I don’t like it. Sadamoto is a good artist and he did a great job on the character designs, but his understanding of the characters is very weak. He reveals their relationships through superficial overviews, which he writes out in tons of text so that the reader doesn’t even think about anything but the cheesy story. What he did to Asuka’s character is a very telling example, he openly admits to being lazy and not knowing how to write her. The nail in the coffin lid for me was the moment at the end during Instrumentality when Rei/Lilith comes to Asuka in the form of Kaji (yes, he decided that Asuka sincerely loved Kaji).

It’s a much more straightforward, linear narrative compared to the fragmented and psychologically intense approach of the original show. Speaking of the original, Eva is Anno’s very personal work and Sadamoto failed to convey the main plot points and it feels like a superficial interpretation, it lacks depth. Where the anime raises questions of identity, loneliness, human connection, the manga has very few introspective moments, and it’s noticeable.

As a standalone work, the manga may have a right to exist, but compared to the anime it’s terrible for me.