Rating: 
Summary: Not quite what it seems
Review: Ok, here we go. Death and Rebirth is slightly pointless. I would only reccomend buying it before viewing it if you're a hardcore EVA fan. The first hour or so sums up the series in its entirety. The last 30 minutes is the first 30 minutes of The End of Evangelion. So, unless you don't want to take the time, watch the series instead of Death. It does a good job of filling in viewers who are clueless of the events of the Evangelion series. Another thing that bothers me is the voice-acting. I think they rerecorded some of the old stuff and it sounds like there are new actors, which I don't like. (They say "Eh-VA" instead of "Ay-VA"; not a big deal but it bothers me.) Whatever, you may not care and even I was able to get past it. What makes this DVD great, though, is the omega side of the disc (the second side of a two-sided disc). It has the best features of any anime DVD that I have ever seen. It has files from the MAGI computers, chara profiles, previews and trailers, a photo gallery, and a really cool feature that lets you access the information, files and profiles while it's relevant in the film...as you're watching! I thought that was cool. It also has a fun audio commentary track featuring the voice director for the English version (who also does Rei's voice), one of the producers of the American version, and some guy labeled as an anime fan. Not the most significant commentary, but fun nonetheless. It's like hanging out with some friends, watching a movie. So for a big-time EVA fan, the DVD will be for saying that you have the whole EVA saga, and for having an EVA compendium at your fingertips. I don't like that the movie is pointless, but the extras rock. Buy it for them, and forget the movie.
Rating: 
Summary: A rip-off... plain and simple.
Review: OK, before I start, let me just say that I thoroughly enjoyed Evangelion. I fell in love with its mech action and dramatic character development.But I have to draw the line somewhere. This DVD was a waste of time. It simply consisted of a lame recap of the original series with the first half of EoE tacked on the end. In other words, it serves no purpose. If you have the complete series and EoE (the "real" ending), then you might as well set flame to $30 if you plan on purchasing this little farce. And that's why I disliked D&R so much; I loved the Eva series. In fact, I even liked the original ending! But this DVD was a huge dissapointment. It's an obvious insult to the fans... just more filler for the sake of profit. However, it does have a few redeeming features. If you're one of those anime elitist types that wants to know a little about Eva without buying the entire series, you will enjoy the story summation at the beginning of D&R. Also, to spite all of my gripes with the "movie," it's a must-have for all you Eva fanboys out there. But if you're just a casual anime-watcher, steer clear of D&R.
Rating: 
Summary: An odd little Symphony
Review: The Death and Rebirth is kind of an odd recommendation. The cover and the little that I knew about it was misleading. The first part of the DVD is Death or basically a recap of the show. It tells the basic events of what happens to each character through the first 24 episodes of the original series. The flashback clips are done up in a nice interesting way as each child tries out for an orchestra. As they play their instruments the memories come flooding. It's a fun interesting way to remember all the things that happened through out the series. But if you are buying this then you probably already have the first eight DVDs and probably don't need much of in the way of a refresher course. The second part or Rebirth is the new content for this disc. Rebirth however is the very beginning of the end of Evangelion, which is included in said End of Eva. Since you are going to have to get that one too to get the full ending a lot of people I know probably want to bypass this DVD altogether. The extras are nice a few designed to get newcomers up to speed with what happened earlier. And I liked the audio commentary, something for some reason lacking in a lot of Anime. Death And Rebirth is really only for two groups of people. Those who haven't seen the original episodes in awhile and needed a refresher course, and those who are Eva fanatics and snatch up pretty much everything they can find. I was kind of in both these groups so D and R worked well for me for what it was. Newbies to the series will find just way too much info to absorb in the short amount of time, and others will probably feel gypped for getting this and End of Eva.
Rating: 
Summary: This DVD sets a standard in what anime DVD's should be!
