Evangelion Fanfic Review Syndicate - Digest 1
This is the first digest of fanfic reviews that are being done by the
Evangelion Fanfic Review Syndicate. We believe this digest contains
every fanfic sent to rec.arts.anime.creative before or during October
1997.
We're not here to give out awards for the best fanfics, we don't see
that as our job. We don't claim that our reviews are any more or less
valid than anyone else's.
You can contact us, as a group, by sending mail to
efrs@evangelion.ml.org. Our website at http://evangelion.ml.org/efrs/
has links to reviewed fanfics, bios of us, and may contain reviews not
in this digest.
The best way to get these fanfics is to append
ftp://ftp.cs.ubc.ca/pub/archive/anime-fan-works/ to the path given in
the review.
Thanks to all the writers who gave us material to review. Keep it up!
-The EFRS Team
This digest contains reviews of the following fanfics:
- Epilogue
- Saint Irene, Part 1
- The Misato Chronicles 1 & 2
- Neon Genesis Evanjellydonut 1-3
- Neon Exodus Evangelion: Exodus 1
- Risen
- Seraphim's Judgment, 1-4
- Evangelion: Vacation
- Walls of Our Own Making
------------------------------------------------------------
EPILOGUE
Author(s)
- Chris Davies <cdavies@gpu.srv.ualberta.ca>
Synopsis
A fanfic set in 1997, with Ikari Yui in an alternate universe. In this
universe, Evangelion has been made into an anime by GAINAX, but Yui
still works for Gehirn (the predecessor to NERV.) This does contain
minor spoilers about the history of NERV, and also contains several
semi-explicit scenes.
Archives
You can find 'Epilogue' in the rec.arts.anime.creative archive as
Evangelion/eva.epilogue.
The fic has also been placed on the web by its author, and can be
found at http://www.ualberta.ca/~cdavies/eva.html .
Andrew Huang's Review
Chris Davies brings his great literary abilities into this short,
bizarre piece--perhaps his only pure EVA fanfic that he will write, he
told me.
Excellent manner of characterization, of course. Chris has always had
a marvelous facility for that. Though I know full well his dislike for
Gendou, I find the to-be-commander to be well written. Yui does seem
to be a bit divergent from her portrayal in the later episodes of EVA,
but considering the different circumstances that happen here, it's
understandable. It's also a nice way for EVA to fit into Chris's epic
"Together Again" timeline....
Still, given its dark nature, it's not something I can read more than
once or twice. Not Chris's fault, though--entirely mine. I guess I
just don't go for this sort of thing. Do give it a try, at least once.
Rod M.'s Review
Not until one of the other reviewers pointed out that this fic was
from Yui's point of view and that this was a 'what if they made an
Evangelion anime in the NGE world YEARS before the events of NGE
happened' did I understand what was going on.
I was confused.
I was disoriented.
I didn't bother to read the rest of it.
And then someone pointed out the POV.
And I read it again.
Once you keep in mind WHOSE POV it is and under what circumstances,
it's actually a fascinating read. with a good plot. Polished,
constant-flowing verse and good characterization certainly help.
Aside from the confusing start, it's a fascinating look into what
might have been and could be in the NGE universe.
Tom Rothamel's Review
This is a great work of alternate universe fiction coming from Chris
Davies, and apparently fitting into one of his alternate universes.
The writing is up to his usual high standards.
The story has a very "Twilight Zone"ish feel to it, appropriate given
the alternate universe nature of it. It's told from Ikari Yui's
perspective, (Shinji's mother, for the casual fan.), in a world where
Evangelion has been made into an anime. He even manages to insert an
Anno-like jab at the fans that didn't like the movies' ending. The
fanfic's own ending is also a bit of a twist, not at all inappropriate
for the style this is written in.
This fic seems to show the author's perceptions of the Eva world. Some
I agree with, some I don't. I think he does a good job of portraying
Gendou, for example. I think I disagree with his portrayal of Yui and
Shinji, but that's more based on my opinion of how the characters
should behave then any mistakes on his part.
Though consistency hardly seems to apply to something like this, I
must point out that he has Gherin forming before 1997, when it seems
in the series that it forms after the Second Impact. (An extremely
minor nit.)
Despite the points above, I think that Epilogue is a good read, and
recommend it.
Zhou Tai An's Review
This is weird. Surreal, even. I have doubts about being actually able
to review this, but here goes nothing.
Why? Answer in 4 simple words : this fic is weird. Really weird.
Ever wonder what the cast of EVA would say if they saw it? Maybe a few
years actually before it begins? This answers the question, sort of.
This is one fic which it is much better to read than read a
description of, but trust me, weird or not, you won't be disappointed
with it. I have absolutely no complaints with Chris Davies' style or
prose. And apart from the excellent plot (such as it is) and
interesting characterization, the little details throughout the fic
even enhance it's strange morbidity and add a touch of humor that is
bizarrely appropriate.
