Title: NGE: A Century Apart - T - Evangelion
Author: Archangel38
Rating: T
Genre: Drama
Words: 117,379
Pairing: Shinji/Asuka
Fandom: Neon Genesis Evangelion
Status: Abandoned
Link: Fanfiction.net
Author's summary: Different times make different heroes. What is the the impact of 100 years of human history? An Alternate Universe, created under the premise that the Angels attacked in 1915 instead of 2015.

Basically a Steampunk!Evangelion. That fact led to some AU elements that haven't been explained properly so far, that are incompatible with the general plot of the canon such as Evas being purely mechanical insted of biomechanical monstrosities, Yui dying in childbirth, Rei somehow still exists...But story is good enough for me to overlook this.

Most of the story is being told from Shinji's or Gendo's p.o.v. Both of them are much healthier individuals. Gendo is an admiral in the Imperial fleet, he isn't obsessed with reuniting with Yui (this could change though) and he really seems to just want to protect his country from the Angels. He is still estranged from his son, but it's a different kind of estrangement than in canon.

Shinji's characterisation is probably my favorite part of the story. Instead of leaving him with a tutors/caretakers, Gendo enrolled him into the Navy academy, which led to Shinji with less abandonment issues and more backbone. It doesn't go overboard with that though.

I was very impresed with how the author handled changes in Asuka. It really showed that he knows more then a few things about the period he's writting about. She's a picture-perfect young Prussian military aristocrat.

All in all, it's a pretty good story and it's a shame that it seems abandoned.

5/5

 

Bumped to gain attention.

Read and review please. I'll keep it on the Review Board for another week before I move it.

(I have been going to read it for the last two weeks, but I never actually got the time to start it.)

 

Alright, finally read it.

Opening disclaimer: I know very few details about this period of history, so I won't be rating based on historical accuracy. In addition, it's been so long since I watched Evangelion, I can't really rate how it compared to the original.

With that out of the way, I'll start with the main characters.

Shinji - In the original, Shinji played the role of a normal boy dropped into a situation far beyond anything he could handle. In this story Shinji is part of the military, and he loses his "ordinary person" appeal. The author did a good job making him more capable while still not having an easy time in combat, but overall, Shinji in this fic felt a bit bland and uninteresting.

Asuka - basically the same personality as canon. My nitpick here is that she's supposed to be a member of the military, but there are points where she doesn't really act like it. This isn't unrealistic, but these scenes didn't have the necessary character justifications to make them feel natural. Overall, I didn't like Asuka at all, but that's how it should be with any story that sticks to canon.

Supporting characters were fine. They mostly felt like real people rather than cardboard cutouts, but no one really stood out. The biggest weakness this story had on the character side of things is that no one (including Shinji) really gets any character development. As of the most recent chapter, Shinji feels more or less like the exact same character that went into combat for the first time.

As for the plot, it was fine. It follows Evangelion's monster of the week format, but as mentioned, it lacks the character development that made NGE such a strong show. The glimpses we get of the overarching plot behind the Angel attacks are quite well integrated and keep the story interesting.

I feel like I may have focused on negatives a bit too much so far, so I'll say that I found the fic quite enjoyable overall. It's well written and interesting, but it had some noticeable flaws and failed to blow me away.

4/5 for now, but there's plenty of room for improvement as the plot progresses.

 

I'm halfway through and have to second the statement above.

Second Impact happened in 1900 and its devastations changed the balances of the political world. The United Kingdom split into four different empires and the US suffered another civil war. (Nevertheless) Germany and the US are the leading military and economic powers, followed by Japan, France and Russia. Japan seems to be dominated by the military - but I don't know if that is actually based on historical 1900 Japan.

The technological aspect of the story is well done. The Evangelion is still an advanced machine, but fits into the timeframe of steamboats and zeppelins. I.e. there is the problem of its weight on (usually gravel) roads and places, thus it lacks a superior armor and equipment.

Shinji, as member of the military is used to a chain of command, thus he fulfills his orders like a good officer does. He is a soldier, trained to follow orders in battle, not a boy suddenly thrown into a mess. There would have been chances for character development, but the author didn't take them.

The writing is good, and the story, though following canon events, is still quite original, just because of the different timeframe and setting.


All in all it is good, but not exeptional, and sadly abandoned.

I rate it 4/5.