Neon Genesis Evangelion

[G-Matt]

Good news for all of you who weren't able to pre-order the Ultimate Edition set; There's going to be both a Collector's Edition and a Standard Edition.

https://store.gkids.com/pages/neon-genesis-evangelion/

[Jetty_Jags]

That's a lot more palatable.

[Rando Yaguchi]

Cool, just bought the standard edition for $52 shipped. I wanted the art book and extra bonus features, but I didn't need the classic dubs or subs, so it just wasn't worth the extra $120 I would have had to spend.

[Voyager]

Well, the time has come and presented itself. Time to finish off Eva with a bang. Evangelion 3.0 + 1.0 Thrice Upon A Time, here I come.


Thoughts posted after the movie ends.

[Rando Yaguchi]

Well, the time has come and presented itself. Time to finish off Eva with a bang. Evangelion 3.0 + 1.0 Thrice Upon A Time, here I come.


Thoughts posted after the movie ends.

Looking forward to your thoughts. Good luck!

[Voyager]

Ok, I just watched it and…

Spoiler:

Easily tops 2.0 for me! I loved this so much, from start to finish! It was really wholesome at the beginning, with adult Kensuke, Toni and Hikari. Rei was really wholesome in this part, and I love it so much. In my eyes, this movie did a great job at sort of redeeming the cynical, cold Misato (and to a lesser extent, Ritsuko) that we got in the last film. They reconciled with Shinji, and all was well for me. Misato going back to her old look just before her death was a cool moment to be sure. Then we have the amazing ending . I absolutely love it. It greatly resolves all the characters. Gendo finally accepting Shinji and apologising, and realising he was wrong was amazing, and the fact that Shinji singlehandedly did that was also amazing. Kaworu and Kaji was cool, and so was Asuka and Kensuke. Rei’s conclusion was also good, telling Shinji she just wanted him to be happy. The train station scene at the end was good, and I loved how Shinji gets to live a normal life now without evas, and happily with Mari (a pairing I’m perfectly ok with). It was quite obvious that Rei and Kaworu (presumably normal people) were also at the station, but it took me a rewatch of that scene to also see adult Asuka on the other side of the station. Nice little detail, even if we didn’t get a closeup.

Just a little question for ya’ll but Asuka lying on the EoE beach looked suspiciously older. Was she meant to be older?


Overall I’m happy with this, and I’m happy if this is the end to all of NGE.

A fitting conclusion for the rebuilds and Eva at large. Honestly, one of my favourite movies of all time. No joke.


A lot happened in this movie so excuse me if I’m taking some of this wrongly

Added in 1 hour 48 minutes 1 second:
Listening to some Queen songs after going through NGE, EoE and the Rebuilds just hits different man.

It’s A Hard Life, an already beautiful song, just made me tear up a little after finishing Eva. I think of the song as a counterpart to Komm, Süsser Tod, of sorts.

[Jermobooka]

-snip-

Speaking of songs and Evangelion, you should definitely give this one a listen.

https://youtu.be/-8Z7_z0VTdQ

[Voyager]

-snip-

Speaking of songs and Evangelion, you should definitely give this one a listen.

https://youtu.be/-8Z7_z0VTdQ

I was surprised by how good this is when I watched it earlier. And of course, it has my name in the title!

[Jetty_Jags]

I am confused about one thing with the gkids release, what is the difference in the dubs and subs inclusions between packages?

[G-Matt]

I am confused about one thing with the gkids release, what is the difference in the dubs and subs inclusions between packages?

The standard edition is the only one that doesn't include the classic dubs.

[Jetty_Jags]

I am confused about one thing with the gkids release, what is the difference in the dubs and subs inclusions between packages?

The standard edition is the only one that doesn't include the classic dubs.

So they commissioned a new dub? Or is it the netflix dub? What about subs?

[omgitsgodzilla]

Standard release has the official Khara-approved dub and subs, i.e. more or less what was on Netflix. I think Kanemitsu might have revised the subtitles since the show first went up on there (specifically the "worthy of my grace" line), but I don't know if he's done more since then. Should be basically the same deal though.

Collector's and Ultimate releases have a whole extra set of discs featuring the ADV/Manga dubs and subs. Kind of a silly approach if you ask me -- you can use the same "official" discs between all editions, but the more lavish editions need nearly double the discs just for some extra audio and subtitle options. Putting all the audio/sub options on one set of discs for the Collector's/Ultimate editions and making a stripped-down set of discs for the standard release would be about the same amount of authoring work, but allow the fancier editions to have fewer discs and thus be more affordable.

