Neon Genesis Evangelion...

Neon Genesis Evangelion is an apocalyptic mecha action series which centers around the efforts by the paramilitary organization NERV, to fight monstrous beings called Angels, primarily using giant mecha called Evangelions which are piloted by select teenagers, one of whom is the primary protagonist...

J. Thompson wrote in the Right Stuf Catalog circa 1996-1997 (pages 11-12)...

Once again, Gainax steps up to the plate and hits one out of the park with Neon Genesis Evangelion. Huge amounts of speculation began when it was announced that Gainax was working on something new, and it intensified when no details of the project were given. The only thing that everyone could agree on was that this thing had the potential to be huge... It was, therefore, with great anticipation that television channels were scanned in the weeks leading up to the premiere (itself, quite low key). The art flashed on the screen. The music started. The opening credits ran. Everyone was hooked. Gainax was hitting on all cylinders. Again. This is the sort of show that anime studios have dreams about... or nightmares, as the case may be if you're someone other than Gainax.

Creatures come down out of the sky. Okay. They're "Angels". Okay. They tell mankind collectively to stop this biotechnology stuff. Okay. And, to make things interesting, they start smashing cities. Big cities. Pancake flat... with no syrup to be found. Five years later, things get really interesting, and the show turns into something that Gerry Anderson would be proud to put his name on, movable underground buildings. Last Hope Of Humanity robots... with extension cords. Ordinary Guy Who Is The Scientist's Son stuff, but this is (surprise) no ordinary boy. If you aren't hooked in the first few minutes, you might want to check your pulse. And, the show just kept on getting better... until the last episode.

Way back in the misty dawn of time, when VCRs still walked the Earth, Neon Genesis Evangelion had been released on 13 VHS tapes...

Volume 1
In the year 2015, the Angels, huge, tremendously powerful, alien war machines, appear in Tokyo for the second time. The only hope for Mankind's survival lies in the Evangelion, a humanoid fighting machine developed by NERV, a special United Nations agency. Capable of withstanding anything the Angels can dish out, the Evangelion's one drawback lies in the limited number of people able to pilot them. Only a handful of teenagers, all born fourteen years ago, nine months after the Angels first appeared, are able to interface with the Evangelion. One such teenager is Shinji Ikari, whose father heads the NERV team that developed and maintains the Evangelion. Thrust into a maelstrom of battle and events that he does not understand, Shinji is forced to plumb the depths of his own inner resources for the courage and strength to not only fight, but to survive, or risk losing everything. The extraordinarily popular television series that took Japan by storm!

Volume 2
It is the year 2015 and the Angels have returned to plague the Earth again. Fourteen year old Shinji Ikari finds himself drafted as the pilot of Evangelion Unit 01, the last hope of a beleaguered planet. Under pressure from NERV, the United Nations Agency charged with defeating the Angels, to perfect his combat skills and pressure to fit in from his classmates at school, Shinji must find the fine line between duty and personal desire.

Volume 3
As Shinji begins to come to terms with his role as an Evangelion pilot, he also becomes more curious about the other Evangelion pilot, Rei. Their relationship begins to develop but things are complicated by the arrival of a new, even deadlier Angel. When it seems that nothing can stand in the way of the new menace to Tokyo-3, Misato decides that the use of a newly developed super weapon is required. There is only one draw back to her plan... the new weapon will require ALL of the power available to Japan, leaving the rest of the country in a total blackout!

Volume 4
The Evangelion is the most powerful fighting machine ever conceived by man, but can even Eva stand against the combined forces of cost-conscious budget cutters and politicians? With allies like this, who needs Angels? The question becomes a moot one when a proposed low-cost replacement for the Evas malfunctions during a test and runs amok! Now Shinji and Misato must stop the rampaging robot before it melts down and destroys the city and military base at Atsugi! Then the fight for Mankind's survival moves into a whole new phase as the first combat-designed Eva is prepared for battle! The naval convoy transporting the new Eva is attacked by an Angel and the protected becomes the protector as Second Child Asuka Langley and Shinji activate Unit 02 for a deadly underwater duel to the death!

Volume 5
There's double trouble in store when NERV is faced with an Angel which splits into two Angels. To meet the new threat, Shinji and Asuka must learn to act in perfect unison. But can they learn how to tango before the Angel destroys Tokyo-3? Then, Asuka goes diving in a volcano in an attempt to retrieve a dormant Angel. When the Angel awakens, however, it is up to Shinji to save Asuka!

