Volume 5 is where the story really takes a different turn. In the 4 previous novels, the stories were a lot lighter and easy to grasp. Not this one. It foretells episodes 11 to 15 but not particularly in that order. Here's a recap of all the basic storyline of Volume 5:

• Parts 1 & 2 = Asuka's arrival to the Katsuragi residence, the implementation of the dummy plug system and Misato's promotion and "escape" (phew! i thought it will never be mentioned in the manga. I guess i was wrong).
• Parts 3 & 4 = Shinji and Gendo's visit at the graveyard, the destruction of the 10th angel (what happened to the 9th???) and the retrival of the Spear of Longinus
• Parts 5,6 & 7 = a major blackout similar to the arrival of the 9th angel (but there was NO angel!?! What the hell's going on!?! Sadamoto's driving me nuts!!!), Shinji and Asuka's attempted "first kiss" (thank god it didn't push through...), the mystery of the Terminal Dogma and the true events leading to Yui Ikari's "death".

As you can see, there's definitely alot of changes in the storytelling. It's like he's combining 2 or 3 different episode scenarios into 1 plot. It's really confusing for some of us who have seen the animé series because the continuity was truly "disrupted."

On a lighter note, could you imagine Rei inviting Shinji to her apartment??? Now hold on, they didn't "do" what some of you guys might think!?! (i mean, hello??? they're like 14!). Unlike that of the animé, Rei isn't as isolated to people as you would think... especially towards Shinji. I love how this scene was played... and i could only dream that it was included in the TV series. Even some of the confrontations of Misato and Kaji were nice and less "insulting." But what really got to my attention is the forming of the "real" EVA plot that we all grown to love so much! A lot of the paranoia and suspense is slowly creeping in... which makes it much more exciting!!! In terms of the characters, I think Gendo Ikari's presence in this volume was really felt! His scene in the graveyard with Shinji was cold and distant. It's even far darker than the one in the animé. Although after reading this segment, alot of you would hate him even more. But for me it was the other way around. He makes me wanna anticipate every move that he makes and how "bad" it will end. He's probably one of the most mysterious and schemingly "lovable" character ever to face the pages of Japanese manga.

So far, the game has just begun. The story has totally made quite a stir... and i just can't wait to get a copy of volume 6!!!

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