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| Title: Neon Genesis Evangelion Perfect Collection Run Time: 650 minutes List Price: $169.98 Company: ADV Films Rating: 12+ |
| 10-19-02 Neon Genesis is one of the most popular anime series around. It has an exceptionally large fan base of rabid followers always eager to debate their beloved show. This review, however, is for those (few) people left who actually haven't seen Evangelion yet. It's OK to admit it. Now, if you're even a bit into anime, you no doubt know that half of the anime out there is about the same thing: school kids piloting giant robots to save the world. Evangelion is another of this genre, although it changes the formula a bit, and quite well. Evangelion is the story of three children. Mysterious beings known as the "Angels" attack the human race. Our last line of defense: the giant combat robots called Evangelion. These are the only things that can neutralize the Angel's defense field long enough to tackle it in hand-to-hand combat. The Evangelions can only be piloted by a select group of 14-year-old children. The story starts off rather simple, but plot twists abound later in the series. You will probably need to watch the series more than once to fully understand everything. I know that plenty of the Outlaw Star fans probably got into it from Cartoon Network's Toonami block and may not be interested in much of the other anime out there. You know, they've made Dragonball Z wildly popular here (much more so, in my opinion, than the series deserves). Of course, I love Outlaw Star, outside the CN version, but DBZ has got to go. Anyhow, this is the perfect "true" anime to start off with. If you grew up on DBZ, this is a far cry from it. The focus in Evangelion is on the story and the characters, rather than just constant and mindless battles. In fact, some episodes feature no fighting at all; and those episodes that do usually have rather short fights simply filling up the latter half of the episode. However, later on, there are a few longer and truly classic fights. Eva stars a young boy named Shinji Ikari. While some may find him annoying, I think he is a great character. The story centers around Shinji's self-doubt and lonliness. He pilots the Evangelion simply for the praise of others, to satiate the simple need to be wanted and needed by others. He wants people to like him. Rei Ayanami, another young pilot, is silent and mysterious. Her stoic attitude seems to hide some secret. She doesn't talk much, but Shinji is quite interested in her, always watching her. Asuka Langley Sohryu is the third pilot to show up. She is quite brash, often acting without thinking, which can sometimes get her into trouble. This attitude, however, is simply to cover up her own weaknesses she struggles with. While the characters are all great, I'll admit that none of them really seem to grow or change much throughout the series. Unless you count the final episodes, but I'll let you see for yourself The animation is good, especially considering the it came off Japanese TV. The battles reach a great amount of excitement and "coolness" due to the great animation. My one gripe would be that, later in the series, there seem to be too many of the still screens used, obviously due to budget problems during its making. One scene actually showed the same, static image for almost one minute! The sound, while not bad, isn't anything great. The repitition in the music is notable. There really isn't much variety. But, overall, it is well done. The dubbing, however, is a whole nother story. To put it simply, the english dubbing pretty much sucks. Overacting, underacting, voices that can't even be considered "acting"... It's all here. The Japanese voices, in my opinion, aren't all too hot either, although I know that many would disagree. Regardless, it doesn't detract a whole lot. Eva can be purchased on eight DVDs, each consisting of three to four episodes. I highly recommend that you buy the boxed set. Not only is it much cooler to have the lovely box to hold your collection, but it also is much cheaper than buying each disc individually. Your choice. Evangelion is a true classic, one that should not be missed by any fan of anime. If you haven't seen it yet, do yourself a favor: go pick it up today. Rating: 9 / 10 |
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