Volume 6
A major power failure cripples Tokyo 3, and NERV is left defenseless as a new Angel approaches with lethal intent. As Gendo and Ritsuko struggle to ready the giant Evas for combat without benefit of modern technology, Shinji, Asuka and Rei must find their way through the underground labyrinth of tunnels and crawlways to the Eva's subterranean launch bays. However, even if they get there, will they be able to launch without electricity? Then, against the background of an attack by the largest Angel yet, both Shinji and Misato must come to grips with their feelings for their respective fathers while still trying to save the Earth from total destruction!

Volume 7
A new form of Angel attacks NERV and suddenly the war for the fate of mankind shifts to a field of battle in inner space. As the three Eva pilots sit naked and unprotected in their cockpits, their Evas and the powerful MAGI computers that control Tokyo 3 are violated by a savage wave of neural attacks that threaten to leave the entire city crippled and easy prey for the attacking Angels! Ritsuko must face her ultimate challenge as she races against time to decipher the arcane secrets buried deep inside the core of the MAGI by her own mother! Time ceases to have meaning as the events of the preceding months are re-discovered in a swirling vortex of hidden facts, emotions and memories in the most spellbinding episodes yet in the animated series that re-defines the limits of both science and fiction... NEON GENESIS EVANGELION.

Volume 8
Betrayals and revelations erupt across NERV as Kaji's allegiance to a higher authority becomes apparent. However, is he on the side of good or evil? The discovery of what lurks inside a Top Secret hanger inside NERV is enough to shake anyone's faith in Mankind. Meanwhile, a new battery of tests shows that Shinji is beginning to lose his ability to focus and the fault becomes deadly when a new Angel attacks and absorbs Unit 01! Trapped inside a shadowy womb-like structure, Shinji's mind begins to collapse as a series of hallucinations assault his sanity and unless he can free himself, Ritsuko will have him destroyed!

Volume 9
The situation careens out of control as Gendo learns that NERV Branch 2 has been completely destroyed! A pilot is selected for the new Eva Unit 03 but the first test of the new Eva turns into a disaster as the giant bio-humanoid goes insane and proceeds to run amok! When the combined efforts of Asuka and Rei fail to stop the berserk monster, Shinji must face it alone in Unit 01. However, will his compassion for the fellow human trapped inside the beast be his undoing? As Gendo unleashes the monstrous power of Unit 01's "auto-pilot", it becomes horrifyingly apparent that the Evas are far more than just machines!

Volume 10
The sight of the Fourth Child's body in the torn remnants of Eva Unit 03 snaps Shinji's mind. Disgraced and dismissed from NERV, Shinji can only stand by and watch in horror as the most powerful Angel yet attacks NERV and defeats both Asuka and Rei with horrifying ease! In order to save his friends, Shinji must once again take control of the dangerously unstable Unit 01. It's the most nightmarish confrontation yet, but the worst is still to come. Not only must Shinji conquer his own fears and defeat the Angel, but he must also fight for his very life and soul in the belly of the beast itself. For what the Eva has consumed it will not relinquish easily!

Volume 11
The secret workings of NERV begin to become clear as SEELE mercilessly interrogates NERV's key personnel in a ruthless bid to uncover Gendo Ikari's real agenda! An unexpected interloper works to sabotage their plans while the real truth behind the origin of NERV and the Evangelions begins to become clear. Mind-reeling possibilities may soon become horrifying reality, for what was once God's Domain has become NERV's playground! A complex triple-cross leaves the fate of Mankind hanging in the balance as the Evangelions must once again defend the Earth from a host of Angelic invaders whose presence now signifies something far more terrifying than mere global genocide!

Volume 12
The beginning of the end is now. With Asuka traumatized from her last Angelic encounter and unable to fight, Rei must make a terrible sacrifice in order to save NERV. As the survivors sift through the wreckage of their lives in a desperate bid to come to terms with the horrible consequences of the latest battle, a guilt-ridden Ritsuko summons Shinji and Misato to a secret chamber for an even more startling revelation! In the deadly calm of the aftermath, the sudden and unexpected arrival of the Fifth Child hits like a hurricane. Shinji seems to have found a kindred soul in the unearthly Nagisa Kaoru, but does Kaoru have a soul at all? A battle to the death follows in the shocking NEON GENESIS EVANGELION, GENESIS 0:12!

Volume 13
Prepare for the shocking conclusion to the most controversial animated series ever produced. Third Impact has occurred. The world has ended. And now, where Angels fear to tread, Shinji must go alone. At last, the circle of life will be complete. He is the beast that shouted "I" at the heart of the world. Never before released on home video, the final two episodes of the epic Neon Genesis Evangelion are on their way and nothing will ever be the same again.

