Evangelion Vol. 11
Volume eleven of the Evangelion manga tells the events of the first third or so of End of Evangelion, meaning the manga has decided to follow the film's continuity rather than the controversial TV ending. Its key differences lie in the minutia rather than any catastrophic deviation from the canon. But it's enough, as usual, to legitimise the manga next to its animated counter-part. These differences are mostly alternative methods of getting to the same point, and more often than not the manga actively neuters most of the disturbing aspects of the anime's finale.
For example, Kaworu's death doesn't end with that dramatic splash of water, and Shinji doesn't masturbate over a catatonic Asuka. In fact, in that particular scene, Asuka goes hysterical and attempts to choke Shinji (and rather bloody satisfying it is, too). But these modified moments don't hamper the manga's impact. Granted, they don't systematically wear your emotional state to tatters - one of the many perverse pleasures of the film - but they fit perfectly with the approach the manga has been taking from the outset. Sadamoto has been subtly doing it his way since chapter one, and even at this pinnacle stage he honours the small but important changes he's made.
In the manga Shinji has always been slightly stronger of will than the trembling wimp portrayed in the anime, and in these final moments his mental well-being is nowhere near the level of despondency as his film counterpart. The key reason for this, I think, is because manga Shinji's relationship with Kaworu never developed the same intense connection (with Sadamoto implying that his Shinji thought Kaworu to be a bit of a smug twat) so his death didn't drive Shinji to the same level of despair. This is refreshing in many ways, but it does a lot to undermine the subsequent events. Shinji's apathy as SEELE descend on NERV for the final showdown just doesn't have the same convincing sense of hopelessness as the film, and as a result we question why Shinji is refusing to fight when it was indisputable in EoE. The manga ends as the SEELE troops leave on their mission to assassinate the Children and I'm curious to see how Shinji reacts when they place a gun to his head. Perhaps he will beg for his life and Misato will save him earlier. I really can't imagine it working in the same way as its source; it would undo much of the unique approach Sadamoto has been working on from the start.
This was a very readable volume and the manga remains the perfect compliment to the anime. Sadamoto's art remains godlike and his reimagining of some key scenes holds all the dramatic poignancy of the anime while having enough personality to differentiate. My only wish now is that the manga's conclusion depicts Instrumentality as a combination of the event of the film and the TV ending, and builds a bridge between to the two, finally laying to rest the intense schism they've caused in Eva fandom. I'm also very curious to see if Rebuild has any affect on the manga. I doubt it will, but Sadamoto has dragged this thing on long enough for it to be rather serendipitous. Perhaps he'll continue it on to tell the events of the new films. How cheeky and irritating would that be?
I could open with a prolonged gush about my love for Evangelion; the draft before this had a hundred word introduction doing just that until I realized I wasn't saying anything that hadn't been said before. Yep, I love Evangelion for exactly the same reasons you probably love Evangelion. No end of personal accounts could really differentiate my experience from anyone else's, so lets just suffice to say that Evangelion is special. 
Stage 71 deals with the later part of the series - around episode 24 of the anime. Ritsuko has destroyed the dummy plug, Kaworu has received his orders from SEELE and Gendou is preparing for Instrumentality. Misato recounts the day of the Second Impact and Shinji gradually realises he has no one left. Consequently, this latter part gives rise to one of the most appealing aspects of the manga so far: Shinji's massively different relationship with Kaworu. After Kaworu's previous attempted advances (yes, those kind of advances) on Shinji he no longer considers Kaworu a friend and discards him appropriately. Rather than taking the 'loved-lost' approach of the anime Sadamoto seems to be playing the out-right isolation card for Shinji, suggesting a much more muted descent for the forthcoming Instrumentality. I genuinely respect Sadamoto for taking this route; it partly addresses much of the controversy over Shinji and Kaworu's relationship and spins it on its head while making a clear, definite break from the anime. These subtle (and no-so-subtle) breaks from the original are what make Evangelion's manga such essential reading for Eva fans. 
This boxset features six volumes encased in the extra-thin style DVD cases, each featuring the spangly new cover artwork by Sadamoto seen on the original NGE Platinum releases (except for volume seven’s Kaworu due to the obvious lack of a seventh volume). The box itself is similar to the original box set container only smaller, made with sturdy cardboard featuring Asuka and Rei in the artwork and metalic silver finish. Each DVD itself has five episodes of the series, apart from volume five which has six (accommodating for episode 26) and volume six of the collection features the director’s cut editions of episode 21 – 24 in full. Every single episode (including the DC versions) is fully remastered visually and audibly and there are no other extras previously seen in the single Platinum releases; purely the episodes alone with the option between the English language track or Japanese with subtitles. 