[Rody]

I'm guessing Khara is being difficult about the classic versions, so doing separate discs for the Collector's and Ultimate Editions was probably the compromise. It still stinks, but at least GKIDS managed to get them at all, rather than Khara giving them a hard "no".

[Rando Yaguchi]

[Voyager]

Well, after maybe a month, I have completed the 111 (plus many extra stages) stage, 18 volume Shinji Ikari Raising Project.

Thoughts:

Spoiler:

Elephant in the room, first off, is that there is a lot of fanservice, and it is often very bizarre and absurd, but I don’t think it’s too bad. Anywho, I liked it. It was more comedic and light-hearted, which is something I needed after all the mindfuckery the series has done. Nothing really happens, with the basics being either a) Shinji & Co do some mundane activity either at school or outside school and stuff goes wrong, or b) Shinji, Rei and Asuka do some training inside the entry plug only for SEELE to interrupt and cause mayhem. It’s repetitive but I liked it.

Some character overviews:
Shinji: Clumsy and unintentionally perverted. Can’t decide between Rei and Asuka.
Rei: More expressive and open, but still shy. Loves Shinji.
Asuka: Her usual, brash self. Loves Shinji and hitting him.
Misato: She’s the “hot and cool” teacher, but gets drunk a lot. Useless.
Gendo: Really wants Shinji to love him, he’s a bit wacky.
Yui: Keeps Gendo in check. A somewhat normal parent.
Kyoko: Wants Asuka and Shinji to marry, and sleeps alot.
School Trio: Same as in other media.
Bridge Bunnies: I can only really remember Satsuki because she loves Shinji for whatever reason. Aoi and Kaede just don’t have a personality.
Mana: Obsessed with Shinji. Is sometimes perverted in how she thinks about Shinji.
Kaworu: Loves Shinji but disappears around stage 55-ish.
Ritsuko and Naoko: Works with SEELE (until they don’t).

Overall it’s fun, and it keeps you occupied for quite some time. My one gripe is too many fanservice moments but ignoring that it’s plenty fun. Nothing deep, just something for laughs. Who does Shinji choose in the end? It’s left ambiguous, but I like to think he chooses Rei, because I just felt they’ve had more of a connect, and I think even Asuka sees that, and she accepts him loving Rei in the final stages, but she still kinda wants him, so I could be wrong. Another thing is Kaworu really just getting sidelined for Mana, which I’m not too much of a fan of. Anyways, it was an overall good read, and a really good way to top me off on Eva for the time being.

Just a little ramble, and uhhh nothing too special. Just shared some thoughts.

[LegendZilla]

I have been doing a bit of thinking and I have come up with some critique for this show. Keep in mind this is my opinion. This show is little more than just a means to an end for Hideaki Anno to project himself wallowing in depression. It is specifically designed for audiences of a higher intellect, providing just enough opportunity for them to perform mental gymnastics to convince themselves it's more than just that. I have to admit it does a good job by presenting itself as a complex, psychological character study with mechs and monsters tossed in. Unfortunately I am one of those who can see through such a masquerade.

This is evident with the protagonist himself, Shinji Ikari. A true character in any story, deconstructive or not, goes through substantial growth and change with the passage of time, a little process that should be a golden rule of storytelling we all know as character development. From beginning to end, he does little more than just cry and mope over living in a less-then-ideal environment. It is not inherently bad to have a character who is typically depressed, but would have really helped if if Shinji displayed more interesting traits for every time he does. For example, perhaps he could be given an unusually high IQ for his age and while not really the combat-ready kind of person, he could use his wit to think outside the box and come up with creative ways defeat enemies. That would balance things out a lot better if you ask me. Another idea I have is that after spending so much time with Asuka, he becomes a lot more self-entitled and narcissistic under her influence. If you ask me, fitting well into the deconstructive mold this series aims for.

Unfortunately, what we are stuck with (at least in the 90's version) can't be called a character if you ask me. Shinji instead comes across as a sad, pitiful vessel forcing the viewer to feel sorry for the series' creator in the most pretentious way possible. You might as well produce whole movie or TV show focusing on a child crying their eyes out. At the end of the day, every story and its characters working properly all comes down to execution. At the time, Anno simply wasn't in the right state tell one.