Death and Rebirth
The ultimate composition of the ground-breaking epic is finally here! At the dawn of the millenium mankind has awakened a threat unlike any faced before - the Angels. Conventional weapons are useless against them. They can only be stopped by means of the Evangelions - bio-engineered vessels born from the Angels' own technology. But this forbidden knowledge is also the key to bringing about a startling new genesis for the human race. Placed in the hands of three young pilots, the final fate of humanity resting upon their shoulders, the Evas are the world's last hope...

Welcome to the Apocalypse. From the animators at Production I.G. (Ghost in the Shell, Blood: The Last Vampire) and Studio Gainax (Wing of Honneamise) come the first half of the sensational two-part conclusion to the Neon Genesis Evangelion Saga.

Featuring ground-breaking animated action sequences and mind-blowing dramatic revelations, Death and Rebirth is truly a composition of epic proportions!

End of Evangelion
One of the finest achievements in the history of visual entertainment! At the dawn of the millenium mankind has awakened a threat unlike any faced before - the Angels. Conventional weapons are useless against them. They can only be stopped by means of the Evangelions - bio-engineered vessels born from the Angels' own technology. But this forbidden knowledge is also the key to bringing about a startling new genesis for the human race. Placed in the hands of three young pilots, the final fate of humanity resting upon their shoulders, the Evas are the world's last hope...

Welcome to the Apocalypse. From the animators at Production I.G. (Ghost in the Shell, Blood: The Last Vampire) and Studio Gainax (Wing of Honneamise) come the final installment of the sensational two-part conclusion to the Neon Genesis Evangelion Saga.

Manga Entertainment presents The End of Evangelion, the mind-blowing finale to the incredible Neon Genesis Evangelion series. This stunning anime feature was comprised of two alternate episodes intended by the animators at Gainax Studios to take the place of episodes 25 and 26 of the original series. Acclaimed Japanese animation director, Hideaki Anno, creates a tour-de-force that resolves many questions about the epic series while also generating some interesting new ones.

I'm not really a fan of the giant robot genre of anime, but, when Neon Genesis Evangelion was released in the U.S., I couldn't NOT watch the series. In the first few minutes you see humanity's conventional military backing away from an angel. Then, in comes Shinji, who is completely underwhelming as our unlikely hero. The entire episode showcases how completely unsuited Shinji is for the task at hand. So, when, at the end of the first episode, we see Shinji finally piloting his EVA and, of course, he trips and falls flat of his face and, of course the angel is just pounding Shinji and his EVA unit. Then, this one-sided battle takes an unexpected turn and from that moment, I was hooked. By the way, my favorite angel Ramiel (5th).

What can I say that hasn't already been said. I loved it -- every minute right up to the ending. I knew, in advance that there were "problems" with the ending. So, bracing myself for the worst, I wasn't too upset when I finally saw the last episode. In fact, the fan outcry for a different ending was such that the producers went to the extraordinary effort of actually producing a new ending. But, for those of you who want a "good" ending, you may still be disappointed.

There is some bloodshed and gore in the series. And, in the early episodes there is a modest amount of fan service, but, as the series progresses and starts to take a darker path, there is less fan service. There is one bath scene and Shinji comes comically close to full-frontal nudity, but, there are no actual naughty bits. There are large set pieces including buildings that can be raised or lowered into the ground and a wide range of impressive mecha. But, interspersed in the action are more dramatic elements. In fact, much of the series centers on Shinji's misgivings about the mission at hand and his self-doubt and other insecurities, than it is a show about giant robots.

I used to have all 13 subtitled VHS volumes. I enjoyed the series so much that I repurchased it on DVD. I've also got the "Death and Rebirth" and the "End of Evangelion" DVDs. Death and Rebirth contains excerpts of the first 24 episodes of the Neon Genesis Evangelion original series with some additional material edited-in, and contains part of the new ending (episode 25). The Evangelion Movie (AKA "End of Evangelion") contains the alternate ending, replacing episodes 25 and 26 of the original unedited Neon Genesis Evangelion series in their entirety. I gave Neon Genesis Evangelion a 5 out of 5.

The two Neon Genesis Evangelion TV soundtrack CDs have 23 and 25 tracks respectively and I liked 7 and 8 tracks for totals of 30.4% and 32% which works out to ratings of 2 out of 4 for each TV soundtrack CD. It should be noted that, between these two TV soundtrack CDs, there are eight versions of Fly Me To The Moon.