------------------------------------------------------------
SAINT IRENE, PART 1
Author(s)
- John Hollins <John_Santos@Brown.edu>
Synopsis
A black American girl named Irene Harper shows up in Tokyo-3, in
Shinji's class, almost immediately creating romantic friction between
herself, Shinji, and Asuka. She also seems to know a bit more than she
lets on.... (Unfortunately, there has been nothing more of this posted
since December 1996, and is probably to be considered dead.)
Archives
You can find 'Saint Irene, Part 1' in the rec.arts.anime.creative
archive as Evangelion/eva.saint-irene.
Andrew Huang's Review
Wow! The first ever EVA fanfic to be posted on raac...even though it
seems to be a dead piece, I must honor it with a review. ^_^ In terms
of plot, not much can be said, since it is so short. Irene Harper's
introduction does seem a bit sudden, though; perhaps a little more
time on getting her introduced to Shinji and Asuka and the rest could
have been used.
As for Irene Harper herself--she is an interesting addition to the
scene. She is more of an outsider than Asuka, and yet, she seems to
know more than any of the rest of them combined. One thing I'm not too
sure about it her speech patterns; I don't know how well that would
actually translate into Japanese...but that's only a minor point.
Otherwise...well, I just haven't seen enough to make more judgments.
It's a pity that this seems dead; I would like to have seen more.
Rod M.'s Review
Saint Irene is a new character fic, with a gaijin by the name of Irene
Harper introduced into the NGE world. What to say about this fic...
There are quite a few problems I have with it.
The writer's style is a bit on the unpolished side, with descriptions
and actions being sparse and minimal.
Irene is introduced a little to fast to the regular NGE cast, and she
quickly gains acceptance and even has Ikari thinking romantic thoughts
about her... and that's only the first day she shows up.
If the author took a little time to slow things down a bit, this plot
would work much better. Other than that, it's hard to comment on the
story since it is relatively short.
Tom Rothamel's Review
This is a tough one to review, mostly due to it being incomplete. Not
only does it have no ending, it really doesn't have a full beginning
either. (This should serve as a warning to the authors of other
multi-part works... You should really structure each part so that it
can stand as a story on its own.)
Anyway, back to Saint Irene. The only problem with the little bit that
has been written is that it seems to move too fast. It jumps from the
school, to Shinji, to Irene, all without clear delineation.
The story may have had some potential. It's hard to judge, since the
plot doesn't really start, except in the preview for a part two that
hasn't been written. The point seems to be moot, however, since it
doesn't seem there will be any more done on this one.
Zhou Tai An's Review
Not too hot. The dialogue (for the fic is mainly that) is boring, the
new character pretty uninteresting, the old characters, well, old, the
descriptions aren't much to look at, there is a general feeling of
lethargy to this. And all that in maybe 500 words? A feat.
Really, not very interesting.
I won't be looking forward to it's completion, I'm sorry to say.
------------------------------------------------------------
THE MISATO CHRONICLES 1 & 2
Author(s)
- Katsuragi Misato <yuna@csnsys.com>
Synopsis
Misato sleeps with the males in the series. Yes, this is a Lemon fic.
That means it contains adult material. You've been warned.
Archives
You can find 'The Misato Chronicles 1 & 2' in the
rec.arts.anime.creative archive as
Evangelion/Lemon/eva.lemon.misato-chronicles.
The fic is also at the author's home page, located at
http://www.csnsys.com/yuna/ .
Andrew Huang's Review
Personal disclaimer: I'm not one for lemons to begin with, so I've got
a bias here already. Sorry.
I guess I'm a bit turned off by the age difference thing. Touji and
Shinji are 14, Misato's 29.... Ah well. The author herself says that
she just wanted a break from the Rei/Shinji/Asuka bits....
My main problem with most lemons does come forth here. There's not
very much plot. As Rod says, it's just Misato humping around. Some may
like it...it just doesn't work for me. But that's just a matter of
personal taste, really. It's up to you.
In terms of the technical aspect, there is some work needed. Simple
things, like keeping the tense constant (there is a bit of switching
between past and present). Other things, such as...well, just general
word choices and such. A successful story, and particularly a lemon,
needs to have good sentence construction, built for a good, um,
impact. Sorry, unavoidable pun.... Well, here's to hoping that the
later parts will improve, especially now that there does seem to be a
developing plot.
Rod M.'s Review
You ever go to a movie theatre to watch a movie that you figured you
were highly likely to enjoy?
Sometimes you really do, sometimes you don't, and sometimes you're not
really sure because there was that idiot in front of you wearing a
tall hat, the couple with the obnoxious brat behind you, and to make
things complete, the movie projector is Out of Focus.
