This volume has a lot more characterization for Shinji than last volume, which makes sense, as this volume adapts the chunk of the show where Shinji runs away from piloting the Eva for the first time. The volume also lays the ground work for what could (and in the show will) become Shinji's support group. The show paces this a little differently then the manga, but I think the story doesn't suffer from the change of pacing.

Indeed, the only change that the adaptation really suffers for is that this storyline is where we first get the use of the train-car image. Later on in the show, when Shinji is having some particularly traumatic moments, in his head he retreats to the train car from this episode, and basically hashes things out with psychological representations of other characters. This becomes even more of a thing once we get to Instrumentality at the end of the show, as was basically spend a not inconsiderate chunk of the last two episodes - in the broadcast release, and the last episode in End of Eva - in the Traincar of Therapy with Shinji trying put his thoughts on his place in the world, and his relationships with people into some resemblance of shape.

The loss of the train car sequence here kind of makes me wonder what [a:Yoshiyuki Sadamoto|164714|Yoshiyuki Sadamoto|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/authors/1274725162p2/164714.jpg] will use in its place in later volumes of the series. ( )

seems pretty quick reading, but I'll still keep reading