Customer Reviews

Neon Genesis Evangelion: Death and Rebirth (Widescreen)

5 star:		(33)
4 star:		(16)
3 star:		(16)
2 star:		(12)
1 star:		(11)

 

 

First off: Do NOT buy this set as a way of trying out the series. These two movies are intended to be watched AFTER viewing the series, and have a very different vibe to them than the series had.
So, if you want awesome anime to watch, please go get the series instead, and stop reading about Death & Rebirth/End of Eva.

Alright, you've watched the series, were seriously ticked off at how it "ended", and like many, you want to know what "really" happened. Well, you're not going to find out everything that you want to know, so don't expect to.

Death and Rebirth is not just a recap of the show. It fills in small yet very important details that were missed in the series, such as explanations for Asuka's depression/breakdown. It links the series with the *actual* ending movie, End of Evangelion.

The most violent anime of its time is in these movies. It has sexual content and innuendo that will likely disturb those that have a sense for double meaning and psychology. These two movies are incredibly dark and very adult.

This boxset is a good deal, but do yourself a favour and do NOT watch the so-called commentary. They could have brought in fansubbers and got a better commentary. (If you thought you were an Amanda Winn Lee fan, it'll end that for ya.) For that reason, I only give this boxset a rating of 4 stars. If it only had a decent commentary it'd easily get 5.

Yay, Manga just put the two movies in a box along with some artwork and a thin mousepad. Overall, the movies themselves are fine, but overall, this package is a joke.

Same poor letterbox transfer and DVD menu glitches. I can't believe they didn't bother using the renewal footage (For those who don't know, the japanese have anamorphic widescreen versions of these movies). Pure laziness, but what can I expect from Manga Entertainment.

I agree this was a rip off! I rented this movie and after 3 minutes or less I turned it off. Why shoulden't you see this? well, for a whole 60 minutes they show nothing but flashbacks of old episodes! They call this a movie? Though, I think unless your a die hard eva fan skip to rebirth cause thats where it truely begins. But still This is a complete rip off. I think you should just skip to the end of evangelion the "REAL" full lengh movie!

This is the first of the two-part ending movies that are supposed to finish the complex and interesting Neon Genesis Evangelion Series. I must note before anything that this disk has TWO SIDES. If you find yourself on a side with a starting menu containing: End of Evangelion Preview, Death and Rebirth Trailers, and Magi Archives, you've found yourself into the Omega side of the disk. Unless you've watched the movie before and wish to activate the interactive extras special (you watch the movie and have options to select information when they appear), I suggest you turn over to Alpha Side.

In the first hour of this movie (Death) we recap the entire series in a way I was impressed by. Yes, I did say: "Hey, why's this repeating the last 11-hours I've spent at my TV?" but this is a great way to refresh yourself on the series and I quite enjoyed it. After Death ends, a 4 and a half minute Intermission is activated with a neat timer (I can only imagine how it would look on the big screen), but after we hit 0:00, it's on to Rebirth

We start out in the hospital where Shinji is visiting Asuka, currently schizophrenic and unconcious, and he desperately tries to wake her. Meanwhile, SEELE, the evil organization that rules over NERV, is angry at Commander Ikari's victory over Kaworu (yes, that's how they spelt/pronounced it in the movie), their 17th Angel/Fifth Child agent sent to initiate Third Impact and completely destroy humanity by means of the Human Instrumentality Project. So, they pull strings with the UN and JSSDF to launch a strike upon NERV HQ and Tokyo-3. This mission is very cold hearted (they kill unarmed personel, even women) and they only keep on advancing. Asuka is placed into Unit-02 and sent to the bottom of the lake for safety and Shinji is saved by Misato from termination by UN SpecOps. The movie ends with Asuka realizing her mother's spirit is protecting her from inside the EVA and is the protecting force of the AT Field. But her early destruction of the conventional UN/JSSDF forces is nothing when the NINE FULLY OPERATIONAL EVAS are dropped into the area to kill Unit-02 and Asuka as well as initiate Third Impact with Unit-01. Oh the tension rises, and my mother won't let me watch the End of Evangelion Movie becuase it's rated 17+!

