Anime Neon Genesis Evangelion

[Botar]

Yeah! EVA time! Also, there's a 2.0 of Neon coming out? When? This seems interesting, or is it going to just be a revamp of the original stuff, with just better animation and the kit-kats and the what not?

[James]

[font="Palatino Linotype"]Time to [i]rebuild[/i] this topic, no? (Okay, okay...sorry about the lameness...)

I want to get this topic going again for a couple of reasons. First, I only recently purchased Evangelion 1.11 - I watched it on the weekend and all those great memories flooded back to me.

I haven't watched Evangelion in years; not since buying Death & Rebirth when it came out. So after such a long time, I'd almost forgotten much of what I loved about the series in the first place.

Partly because I haven't seen the series in ages, Evangelion 1.11 was like a breath of fresh air. It was difficult for me to make much of a comparison with the first six episodes of the original series, but in a way that was a good thing - I wasn't focusing my time on picking apart the differences, but rather, I could just enjoy the film (although I must admit, I much prefer the crazily revamped Ramiel in 1.11).

After watching the movie, I decided to go back and watch the original series for a second time. And man, am I loving it. It's still as fresh today as it was more than a decade ago. And it's still probably the only anime series (or one of very few) that I am [i]really[/i] into on almost all levels.

Also, Evangelion 2.22 won't be available (at least in Australia) until about March 2011. So I have a few months to wait, which means I can re-acquaint myself with the series in the meantime.

So...first, is there anyone else here still watching the series? And what about the rebuilds? Anyone planning to grab 2.22?

(By the way...the poll on this topic is missing an obvious option: Shinji & Kaworu - what happened there? ).[/font]

[The Tentacle]

I'm still into the series but none of the spinoff stuff.  Angelic Days and the Shinji Ikari Raising Project don't really appeal to me.  Sadly the manga adaptation of the original series is still ongoing after so many years.  I'm up to volume 12 with updates trickling in at a rate of about 1 per year.

I'm pretty stoked about 2.0 or .22 or whatever the first version to be released is.  Really digging this remake.

I do admit that I'm a little hazy on certain details.  What exactly does "Rebuild" entail?  I've seen the artwork for the new plug suits and a lot of pics of a female pilot with ponytail and glasses but I've never really bothered to look into the issue.  Can anyone clue me in?

[Sangome]

[color="#9932CC"][font="Microsoft Sans Serif"]My understanding is that the Rebuild movies are a retelling/alternate universe to parallel the original series. Still has the high octane nightmare fuel, but considerably less angst, and people with good heads on their shoulders, more or less. I've still yet to see the movies so far, myself, but I'd like to.[/font][/color]

[James]

[font="Palatino Linotype"]Yeah, Sangome is right about the rebuild films. They are essentially a re-telling of the original series. The key difference is, of course, completely re-drawn animation (with subtle 3D effects added - again, note Ramiel, who is incredibly awesome in 1.11).

However, there are also plot changes. From what I've read, the biggest changes are still forthcoming (particularly in 2.22 onwards). In the first film, I didn't notice any really huge plot changes. Mostly a few things are just rearranged.

Apparently there are some fairly large changes with major characters like Asuka and Kaworu. The former has had a bit of a personality transplant and the latter supposedly has some major changes to the frequency of his appearances from 2.22 onwards (although he does appear at the end of 1.11... and my understanding is that this appearance doesn't happen in the series - but I don't remember, honestly).

One key difference as well is that there are some big changes with the Angels; not just how they appear or the nature of their battles, but also the fact that several [i]don't[/i] appear at all in the rebuild. I think (just going from memory), Angels six through twelve don't appear at all in the rebuild. So it's fair to say that, in making a "film of the series", they have had to leave a great deal of detail out (as would happen with a novel to film adaption).

As far as angst goes, I can say that it's very much the same in Evangelion 1.11, at least as far as Shinji is concerned. Not sure how that will play out going forward though.

Edit: There, I've added a much-needed poll option. [/font]

[Shinmaru]

I'm loving the Rebuild flicks so far. Definitely need to buy the first; I'll probably snap it up once 2.0 comes out in the States. The movies have me eager to rewatch the series, too -- I actually bought the series for the first time a month back specifically for that purpose, although I'm not sure when I'll get to that. It's been years since I watched the show, though, so I'm sure a lot of it will be fresh to me too. Hell, I'll probably rewatch End of Evangelion as well. I saw it only once and barely remember anything aside from all the freaky imagery and Shinji pulling a Bill Clinton on Asuka.

From what I recall, 1.0 is mainly cosmetic changes, aside from the very end. It looks great though. 2.0 is almost all different. There are basic scenarios that remain, but the characters are switched around, and of course the development of the primary characters is different too. Mari also throws a wrench into things, although she is still fairly mysterious by the end of the movie.

As far as I can remember, Kaworu doesn't appear until near the end of the TV series ... there aren't even hints of his appearance before he arrives like there are in the Rebuild movies.

[James]

[font="Palatino Linotype"]Yeah, although 1.11 is pretty much cosmetic change (or mostly cosmetic change), it's still really fun to watch - especially if you haven't seen the series in a while. As I mentioned earlier, the "remake" of Ramiel is absolutely insane; I honestly think the movie is worth watching almost entirely for that, haha. But literally everything is dripping with quality, as far as visuals go. And the 3D integration and compositing is very neatly done and seamless.

Although my memory of the series is sketchy, it's no wonder I got confused seeing Kaworu at the very end of 1.11. o_O

Anyway, I did begin watching the series again...via web streaming. After a couple of episodes I felt guilty, so I've ordered the entire box set. Also, the streams are just never as good. [/font]

[Pleiades Rising]

I was interested to see how the Rebuilds were, and 2.0 didn't disappoint me. The most obvious thing that people mention when first watching it is how gorgeous the art looks. When they introduce Asuka in Unit 02, my jaw just dropped at the sheer spectacle of it! I can't think of too many anime that seamlessly blend GCI mecha with 2D cel-style character art. They got it right, so I give the rebuilds top marks in the art department.