Why on earth am I talking about this? It's a metaphor, I suppose, for
the experience I had with The Misato Chronicles. Basically, at the
core of it all, was a plot... heck, screw that, we know it's a
lemon... a lemon with a workable premise: Misato humping around like a
rabbit.
The big problem I had was with the polish on this fic. It needs more
of it. Remember what I said about those distractions in a movie
theatre? That's the same effect that lack of polish will have on a
fic. The big problem I had was that the writer started out with
present tense, as in:
He jumps over the railing, then smiles.
And then, at some point, the story changed gears and went to past
tense:
He jumped over the railing, then smiled.
But it didn't stay at that. The fic kept on shifting back and forth.
He jumps over the railing, then smiled.
Et-cetera et-cetera... It's a personal pet peeve of mine when writers
go present tense. I know, I know, there's plenty of precedent for it
in professional literature, but I just prefer past tense. I mean,
there's a reason why a large majority of novels are written in that
format...
What else is wrong with this fic? Lessee... well, the writing style in
general could've been a little more smooth. Seemed a little choppy
here and there. Despite that, though, there's quite a few enjoyable
moments in there. You just have to persevere a bit to get there.
AAAAAnyway, if you can be forgiving of those distractions above, then
you'll probably enjoy reading this story. If you're the type that
walks out of a theatre when things get ugly, or skips a song on a CD
because there's a few scratches that cause it to skip around a bit,
you might not.
Tom Rothamel's Review
Well, this is a lemon fic. It's reasonably well written, I didn't
catch any obvious mistakes. It esentially ignore continuity with the
series, for what that's worth. And there's no NERV tech to speak of,
so there's no obvious problems with that.
The author manages to maintain a good mix of humor to ... other parts.
This is probably the most imortant part of writing a Lemon fic that
tries to attract crossover readers, and the author does it well.
I'd say the plot is a little unbelievable, but that's kinda par for
the Lemon course. It's really up to the individual reader to decide
wheter to read this one or not.
Zhou Tai An's Review
Hmm, something interesting beyond words. An EVA lemon.
Would it be Shinji-Rei, written by some Oedipal fan? Ryouji-Misato
more likely, by someone who wanted original characterization. Or maybe
even Yui-Gendou, for continuity's sake.
I marshaled my wayward thoughts and stepped bravely forwards. Let the
fic stand as it should.
And I, and I, was stunned. And disappointed, actually.
In all fanners, the fic tried. It had a decent enough effort but into
it, an attempt at humor (although I simply can't imagine Misato
watching Sailor Moon. ^_^), and lurid enough descriptions. The opening
was even rather funny.
But, it didn't have what I wanted, nor what most lemons wanted (were
in sore need of, actually)
A plot.
Maybe it was a good try, nonetheless. Close, but no cigar. Thing is, I
simply CANNOT imagine the two, protagonists engaging in that sort of
activity. Not in a million years. It's the sort of thing Anno would
have come up with , IF he had a Prozac overdose and happened to be
watching Urotsukidoji at that time. Scratch that, make it um, Ranma �.
The prose ain't nothing much either, with less than spectacular
descriptions (lurid isn't automatically tasteful). But basically it's
the plot (or lack of) and, strange characterization that stick out
like a sore thumb. A sore EVA thumb.
A good try, but definitely not a recommended read. Or the next one
either ^_^ (featuring an even more unlikely match-up)
What would have happened if I had the old review here, I wonder,
------------------------------------------------------------
NEON GENESIS EVANJELLYDONUT 1-3
Author(s)
- Andrew Huang <alhuang@hcs.harvard.edu>
Synopsis
Evangelion gone oddly awry somewhere in the later half of the series.
Ayanami Rei with personality, Ikari Shinji with backbone--without any
surgery involved. An attempt to lighten the world of Evangelion
without completely losing the cereberality of the show. Er, sort of.
Archives
You can find 'Neon Genesis Evanjellydonut 1-3' in the
rec.arts.anime.creative archive as
Evangelion/eva.neon-genesis-evanjellydonut.
Also at http://confused.student.harvard.edu/~furry/ and at
http://www.hcs.harvard.edu/~alhuang/anime/fanfic/myfics/
Andrew Huang's Review
Well. This is going to be my author's notes, I suppose, since I wrote
this one. :)
When I found out how bleak Evangelion turned out, I needed to cheer
myself up. This was the direct result. Spoofy, romantic, and all that
good stuff. I knew I had something good going, especially after the
reaction I received from my prereaders.... Along the way, particularly
starting in part 3, this has become less of a parody and more of a
real story with spoofish elements. I kind of like that idea: a spoof
that isn't a spoof.
