Neon Genesis Evangelion Perfect Collection Box Set (1995)
Review by Dindrane
Film:
DVD:

Original Story by Gianax
Character Design by Yoshiyuki Sadamoto
Mecha Design by Ikuto Yamshita and Hideaki Anno
Directed by Hideaki Anno
Illustrated by Takeshi Honda
Art Direction by Hiroshi Kato
Music by Shiroh Sagisu

Features:

• 8-disc set, length: approx. 800 minutes
  
• Character Bios
  
• ADV Previews
  
• English, French, Spanish, and Japanese audio
  
• English subtitles
  

Dindrane's Anime Warnings:

• icky, icky hallucinations
• the pressure of loving a classic

Rating: 12+ for brief nudity, sexual situations, violence, and adult themes

Anamorphic: N/A

My Advice: Buy it at once.

Combining mecha with theology and real storylines, Neon Genesis Evangelion was one of the first Anime titles that really reached a wide Western audience. This Perfect Collection shows the reasons with a great deal of clarity.

The action of Evangelion takes place in the year 2015, but there's something you should know: fifteen years ago, a hostile alien species known as the Angels caused the Antarctic ice cap to melt, and the resulting devastation killed approximately half of humanity. And it's not quite over yet. The human survivors have created a secret underground organization known as NERV, an outgrowth of the UN. Humanity's last hope is in the hands of a group of psychic teenage pilots and their giant mecha, the Evangelions. But will these few young adults be enough to stop the Angels? And will the price for human survival be their sanity?

The characterization in Evangelion is particularly deep. These seem like real, living people, not just the carbon-based part of the mecha. The leading Eva pilot is Shinki Ikari who, at 14, has to save the world, and is justifiably cranky about that. The other characters are all equally as distinct, unusual for any series or film these days, and believable.

The plot is splendid. Rather than relying upon pointless, vague complexity to substitute for plot, Evangelion actually engages in storytelling, with tightly-constructed plots that will intrigue and involve viewers. The plot is character-driven, which really lends to the reality of the characters and the enjoyment of the logical plot.

The extras are rather minimal for a popular collection this long-awaited and this important to the history of Anime. The previews are promising enough, but hardly a real feature. The character bios will be helpful especially to people who have never heard of Evangelion before. It would, however, have been nice to have had more on a collection like this, such as interviews with the writers or the music director, or a talk with Japanese Anime critics. Even a gallery or a selection of good online links would have been appreciated, given the importance of Evangelion.

Incidentally, there are two other chapters of Evangelion that ran on TV Tokyo in 1995-6. These episodes were disliked rather universally by fans and eventually remade as theatrical features. Neither the "overly philosophical" original extra episodes, nor the subsequent movies appear in this set.

Basically, Evangelion is a great way to start a new fan down the pleasant road to otaku-dom. Fans of the "special psychic powers" branch of space mecha Anime will be thrilled. There is something here for everyone: giant mecha (good guys and bad guys), biotech pseudo-science, genuine character growth and interaction, science-fiction excitement, and so on. People who just like Anime for the explosions should be happy enough, whereas fans who like the actual plotlines and creative characterizations will also be pleased. Even artists and other lovers of beauty won't fault the aesthetic of the series. Enjoy!