Anime question

[andrewducker]

So, if I was going to watch all of Neon Genesis Evangelion, which set should I pick up?

Is it the Platinum Collection? The Platinum Perfect Collection? Something else?

I know that there have been various cuts, recuts, and suchlike - it looks like in addition to whichever box set I also need to pick up at least one movie - but it's not clear exactly what.

Any experts want to point me in the right direction?

Comments

[ajr.livejournal.com]

The two you've linked to appear to be the same collection in each case, the only difference being one is in a shiny box.

[andrewducker]

This is possible. I've bumped into references of different collections with very similar names, and am now just massively confused.

[ajr.livejournal.com]

I'm pretty certain I'm right about those two. But I can't say whether you should buy the Platinum Collection or if there's something better out there, as I watched NGE about ten years ago, and obviously what's available has changed since then! I'll see if I can't find something out, though.

[andrewducker]

Thanks!

[ajr.livejournal.com]

It turns out I've mislead you slightly, as I was unaware of one of ADV's weird quirks. In short, the Platinum Collection has no extras, while the Platinum Perfect Collection does have extras. This review at DVD Talk explains why, and tells you what the extras are, so you can decide if they're important to you or not.

[andrewducker]

Okay, I think I can live without the extras (although "the mythology of evangelion" sounds useful). I'll go for the cheaper one. Thanks!

[johnbobshaun.livejournal.com]

I think that the tin box is the same with a few more extras. You also need End of Evangelion, which is an alternative ending to replace the one they were forced to deliver when the cash ran out.

You might also want You Are (not) alone which is the shiny remake of the first few episodes.

[andrewducker]

Cheers!

[johnbobshaun.livejournal.com]

But yeah, the release situation is really, *really* confusing. If you get the Platinum edition you get footage reintergrated from the Death half of "Death & Rebirth", which is movie version of the bulk of the show. The Rebirth part is the same as the the start of End of Evangelion.

So with the Platinum Collection and End of Evangelion you get everything. Dunno whether you watch the original ending or End of Evangelion first: I've only watched the first 8 or 9 episodes so far.I've heard that fewer people dislike End of Evangelion than the actual end of the show.

But, yeah these guys could teach George Lucas a thing or two. Even You Are (Not) Alone (part 1 of Rebirth of Evangelion) is onto it's third rejigged version.

[andrewducker]

Yeah, they seem to be wanting to milk every yen they can out of it. And the director/writer seems to be obsessed about tiny details.

How come you stopped after 9 episodes? Not doing it for you?

Oh - and have you seen the TV series of Avatar: The Last Airbender? There was an episode in series two that I desperately wanted to show you when I watched it.

[johnbobshaun.livejournal.com]

No not at all: I really, really liked it. And the tiny details are what make it special. I'm not a huge anime fan but I think it's a facinating show, a strange balance between the usual anime stuff and huge amounts of exisential angst.

I just got bogged down with other stuff and never got back to it. One of the first Blu Rays I bought was You Are (Not) Alone which I thought was really good.

I've never seen Avatar, but might give it a shot...

[andrewducker]

I highly recommend it. It takes a few episodes to get going, and I actually found the first episode off-putting, but it does a B5, starting off episodic, and by season two you're basically into full-on plot arc all the time. It's three seasons, and was planned that way from the start, and it all hangs together fantastically well. Definitely the show I enjoyed most in the last couple of years.

[greybeta.livejournal.com]

I don't know about all the box sets, all I know is that you should not watch Episodes 25 and 26 of the original Evangelion series before you go to bed because you will not be able to sleep after that. I remember feelings of WTF, anger, confusion, meditation, oh man it was a whole gamut of emotions.

If there was one thing director Hideaki Anno was good at, it was playing at your emotions...

[chuma.livejournal.com]

I have the Perfect Collection if you just want to borrow it and watch through it? It is just the episodes 1-26, none of the extra film things. that I believe there have been since?

[andrewducker]

Aha! That would be awesome. Would you mind bringing it over on the 5th?

I found the AV cable, and controllers for the XBox by the way - so you can take those away with you at the same time.

[fenland.livejournal.com]

My friend Robin has the Platinum Perfect Collection which he said retailed at £100 pounds when he got it which he lent to me to watch.

The two different endings, he said, were as a result of people complaining to the director about the original ending, so he wrote the second one as bit of a F*** Y** to them, since he was tired of the complaints.

And Yes I would second the Do Not Watch Before Bed thing. (I didn't follow that adivce, by the way, and ended have the worst night sleep in a long time.)

[undeadbydawn.livejournal.com]

dammit. I avoided Evangelion for years. Now tempted again.

Have you seen Cowboy bebop or Samurai Champloo?
two of my favourite ever series. The latter is truly extraordinary