As far as the story goes, it's familiar enough. They speed-up some events that were in the original series, and add new stuff as well. Concerning the new elements, viz. character, I'm interested in seeing how will Mari fit into the storyline, especially since I'm not entirely sure what direction Asuka's character is headed. But what I really want to see is [spoiler]how they're going to handle the 3rd Impact, as it started at the end of 2.0.[/spoiler] Will it be like Greek tragedy with robots on hallucinogens? I'm not sure if they can match the scope achieved in End of Eva, but it'll be interesting to see how it'll unfold.

Lastly, I'm gonna watch the director's cuts of the last 3 episodes from the series, since I've not seen 'em yet.

[JamesMay]

NGE is most definetly one of the best anime of all time... the series + end of eva is amazing... but the flow and high production quality of the rebuild movies is simply outstanding... the sound design alone in the rebuild movies makes them superior. im an audio engineer so the sound of an anime plays a big role in whether i like it.

[Shinmaru]

I started my rewatch of [b]Evangelion[/b] recently. Nothing much to report since I'm only through the first three episodes and I've seen those (and iterations of them) a crapload of times, but this [i]is[/i] the first time I am seeing the TV series in DVD quality, and, uh, it really makes the animation shortcuts Gainax took more prominent!

[James]

[quote name='Shinmaru' date='17 December 2010 - 02:52 AM' timestamp='1292518337' post='702819']
I started my rewatch of [b]Evangelion[/b] recently. Nothing much to report since I'm only through the first three episodes and I've seen those (and iterations of them) a crapload of times, but this [i]is[/i] the first time I am seeing the TV series in DVD quality, and, uh, it really makes the animation shortcuts Gainax took more prominent!
[/quote]

[font=palatino linotype]Haha, very true. Re-watching the series also further demonstrates just how far the Rebuilds go in terms of animation improvements (again, Ramiel...wow).

Funnily enough, I've been watching the series subbed. I normally don't mind dubbing (and I watched the dubbed version of 1.11 with no issues)...but somehow the dubbing on the Evangelion series is highly irritating. :\[/font]

[Pleiades Rising]

Shin', which version of the series do you have? Have you got the cleaned up version or the one with the infamous Eva-jiggle? I've got the latter DVDs, and yeah, the "quality" really shows on them. Still, my elitist, purist, anime-jerk tendencies wouldn't have it any other way, haha.

As far as the dubbing goes, the only thing that my ears really pick up on is when they kind of mangle some names, like Ritsuko's. Other than that, I don't mind the dubbed versions, as I've watched those ones more than the original Japanese.

[Shinmaru]

I have the Holiday Edition set, which is basically a repackaging of the platinum DVDs. They have little bits added to each episode, I think; I [i]did[/i] notice a few differences in the episodes I watched, though they weren't huge differences.

[The Tentacle]

What kind of additions are we talking about here?  Changes to the original versions or just additional footage (as in a "directors cut")?  Also, I've never heard of this holiday edition.  Where'd you find it?

Also, on one of my sojourns to the local bookstore I found yet another spinoff manga featuring the NGE cast.  I find it disturbing that there are so many of these coming out so frequently and yet the original manga is still ongoing after so many years.  You'd think they could belt out one or two more of those and just be done with it instead of producing a half-dozen assorted spinoffs, alternate reality, dating sim, etc. mangas while the original that spawned them all languishes on the back-burner.

[Shinmaru]

[quote name='The Tentacle' date='17 December 2010 - 08:50 AM' timestamp='1292604634' post='702864']
What kind of additions are we talking about here?  Changes to the original versions or just additional footage (as in a "directors cut")?  Also, I've never heard of this holiday edition.  Where'd you find it?
[/quote]

Just bits of additional footage. I think one of the added short scenes was Sachiel swimming underwater. Just little things like that, nothing major that changes the overall story or anything. There are three directors cut episodes in the set, but I haven't watched those yet, so I don't know how different they are from the actual episodes.

The holiday edition set is basically ADV pulling a Gainax and cashing in on the show as much as possible. It's available on Right Stuf for fairly cheap -- $34.99, as opposed to the thinkpak edition of the Platinum set, which is almost twice that.

[James]

[font=palatino linotype]I'm almost finished re-watching the original series (I think I'm now less than ten episodes from the end).

The Tentacle, you mentioned the manga... so I have to ask, is it worth getting?

Originally I wondered if the manga was simply a re-telling or a parallel of the series (or maybe I should say, is the series a re-telling of the manga). I ask because if I start at volume 1 and I end up just reading the same plot...then maybe it's not worth buying.

So I guess my first question is, in what time period does the manga take place, relative to the TV series? And yeah, does anyone recommend it?[/font]

[JamesMay]

btw... lol @ the last option on the poll

[James]

[quote name='JamesMay' timestamp='1293073295' post='703154']
btw... lol @ the last option on the poll
[/quote]

[font=palatino linotype]Haha, I found it a bit odd that it wasn't there originally, considering it's probably one of the most obvious relationships in the series. :P

As I'm re-watching the series, I got up to episode 20 last night (I think it's 20...where Shinji "merges" with the LCL and is then re-born - talk about laying it on thick!)

I'm now being reminded how crazy the series gets as it nears the end. Haha.

I also noticed a local supplier who is selling new copies of the manga, so I'm very keen to know if it's actually worth getting. I suppose I could buy one issue and see how I go...but meh, I've done so much Christmas shopping lately that I probably shouldn't add to the bill even further. :P[/font]