatus book, so that's why I didn't get it. That's not David Weber, is it? Isn't it Tad Williams? *Looks up Wikipedia* No, Robert Shea and Robert Anton Wilson. Yeesh, looks like pretty weird s***.
I have read the first two volumes of The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, plus the first part of League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: Century (which was reviewed in my previous book-reading blog). Literary dense, but pretty nasty. I much prefer Watchmen and V for Vendetta. Oh, and The Killing Joke. In terms of Alan Moore's work, anyway.
And I have tried to get Anno Dracula through my local library, but they don't have a bloody copy. Well, actually, they do have a copy...but it's in Spanish!!! I very nearly read Dean Koontz's Frankenstein: Prodigal Son, though.
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Yami: Wait, did you just summon a bunch of monsters in one turn?
Kaiba: Yeah, so?
Yami: That's against the rules!
Seto Kaiba: Screw the Rules, I Have Money!!
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Ambivalence
The Obvious Factor
Joined: Nov 09, 2008
Posts: 3638
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| Posted: Tue May 25, 2010 7:45 am Post subject: |
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| Quatermass wrote: | | No, Robert Shea and Robert Anton Wilson. Yeesh, looks like pretty weird s***. |
Yah - there's a strong cult (appropriately!) following for the Illuminatus Trilogy, but I think they're generally considered slightly immature. Worth reading as it is very frequently referenced elsewhere (the "fnords", Eris, golden apples, ewige blumenkraft
, immanentising the eschaton, Malaclypse, the Law of Fives &c. &c.) ^^
Ragnar Danneskjold shows up as "Hagbard Celine".
| Quote: | | I very nearly read Dean Koontz's Frankenstein: Prodigal Son, though. |
I was curious until I saw the co-author! That guy has a seriously bad reputation for atrocities committed on the corpse of Dune.
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Quatermass
I believe the appropriate phrase is, 'Boo-yah'.
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| Posted: Tue May 25, 2010 8:05 am Post subject: |
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| Ambivalence wrote: |
| Quote: | | I very nearly read Dean Koontz's Frankenstein: Prodigal Son, though. |
I was curious until I saw the co-author! That guy has a seriously bad reputation for atrocities committed on the corpse of Dune. |
I liked Prelude to Dune: House Atreides and Prelude to Dune: House Harkonnen, so we'll have to agree to disagree on that.
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Yami: That's against the rules!
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Quatermass
I believe the appropriate phrase is, 'Boo-yah'.
Joined: Apr 28, 2006
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| Posted: Wed May 26, 2010 3:57 am Post subject: |
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So, 54 books in just under 16 weeks. I dunno how much longer I can keep this up. The problem is not finding the books as much as finding the motivation.
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Yami: Wait, did you just summon a bunch of monsters in one turn?
Kaiba: Yeah, so?
Yami: That's against the rules!
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melbi
Phoenix
Joined: Apr 17, 2010
Age: 25
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| Posted: Fri May 28, 2010 2:00 pm Post subject: |
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| Quatermass wrote: |
Well, the novelisations The Edge of Destruction and The Massacre got average scores (7.5 is an average score out of ten for me), but Spiral Scratch and Oblivion did get high scores, for good reason. But amongst the higher scoring books were the first two volumes of Monster by Naoki Urasawa, and the last two volumes of the Harry Potter series. I have to say that some of my favourite books besides those mentioned above (I really, really enjoyed Monster and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows) were Making the Cut, House of Cards, West of Eden, The Princess Bride, Flashman, Black Jack, and The Ruby in the Smoke. In terms of genre, that makes one book of surgical anecdotes (Making the Cut), one political thriller (House of Cards), a science fiction novel (West of Eden), a fantasy/postmodern novel (The Princess Bride), a historical comedy (Flashman), a medical drama manga (Black Jack) and a historical mystery (The Ruby in the Smoke).
And in the previous book-reading blog, I really enjoyed Artemis Fowl, Wild Cards, Atomic Robo, Bleak House, and Grendel. |
Hi Quatermass, that's a lot of recommandations! Not sure where to start.... maybe start with something easy considering my relatively...ummm...insufficient...English skills  What do you think about Harry Potter? I read 1-5 in Chinese when I was younger, so maybe that would be something good to start with? Im actually quite interested in the medical or forensic ones at the moment. Any suggestion for me to start after exams? I get hooked easily by books once I start reading it so better not start during exams period haha, actually, the manga "black jack" you mentioned sounds interesting and easy to read can i get them in the library? |
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Quatermass
I believe the appropriate phrase is, 'Boo-yah'.
Joined: Apr 28, 2006
Posts: 21092
Location: Right behind you...
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| Posted: Fri May 28, 2010 7:06 pm Post subject: |
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| melbi wrote: |
Hi Quatermass, that's a lot of recommandations! Not sure where to start.... maybe start with something easy considering my relatively...ummm...insufficient...English skills What do you think about Harry Potter? I read 1-5 in Chinese when I was younger, so maybe that would be something good to start with? Im actually quite interested in the medical or forensic ones at the moment. Any suggestion for me to start after exams? I get hooked easily by books once I start reading it so better not start during exams period haha, actually, the manga "black jack" you mentioned sounds interesting and easy to read can i get them in the library? |
Harry Potter? Well, the 6th and 7th books do get more complex, so maybe reading them in English may not be such a good idea, although really, it's up to you. Try re-reading the first five in English to get a feel for whether or not you'll be able to read the last two.