I've run into a bit of a wall for part 4 and on: some writer's block,
college coming back into swing, and a desire to have this keep the
quality and success of the previous parts. But I won't give it up. You
don't have to worry about that. Ah, and for more detailed notes, go
see
http://www.hcs.harvard.edu/~alhuang/anime/fanfic/myfics/nge_blather.tx
t Gosh, that's a long one, isn't it?
Rod M.'s Review
Much to my relief, we have a humorist.
Evangelion, y'see, is a grim story. In fact, the ending of the series
is downright boggling and depressing. As a result, it's likely that a
lot of the fics written about Evangelion will be grim, dark, and
depressing too.
Nothing wrong with that, really. It's just that I'm a big fan and
proponent of humor and its writers. Comedy is harder than angst, and
it takes a careful effort to get it right.
Andrew Huang's 'Evanjellydonut' does the job well. The story is a
large one, so I'm not even gonna try to summarize it.
The characters start off in character, but soon spiral to some degrees
out of it, ESPECIALLY Shinji and Rei. Shinji becoes a little too
normal for my liking... but his new and somewhat less spineless
outlook on life is still enjoyable. Rei's new... way of thinking is
fun. I don't think Huang has tapped the full potential of it yet, but
then again, this series isn't finished yet.
It's somewhat obvious that Huang doesn't like Asuka, as she's
generally abused and maligned in this fic. I'm no big Asuka fan
myself, but hey... gratuitious abuse can only go so far.
Aside from those nitpicks, though, the humor hits you hard like a
freight train and subtle like a breeze. Tamagouchi and Budweiser fans
keep an eye out. If you have a good knowledge of pop culture, you'll
enjoy this story even more.
Summary? Highly reccomended reading.
Tom Rothamel's Review
ROTFL. Most of the times you see this word, it's just jargon. A bit of
net.speak. In the case of Evanjellydonut, however, I'm beginning to
wish my floor was padded.
This is a great spoof on the Eva series. It mixes the NERV gang with
everything from wandering souls to Tamagotchis, with hilarious
results. Evanjellydonut isn't stupid, either. It's a smart and funny
fic.
About the only downside I can think of is the author's frequent
asides. While most are reasonably amusing, one has to wonder how many
times he feels it necessary to mention he won't write lemon fics.
(Hmm... one can have a field day with _that_.)
More interesting is the way Andrew is beginning to work deeper tones
into the series, similar to the way it was done in the original. I
look forward to seeing how it progresses.
If you're looking for a fun Eva fic, Neon Genesis Evanjellydonut is
it. One caution: Don't try to drink soda while reading this,
especially not Dr. Pepper. Laughing and drinking at the same time can
be far too painful.
Zhou Tai An's Review
Ah, a parody. An EVA parody, no less. Oh, how Hideaki Anno would choke
to see this. ^_^
Seriously though, I think this is one of the best pieces of Evangelion
fanfiction out there. It's nicely written and executed, this is one
fic where there's prose (nice and flowing, reminiscient of John Walter
Biles, actually.), plot (not much to speak of, but there is a definite
one, as the author states in his asides..aren't they too many of
them?), decent characterization (yes, Andrew manages it evenin a
parody) and of course, humor. In spades. We can forgive the lack of
atmosphere, climax, theme and whatnot now, after all, its, humor. ^_^
On to the jokes. They are, well, everything a joke should be. Funny.
All of them, from the old Nintendo reset one, to the more obscure
Jewish references, had me laughing (however, we can accuse the author
of a Terry Pratchett bias). About the worse thing that NGEjd is is too
short.
Oh, and a minor nit. The jokes get a wee bit stale after a while,
maybe the author could considering using a form of humor besides pure
slapstick? (Reviewer runs away from a frenzied Unit-01. I didn'the
mean it, Andrew, honest! ^_^)
A must-read, even if just for the flying anteater.
------------------------------------------------------------
NEON EXODUS EVANGELION: EXODUS 1
Author(s)
- Ben Hutchins <gryphon@sasami.jurai.net>
- Larry Mann <lrmann@uci.edu>
Synopsis
Take the cast of Evangelion, take away a few, add two new ones, set it
in Worchester-3, and give it that "Eyrie Productions flair".... Can't
strictly be considered Evangelion, due to its taking out so many
elements that makes Evangelion (such as the angst, introspection,
etc.). The reviews for this will be longer than the other, owing to
the length of the series.
Archives
You can find 'Neon Exodus Evangelion: Exodus 1' in the
rec.arts.anime.creative archive as Evangelion/Neon-Exodus-Evangelion/.
http://www.eyrie.net/nxe/
Andrew Huang's Review
I find NXE to be a balance between great writing quality and one
terribly irritating character.
