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Every book in the "Mysteries and Secrets Revealed" series has been well thought out and well researched and this book is no exception.

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Neon Genesis Evangelion

Mysteries and Secrets Revealed #3

Review By: Matthew Anderson

Author: Kazuhisa Fujie and Martin Foster

Company: DH Publishing Inc.

Length: 192 pgs

Category: Reference

Rated: PG (Themes)

SHORT VIEW

Do you enjoy watching Neon Genesis Evangelion, but have a hard time trying to figure out what's what? Are you confused with the ending of the TV Series? Are you dying to know if Shinji and Asuka are "Adam and Eve"? Most importantly, what are the EVA's and the Angels? Well, Cocoro Books has answers to all these questions and more.

"The unofficial Guide for Neon Genesis Evangelion" is your first, last, and best step to understanding the bizarre, intelligent, and complex world of Tokyo-3. Spanning the TV series and the two movies, this unofficial guide will help you to help your friends see the truth behind Evangelion.

THE 2 VIEW

Part 3 of the "Mysteries and Secrets Revealed" series, "The Unofficial Guide for Evangelion" is not for the average anime watcher. To truly appreciate this book, you have to see the entire series, movies included. Any nagging questions you may have will be answered in this book. Perhaps not the answer you were expecting, but there is one.

The physical design of the book is nicely done, but not very flashy. The cover is simple, with the title in big, easy to see letters. The same size as a Japanese manga, it's easy to take with you and read on the train.

Like the other books in this series, the inside is put together quite well. To get you started, the book begins with a brief overview on why "Eva" was so popular, and how it broke convention with other "giant robot" anime titles. Next is a Chronology of the events from the birth of Yui Ikari to the Third Impact. It's interesting to see how Kazuhisa Fujie and Martin Foster show that most of Evangelion happens in just a few short months. It kind of puts everything into perspective.

Unlike "The Gundam Explorer" Evangelion is broken down into only two section: "The Surface" and "The Core". Like any good reference book, there is a glossary and a index.

The first section "The Surface", looks at the more superficial elements of Evangelion. There are Mythology questions like "Who or What is Lillith?" or "What is the role of the Dead Sea Scrolls in Evangelion?" Others are more "reality based" like "Who Killed Ryoji Kaji?", "What is the Jet Alone?" and "Is Misato Katsuragi really a top warrior, or just a slob?" The 32 questions in this area make up the bulk of the book.

The second section is "The Core". This part attempts to put into context the more esoteric nature of "Evangelion". Heavy questions like "Do Gendo and SEELE clash over their differing Human Completion Plans?", "What actually are the Evangelions?", and the mother of all questions; "Why Does Shinj strangle Asuka?" Unlike the "The Surface", the answers here require you to use the left side of your brain. Most of the answers are drawn from biblical text, the works of Sigmund Freud, and from the series. Fuije and Foster are very good at picking out the key elements from "Eva", and using them to better explain some of the bizarre comments made by the characters.

Like other Cocoro Books, there are sidebars peppered through out. Most are brief character and mecha bios. They also talk briefly about "Eva merchandise" and of course, the live action movie.

As this is not an official book, they were unable to use any artwork from the series. Mostly, there are a lot of silhouetted character images and a few black and white photos of cosplayers. In future books, I would like to see them combine the cosplay photos with the character bios. It would be cool to see "live" versions of our favorite good and bad guys along with their stats.

Every book in the "Mysteries and Secrets Revealed" series has been well thought out and well researched and this book is no exception. With a complex and deep series like "Evangelion", everyone has their own views of what happened. Many of the conclusions that Martin Foster and Kazuhisa Fujie were quite interesting and in some cases, different from mine own. I found myself going back to the DVD compare their answers with mine. Their analysis on the relationship between Shinji and Asuka brought to light several key things I missed, and helped to improve my own understanding. When a book has the power to change your opinion, then it's a worthy one indeed.

Now, this is my inner fan boy coming out, but I totally disagree with their assumption in regards to "Who Killed Ryoji Kaji". Their assertion is, Kaji was more than likely killed by SEELE. I think he was killed by the Japanese Government for being a double agent. Why do I think this? Well, read the book, send me an email, and I will explain why.

The "Neon Genesis Evangelion Unofficial Book" is an excellent book for those who have survived this groundbreaking series. This books is one you and your friends can use to stop some of those heated arguments, or even start one. Like "The Gundam Explorer" and "The Dragonball Z Legend", this latest edition to the "Mysteries and Secretes Revealed" series is another worthy book for your anime library.

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