Review: One of the most popular Japanese animation's of all time, "Neon Genesis Evangelion" is given star treatment from Manga Entertainment who own the rights of the first half to the conclusion of the series. When I say star treatment, Manga Entertainment delivers because this is perhaps one of the most beautiful anime on DVD at this time. Not only is it packed with special features galore (which is surely lacking in anime DVD's), it also features a Mokuji Interactive feature for the seasoned Evangelion fans eager to know more about the series. Also, it features an awesome menu screen that makes you just want to kick back and just watch. Beautifully designed! Before I go on to the special features, a little background on this film. In 1997, Gainax released "Death & Rebirth" which are two films and the first half of the conclusion to "Neon Genesis Evangelion" (the second and final conclusion is the "The End of Evangelion" film). Originally, fans were not to happy with the final episodes of Evangelion and the truth is, how can a series like Eva be completed in a 30-minute episode. Thus, "Death & Rebirth" was first released. The first half of the film starts out with "Death"; an orchestrated retelling of episodes 1 through 24 which includes new animated sequences and insight into the personal worlds of the characters conceived by the series' director Hideki Anno. The second half of the film is "Rebirth"; where we see an alternate vision of episode 25 of the original series. In this version, SEELE (the secret international organization behind the development of both the Evangelion project and the Human Complementation Project) is concerned about how the projects' director, Ikari Gendo, is proceeding. Convinced that Gendo is implementing his own plans, they decide to wrest control of the projects, capture EVA Unit-01 and to undertake a full-scale invasion of Central Dogma and to literally destroy NERV using the nine-production model Evangelions. For followers of the television series, the films are a must and "Death & Rebirth" is a wonderful first half which many Evangelion fans will be proud of. But even more, Evangelion fans will be proud of the DVD. This DVD should set a high standard for anime DVD's with simply the most beautiful menu I have ever seen on an anime DVD and also packed with features which include, the English and Japanese trailers for the film, audio commentary by the English language director and voice actress of Rei Ayanami, Amanda Win Lee. An indepth index of characters, Angels, Evas and Terms, photo gallery, the End of Evangelion preview and much more. The DVD is featured in 5.1 Dolby Digital Surround Sound (English only) and is in letterbox format. The film sounds beautiful with its awesome soundtrack and action scenes. The Japanese stereo track is available as well as English subtitles for dialogue and on-screen text. As for those who worry that their favorite English dub actors may be different with this Manga Entertainment release, they shouldn't because all key roles in the English language version of "Death and Rebirth" are reprised by the voice-actors from the "Neon Genesis Evangelion" series. The true gem is the Mokuji Interactive Feature which allows the viewer to select from an on-screen, chapter specific index of Eva-related terms, character descriptions and other valuable information while viewing the film. This DVD in our mind is worthy of an A+ and should set a standard in showing the anime industry how anime DVD's should be. A beautiful film and a high quality DVD. Highly recommended! THE MOVIE: A+
THE DVD EXTRAS: A+
THE DVD OVERALL: A+
Rating:
Summary: Good, yet very odd
Review: This is the first of the two-part ending movies that are supposed to finish the complex and interesting Neon Genesis Evangelion Series. I must note before anything that this disk has TWO SIDES. If you find yourself on a side with a starting menu containing: End of Evangelion Preview, Death and Rebirth Trailers, and Magi Archives, you've found yourself into the Omega side of the disk. Unless you've watched the movie before and wish to activate the interactive extras special (you watch the movie and have options to select information when they appear), I suggest you turn over to Alpha Side. In the first hour of this movie (Death) we recap the entire series in a way I was impressed by. Yes, I did say: "Hey, why's this repeating the last 11-hours I've spent at my TV?" but this is a great way to refresh yourself on the series and I quite enjoyed it. After Death ends, a 4 and a half minute Intermission is activated with a neat timer (I can only imagine how it would look on the big screen), but after we hit 0:00, it's on to Rebirth We start out in the hospital where Shinji is visiting