Rating: Summary: Prepare to see Evangelion again. Review: Let's face it: Hideaki Anno's masterpiece, Neon Genesis Evangelion was probably one of the most successful anime series of all time. However, this is the beggining of a better version of this series. The video and audio have had major improvements. There was some footage from the original cut that didn't make it the first time. And there are some rather informative commentaries done by the cast and crew of the English version.
Now, the series itself can be very intriguing, but weak in some areas. And the unexpected plot changes can leave you confused. Other than the fact that it's confusing, Neon Genesis is an excellent series, and should be watched by all anime fans, even if you already have the original version.
Rating: Summary: Like a double-edged sword... Review: After watching the remastered DVD, I must say that I am impressed with the picture and sound quality of the materials. And the additional materials are welcome, although it does not give much difference when compared with the earlier version of the release.
I do have some grudge against the release, though. The earlier English make-overs were pretty clean, and watching the platinum version, looking at the japanese letters where there were English letters before looks rather awkward (but that could be just me). Also, people who have watched the earlier versions will notice that the translations are different, which is to say that they have gotten somewhat worse. And don't even mention the English dubs. Those are horrible with a capital H.
I haven't decided whether I should collecting this series or to keep my perfect collection and end at that. But here is what I think of it:
If you're new- it's up to you, really. I suggest Perfect Collection, though, since they are much cheaper. But if you do collect the Platinum, it's okay too; you won't have the awkward moments over difference between two versions like I do.
If you prefer better quality overall- go platinum.
If you prefer better translation- go with the Perfect Collection.
If you are a fan- Get it. This thing has better quality overall.
Rating: Summary: Evangelion, confusing but great Review: Evangelion is one of the greatest animes ever made. It starts off with the main character Shinji who is selfconcious 14 year old. He enters NERV an organization who's sole purpose is to destroy the angels and stop 3rd impact from happening. Through out the series Shinji fights the Angels with the help from the Eva's and the other pilots Rei and Asuka. The ending to the series is what made it a 4 instead of 5. It is cheaply made, and confusing to understand what happens. I would recommend the movie "End of Evangelion" which is a much better ending. Anyways my thought is that Asuka and Shinji are like Adam and Eve. You may not catch this but i thought the whole time that Shinji and Asuka were exactely alike in a sense that they care to much about what others think of them.yeah anyways go buy the series you wont regret it...i didnt
Rating: Summary: Volume one to the greatest story ever told Review: Evangelion is without a doubt, my favorite animated series ever made. The story is beyond compare: it is the year 2015, in a post-apocalyptic setting. Creatures called Angels are attacking the city of Tokyo III, and the only way to combat them is with massive and mysterious robots called Evangelions, which can only be piloted by a 14-year old Child, born during the Second Impact. Confusing, right? Well throw in some incredibly deep philosophical ponderings, and religious ideologies, and you have a show that will drop your jaw with it's action-packed battles, stir you with it's intricate dramatic storyline, and ultimately change your life forever. Volume One has the first four Evangelion episodes, which basically introduce you to the story and the main characters: Shinji, Katsuragi, and Rei (unfortunatly, my favorite character, Asuka, isn't introduced until later episodes). The DVD features both the English version, and the Japanese subtitled version (as well as Spanish and French versions), and of course, enhanced picture and sound as well as some other goodies, making this the ultimate Eva. Now I can't wait for the others.
Rating: Summary: The Eva DVD is good, but it could be better. Review: Evangelion was the first anime series I ever saw and I loved it. I saw nth generation subs of the original Japanese verison, though, so the quality wasn't that great. The DVDs are nice, but there are a few technical difficulties. I have a PC-DVD player, so maybe it's just something weird with my software, but if you set subtitles to "On," and language to "Japanese," then go back to the main menu and launch an episode, it forgets you set the language to "Japanese." I haven't seen the VHS version, as one reviewer has, so I don't know if the quality of the video is as bad as he/she claims. One thing that avid fans may notice is the amount of English in the text that appears in the video. Having seen the subs, the only English that was in it was what was originally there, I think the video source for the DVDs comes from the English dub release with a lot of the actual text changed, but I could be wrong (I've never seen more than 5 seconds of the dub because I gagged at the English voice actors so I didn't really get to see any parts where the text may have been changed). You can also see where ADV put in their own shots of the episode names and it looks a little cheesy compared to the original flash of "Neon Genesis Evangelion Episode # Title" that GAINAX had originally. The subtitle font is in yellow, sometimes looks a little fuzzy and has a couple minor typographical errors ("7:5%" vs. "7.5%" for instance), but these may have existed in the original subtitled VHS tapes (they look different from the ones that I've seen). So, the conversion to DVD could have been better. If you are a stickler for DVD perfection and a die hard Evangelion fan, you may be somewhat disappointed, but I for one am satisfied. I'm just happy they're finally releasing the series on DVD; can't wait for the next volumes!
