I've heard this be called "the best continuation of NGE out there!" While I, myself, wouldn't go that far, I have to agree that it is one of the better ones out there.
The story takes place about 12 years after "End of Evangelion", continuing from an alternate ending where Third Impact was prevented, thanks to both Rei and to another mysterious organization, GEIST. NERV has been reestablished into two new factions: HERZ, commanded by Misato, which handles all military aspects and operations, and GEHIRN, commanded by Gendo, Ritsuko, and Fuyutsuki, which handles the science and research. Shinji and Asuka are now married and have a two-year-old daughter, Akiko, but their relationship appears to be threatened by the appearance of Kurumi Kagero, a lady with a past relationship with Shinji. And from the shadows, SEELE continues their plans for Instrumentality, manipulating others into doing their dirty work, while HERZ and GEIST have their own plans.
"HERZ" is a rather well-written fic, capturing much of the spirit of the original "Eva" series. Each chapter is short and to-the-point, simply telling the story and not dragging things on unless necessary. It sticks to the plot rather well, and has enough sub-plots to make things even more interesting but not so much as to make things confused. There's plenty of suspense and intrigue as conspiracies and manipulations run high. Much like the original series, we pick things up after the main event, using flashbacks to find out happened before that caused things to get to where they are now. And there are just enough used to give us a general idea of what's going on and going into too much unnecessary detail. And the comedy "Eva" was known for has returned, and stays in the story up to the end, as opposed to the original story that had its humorous moments in the beginning but then got all dark and serious on us. "HERZ" captures that original feel, balancing the humor and the serious drama rather nicely. There are some dark moments, but they are few and far between, just enough to make things a bit more interesting.
All of the original cast who return are in good character, but not without some draw-backs. Shinji, despite the years that have passed, is still a bit of a wuss, but has his moments where he shows some real strength. Asuka's still a pain in the butt, but cares greatly about her family, and is especially possessive towards Shinji. There are some moments where she seems to get a little too violent and angry, mostly in the flashback scenes, that may seem a bit overdone, even for her. Rei is as mysterious as ever, hardly appearing in the series but showing she may be one of the key points to everything when she does. Misato has changed much, due to the new responsibilities she now has as the commander of HERZ, and often appears to taking on many Gendo-like traits. Other characters, such Ritsuko, Maya, Gendo, have changed little other than in physical appearance and positions, but don't seem to show much of how they have.
"HERZ" does contain Author Created Characters (ACCs), but fortunately, they don't steal the spotlight from the original cast. The author seems to have used some obvious anime influence in their creation, such Kurumi and her older sister, Natsume (as in the two sisters from the "Ranma ½" OAV, "Akane and her Sisters"). Fortunately, they are very two different characters. We see Kurumi more than we do Natsume, but when we see them together we see they have a rather interesting, yet typical, sibling relationship. Kurumi seems to be a sort of female Kaji, poking about HERZ for its secrets and having a past with Shinji, right down to the point of trying to continue that relationship, despite the fact that Shinji is married. Any other new characters, such as the members of the mysterious GEIST, are kept as minor characters, not appearing unless they have to and going into too much detail.
All in all, this is a great fic, fun to read and well into the spirit of the original "Eva" story. Each chapter keeps you guessing, and makes want to go on to the next part to find out what happens next.
Until Instrumentality is needed again...
SEELE-05
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