Checkpoint: Evangelion Ending, Others Starting

Last update - Feb 10, 16:25 GMT (11:25 EST, 08:25 PST)

The end is nigh for the venerable manga series Neon Genesis Evangelion, which Yoshiyuki Sadamoto has been serializing since the end of 1994, while also working on the character designs for the famed mecha TV anime series. According to Mision Tokyo, publisher Kadokawa has confirmed that the manga will end with its 13th compiled volume - so that's just one more to go! The manga currently has 90 chapters published in the Young Ace magazine, compiled into 12 volumes. As for the two remaining anime films, Evangelion: 3.0 should premiere in Japan this autumn, followed by Evangelion: 4.0 in 2013.

Update: The end of the Evangelion manga with its 13th volume (which Yoshiyuki Sadamoto will "do his best" to release this year) has NOT been confirmed yet, neither by Sadamoto, nor by publisher Kadokawa.




As one manga ends, another begins... Yumi Unita, known so far for her touching slice-of-life manga Usagi Drop (Bunny Drop) that was made into a TV anime last year, is working on a new manga series called Itohen. It will kick-off in the April issue of Shodensha's Feel Young magazine, out in Japan this March 8.




Also starting pretty soon (this Friday, in fact) is a new light novel series written by Kazuma Kamachi - the author of the novels that spawned the To Aru Majutsu no Index and To Aru Kagaku no Railgun anime adaptations. The new romantic comedy novel is titled Waltraute-san no Konkatsu Jijou (Waltraute's Marriage Hunting Situation), and it's about an ordinary boy and the hawt valkyrie Waltraute, as their unusual relationship develops. Over on the anime front, there's that Index Movie coming at some point in space and time, and perhaps even more Index & Railgun anime, as recently hinted.




And finally for today, the Otome Nadeshiko Love Diary 2 light novel's special edition has apparently been bundling an OVA DVD, since it was released this January 26. It's some sort of a shoujo novel, set during Japan's Taishou period (1912-1926), so you'll have to pardon me if I can't be bothered to dig up more about it at this hour...