Allow me to elaborate. Eyrie Productions has been long known for
producing, as they say on their webpage, "quality anime fanfiction"
(or words to that effect). Ben Hutchins knows how to write well, and
he doesn't lose it for NXE. Well, almost. There's one big flaw: DJ
Croft. Too cool beyond words. I think Zhou took care of all the DJ
bashing, so I'll not add to it, since I agree with most everything he
said. There are then also other, less severe (but still annoying)
character flaws, in his handling of Asuka, Kaji, and Ritsuko. As this
is a transplant of EVA, I can accept there being different characters
(or lack of characters, such as the school friends of Shinji from the
original), but if they have the same name and background, I'm assuming
that they're the same characters. The three that I named are made out
to be a lot more irritating/mean-tempered/downright evil than they
really should be considered. Asuka, in particular, seems to be
spouting off even more tha usual. I do hope that Gryphon does give her
a break, considering her past. Oh, and last thing I didn't like,
characterwise: he left out Shinji! I like Shinji.
The upside: again, the writing quality. It's clear and concise;
feelings and events are conveyed excellently. The other new character,
Jon Ellison, is a much more tolerable addition to the field. He has
his weaknesses and is endearingly vulnerable. And--I may be a soppy
fool, but I rather like the budding romance between Rei and Jon. In
all of the original EVA, I found the lack of real romance beyond
Hikari and Touji to be rather depressing.
I hear that DJ's problems, whatever they may be, will finally get to
him soon. I really do hope so--I'd like to see him get his share.
Anyway, I'm still following this series, even though (for the time
being) the bad still outweighs the good, for me.
Rod M.'s Review
Oh, where to begin, where to begin?
The lads down at Eyrie Productions are good. Let's make no mistake
about that. They're very good. The stories they put out always has a
professional polish that puts their talent up amongst the best.
Neon Exodus Evangelion is no exception. The pacing, the plot, the
polish, it's all there. The one thing you can't call an Eyrie work of
fiction is stale, and this is no exception.
They have one flaw.
In every story Eyrie writes, they must have a new character. Said new
character must be 1) central to the story and 2) just one hip
happening dude.
D.J. Croft is, for this story, that flaw. He's a crack shooter with
gymnastic and martial arts capabilities. He woos the women
oh-so-easily, down from Rei up to Misato and all the women in between.
He's one hell of a motorcycle ride. He can out-booze Misato too. Even
the NAME is too cool. 'D.J.' Riiiight.
Did I mention that D.J. is only 14 years old?
If they replaced the character of Kaji with D.J., I'd be more apt to
accept it. Hey, there's a precedent for _grown men_ with all of D.J.'s
capabilities. He's called James Bond.
There's minor nitpicks as well. The writer clearly doesn't like Asuka
or Gendou, and writes them in a particularly harsh manner above and
beyond the original bitch/bastardness that they originally had.
But you know what? If you ignore D.J. (quite a feat, considering the
role he plays), there's actually a fairly entertaining read here.
Lots of mysteries abound, really. What happened to Shinji? What link
does Jon and Rei have? Since the original EVA 01 in the anime was
build especially for Shinji (what, with it housing a certain someone's
soul in it and such), how effective can EVA 01 be with a non-Shinji?
Is the human completion project still underway? With Shinji gone, is
Karou gonna bring out the bisexual tendencies of D.J.? Or is Jon this
world's equivalent to Karou? Lots of questions that I'd like to see
the answer to, really.
Thumbs up? Not quite. Thumbs down? Not quite, either.
I did say these guys do good plot and polish, didn't I? If you enjoy
self-insertion stories or stories with amazing new characters, this
one'll be incredibly enjoyable to you. If you detest them, then this
might not do. If you make the effort to either learn to appreciate
D.J. Croft or ignore him, you'll find that this story actually is
entertaining so far. If you can't take it anymore after reading the
first part of act 1, might as well stop. If you're still reading, then
keep on reading.
Tom Rothamel's Review
Can you consider a fic an Evangelion fic if the authors have decided
to simply write out Shinji?
This question is perhaps symbolic of the biggest issue I have with the
fic, that the authors have no problem completely rewriting the
Evangelion universe, simply because it suits their tastes/egos.
Now, that's certainly their perogative. But, there's nothing saying I
have to like it. It's just dissapointing to see what will probably
stand for quite a while as the longest Evangelion fanfic missing many
of the things that make Eva a great show. (Aparrently so that original
or semi-original characters can have the run of the place.)
On the more or less neutral side, NXE makes use of quite a bit of
"geek cultural references", to science fiction, games, etc. While in
some places these serve a purpose, in other places it only distracts
from the plot.
That being said, I don't consider NXE to be a truly bad fic. The
writing has quality. The type of people that liked "Undocumented
Features" will probably also like this. (That last sentince is
probably the crux of this review.) If you're looking for a casual
read, this may be for you, despite the feeling that it contains inside
jokes that you're just not a party to.