[Voyager]

I have been doing a bit of thinking and I have come up with some critique for this show. Keep in mind this is my opinion. This show is little more than just a means to an end for Hideaki Anno to project himself wallowing in depression. It is specifically designed for audiences of a higher intellect, providing just enough opportunity for them to perform mental gymnastics to convince themselves it's more than just that. I have to admit it does a good job by presenting itself as a complex, psychological character study with mechs and monsters tossed in. Unfortunately I am one of those who can see through such a masquerade.

This is evident with the protagonist himself, Shinji Ikari. A true character in any story, deconstructive or not, goes through substantial growth and change with the passage of time, a little process that should be a golden rule of storytelling we all know as character development. From beginning to end, he does little more than just cry and mope over living in a less-then-ideal environment. It is not inherently bad to have a character who is typically depressed, but would have really helped if if Shinji displayed more interesting traits for every time he does. For example, perhaps he could be given an unusually high IQ for his age and while not really the combat-ready kind of person, he could use his wit to think outside the box and come up with creative ways defeat enemies. That would balance things out a lot better if you ask me. Another idea I have is that after spending so much time with Asuka, he becomes a lot more self-entitled and narcissistic under her influence. If you ask me, fitting well into the deconstructive mold this series aims for.

Unfortunately, what we are stuck with (at least in the 90's version) can't be called a character if you ask me. Shinji instead comes across as a sad, pitiful vessel forcing the viewer to feel sorry for the series' creator in the most pretentious way possible. If you ask me, you might as well produce whole movie or TV show focusing on a child crying their eyes out. At the end of the day, every story and its characters working properly all comes down to execution. At the time, Anno simply wasn't in the right state tell one.

Fair analysis. Although, the whole show was not meant to be like this. Keep in mind the show was written episode-to-episode, meaning how the show turned out was the fault of the deteriorating mindset of Hideaki Anno, especially in the last few episodes and End of Eva. I think it is a stretch to call the whole show an excuse for the creator to wallow in his own self pity and that it was the original goal of NGE from the start.

[Rando Yaguchi]

LegendZilla with a bad take? Get outta here.

To be fair, Eva is wildly uneven and at times, quite pretentious. There's a trend in modern media of bombarding the viewer with confusing and seemingly profound ideas, but in reality not even the creator knows what it all means, it's just a mess of half-baked nonsense. An illusion of depth. Eva falls victim to this in some key moments, particularly in episodes 25/26, EoE and Thrice Upon A Time. But then there are (many more) instances where the depth is genuine, where the symbolism is clever and the themes potent. It's a mixed bag, though I'd say the show and films alike are mostly successful in their intent.

As for Shinji, you're basing your entire critique on:
A) Anno projecting himself onto the character, which isn't evident within the work itself, and is only known to those familiar with the show's production - not only that, but Shinji is definitely not 1:1 with Anno, and it's pretty clear that Shinji's lack of initiative is a negative character trait. Every character on the show is grappling with some sort of mental illness and have different ways of coping, Shinji's way is but one.
Anno isn't glorifying or wallowing in depression here, he's simply exploring it, and doing a damn good job of it. I know what it's like to be paralyzed by depression, and Eva nails the nuances of such an experience.

B) The assumption that character development or a clear 'arc' is absolutely crucial to storytelling, but it isn't. Take another great series about depression: The Sopranos. Does Tony change throughout the course of six seasons? Not really. Is the show any less brilliant because of this? Hell no, in fact, it's completely appropriate for the character and for the show's psychological themes.

he does little more than just cry and mope over living in a less-then-ideal environment.

Lol what? A child fighting a war, with the fate of the world resting upon his shoulders, is a little worse than 'less than ideal'. It's a hellish situation by any metric.

Unfortunately I am one of those who can see through such a masquerade.

Umm...yeah. It's pretty hard to take your posts seriously when you say stuff like this.

[Voyager]

LegendZilla with a bad take? Get outta here.

Unfortunately I am one of those who can see through such a masquerade.

Umm...yeah. It's pretty hard to take your posts seriously when you say stuff like this.

I’m glad I wasn’t the only one who noticed this. That actually made me groan reading that. I just didn’t want to bring it up on the basis of ‘being mean’, as I’m sure someone would believe.

[goji89]

I like reading Legendzillas posts they amuse me to no end