Rating: Summary: Eva rules! Review: From what I saw, the renewal video quality is much improved: (...)This is one of the most complex anime TV series. The series has more layers than you can shake a figurine at. It has definite rewatch value. I wish amazon had volume one with the box.
Rating: Summary: PREDICTABLE!? Review: how can tweedledum call evangelion predictable?! Evangelion is no where near predictable. Did he really predict where the main computer's "brain" came from? how about the end? If he even watched it he should still be confused by the ending/s. Evangelion is a great anime not only for it's mecha battles but also for how it forces you to think. Evangelion is a must watch anime in my eyes.
Rating: Summary: Neon Genesis Evangelion - Platinum Colletion 01 DVD Review: I bought this DVD with some skepticism as my previous experiences with ADV's release of the Evangelion series was less than stellar. The first editions featured edited animation and terrible mastering/picture quality. With this Platinum edition these mistakes have been corrected.
All Japanese text has been left intact and is now appended with English subtitles rather than outright deletion and replacement in the earlier editions. This in itself is something to celebrate for Eva purists.
The picture is superb. NGE has never looked this nice. Derived from the Eva-reissue in Japan about 2 years ago, the picture quality on these discs is excellent. Color and sharpness stand up to intense scrutiny on HDTV(Sony KV-32HS510).
The remastered audio, I only listened to the Japanese track, is a mixed bag. I really enjoy the sparse and spartan use of sound in Eva. Quite a few flourishes have been added to the new audio track found here. Then again I'm one of the few people I know who prefers the original eps 20-24 than what was remixed and released for LD in Japan.(recently released in the US by ADV as Director's Cut I believe?)
For Eva fans, I cannot endorse this edition of the series highly enough. The only downside is that it seems unlikely the US market will get the remastered versions of the three films because Manga owns the rights to those...By three films I mean:
<UL>
<LI> Evangelion Death : Evangelion Rebirth
<LI> The End of Evangelion: Air/My Pure Heart For You
<LI> Revival of Evangelion (which features Evangelion Death True 2 --note this is the version of Death released to the US market)
</UL>
Then again the Japanese box set that includes all that goes for between $600-1000 depending on your luck and has no subtitles.
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: Decent Start to the Series Review: I heard recently on National Public Radio that Neon Genesis Evangelion is "one of the most popular, and most controversial anime of all time." I have seen the first two volumes of Evangelion. So far it is not very controversial nor particularly riveting. The animation is so-so. The characters are not terribly likeable.
This DVD moves pretty slowly, although it has five episodes, a lot for one DVD. The story takes place in Japan after the Second Impact. The Second Impact was an event that wiped out most of Earth's population. Now the surviving population is trying to fight strange beings called "Angels," who want to destroy the rest of humanity. Depressing, right? Yes, it is.
The main character, Shinji, is recruited to pilot a huge Mecha called EVA 01. This creatures, for some reason yet unexplained, can only be piloted by fourteen year-olds. ????? Also depressing is the cruel and horrifying emotional treatment of Shinji by his father, the brilliant scientist behind NERV, the organization that created and maintains the EVAS. There are two EVAS we know about so far. One is piloted by Shinji, the other by a girl named Rei.
In this volume, Shinji is beat up by a boy at school, shunned by his father, and screamed at and verbally abused by his female NERV captain. I am sticking with the series for now, as it is becoming a little more intriguing in volume two.
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