June 19, 2003:

Unbelievable. Love Eva lives! Animenewsnetwork.com has reported that Gainax will release this August a new manga based on the Evangelion: Girlfriend of Steel 2 video game. This game is set in the alternate universe briefly shown in Episode 26 of Neon Genesis Evangelion.

Love Eva Army

Frankly, I'm hoping the new manga will be more like Azumanga Daioh and less harem-comedy-ish like Love Hina. I think it would be hilarious if Shinji were never formally introduced in the new manga, but instead relegated to an anonymous background character like nearly every male in the Azumanga Daioh universe. The new manga can thus devote more time to the womenfolk and their wacky misadventures.

Azumanga Eva Army

On a related note, I'll be quite sad if the alt-manga Asuka isn't at least a little psychopathic.

I also hope the new manga will not involve the characters piloting video game versions of the Evas. That idea has always been fan-fictiony stupid.

If I've managed to confuse you thus far, here it is in a nutshell. The Evangelion television series contained a brief clip in its final episode that showed what the characters' lives might be like in an alternate universe. Fans in Evangelion-withdrawal pined for a series based on this alternate universe. Recently, the video game Girlfriend of Steel 2 a.k.a. Iron Maiden 2 was released in Japan. This game is set in said alternate universe. Fans rejoiced. Now, a new Evangelion manga based on this game and said alternate universe have been announced. More rejoicing.

Iron Maiden 2nd

Hopefully both the game and the new manga will do well enough to convince Gainax into bootstraping an entire anime out of them.

July 01, 2003:

Gainax / Project Eva have announced that Neon Genesis Evangelion: Ayanami Ikusai Keikaku with Asuka Hokan Keikaku will be released for the PlayStation2 on September 11, 2003. This game will be similar to Gainax's Princess Maker games. More on this later.

July 18, 2003:

As promised, here's a quick follow-up on the new Evangelion PlayStation 2 game.

September 01, 2003:

I am dumbfounded that there isn't more buzz about Love Eva. In fact, the few mentions I've seen have almost all been uniformly negative towards the very idea. It seems most other Eva fans don't like the idea of any deviation from the "deeper" and more serious aspects of the show—nevermind that much of Eva's appeal would not exist were it not for its comedic and lighthearted moments. (Remember those?)

And be forewarned: there's a special place in Hell for people who would make comparisions with Love Hina on derogatory grounds. But I digress.

For the uninitiated, Love Eva is my favored moniker for the alternate universe depicted in the final episode of Neon Genesis Evangelion.

Years later, this alternate universe has received new life in the form of the Iron Maiden 2/Girlfriend of Steel 2 video game and is currently being serialized in the monthly Asuka.

The first chapter of this manga came out about a week ago, but the Internet has remained remarkably silent over what I would have considered a somewhat high profile release. In fact, the only scans I have been able to find thus far are the pages from the preview in the previous issue of Asuka.

September 23, 2003:

Sample picture of Asuka

I have scanned the first chapter of the Shin Seiki Evangelion Koutetsu no Girlfriend 2nd a.k.a Neon Genesis Evangelion Girlfriend of Steel 2nd a.k.a. Iron Maiden II manga. It is currently being serialized in the monthly Asuka, starting with the October 2003 issue.

Considering that this issue came out August 23rd in Japan, I am somewhat surprised that I've been unable to find other scans of this manga yet.

Shinji and Asuka

The first chapter consists of three color intro pages and 40 black and white pages of the actual manga. In this chapter, Shinji, Asuka, Rei, Misato, Hikari, Ritsuko, Toji, Kaworu, and Kensuke all make appearances.

Sample picture of Rei

October 01, 2003:

The Studio ADTRW crew has released Neon Genesis Evangelion: Iron Maiden 2nd Chapter 01.

Downloads here.

January 20, 2004:

Iron Maiden 2nd A.K.A. Girlfriend of Steel 2

Download Neon Genesis Evangelion Iron Maiden 2nd A.K.A. Girlfriend of Steel 2 manga here:

Studio ADTRW Official Project Page and direct downloads.

April 05, 2005:

Manganews.net reports that "Shin Seiki Evangelion - Ikari Shinji Ikusei Keikaku (Shinji Ikari Rearing Project) by Osamu Takahashi will start in the June issue of Kadokawa's Shonen Ace."

What in Hell?

I know about the games, but adapting this one for a manga just sounds bizarre.

July 30, 2005: Love Eva licensed

For those of you who hadn't heard, ADV licensed that Love Eva thing.

They plan to serialize it in their Newtype USA magazine using the title Evangelion: Angelic Days.

They've got some Nerv using a pun that bad.

[SPOILERS] Asuka dies.

The ADV press release may be viewed here.

I stopped caring about Newtype USA because:

1. There was no content to speak of besides maybe one or two decent pictures for each show featured on the cover—and even then they were difficult to scan because of the overlying text, so you can't make wallpaper or whatnot, for example, without a disportionate amout of work.
2. It was 10 freakin' dollars. A 10-dollar cover price for a magazine with no content ensures I'm not going to be buying very many issues. Incidentally, I wonder if subscribers got really pissed when they pulled the preview DVD. Talk about a bait and switch.
3. Okay, the DVD is back, but now the cover price is like $15 or something completely ridiculous for a magazine. That's got to cost more than the Japanese Newtype imported. Considering an imported issue of Ani-Maga is also about $15, this is a no-brainer.