Review of Neon Genesis Evangelion: The Unofficial Guide

[The Eva Monkey]

I'm thinking about a slightly larger format book, something larger than a novel size. I want it to be something other than that cheap newsprint paper, maybe glossly paper, with some full images to make it more vibrant, and art mag. However this would read like a non-fiction book. It would go section by section focusing on various topics, what went into it, eva as an immitative work, its characters, its impact, mysteries, religious yadda yadda....

[DatDude]

I think i'll scip the unoffical guide to crap and wait for

" The Monkey's Guide to Eva "

[The Eva Monkey]

Wise decision. Though I gotta warn you, if I do get some school funding, the bulk of the work will be done next summer. And I don't use "work" liberally. This will be a huge undertaking for me. I intend to take this thing all the way to Gainax if I can. I may not get that far, but I'm going to go hardcore research here, digging up old Japanese Newtypes, magazines, transcripts, do some serious translation work, do hundreds of hours of interviews, involve other member of the community, get other notable Eva enthusiasts to help me out. While no one can write THE guide to Eva, I intend to write something that every knowledgeable Eva fan can agree to. It is however possible to write a book that approaches various issues and theories from a impartial standpoint, offering every reasonable theory with reasons for and against, as well as both sides to viewing something. This will be no small task, which is why this book needs a high degree of care, hence why I intend to involve other eva fans experienced in the community. And this is by invitation only. I don't intend to show the community what I'm writing, though I may bring up an issue or question. But only a handful of proofers will be involved in quality control. Afterall, whats the point of publishing in print if you've shown it to everyone?

My schedule looks like this:

Fall 2004: Pre-planning, structure/formatting, assembling barebones of book content.

Winter 2005: Securing faculty advisor for Provost Undergraduate Research Award, as well as travel grant, Putting proposal in order, Applying for Awards, and hopefully recieving awards/grants.

Spring 2005: Getting a working relationship with faculty advisor hammered out. Approaching entities such as ADV, Manga, and Viz for publication and research assistance. Hopefully getting a publishing deal worked out.

Summer 2005: Hopefully going to ADV/Manga/Viz to conduct research and interviews to get a more industry view of the Evangelion series and distribution. Premliminary writing, getting support from other fans and enthusiasts.

Fall 2005: Finalizing written content, proofing, graphic design work, layout, etc.

October 4th, 2005: Tentative date, release of Evangelion Fan Guide, pubished on the tenth anniversary of Evangelion's debut on Japanese television.

[Dave]

Hey Monkey, try and get an interview with Hideaki Anno. I'm sure you'd love that wouldn't you?

[wildarmsheero]

I could design a cover... (like that'll happen)

[Hexon.Arq]

Now, do you intend on only focusing on the subject matter of the show (I'd rather say "license", because what we talk about often extends far beyond the series), or is this also gonna be one of those "History of Eva" things which will have a section or two also focusing on the effects it has had on every front it has touched?

In other words, is it going to be "Beginning to End" (stuff about the story), or "Beginning(') to (?)" (stuff about the story and the story of the story)?[/i]

(I'm a sucker for those textbook chapters that reflect on the effects of the aforementioned information and focus on yet more possibility.)

[DatDude]

Monkey when it comes to anything Eva related I trust your judgment cuz you da primate.

As for you getting an interview with Anno I don't see that happning but if it does please pass along our thanks for his great work on the show. Its hard to find anime thats not crap let alone good.

DD

[Dave]

Hey it could happen DatDude. Right? RIGHT?!?!? Oh well a fanboy can dream... Anyway, I do believe we are quite different when it comes to anime DatDude. I have trouble finding an anime I don't like. :twisted:

[The Eva Monkey]

Well, writing a historically accurate breakdown of how Eva came to be may be a difficult subject to tackle, hopefully its something I can shed light on. I will go into as much detail as possible about the production of the show, as well as its reception and fandom. Topics to be included are its importance, impact, controversy, etc. The fan community will be adressed. How Eva came to our parts, and others, will be adressed. Just as this site tries to be all encompassing, I hope that the book can be as well. Hopefully, it will be informative, and a must have.

[Vulkurt]

Hey, Eva. If you ever need a proofreader, let me know.

[Timesplitter 01]

As for you getting an interview with Anno I don't see that happning but if it does please pass along our thanks for his great work on the show. Its hard to find anime thats not crap let alone good.

DD

I doubt you would get an interview about Eva , he probably send the police or dogs after you Eva Monkey. Dogs like monkey meat , so your in trouble

[Wakko2000]

Outrageous. I just saw this Unofficial Guide selling at a local bookstore where I live. Guess where the book was shelved?

Right next to a stack of Eva manga.

This is just so sad. I can only imagine the people who went there originally to purchase the manga off the shelves, only to become tempted to buy this piece of crap book as well. And who wouldn't be? I took a quick glance at the back cover, and with such attractive blurbs like:

"Who killed Ryoji Kaji?"
"Why did Shinji strangle Asuka?"

... talk about the wrong book at the wrong place. Contender for most Misleading Publication Ever.

[Incisivis]

Yeah, I heard this book sucked.

Not hard to believe...I think many "hard-core" fans (i.e., nitpicky geek involved in on-line fandom on a regular basis) end up finding the "official guides" released for their hobby to be sparse and disappointing. It's almost like a natural law. :roll:

Though, I can't get over how much the cover reminds me of packaging for an 80's Transformers toy.

[The Eva Monkey]

Though, I can't get over how much the cover reminds me of packaging for an 80's Transformers toy.

Probably the best or worst aspect of this book, depending on how you look at it.

[Vulkurt]

Hey, EM, what's up with this?

[url]http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1894938100/ref=pd_ys_ir_all_63/104-7653265-1586308?v=glance&s=books[/url]

What is BESM?

[Mr. Tines]

What is BESM?

Big Eyes, Small Mouth

An anime themed generic RPG from Guardians of Order. Checking their new year press release, it mentions a Spring '05 release date:-

BESM Neon Genesis Evangelion Books 1 and 2 -- At last, the fan-favourite anime series will receive the BESM treatment. Your campaign will never be the same again!

[The Eva Monkey]

As I mentioned in the other thread:

http://evageeks.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=135

I'm getting PDFs of these books soon. I'll let you know what they're about then.

[Mr. Tines]

As I mentioned in the other thread:

http://evageeks.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=135

I'm getting PDFs of these books soon. I'll let you know what they're about then.

I would expect them to be much like their existing material on Utena or Lain - mainly episode summaries with lots of thumbnails, and some superficial commentary, with an appendix giving their take on in-game stats for characters (Yui-sama and Kyoko-sama included), and some idea of how you might set an RPG campaign in the setting (Maria Vincennes, anybody?).

[Vulkurt]

Thank you both for the clarification.

[TheBlueTree]

Speaking of ignored... the authors obviously never read [/b]Anno's confession letter which spelled out Shinji's character. In fact, their analysis of Shinji runs completely counter to Anno's (and other production members') explanation of Shinji's character.

ok what!. where can I find this crazy letter you speak of?