RE-TAKE

""I feel sick.""

""Didn't you know? One does not 'get' answers... normally, one is forced to recieve them""

RE-TAKE is a multi-volume Doujinshi produced by Studio Kimigabuchi which presents an alternate storyline and ending to Neon Genesis Evangelion (and, by extension, The End of Evangelion). Due to its art and story, RE-TAKE has become one of the most popular fan-created works amongst Evangelion's international fanbase -- it is likely the most famous Eva doujinshi in existence. RE-TAKE is comprised of six volumes, published in the following order: RE-TAKE 1, RE-TAKE 2, RE-TAKE 3, RE-TAKE 0 (which provides the experiences of the first three volumes from a different perspective), RE-TAKE 4, and RE-TAKE After. (This is condensed into three volumes for the All Ages version, which eliminates the doujinshi's sex scenes.)

After seeing visions of a horrible future, Shinji Ikari wakes up just before Bardiel attacks. Armed with the knowledge of his potential fate, Shinji aims to prevent every problem leading up to it -- and his new determination allows him to single-handedly defeat three Angels after his synch-levels skyrocket.

Over time, Shinji falls in love with Asuka and dedicates himself to being with her. Asuka learns to share his affection, and the two plan to spend the rest of their lives with each other. There's one unfortunate problem with this plan: Shinji's seeing visions of a ghost who looks exactly like Asuka -- and the ghost isn't happy to see Asuka and Shinji together.

For a download of the All Ages version, go here.

YMMV are listed here. Awesome Moments go here, Funny Moments go here, and Heartwarming Moments go here.

This doujinshi provides examples of:

 * A God Am I: "God",
 * All Just a Dream: How the first book starts out.
 * Arc Words:
 * "I feel sick." (Less so in the all ages version)
 * "You're going to regret this."
 * Awful Truth: Ghost-Asuka to Shinji: ""
 * Back From the Dead: Asuka, sort of - . She got better, though. Sort of.
 * Bleached Underpants: The All Ages version, to the original version.
 * Break His Heart to Save Him: Poor Shinji.
 * Break the Cutie: Shinji, Asuka, Rei, Ghost-Asuka. EVERYONE
 * Contemptible Cover / Covers Always Lie: Let's just say that if you went by the covers, this would be simply a pornographic doujinshi. It actually isn't.
 * This is practically the best definition for what happened in the ending.
 * Despair Event Horizon: Around once a volume, each with a different character. Rei gets one in book one . For Shinji, this happens around the end of book 2 and book 3 . In book 0 and 4 (damn ordering), Ghost-Asuka suffers from this, and in the last part of After, Asuka gets this . Swiftly subverted when
 * Dying Declaration of Love: Asuka, though not necessarily by choice.
 * Earn Your Happy Ending:
 * Easily Forgiven:
 * Fanfic: Well, obviously.
 * Filler: RE-TAKE 1.5, arguably, as it adds nothing of real significance to the plot, except for a reveal at the end which RE-TAKE 2 both handles better and uses to invert the significance of a scene from the canon story.
 * First Name Basis: In one of the most TearJerking examples ever, involving Rei and Asuka. Asuka tries later with Rei III, but gets a...cold reaction:
 * Foreign Language Tirade: Asuka has a fairly romantic one, which is subtitled for the viewers., however, doesn't speak German, and so has to ask for clarification.
 * The Fourth Wall Will Not Protect You: It got extremely weird from there.
 * Gainax Ending: There are two different "endings" for  While the first is pretty comprehensible, the second goes into this territory.
 * Go Into the Light: Asuka.
 * Gory Discretion Shot:
 * Grasp the Sun: Asuka's "death".
 * Half Human Hybrid:
 * Happily Married: Almost reached in RE-TAKE 2, and apparently reached by the end of RE-TAKE After.
 * Heroic Sacrifice: Asuka, Shinji, Ghost-Asuka, (I guess that would be the "correct" definition...), Rei, , ...most everyone, really.
 * Hope Spot:
 * Hourglass Plot: Shinji and Ghost-Asuka end up almost exactly mirroring each other's roles in The End of Evangelion.
 * It Got Worse: As they got worse in the main series, they inevitably start getting worse
 * Ineffectual Death Threats: Shinji screams that he'll kill Gendo when Gendo orders . He doesn't.
 * Intertwined Fingers: The last image of RE-TAKE 4.
 * Kill the Cutie: Asuka (sorta), Rei (sorta)
 * Live Action Adaptation: Yep. Considered inferior to the original by many a fan though.
 * Love Makes You Crazy: Shinji starts hallucinating in 3.
 * Love Makes You Evil:
 * Shinji, very nearly - "I will throw the world into the pits of hell to find Asuka again!".
 * Love Triangle: This is what causes Rei to . She then seems to get over it in the later volumes.
 * The Masochism Tango
 * Mind Screw: Especially after shows up.
 * My God What Have I Done: Shinji after Rei commits suicide, since he knows that it was his fault. He initially seems to try drowning his sorrows by having sex with Asuka, in part because he knew the 3rd Rei had no feelings for him. Eventually he befriends her however.
 * Never Found the Body: Asuka, Kaworu
 * Not So Imaginary Friend: Ghost-Asuka is neither imaginary, nor (for the first 3-4 books) a friend.
 * Offscreen Moment of Awesome:
 * Original Flavor
 * Oh Crap: SEELE's reaction to
 * Peggy Sue: Subverted.
 * Pet the Dog: Teased when . Turns out it was all part of the plan.
 * Racefor Your Love: Done twice: once normally, with Misato in a tank, and once as a subversion.  gets there in time (thanks to, among other things, Misato's car and Rei's Evangelion), but  decides that it would be kinder to  to let him keep the image of a strong, self-reliant love in his mind rather than a broken, depressed love physically. It doesn't quite work like she intends it.
 * Redemption Equals Death: Pulled off by  of all people.
 * Spanner in The Works: No amount of planning by SELEE or Gendo could possibly prepare them what foils their plans this series.
 * Spared By the Adaptation: Kaji
 * Also Touji, as Shinji knows that if doesn't do anything, Gendo will activate Unit 01's dummy plug, cripples it without killing him, though he's Put On a Bus for the next two chapters since he was still injured during the fight.
 * Survivor Guilt: Shinji gets this. Twice. (Possibly thrice, if you count
 * Tank Goodness: Misato in one, no less.
 * Timey Wimey Ball
 * Tomato in The Mirror: See Awful Truth above.
 * Took a Level In Jerkass:
 * You wouldn't think it possible to make Gendo more of a bastard. They did.. Let me just make this clear:  What. A. BASTARD!
 * Shinji suffers from this a bit, at least in Volume 2: "No, it doesn't really matter. She's the third, anyway."
 * Granted, he knew that one hadn't developed any feelings, though Asuka didn't know that.
 * To an extent, also Asuka...though only Ghost-Asuka, seeing as though she is following Shinji around everywhere he goes just to screw around with his head, though She gets better, though...
 * Victory Guided Amnesia:
 * With This Ring:
 * What the Hell Hero: The general reaction to Shinji Kaworu. Oh, and some people's reactions to   swift change from nice,   to an uncompromising, uncaring nigh Complete Monster who orders, without flinching, the destruction of.
 * Woobie Destroyer of Worlds: Subverted, as Shinji Shinji is still alive, but he loses all the memories of the events in RE-TAKE. ...okay, that explanation sucked.
 * So let's explain it with spoilers! This is about close to as we get to an explanation.
 * Would Hit a Girl: Touji. And what a hit!
 * To an extent, also Asuka...though only Ghost-Asuka, seeing as though she is following Shinji around everywhere he goes just to screw around with his head, though She gets better, though...
 * Victory Guided Amnesia:
 * With This Ring:
 * What the Hell Hero: The general reaction to Shinji Kaworu. Oh, and some people's reactions to   swift change from nice,   to an uncompromising, uncaring nigh Complete Monster who orders, without flinching, the destruction of.
 * Woobie Destroyer of Worlds: Subverted, as Shinji Shinji is still alive, but he loses all the memories of the events in RE-TAKE. ...okay, that explanation sucked.
 * So let's explain it with spoilers! This is about close to as we get to an explanation.
 * Would Hit a Girl: Touji. And what a hit!