However, if you're looking for a story that's about Evangelion, this
isn't it.
(Pure Nitpick: The series has the Second Impact taking place September
13, 2000, while NXE has it as April 1, 2000.)
Zhou Tai An's Review
Evangelion without Evangelion. My first impression. Any story that has
NERV set in Worchester, Maine, has no angst (as of yet) and features
Rei on a motorcycle is not really, truly, EVA.
That is but a minor consideration, however. As we progress further
through the fic, a dark specter begins to loom over out heads,
obscuring our view, blotting the characters from vision. Too late we
discover that it is one of the most horrible, foul and altogether
boring figures to enter a fanfic - the Overpowerful Character, in this
case, one DJ Croft, otherwise known as perfectness incarnate.
Watch out, readers. Gryphon really should have read Taleswapper's
essay on introducing new characters into fics. DJ is everything one of
them should not be. He absolutely steals the show, and runs rampant
over the whole story, astounding NERV staff (and reviewers) with his
incredible exploits, which include such events as getting into jungle
ruins at the tender age of 6, blackmailing Maya Ibuki into designing
custom weapons, beating almost every Angel singlehandedly (or at least
with very little trouble) and mouthing off to Ritsuko and Gendou
without the slightest repercussions. Oh yes, did I mention that his
mother's Laura Croft (of Tomb Raider fame), he can handle a gun and
drink alcohol, and that he's also got a really cool computer than
seems like a miniature MAGI system? He reads a lot too. Oh, we may as
well take the chance and ask him all the Evangelion questions we've
wanted to know the answers to. Guy probably knows the meaning of life
as well.
Once the dark shadow of DJ has passed, however, we turn our attention
to other matters. Namely, the fact that NXE is, despite Mr Croft, a
nicely written and plotted fic. It has good prose that moves the fic
along at a steady pace, neither too slow or long, ably accommodating
both humour and drama. The plot, all for taking place in
Neo-Worchester, adding 2 new characters (the second being far less
annoying than Know-it-all. In fact, Jon Ellison is quite a welcome
addition to the fic) and being a derivation of the original, is still
entertaining, with good construction and a fair amount of suspense.
All in all, a readable, enjoyable piece of work (even with that Croft
boy and no Shinji. Yes, no Shinji. You heard me right.) Like Andrew, I
like Shinji, and I think the fic suffers from his exclusion. Perhaps,
Gryphon, unhappy with the main character because he couldn't decide
when to be competent (as the author said in a mail to me), has instead
created a character who's ALWAYS competent.
Oh, and one more note. Gryphon seems to have an axe to grind with some
of the original cast; he is positively mean to Asuka, Ryouji, Ritsuko,
and, to a lesser extent, Gendou, making them out to be far more
unpleasant and pushy than they are in NGE. Especially Asuka.
Check it out. If you can stomach DJ and the changed cast, it's worth a
read. If not, chances are you'll (like me) give up halfway through. It
remains to be seen whether this changes in the next few "seasons."
Remember : DJ Croft must DIE! ^_^
------------------------------------------------------------
RISEN
Author(s)
- Andrew Huang <alhuang@hcs.harvard.edu>
Synopsis
Here's a short stroll in Shinji's head, as he wonders about the nature
of the EVAs and how they relate to himself and the other pilots.
Archives
You can find 'Risen' in the rec.arts.anime.creative archive as
Evangelion/eva.risen.
Andrew's fanfics are at--
http://www.hcs.harvard.edu/~alhuang/anime/fanfic/myfics/
Andrew Huang's Review
My first EVA fic. Also my first ever non-Ranma fic. And the third ever
EVA piece posted to raac. I'm so proud. ^_^
Actually, there's not much to say about it. The fic was more an
exercise for me, to write more cereberally, and also just an attempt
to break away from Ranma, more than anything else. Nothing remarkable
about it, except what I mentioned above.
Rod M.'s Review
Risen is a bit of a character study, a look into a day in the life of
Shinji Ikari.
One nitpick, a minor nitpick, at the start.
I can't imagine Shinji saying 'heck'.
As I said, a minor nitpick.
Huang does a good job of capturing the droning, mundane existence of
Shinji Ikari without having the fic become droning and mundane itself.
Yes, this is a good thing. The little surprise at the end is a nice
touch too. Left me smirking, anyway.
If you're in the mood for a quick character study in NGE, this is the
fic for you.
Tom Rothamel's Review
'Risen' is an short character piece. Andrew's portrayal of Shinji's
mind in it works, making this worth reading. The tech may be a bit
flawed, but that's not a big issue in a non-plot-driven piece. A
larger problem is that it seems to only address the early Shinji. As a
result, it only addresses the Shinji of the first few episodes.
