Rating: 
Summary: The Strengths of an Iconoclastic, Defining Series
Review: To paraphrase a review in "Animerica" magazine, "Neon Genesis Evangelion" may in fact be the most important modern anime created. "Important," however, does not necessarily imply "best" or "worst" or indication of technical or artistic quality. On the whole, my opinion is that the assets far outweigh the liabilities of this series, but the liabilities are noticable and have been hotly debated ever since the show's ending. The TV show and concluding movie has inspired passion among anime fans and even outsiders (in Japan at least) that is rare for any TV show or movie, let alone an anime. It's easy to see why--while this DVD may start with many of the cliches and conventions of the mecha anime, what is immediately noticeable is the following two things: 1.) The characters are the focus, not the action or plot. And these characters inspire all sorts of emotional reactions in the viewer rare in anime. In particular, Shinji is an atypical hero for this sort of show, and his attitude toward life and those around him has been the cause of no small debate over whether he is a worthless coward deserving of contempt (as he often states that he is!) or a traumatized child who deserves compassion and empathy. Immediately, even in these episodes and especially the fourth, the introverted, psychological nature of this show is established, and Shinji's is not alone in his trauma and inner torment--Misato, Asuka, Gendo, and Ritsuko all have their own issues to deal with that are explored throughly later. In my opinion, when character-oriented and psychological aspect of the narrative was emphasized more in the second half of the series, that's when "Eva" truly shined as a compelling drama and revealing portrait of the modern Japanese psyche. 2.) The direction is idiosyncratic and often experimental. Director Anno Hideaki is perhaps anime's most well known creative iconoclast, and he breaks numerous anime directing conventions and establishes his own animated film vocabulary in the shot composition camera angles (especially still shots of inert objects or certain ways of framing faces), fluid and often brutal action sequences, and later in the series, psychological montages remniscent of Eisenstein's "Battleship Potemkin" and French New-Wave films. The stark, serious nature of the series is established immediately in this DVD as well, though the idiosyncrasies of the direction are relaxed in the semi-comedic middle parts, and become much more pronounced in the latter half and especially in the endings. And with all this--for the most part, it's not that intrusive and the storytelling is clear and compelling. I love it. Honest, searing characterization and boundary-shattering style are the great strengths of "Evangelion," and combined with the fact that I can identify a bit with Shinji and not feel the same contempt for him that other viewers often have, I think "Eva" is TV-anime's most important recent work. "Escaflowne" may have the better storytelling, "Serial Experiments Lain" may have more intellectual conundrums, and "Cowboy Bebop" may have the cooler music and balanced, if a bit detached, characters. But art, emotion, intelligence, and drama come together in "Evangelion" in a way that has set the standard for all the anime that has come afterwards--no matter how enthralled or enraged this series has made anime fans ever since.
Rating:
Summary: A Great Series
Review: You know, the funny thing is that I had never seen EVA before I bought this DVD. See, I'm one of those people that more or less swore off of VHS once I got a DVD player, and since local video stores are very lacking in available anime to rent, I never picked this one up until the DVD release. And only 4 episodes in, I can tell you that this series is NOT overrated. I love it already, and it can only get better from here. I'm already interested in all of the characters and the way their lives are going to turn out. The animation is great as well. And the English dubbing is not THAT bad. Not only am I a rarity in anime fans who hasn't seen EVA, but I also usually watch dubbed versions, the reason being that I don't want to have to read what's going on instead of concentrating on the visuals. The first pilot introduced is Shinji Ikari, an interesting 14 year old boy who has serious issues with his confidence and his cold father, who runs the project known as NERV, which has built biomechanical weapons called Evangelions to combat the Angels, huge creatures that first appeared on Earth 15 years ago and nearly wiped all human life off the planet. I am quite eager to see where his relationship with his father and his commanding officer Misato (sp?) go. Shinji is living with Misato because he and his father cannot even get along well enough to live together. Awesome mecha battles and realistic human interaction, as well as psychological and philosophical themes create an excellent balance in this show. As far as the DVD transfer, well, yeah, it could be better, but the important thing is that, unlike VHS, it's not going to get worse. There are, if I remember, two spots (both involving red colors) where the color sort of flashes a couple times between bright and darker hues. Other than that, there's nothing TERRIBLE about it. So, to any anime fans who haven't seen EVA yet, what better time to start? What are you waiting for? Don't be like me, see it now.
