Neon Genesis Evangelion: Angelic Days is, simply put, a high school romantic comedy version of the original Evangelion anime. When I first learned about it, I thought that it might be a fun alternate version of a series that I consider to be brilliant or, on the flipside, a laughably bad retelling with little of what made the first series great. Unfortunately, it turned out to fall into the latter category.

Doubtlessly, most anime and manga fans are familiar with the original Neon Genesis Evangelion’s story. Angelic Days share the basic plot – teenagers are chosen to pilot giant robots and learn about growing up in the process – but little else. There’s none of the weirdness that you might expect, and certainly none of the depth. All the story really has to offer is a straightforward tale about kids and giant robots. It still has some of the mystery that comes with the mecha genre, but nothing about the plot stands out, especially when you remember that the original Eva did it better. As for the romantic elements… well, they’re nothing to write home about. Gendo and Yui, who star as students in a sidestory that takes up all of volume five, have a nice little love story, but other than that none of the character’s love lives are particularly interesting, and certainly not unique. Really, Angelic Days boasts no unique or even notable plot elements.

The artwork, which could have improved my opinion of this series, did exactly the opposite. It’s very sparse in terms of detail, and not at all attractive. The best way to describe the main fault is that it’s quite… droopy. Most of the characters have almost limp posture, clothing, and hair. In addition, there’s something that bothers me about the character’s faces; at any given moment, they seem either lifeless or annoying. It’s just not a very good-looking manga.

As for the cast… well, quite frankly, the cast of Angelic Days sucks. All of the unique characters that made the original Evangelion interesting are replaced by one-dimensional shells of characters. You have the average joe main man, the shy new girl, the grouchy but loving childhood friend, and more. If you’ve ever read a romantic comedy manga, you’ve met these people already, just not inhabiting the Eva cast’s bodies. While arguably an alternate universe has the right to reinvent characters, they should at least be reminiscent of the originals in ways other than name.

If you’re a fan of the original Neon Genesis Evangelion anime or manga, you’re probably going to check this out regardless of what you hear. Still, keep your expectations low, because Angelic Days is nothing like normal Evangelion, and not in a good way. Even if you’ve never seen or read Evangelion, however, do yourself a favor and read one of the hundreds of other manga that cover mecha, romance, or both in a more original and enjoyable way.