This fanfic touches on one of the big questions of Eva. But, it fails
to provide the answers for it. This is probably best read before you
see episode 20. However, even if you have seen that episode, you may
still want to give it a chance.
Zhou Tai An's Review
Like "Vacation" this is another character-based fic. Not so much of a
fic than a character study, this is a bit short to be considered a
fic. Like the author says "I take a walk around Shinji Ikari's head
for a while".
Does a good job simulating Shinji's thoughts (if only his thoughts for
the first few episodes). A glimpse into Ikari-kun's life is what it
is.
A good read nonetheless.
------------------------------------------------------------
SERAPHIM'S JUDGMENT, 1-4
Author(s)
- Christian Clark <teknoplus@hotmail.com>
Synopsis
A crossover of EVA and Teknoman (incorporating previous Teknoman fics
by the same author). The story diverges at episode 18, with EVA-03. An
interesting alternate outcome fic, in the new tradition of making less
torturous storylines for the Children.
Archives
The raac archive does not yet have them. However, they are available
at http://www.hcs.harvard.edu/~alhuang/anime/fanfic/nonranma.html
Andrew Huang's Review
I'm almost totally unfamiliar with Teknoman, so a few concessions on
my part have to be made. To me, the Teknoman elements seem a bit deus
ex machina, but that's just me....
I like this one. I do. His portrayal of Rei is very interesting, as
she moves closer and closer to Shinji. Asuka's characterization may be
a little off--maybe a bit more annoying than she really is--but not
too badly off, plus it does seem to be improving. Especially
intriguing is the idea of sentient EVA souls. In the anime, they are
definitely there, but not really conscious. The author gives them life
and personality, which I like.
As it is, this is an enjoyable alternate-ending piece, even if I don't
quite understand the Teknoman aspect. Good reading, and I'm looking
forward to the rest of it.
Rod M.'s Review
Hrm... what to say about this one...
Well, it flows smoothly and is paced well. There aren't any
distracting errors. Characterizations are fairly In Character, and the
plot is... well.. still being unraveled.
The only negative thing I can think of is the tossing in of... well...
I won't spoil it for you, but the inclusion of a certain someone from
another anime series (NOT Teknoman or EVA) had me kinda going...
"Huh?"
To be fair, though, the writer did explain why that person made an
appearance. Apparently, Seraphim's Judgement is a followup to another
story, and reading that would help.
Spectacular showcase of writing? Mmm... no. Definition of cheap hack
writing? Far from it.
So it doesn't suck, but it isn't an epic.
So...
I'll say this much: I'm curious. I'll stick around and see where the
writer'll take this story. It's got me curious enough to do that.
Credit that to the mystery that's been laid out by the writer.
Nifty plotting: It'll save ya every time.
Tom Rothamel's Review
The first four parts of Seraphim's Judgement could become the
beginning of a good story, despite the few minor nits I have with it.
Not really a nit is the fact that I have not read the story that
precedes this, and therefore am a bit confused about one character.
Nor do I have much knowledge of Teknoman.
More of a nit is the constant mixing of Japanese and English that
occurs in the first few chapters of this. It makes the characters
sound like (gasp!) anime fans ^_^.
Lastly, the author's interpretation of the 'core' of the Eva seems to
disagree with what the series puts forth.
These don't really distract from the actual story, however, and so
should be considered minor. I'll give a conditional recommendation to
this, while reserving full judgement until after the rest is released.
Zhou Tai An's Review
This is an eminently readable fic. Not that there's anything
spectacular about Christian Clark's prose, plot or new characters, (on
the contrary, they are well executed and interesting) but the fic is
just that, eminently readable. A minor quibble would be the jaggedness
of the word flow; he seems to prefer to cut sentences into two when
they would sound much better connected. The punctuation also could use
work. Perhaps a wee bit more description, IMHO, some scenes need
livening up.
Happily, there are more good points than bad. TekkaKnight has some
interesting ideas that help to move the plot along, sentient EVAs
being one of them. He also does a rather good job of characterization.
And his Japanese isn't that bad, although he does mispell a few words.
All in all, worth reading. Above average.
------------------------------------------------------------
EVANGELION: VACATION
Author(s)
- Rod M. <rpm39788@bayou.uh.edu>
Synopsis
The three EVA pilots enjoy (or try to) a brief vacation away from it
all, despite being with each other. A retrospective of sorts.
Archives
You can find 'Evangelion: Vacation' in the rec.arts.anime.creative
archive as Evangelion/eva.vacation.
http://www.uh.edu/~rpm/fanfic.htm - M - productions fan fiction
Andrew Huang's Review
Very cute. I liked its overall feel. It brought some needed angst
relief to the series. I loved how Asuka reacted when Rei said that
Shinji made her smile. Heh.... I found Rei to be especially well
written; she is terribly difficult to write, given how hidden her
personality is. Shinji was not remarkable, but then, I don't think he
was meant to be here.
