Just read the first book in the Neon Genesis Evangelion series by Funino Hayashi (English version published by ADV). I found it a little creepy, probably intentionally so.
It’s an interesting mix of a standard teenage soap-opera and science fiction. I suspect there’s more SF to come in subsequent volumes; this one is mainly teen soap, except for the suggestion that the class the main characters all find themselves in is not a coincidental mix: they’re all being groomed for some purpose and are all being called into a lab for exams.
I found this creepy because it suggested they were going to be experimented on, although the attraction page for Volume 2 revealed that it’s not quite that creepy after all. Seems as though they’re all going to be controlling giant robots or something. Whatever the story is on an SF level, the dynamics set up among the characters in the first volume promise to keep the teen-soap element in play.
The main characters are Shinji and his female friend Asuka, who insists she has no romantic interest in Shinji — but then flashes hot with jealousy when a transfer student, Rei, reveals that she’s falling for Shinji. Other subplots are in a similar vein.
It’s fairly standard manga material, but it kept my interest enough that I’m planning on picking up the second volume.
Gag manga! Tim talks to manga translator Kumar about two hilarious Japanese comics series, “Dr. Slump” by Akira Toriyama, and “Cromartie High School” by Eiji Nonaka.
His name has been mentioned repeatedly on the podcast since the beginning: Mulele’s friend and collaborator Kumar! He joins Tim to review David Yurkovich’s 
, and to discuss manga translation. 
We wrap up our discussion of Japanese comics with New Lone Wolf and Cub, Tezuka’s Future Man Chaos, and Inuyasha, plus we get sidetracked on the 25th anniversary edition of Blade Runner!
Tim, Mulele, Patrick, and Patrik discuss Hitoshi Iwaaki’s Parasyte (recently republished by Del-Ray), and (sometimes very goofy) portrayals of Japan and other familiar places in comics and in Hollywood.