Neon Genesis Evangelion (新世紀エヴァンゲリオン, Shin Seiki Evangerion) is a 1995 original television anime series by director and writer Hideaki Anno, character designer Yoshiyuki Sadamoto and music composer Shiro Sagisu. Produced by studio GAINAX, the series was first broadcast in Japan on October 1995 as part of the Autumn season.
Background:
“In 2015, Tokyo-3 is under attack from “Angels,” extraordinary beings that possess various special abilities. Multipurpose Humanoid Decisive Weapon, Evangelion is the only method to counter these Angels, and Shinji Ikari is chosen as its pilot. The battle for the fate of humankind has begun. Exactly what are the Angels? What is destined for the young pilots? And what will become of humanity?”
Plot Synopsis via Anime Limited, December 2021.
Getting straight to the point – Neon Genesis Evangelion is finally back in print! I remember how there was a legal issue between Studio Khara & Hideaki Anno versus GAINAX over the IP, followed by Anno’s main focus on the Rebuild of Evangelion film series that have been factors as to why the series hasn’t been relicensed since. Many were convinced it would be a long while before the series would come back in whatever shape or form, but eventually Netflix managed to spend millions acquiring the streaming exclusivity rights for the series as well as its two theatrical films.
I first watched Neon Genesis Evangelion in 2012 and it was a series that I had wanted to check out due to its reception and sci-fi concept. While I didn’t exactly watch the series via legit means, it was still a series that kept me interested in the franchise even after finishing it. Eventually I picked up the manga version of the story and also enjoyed it, as well as watching the Rebuild of Evangelion films that were available at the time to basically consume more of the franchise. To this day, especially with the recent release of Evangelion: 3.0+1.01 Thrice Upon a Time, Evangelion as a whole remains to be one of my favourite anime of all time.
As many would know by now, the Evangelion franchise was directed by Hideaki Anno, who also directed Gunbuster and Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water before the 2000s as well as a few live-action properties like Cutie Honey in 2004 and the recent ‘Shin’ films with Shin Godzilla in 2016 and the upcoming Shin Kamen Rider currently scheduled for 2023 (he’s also working on Shin Ultraman due for 2022 but not as director). I’ve not watched every single one of his works but of the ones that I have seen (Gunbuster vs Diebuster, Evangelion, Shin Godzilla), his direction is pretty interesting and I am very excited to see his Shin film projects that are in the works.
Licensing is complicated and everyone knows that already. Neon Genesis Evangelion was first distributed by ADV Films during the late 90s to early 00s and was released on VHS and DVD in the UK, Ireland, US & Canada territories. The series also had director’s cut versions for select episodes which were also released in English and eventually the series as a whole was then ‘remastered’ on DVD as a Platinum Edition. The Platinum Edition is probably the version that many had picked up before it went out of print.
In addition to the TV series, there were two theatrical films released in Japan soon after the TV series. The first was Evangelion: Death and Rebirth which was intended to replace the final two episodes of the TV series while also recapping the events of the story, though budget issues resulted in the ‘Rebirth’ portion being incomplete. There have been revisions over time with Evangelion: Death (True)² being the version many had probably seen the most.
This then led to a second film called The End of Evangelion that basically continues where Rebirth left off and offers a new ending to the series. Both of these films were first distributed by Manga Entertainment on DVD in the UK, Ireland, US & Canada territories.
Then eventually both the TV series and the films went out of print, and had remained unavailable for years. That is, until Netflix picked up the streaming rights in November 2018 for a June 2019 release while Anime Limited acquired the home video rights for the UK & Ireland in May 2020 for a December 2021 release. GKIDS and Madman eventually followed suit for the US & Canada and Australia & New Zealand territories not long after.
Ultimate Edition Contents:
Now this is where things get interesting. Anime Limited announced plans for an Ultimate Edition the day they announced the license, and what we got is another big box full of artwork and debatable design choices. They are no stranger to large box sets as seen with Fullmetal Alchemist 2003‘s Gate of Resin which is heavy enough to kill a person, or Cowboy Bebop offering a Vinyl case. The ideas are very good, but it’s very hit or miss depending on the execution. For Neon Genesis Evangelion, we have the unexpected approach of having artwork and size based on the Japanese Laserdisc releases.