A light piece, worth reading a few times.
Rod M.'s Review
WRITER'S NOTES
These are kids. These are 14 year old kids.
They're _really_ messed up 14 year old kids, but nobody's perfect.
As more fics by more writers come in, you'll see Shinji & Co. go
through angst, self-discovery, joy, hardships, and even some wild sex.
Being the silly sentimental sod that I am, I just wanted to know...
What would they be like if the world just _let_ them be kids?
Did it work? Egh, I think I could have ended it better. To be brutally
honest, reading it back, it's enjoyable and yet I seem to lack a
point. I guess I wasn't ready to write that grand epic Evangelion
adventure with angst, self-discovery, joy, hardships, and wild sex.
^.-
Until then, swirling leaves in the tempest of a helicopter's departure
and a half-assed attempt at deep philosophy will have to do.
Tom Rothamel's Review
Well, I don't have all that much to say about this one.
Characterization checks out, there's no tech to speak of. Not much
happens, at least nothing major. It just provides a look in on the
children when they aren't fighting to save humanity, or studying in
school.
'Vacation' probably won't change your view of life, or even of
Evangelion. But that doesn't seem to be its intent.
Zhou Tai An's Review
A nice, short piece about the three Special Children taking a holiday.
That's it. No Angel's, psychological hangups, death or any of that
stuff.
Then why read it?
The fun starts when you look at characterization. In a word, perfect.
Shinji is his usual gloomy self, Asuka irritating, and Rei, well,
silent. The use of dialogue instead of description throughout most of
the story helps bring out the pilots' personalities as well, the
conversation between the three is particularly entertaining.
And you've got to love Rei's replies to Asuka's questions. ^_^
Nothing much else happens here, but read it anyways. A brief look into
the otherwise frenzied lives of three very different 14-years olds.
------------------------------------------------------------
WALLS OF OUR OWN MAKING
Author(s)
- Tom Rothamel <tom-cnc@tr.ml.org>
Synopsis
Shinji is engulfed by an angel, and is surrounded by Unit One's AT
Field, preventing Asuka and Rei from helping him.
Archives
You can find 'Walls of Our Own Making' in the rec.arts.anime.creative
archive as Evangelion/eva.walls-of-our-own-making.
This and the rest of Tom's fanfics can be found at
http://www.tr.ml.org/~tom/fanfics
Andrew Huang's Review
Another one of the early fanfics. ^_^ Cool!
Interesting circularity of this, reminiscent of...oh, what was that
reference again? Well, you probably know. If not, it's not all that
important. The sequences were very Anno-esque and nicely done. I liked
the lesson that Shinji learned from the battle; it seems to be very
true to his nature. The explanation of who the characters are in the
beginning is probably unecessary, though. Also, to me, the appearance
of the Angel wasn't too well defined. What exactly are the leaves? But
aside from that, I found it to be a well done piece.
Rod M.'s Review
A sort of introspection/battle with an angel fic, I suppose. This
one's hard to describe in a short manner. What it boils down to, I
suppose, is more introspection. Evangelion fics seem to make for good
introspection fics, so I for one, can't complain. :)
It begins with yet another mundane day in the life of Shinji Ikari,
with the usual clowns doing their routine: Touji and Kensuke bugging
Shinji, Asuka and Hikari doing there thing, and Rei... being Rei.
Let's see... the prose is written in a clean, flowing style. The
dialogue is just about right and in character for this bunch. It's no
mind-blowing awe-inspiring fic, but it's short, sweet, and makes for a
good read.
Tom Rothamel's Review
Since I wrote this, a serious review of this by me would be so
hideously biased as to be pointless.
Still, I do want to say I still think the "circular nature" of this
fic is kinda neat, and that I'm wonderning if anyone will figure out
what the first and last lines are a homage to.
Zhou Tai An's Review
Hey, it's one of the pioneering fics! ^_^ Hail.
Not a bad read. Starts with a normal school day for the Children, and
then has them fight an Angel with rather interesting
charisteristics...leading to an explorations of one of Shinji Ikari's
problems.
The main thing this fic suffers from is the bland prose. The words
just seem to sort of sit there. Not many images are evoked from the
use of the language, and the overall effect isn't exactly inspiring.
It's also rather short. While length does not make a fic good (or bad,
for that matter), I would have rather seen an exploration of Shinji's
character than the somewhat anti-climatic ending that there was.
All said and done, it's still an okay fic. Strictly average is what I
would call it.
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The EFRS Team - efrs@evangelion.ml.org - http://evangelion.ml.org/efrs