Asuka, currently schizophrenic and unconcious, and he desperately tries to wake her. Meanwhile, SEELE, the evil organization that rules over NERV, is angry at Commander Ikari's victory over Kaworu (yes, that's how they spelt/pronounced it in the movie), their 17th Angel/Fifth Child agent sent to initiate Third Impact and completely destroy humanity by means of the Human Instrumentality Project. So, they pull strings with the UN and JSSDF to launch a strike upon NERV HQ and Tokyo-3. This mission is very cold hearted (they kill unarmed personel, even women) and they only keep on advancing. Asuka is placed into Unit-02 and sent to the bottom of the lake for safety and Shinji is saved by Misato from termination by UN SpecOps. The movie ends with Asuka realizing her mother's spirit is protecting her from inside the EVA and is the protecting force of the AT Field. But her early destruction of the conventional UN/JSSDF forces is nothing when the NINE FULLY OPERATIONAL EVAS are dropped into the area to kill Unit-02 and Asuka as well as initiate Third Impact with Unit-01. Oh the tension rises, and my mother won't let me watch the End of Evangelion Movie becuase it's rated 17+! All in all: Watch this, watch End of Evangelion (don't tell me about it though), and you'll mostlikely understand the entire Evangelion Series (or at least you won't be as confused). I give it 4 stars because of disk problems and the very short length of Rebirth.
Rating: 
Summary: WHAT.?.?
Review: WHAT? I STOPPED AFTER 5 MINUTUES. I BOUGHT IT AND IT WAS LIKE WHAT THE HECK? IT WAS MY B~DAY PRESENT.. SADLY -_-; IT ANNOYED ME BADLY.
Rating:
Summary: What is going on?
Review: This was the first time i Ever saw Evangelion and i dindn't understand anything. The movie didn't make any sense and I stopped watching after half an hour of confusement
Rating:
Summary: An Evangelion compilation
Review: This movie is the first part of the 2-part End of Evangelion series. After watching the first half of the movie I was very pleased. As a note, anyone that is going to watch this movie should watch the entire series(1-26 episodes) beforehand, otherwise, following this movie would be most difficult. The first half of the movie sums up the evangelion series just like the last chapters of the series. It was followed by the first half of End of Evangelion. One could think that this movie is just a bond to tie together the end of the television series and End of Evangelion although I've read that End of Evangelion picks up right where the series left off. Nevertheless, this movie is an essential for all die-hard Evangelion fans. I really enjoyed it. Those who really disliked this movie only thought so because it was basically the same stuff they've already seen. It includes a bonus disc with tons of extra features. Definitelly worth the money.
Rating:
Summary: DO NOT BUY
Review: This disk has a summary of the series and one half of the actual
End of Evangelion movie. If you have watched the entire TV series DO NOT
BUY this DVD. End of Evangelion is the actual full length movie.
Rating:
Summary: Worth it for the features
Review: I was fairly sceptical about this when I recieved it as a present as I had already seen the series several times.
However, I was pleasantly surprised. "Death", the rehash part of the DVD was put together quite well. Focusing on the character development rather than the numerous battles, it gives a rounded view on each character along with extra scenes that explain some parts of the original series.
For those who haven't seen the original, this is a great teaser - the setup and atmosphere are great and pretty informative for the first time viewer. For diehard fans, it has its own surprise scenes and is a good refresher if you're in a rush or haven't seen it for a while.
I'm not sure if tacking bits of End of Evangelion on the end was such a good idea. Although its almost an advertisement for EoE (I'm guessing that was the idea, its a filler and makes you want to see EoE and spend more :P) its good to see how it starts and begins to develop and is more comprehensive than the original episodes 25 and 26. Basically though its simply a marketing gimmick designed to make you want to see EoE. Its still worth watching of course, but there's nothing special there.
The features, particularly the Mokuji interactive onscreen encyclopedia are great for a first timer. The character index gives a brief decription and history of the main characters. The commentary is insightful and sometimes funny.
This DVD is worth getting if you're new to the series or a big fan. It gives a bit of extra info with some pretty good features and a teaser for EoE. More of a rent than a buy though.
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