Unfortunately, Black Jack is not available at either library. The nearest equivalent I found in the library was Osamu Tezuka's Ode to Kirihito, and that's a far darker work than Black Jack. However, the first volume of Monster by Naoki Urasawa is in the library, and although it is a dark story, it is not a particularly overtly gory one.
However, if you're interested in forensics, I can recommend The Casebook of Forensic Detection and A Question of Evidence, both by Colin Evans.
_________________
Yami: Wait, did you just summon a bunch of monsters in one turn?
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Quatermass
I believe the appropriate phrase is, 'Boo-yah'.
Joined: Apr 28, 2006
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| Posted: Sat May 29, 2010 3:52 am Post subject: |
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Okay, so book 54 wasn't the last one. So now we come to book 55...
REVIEW: Doctor Who: Business Unusual by Gary Russell
Okay, so I haven't read and reviewed that many Doctor Who books until this point (if I recall, I didn't read and review any in the previous book-reading blog, and I've read and reviewed 4 out of 54 books), which is weird, considering my interest in the program. However, this is partly due to the fact that I have read most of the actual novelisations based on the program, although I haven't read as many of the original novels. This, however, is slowly being rectified, and now, I have read Business Unusual, the untold tale of how Mel met the Doctor...
The Doctor has just thwarted an attempt by the Master and the Usurians to take over the world's economy, but his troubles are only just beginning. His old friend Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart has gone missing while investigating video game company SeneNet, whose technology is way in advance of the late 1980s. The police are assigning him young computer programmer Melanie Bush to deal with the aftermath of his previous adventure, but he doesn't want to meet her, lest it hasten his destiny of becoming the Valeyard. And a young man called Trey Korte is finding that he is developing psychic abilities. All this is connected to a deadly plan by a group of people the Doctor has met before, and who want revenge...
Business Unusual is the second part of a loose trilogy of Doctor Who novels written by Gary Russell. I have thankfully already read the first part, The Scales of Injustice, and so there is no problems knowing who the antagonists are, but even Doctor Who fans unfamiliar with the story might need help understanding the emnity Townsend and the Irish twins have towards the Doctor.
While the story itself is a cracking good yarn, it is clear that it is more of a vehicle to explain how Mel became the Doctor's companion, as the conspiracy, while interesting, is a little reminiscent of previous Doctor Who stories, particularly the unmade story The Nightmare Fair. The presence of the Brigadier seems a little superfluous, there to give the Sixth Doctor the chance to meet him, although there is an excellent scene where the Brigadier is forced to confront a terrible mistake he had made.
Although the plot is weak, and filled with a certain amount of continuity references, it is still exciting enough to cover the gaps. Although I cannot recommend Business Unusual to non-fans per se, I can recommend it to fans as a good story and a cracking yarn.
8/10
First words: There was no rational explanation he could think of- it was simply an impossibility that was possible.
Last words: This was living!
_________________
Yami: Wait, did you just summon a bunch of monsters in one turn?
Kaiba: Yeah, so?
Yami: That's against the rules!
Seto Kaiba: Screw the Rules, I Have Money!!
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Quatermass
I believe the appropriate phrase is, 'Boo-yah'.
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| Posted: Thu Jun 03, 2010 7:59 am Post subject: |
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Book 56...
REVIEW: Neon Genesis Evangelion: Angelic Days, Volume 1 by Fumino Hayashi, from a story by Gainax
My first review for this current book-reading blog was the 11th volume of the Neon Genesis Evangelion manga by Yoshiyuki Sadamoto. If this turns out to be the last review (I hope not), then that means that this is more or less symmetrical. Start with Evangelion, and end with it. But this is far from Evangelion as you and I know it.
It starts out as another day at school for Shinji Ikari. Woken up by his childhood friend Asuka Langley Soryu, running late for school, it seems like things are fairly normal. Except a new girl turns up at school, the ditzy extrovert Rei Ayanami (yes, you heard me). Shinji finds himself caught in a high school love triangle from hell, but perhaps that may not be the most serious problem in his life. Because he has been dreaming of a giant made of light, and classmate Kaworu Nagisa knows what it is...and what it means for the world...
Angelic Days did not come out of nowhere. Some of the events featured can be seen in part of the infamous 26th episode of the original TV series, where the main characters were recast in a high school comedy like continuity to show Shinji that life, for him, was possible without piloting the Evangelions (the manga was also an adaptation of an Evangelion video game based on these events). Although events in the manga prove otherwise about Shinji not being forever linked to the Evangelion units, it is still a charming extension of the original idea.
That being said, one of the successes of the original anime Neon Genesis Evangelion and its manga adaptation was the dark psychological drama, and the bleak nature of the story. Every character had a story to tell, or several skeletons in their closet. Whereas here, much of that is not present. True, there are hints of a darker side to the story, but most of the story is basically Asuka bickering with Shinji and/or Rei.
Is it enjoyable? To a certain degree, but to be frank, I much prefer the original anime and the manga. This will be an interesting diversion for Evangelion fans, and for those who like high school comedies, but really, I was expecting a little more substance.
6.5/10
First words: So bright...
Last words: Why can't they understand this?
_________________
Yami: Wait, did you just summon a bunch of monsters in one turn?
Kaiba: Yeah, so?
Yami: That's against the rules!
Seto Kaiba: Screw the Rules, I Have Money!!
-Yu-Gi-Oh The Abridged Series
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