Rating: 
Summary: Cliche Queen, ho!
Review: NGE embodies the worst elements of anime, and those elements are anime cliches. Impossible and inexplicable mechs, adolescent heroes (the first of which is angst-ridden and emotionally unstable, another is a loner, and the third is sassy), busty curved women, and mystifying plot. I guess if you're one of those "otaku" freaks this DVD will be right up your alley. Other move on to something worth watching, like Mononoke, Rurouni Kenshin, or Excel Saga.
Rating: 
Summary: A decent first disc for the greatest anime ever
Review: I don't know how popular it was in Japan, but in the American anime scene Evangelion is like Titanic; its degree of success and acclaim has caused a sizeable backlash. In my opinion, the series deserves all the praise that reviewers and fans have heaped upon it, as its characters and story show a level of speculative intelligence rarely found in science fiction of any kind. That said, it must be pointed out that the show doesn't really start to get good until a few episodes in, once all the main characters have been introduced and the writers start to throw some pretty brilliant plot twists into the mix. Check it out and you might love it as much as I do. Many fans have complained that the DVD image quality is lacking, and indeed the colors seem a bit faded at times, but that problem would be due to how the film has been stored and maintained over the last few years; I wasn't in Japan when the show first aired and all I've seen previously are ADV's videocassette editions, which are just as visually subdued, so maybe this is actually how the series was meant to look. Everybody's been completely spoiled by those beautiful-looking Serial Experiments Lain discs. What's more important is the fact that ADV has inserted English words into certain shots, like signs and notes that were in Japanese in the original version of the show. Certainly it's much easier for Americans to read a sign that just says "All rail line operations are cancelled" in English than a sign with Japanese lettering and accompanying English subtitles that say "All rail line operations are cancelled," but there are many, many purists out there (guys like me who only watch the subtitled Japanese version) who will notice the visual changes and feel cheated. That's enough complaining. It's great that we can finally have this series on DVD, and any anime fan should have this disc in his collection.
Rating:
Summary: Finally on DVD! Influential masterpiece anime...
Review: I didn't find this DVD version all that bad. If you want to see BAD BAD visual quality on DVD see 'Cagliostro'. If you love 'Evangelion', get this DVD. If you love action and intrigue, follow this series. 'Evangelion' burst onto the scene in the mid-ninties with dynamic mecha designs previously unseen in anime taking the edge off of the old clunky giant robot designs and replacing them with rather deftly progressive layers and shapes. Cinematography lept into bizarre retro seventies experimentalism reminisant of Kubric or Coppolla. Finally, with the advent of 'Evangelion' anime fans felt there was an adept, sensible storyline with clever pacing and professional planning that, when combined with the excellent artwork of cutting edge japanese animation, would put anime on the map of viable, commercial entertainment in America. ...Sadly, that day never came... and the clueless still cling helplessly at the final 22 minutes of this series and claim there WAS an epiphany when the sensible realize we were all taken on a 26 episode con game. Regardless, all anime fans should watch the series and be enthralled by a tale cunningly spun into vexing complexity until the writer wrote himself off the page, and the producer spent all the animation money on cheap women and fine booze. These first four episodes will delight all, and change the lives of the impressionable...just be ready for the wild ride which follows thru the next 5 DVD discs.
Rating:
Summary: Extremely Amazing! It is the King of Anime!
Review: This was the single best buy I ever made (even better then the katana and zatoichi!). That buy was Neon Genesis Evangelion Box Set. I'm not writing a review on that yet becuase I'm not done the series. This anime has all the right parts: stunning action (with just the right amount of reality aka blood), awesome character development (mainly later in the series), and a guy who has to deal with girls who he doesn't understand! Shinji, a 14-year-old, has recieved a message to meet his father. It comes in the form of a picture of Misato, a mid to late 20s woman, in which her cleavage is exposed with a little note saying in subtitles: Take a look at these! or something similar. But...while trying to find Misato, a State of Emergency is declared due to an Angel attack! Plucked up by Misato in her car, he's wisked off to NERV Headquarters where he's to pilot an Evangelion. We see a few flashes of Shinji as a child while he refuses to pilot the Eva implying (and justified later in the series) that Shinji either ran away or was abandoned. He defeats the Angel (the alien who was attacking and caused the State of Emergency) but was injured during the battle. To round it off: A great anime that gets better as it continues! If you read one of those reviews that says that it is just a stupid, cliche anime that has a whinny hero, don't listen to them! Those reviewers don't seem to (or at least I get the impression)like anime with either plots with mysterious gaps that are LATER FILLED IN THROUGHOUT THE SERIES. As for the whinny part, if you were a kid who was abandoned as a child, had no mother, and came back to the man who you hate most only to fight a giant alien that doesn't blow up when an atom-bomb like exposive (the N2 Mine) hits it, I'd like to see you not whine!