All in all: Watch this, watch End of Evangelion (don't tell me about it though), and you'll mostlikely understand the entire Evangelion Series (or at least you won't be as confused). I give it 4 stars because of disk problems and the very short length of Rebirth.

WHAT? I STOPPED AFTER 5 MINUTUES. I BOUGHT IT AND IT WAS LIKE WHAT THE HECK? IT WAS MY B~DAY PRESENT.. SADLY -_-; IT ANNOYED ME BADLY.

The Death and Rebirth is kind of an odd recommendation. The cover and the little that I knew about it was misleading.

The first part of the DVD is Death or basically a recap of the show. It tells the basic events of what happens to each character through the first 24 episodes of the original series. The flashback clips are done up in a nice interesting way as each child tries out for an orchestra. As they play their instruments the memories come flooding. It's a fun interesting way to remember all the things that happened through out the series. But if you are buying this then you probably already have the first eight DVDs and probably don't need much of in the way of a refresher course.

The second part or Rebirth is the new content for this disc. Rebirth however is the very beginning of the end of Evangelion, which is included in said End of Eva. Since you are going to have to get that one too to get the full ending a lot of people I know probably want to bypass this DVD altogether.

The extras are nice a few designed to get newcomers up to speed with what happened earlier. And I liked the audio commentary, something for some reason lacking in a lot of Anime.

Death And Rebirth is really only for two groups of people. Those who haven't seen the original episodes in awhile and needed a refresher course, and those who are Eva fanatics and snatch up pretty much everything they can find. I was kind of in both these groups so D and R worked well for me for what it was. Newbies to the series will find just way too much info to absorb in the short amount of time, and others will probably feel gypped for getting this and End of Eva.

This was the first time i Ever saw Evangelion and i dindn't understand anything. The movie didn't make any sense and I stopped watching after half an hour of confusement

This movie is the first part of the 2-part End of Evangelion series. After watching the first half of the movie I was very pleased. As a note, anyone that is going to watch this movie should watch the entire series(1-26 episodes) beforehand, otherwise, following this movie would be most difficult. The first half of the movie sums up the evangelion series just like the last chapters of the series. It was followed by the first half of End of Evangelion. One could think that this movie is just a bond to tie together the end of the television series and End of Evangelion although I've read that End of Evangelion picks up right where the series left off. Nevertheless, this movie is an essential for all die-hard Evangelion fans. I really enjoyed it. Those who really disliked this movie only thought so because it was basically the same stuff they've already seen. It includes a bonus disc with tons of extra features. Definitelly worth the money.

This disk has a summary of the series and one half of the actual
End of Evangelion movie. If you have watched the entire TV series DO NOT
BUY this DVD. End of Evangelion is the actual full length movie.

I was fairly sceptical about this when I recieved it as a present as I had already seen the series several times.
However, I was pleasantly surprised. "Death", the rehash part of the DVD was put together quite well. Focusing on the character development rather than the numerous battles, it gives a rounded view on each character along with extra scenes that explain some parts of the original series.
For those who haven't seen the original, this is a great teaser - the setup and atmosphere are great and pretty informative for the first time viewer. For diehard fans, it has its own surprise scenes and is a good refresher if you're in a rush or haven't seen it for a while.
I'm not sure if tacking bits of End of Evangelion on the end was such a good idea. Although its almost an advertisement for EoE (I'm guessing that was the idea, its a filler and makes you want to see EoE and spend more :P) its good to see how it starts and begins to develop and is more comprehensive than the original episodes 25 and 26. Basically though its simply a marketing gimmick designed to make you want to see EoE. Its still worth watching of course, but there's nothing special there.
The features, particularly the Mokuji interactive onscreen encyclopedia are great for a first timer. The character index gives a brief decription and history of the main characters. The commentary is insightful and sometimes funny.
This DVD is worth getting if you're new to the series or a big fan. It gives a bit of extra info with some pretty good features and a teaser for EoE. More of a rent than a buy though.