Book excerpt: The famous final episode of the Neon Genesis Evangelion anime TV show imagined the show's main characters in an alternate world where friendship and romance could be as important as their task to pilot the Evangelion. That premise forms the storyline of Neon Genesis Evangelion: The Shinji Ikari Raising Project! Stunning, hot-headed Asuka Langley Soryu has been friends with Shinji Ikari since they were little. And she always sort of assumed they'd stay together--until the day the beautiful, brilliant Rei Ayanami showed up in class! When Shinji starts to get curious about Rei, Asuka needs to figure out if she wants to be just friends with Shinji, or something more. But why are so many people keeping an eye on these relationships--people like homeroom teacher Misato, school nurse Ritsuko, and Shinji's mother--NERV's chief scientist, Yui Ikari...?