The packaging includes a large rigid-board shoulder box that houses a whole bunch of artwork never used in the UK & Ireland releases before. Inside the box are two fold-out disc carriers for the Blu-ray discs, a hardcover 156-page book with promotional artwork, information about the Angels and episodes and more, 11 double-sided 12×12” art boards also using Laserdisc artwork, and a few more physical items like a resin paperweight model of the show’s 3rd Angel Sachiel, and double-sided guest ID Card that has the NERV logo alongside a 450mm lanyard adorned with the Magi System’s “EMERGENCY” indicators.
The artwork is free of any information or BBFC content and there’s no info sheet this time around. In terms of size, the height is 15”, the width is 14.3” and the depth is 4.3”. It’s basically just a bit taller than Anime Limited’s ultimate edition release of Perfect Blue.
Originally was supposed to have 1500 units, the set sold out in 12 hours so it was extended to 2500 units for an SRP of £299.99 which was available to order at £199.99 (or £180 if you have an Anime (Un)Limited membership like myself). A week later they eventually announced a collector’s edition Zavvi exclusive set for £124.99 and a standard edition Blu-ray for £69.99. All three versions were available on the same day.
Due to various circumstances, only the first 1000 units of the Ultimate Edition were shipped out before the Christmas holidays while the rest will be available in January 2022.
Physical Contents:
- Rigid-Board Shoulder Box with Fold-Out Disc Carrier packaging and clean artwork
- Info sheet for specification and BBFC description
- Hardcover 156-page Book
- 11 double-sided 12×12” Art Boards
- Resin paperweight model for 3rd Angel Sachiel
- Double-sided guest ID NERV Card with 450mm Lanyard
On-Disc Contents:
Distributor: Anime Limited
Released: 13th December 2021
This is another area that’s going to be pretty messy to explain. The ultimate edition Blu-ray release for Neon Genesis Evangelion comes with 11 Blu-ray discs, authored and encoded by MediaOCD, and there’s a reason why there’s a lot of discs involved.
The English Dubs
Let’s start with the English dubs. Basically both the collector’s edition and ultimate edition include two English dubs for Neon Genesis Evangelion, and two English dubs for the theatrical films Evangelion: Death (True)² and The End of Evangelion. Many will be more familiar with the original dubs produced by ADV Films for the series and Manga Entertainment for the films.
But when the series and films were made available on Netflix, a new English dub was produced by VSI Group with Khara’s supervision. This meant a whole new cast and a mixed reception, some preferring the new cast while others still refer the original dub cast. I watched the original series and films subtitled so I had no attachment to the dubs, but I do think its important to preserve both regardless.
Considering Netflix dubs have gotten harder to acquire and Khara not liking the original dub, having both is honestly pretty lucky for anime fans altogether. However, the standard edition Blu-ray only will not include the ADV & Manga Ent. English dubs so that’s not going to please everybody.
Also worth noting is that the discs that include the original dubs also include Japanese audio with English subtitles, and those subtitles are based on the ADV translation (for the TV series) and Manga Entertainment translations (for the two films). The discs that include the Netflix dub use the Netflix translation for the Japanese audio.
The End of Evangelion Home Video Format Version
In addition to the original English dubs being exclusive to both the ultimate edition and collector’s edition releases, there’s also The End of Evangelion Home Video Format Version. For those who don’t know what this version is about – it’s basically almost the same as the theatrical film but differs in presentation. Rather than one 90 minute film, it’s two 45 minute episodes (essentially the Episode 25′ and 26′ content split up with different credit sequences) as if they just came straight after the TV series. EvaGeeks has a pretty good rundown on the differences. It’s subtitled only and will not be included with the standard edition. Therefore the standard edition Blu-ray will only have 5 Blu-ray discs.
Fly Me to the Moon
Then we have the music licensing issue with Fly Me to the Moon, the iconic ending song for the TV series. Saying that the song isn’t included in this release is technically not true. The instrumental version of the song was used as an insert for one scene in the anime (Episode 15 where Misato & Kaji are together walking home) and for the ADV dub it is still there probably due to the challenges of editing older masters perhaps. But in general, the Fly Me to the Moon song used for the ending credit sequence has been replaced by Rei’s theme.
Bonus Features
On the plus side, we literally have every single bonus feature from the Japanese Blu-ray Disc Box in this set. Well except for a few things – the original versions of the select final few episodes are not included (the director’s cut is used instead), so the ADV English dub for those ones are now lost (because the director’s cut will be used instead), and the original Evangelion: Death & Rebirth is not included as we have the newest version instead. Revival of Evangelion, which combines Evangelion: Death and The End of Evangelion together into one big film is also not included.
