Customer Reviews

Neon Genesis Evangelion: Platinum:04 (ep.15-17)

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The three episodes on this DVD (12 thru 14) take us to the midpoint of the Evangelion series. The preliminaries are over, we have been introduced to the players, and have become fully engaged in the efforts of three young people to stop a steady flow of attacks on the earth by strange creatures known collectively as 'angels.'

Even so, we really know very little. In particular, the whys elude us. With each episode, we have been granted a tiny hint that something truly momentous lies just under the covers, that this is much more than an up-to-date space opera. Kabalistic symbols have danced in the air from the beginning, but now there are whispers of prophecies from the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Lance of Longinus. Just what is Gendo Ikari's true agenda?

In Episode 12, 'The Value of a Miracle,' Misato's promotion to major grants us a sudden insight into her own motivations. However, any festivities must come to an end when a new angel (Sahaqiel) appears in the skies over NERV head quarters. Asuka, Shinji, and Rei must stop it from crashing to earth like another meteor.

Then in 'Angel Invasion' a strange spreading corrosion turns out to be a nanotech angel (Ireul) intent on infecting the Magi - the three supercomputers that support NERV and Tokyo 3. Ritsuko Akagi, NERV's chief scientist, must battle the ghosts of her mother to keep the Magi from self-destructing.

After two episodes of monster slaying, Episode 14, 'SEELE, Throne of Souls', is an entirely different piece of work. It officially ushers in the second half of the series with a brief recap of past victories. Rei's own philosophical questions about her own identity are counterpoint to a nearly disastrous experiment with the EVA. In the background, the increased role of the mysterious SEELE committee raises more questions than it answers.

Hideaki Anno has proved himself a master at the subtle references that raise suspense and provide a continuous sense of mystery. Even as he allows his characters an increasing level of humanity, he starts the process of questioning exactly what that humanity really is.

Unfortunately the people at ADV have made a very bad work with the spanish audio, at least on volumes 4 and 5. The spanish track is noticeable lower in loudnes and it seems that it has a "flanger" effect on it.

One bog thumb down this time.

There is nothing else I can say. I've almost run out of things to say about this series, and this is only the 4th item of it I've reviewed. The series' power is beyond what any other anime series I've encountered has. Series like Gundam Wing and Robotech are good, but they don't grab you by the mind and affect your thoughts.

The DVD quality is just a great as others. As I always say, BUY IT!

The Episodes in this DVD are REALLY intense. A ncie touch is that they added the menu startup as linking to an Evangelion in an entry plug - its kinda cool and kinda stupid at the same time. The episodes themselves though - well, this has what I think is one of THE coolest eps. of Eva yet - the falling Angel! All 3 Evas are dispatched to catch a falling Angel with physical and AT field strength. Misato promises the pilots a steak dinner if they can pull it off, and the think she is crazy for asking them. They all go and cheer for the steak dinner, and then when Misato leaves they all look at one another and think: "Save the world for some steak? Err...." The other 2 Episodes are one about SEELE, the overseers of NERV, and one about a strange Angel. It's depicted as glowing Orange and Red spots in an Eva test chamber. It has an AT field impervious to maintenance lasers, and tries to invade Magi. This episode is all about Ritsuko. Not the greatest DVD I've ever seen, but I LOVE the Falling Angel Episode!

I've read people complain about the quality of the DVD menues, etc. Don't let that stop you from purchasing this DVD. This story is wonderfully written, and the animation is superb. It is definately worth your tie even if you don't like this particular genre. The characters are very in depth and well written. I enjoyed this series thuroughly. I bet you would too.

This volume reveals more about Misato and Dr. Akagi. I especially loved Rei's poem in Episode 14. So much that I taped it to my tape recorder to listen to a lot of the time. Great charater profiles too.

These are some of the shorter episodes, but they are extremely worth the buy. Episode 12 is by far the best exploring the past of Misato and having an extremely cool Angel fight at the end. Ritsko's story is told in episode 13 and further explains the MAGI super-computers. Episode 14's first half is a summary of the last 13 Episodes.

The only problem I had with these episodes is that a lot of the characters seem to hate their parents and it gets a little repetative.

Depending on your kind tastes of anime, you may like or hate these episodes. Gainax forces you to watch every detail if your going to want to understand anything about the story.

But in my opinion, that is what makes "Evangelion" much more rewarding than most other shows.

Turning out to be one of the best anime series that I have seen in a long time, Evangelion has opnened my eyes to a new meaning in japanese anime (well at least for this kind). The only thing that bothers me is the constint show ups of adult material whaich parent would want to watch out for when letting a younger person see this movie. So far Evangelion has seemed to amaze me with it's stunning story line and robot fight sceens.

Turning out to be one of the best anime series that I have seen in a long time, Evangelion has opnened my eyes to a new meaning in japanese anime (well at least for this kind). The only thing that bothers me is the constint show ups of adult material whaich parent would want to watch out for when letting a younger person see this movie. So far Evangelion has seemed to amaze me with it's stunning story line and robot fight sceens.

My standard disclaimer applies. I am not reviewing the artistic merits of this release. I happen to like this series but that does not mean you will.

I am reviewing the technical merits of this release.

For the most part, the image is stable and clear. It still has the quasi-distracting "jumps" that the last two releases had. The compression seems OK -- but it's not great. There are visible artifacts and edge enhancement but they don't seem to be too distracting. Some more fine tuning on the compression would be much appreciated in the next release.

The sound is just as good as it has been throughout the new DVD releases. English and Japanese tracks both sound very respectable.

Overall, like most of the new ADV Evangelion DVD releases, this one has some minor problems that are mildly annoying. These problems, however, generally do not spoil watching this enjoyable series.

If you like the series, I think you will like this DVD.