Sometimes the simplest ideas give birth to the most fascinating stories. Which is the case with Chris Burke's "Rei's Birthday Present".

The story begins as Misato notices a date of birth on one of Ayanami Rei's synch test reports. Her reaction ("This is interesting") doesn't escape the attention of one German pilot and soon, the good Major and one Ikari Shinji find themselves searching for the ideal birthday gift for someone like Ayanami (the previously mentioned Asuka Langley not very interested in taking part in this). The first chapter ends by revealing Rei's birthday present, and what present! (I won't be telling what it is, don't want to spoil the fun).

From there, we follow the life of the young Ayanami and how a simple gift brought unexpected changes into her life.

Simply put, this story rates high in my favorite list and is a must read for any Rei fans, or anyone for that matter. No wonder that it was among the winners of the 1999 Chicken Balls "Most Underrated Fanfic Award", this is a story people really should mention more often. It shows great potential and is, as far as I can tell, near flawless in its execution so far. And it holds the best Rei characterization I can think of, which is why I usually find myself coming back to it now and then, when I have to work on Rei scenes.

There are matters for criticism, but they are rather small. The only thing that really bothers me so far is the explanations given on birth dates in the first chapter. In this story, the author mentions that all the students in Shinji's class were born almost at the same time. Known information, however, contradict that part.

Horaki Hikari: February 18 2001
Ikari Shinji: June 6 2001
Aida Kensuke: September 12 2001
Sohryu Asuka Langley: December 4 2001
Suzuhara Touji: December 26 2001

Now, I know that it's really a trivial detail, but what can I say, I can't help but notice.

But, fanfiction being just that, fanfiction, a slight tweak of the NGE reality such as this one can easily be forgiven, especially since it doesn't affect this great story in the slightest. If someone really asked me what was the main problem if this story, my reply would likely be that there's simply not enough of it. But quality can't be rushed, especially in this art where the pleasure to write is vital, so I can only hope that the author will soon bless us with a new chapter.

So, there's only one thing I can add: excellent work Chris, keep it up!

SEELE-01
October 11th 2000

To add briefly to the comments of my esteemed colleague, it is always a pleasure to read the work of someone who writes about Rei with such sympathy, insight and finesse. (Chris Burke aside, Jonathan Wang and T.L. 'Hotwire' Webb come to mind.)

Initially I had serious misgivings when Chris released Part 2 as I felt that the impact of Part 1's ending was thus diminished. So far, what we have in Part 2 and 3 is how, slowly, Shinji and Misato's gift is changing Rei's life. One senses that, rather than simply piecemeal narrative, Chris is laying the foundations for a paradigm shift of this NGE universe. But we will have to await further installments to see and it is with much hope and enthusiasm that I am doing so.