The disc breakdown for this release is like this:
| Disc | Type |
|---|---|
| Discs 1-4 | Neon Genesis Evangelion – Netflix dub & translation |
| Disc 5 | Evangelion: Death (True)² and The End of Evangelion – Netflix dub & translation |
| Disc 6 | The End of Evangelion Home Video Format Version |
| Discs 7-10 | Neon Genesis Evangelion – ADV dub & translation |
| Disc 11 | Evangelion: Death (True)² and The End of Evangelion – Manga Ent. dub & translation |
The discs are compatible with Blu-ray players set to Regions A & B, the white subtitles (Blue for lyrics) are unlockable during playback and also include an SDH option.
Blu-ray Specs:
| Languages | English, Japanese |
| Audio | Neon Genesis Evangelion: English (VSI Group/Netflix ver.) DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 English (VSI Group/Netflix ver.) DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Japanese DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 Japanese DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Evangelion: Death (True)² & The End of Evangelion: English (VSI Group/Netflix ver.) DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 English (VSI Group/Netflix ver.) DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Japanese DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 Japanese DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 The End of Evangelion Home Video Format Version: Japanese Linear PCM 2.0 Neon Genesis Evangelion (Classic Dub & Translation): English (ADV Films ver.) DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 Japanese DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 Evangelion: Death (True)² & The End of Evangelion (Classic Dub & Translation): English (Manga Ent ver.) DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 Japanese DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 |
| Video | Neon Genesis Evangelion: 1080p High Definition Native format 1.33:1 aspect ratio Evangelion: Death (True)², The End of Evangelion & The End of Evangelion Home Video Format Version: 1080p High Definition Native format 1.78:1 aspect ratio |
| Region | A B |
| Subtitles | Neon Genesis Evangelion, Evangelion: Death (True)² & The End of Evangelion: English, English SDH The End of Evangelion Home Video Format Version: English Neon Genesis Evangelion, Evangelion: Death (True)² & The End of Evangelion (Classic Dub & Translations): English |
| Locked Subtitles | No |
| Discs | 11 (10 BD-50s, 1 BD-25) |
Blu-ray On-Disc Extra Features:
Disc 3: Neon Genesis Evangelion
- Title-free Opening “The Cruel Angel’s Thesis”
- 30 Second Next Episode Previews
- TV Commercials (Japanese VHS Release)
- TV Commercials (Original soundtracks)
- TV Commercials (Sega Saturn game)
- TV Commercials (Magazines)
- TV Premiere Promos
- Japanese Voice Auditions
- Genesis 0:0 IN THE BEGINNING
- Image Board Collection
- Japanese Blu-ray Box Commercial
- Music Video: The Cruel Angel’s Thesis
Disc 4: Neon Genesis Evangelion
- Animatic Collection:
- Episode 9
- Episode 15
- Episode 18
- Episode 19
- Episode 20
- Episode 21
- Episode 22
- Episode 23
- Episode 24
- Episode 25
- Finale (Episode 26)
Disc 5: Evangelion: Death (True)² & The End of Evangelion
- Genesis 0:0′ The Light From the Darkness
- The End of Evangelion Extras:
- Deleted Live Action Scene
- Making of Live Action Scene
- Theatrical Teaser
- Theatrical Trailer
- TV Spots
- Final Scene Alternate Take
- Full Song – Musunde Hirate
- Episode:25′ Love is destructive. (Partial Animatic)
- Music Videos (each have the option to be Music only or with SFX):
- Soul’s Refrain
- THANATOS – IF I CAN’T BE YOURS
- ARMAGEDDON
- Memories of Heaven
Disc 6: The End of Evangelion Home Video Format Version
- The End of Evangelion Home Video Format Version
Unboxing Photos:
Disc Carriers
Art Boards
Book
Misc.
Final Notes:
The ultimate edition release is exclusive to the AllTheAnime retail store and is pretty much out of print at this point, though if you’re lucky the listing is still up for the meantime.
The collector’s edition release, which shares the same discs as the ultimate edition, is exclusive to Zavvi and can still be ordered for now.
The standard edition release is widely available across multiple retailers including Amazon.
(Disclaimer: Amazon links are also included when available. They are affiliated so if you decide to order them, I’ll earn a small percentage if they ship which will help me with any hauls or small bills.)
The Normanic Vault 
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