Rating:
Summary: "God's in his Heaven, all is right with the world."
Review: This is the first disc of the Anime series Evangelion. It is slow at times, but that's what you expect considering this is the beginning. The story is as follows: young Shinji Ikari recieves a letter from his father saying he needs him, but Shinji doesn't know what for. Mysterious creatures known as Angels are attacking Tokyo 3 and when the UN forces can't do it they call on the mysterious organization NERV, who sends a robot called an Evangelion, which can only be piloted by a 14-year old child, (this will probably be explained in later episodes) which is the reason Shinji's father sent for him. Shinji is the only one can do it since their only other pilot, the mysterious Rei Ayanami, was severly injured from a previous battle. Shinji is reluctant at first but he ends up doing it anyway. I'm not gonna reveal anymore, except that it was fairly entertaining and I can't wait to get volume 2. The DVD is okay. Not many Special Features besides Trailers, character Bios and the Japanese language track.
Rating:
Summary: Anno's Masterpiece joins the DVD Age
Review: Ah, Evangelion. As almost every other anime fan out there, I saw this series years ago and instantly fell in love with it. So I was obviously looking forward to the (oft delayed) DVD release. So how does it rate? Pretty well. ADV has taken many steps to "localize" the show even further than it already had. Notes and papers that flash up on the screen have been translated completely from their Japanese into English. The "giant kanji title bars" of the VHS version have been scrapped in favor of subtle appearing text. While I appreciate the effort, I'm not sure why Gainax authorized this, and I could do without it. The english voices are decent. Being the only anime-fan who's watched the entire series dub, I can assure any fans that the acting only improves as the series progresses. The video quality isn't bad, despite what I've been hearing. I actually remember feeling that the VHS quality was substandard in the original recording, with off-center title bars and the like. That quickly became part of Eva's charm, and I'm glad that it's been retained, really. It isn't bad, it just hasn't changed. I did spot a few DVD transfer errors in this disc--choppy frames or skipping flashy parts. Hopefully ADV's DVD editor will pay a bit more attention in subsequent releases. Evangelion is a masterpiece, and should be experienced by everyone, anime fan or not. Its broad, sweeping scope and tragically real characters elevate the series to a plateau of excellence. I'm glad I have an excuse to watch it all again (and again...in four languages!) So if you've never had the pleasure of seeing Eva before...why haven't you already bought the disc? Do it now! If you've already gone through it all...I would recommend giving serious consideration to the DVD release--afterall, it'll last forever! Just..keep the VHS version around to introduce newbies to the full impact.
Rating:
Summary: A very good anime
Review: This is a very good anime.It starts off in the year 2015, 15
years after a meteor struck the Earth killing half the population.Then mysterious beings start attacking the planet.
It is up to 3 teens to pilot the Evangelions, huge human like
machines devoleped by a secret orginanization called NERV to
destroy the alien Angels.The main character is Shinji Ikari one
of the chosen few who gets to pilot an Eva.He has some major issues though one being his father is so involved in his work being the head of NERV.The other "chosen one" is a puurrrddy
girl named Rei.You will learn about the other one in the next
DVD.This is the first installment in the series and I would recommend it to anyone.
Rating:
Summary: A strong intro to the all time greatest anime out there
Review: This is the first disc in the 8 disc collection of Neon Genesis Evangelion. In it, alot of important characters are introduced, and in a good way. For instance, you can tell from the first episode that our lead character is a very insecure child. Also, we have (trumpet fanfare please) the legendary Megumi. I actually own the full 8 disc box set, and must say that this was a strong beginning. A strong reccomendation to anime fans.
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