Customer Reviews

Neon Genesis Evangelion - Platinum Collection 4

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The fourth disc of Neon Genesis Evangelion marks a turning point in the series, although it may be one that's not immediately noticeable. From here on out the characters begin to lose control of their lives, surroundings and the world as the series speeds up to its conclusion in disc eight.

If disc number three marked the calm before the storm, disc four is the light, overcast sprinkle that hints at the coming hurricane. The first episode on the disc is much like those seen previously, but it's obvious that the characters' hopes of a proactive campaign against the Angels are slowly turning more defensive and desperate. The second episode highlights that even more as we see very little of Shinji, Asuka and Rei, but instead focus on a completely different Angel attack that leaves NERV only moments away from destruction.

The third episode (number 14 of 26), though, marks the real break with the first half of the series. The minimalist style of flahsbacks, on-screen text and slow addition (and subtraction) of questions about the series is a style that the director, Hideaki Anno, will use more and more frequently as the series progresses. While this episode may seem to be the typical 'midpoint-of-the-series' recap that so many other anime series have, it also marks a serious shift in focus, style and priority in the series (not to mention an increasingly dwindling budget on the part of the production studio).

Nonetheless, this disc is every bit as good as the three preceeding it, if not better. As the direction and tone of the series continue their curve into the frantic, the series truly begins to separate itself from virtually any other anime series ever made.

Technically, this disc is as minimal as its predecessors. The video and audio, though, remain first-rate. As with the other discs, I would eventually love to see a version with more extras and episodes, but for now I am content to simply own it on DVD.

As with disc three, I do not recommend starting with this disc, but if you for some reason felt the need to skip the first half of the series, then definitely get this DVD. "Evangelion" continues to improve on itself throughout the course of the series and this volume is no exception. With the sole caveat that there are no special extras save a minimal character biography section, I wholheartedly recommend this DVD of "Evangelion" just as much as the previous ones.

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!

At this point, Evangelion really starts to get going. First, a little bit of Misato's past is explained as well as some more fan service for her. The second episode has the three pilots testing in their EVAs with no clothes. But that only part B. Part A of the story is the Angel which is a virus threatening to take over the MAGI system. This episode also gives fan service to Ritsuko and her past as well. The last episode has Shinji and Rei testing in opposite EVAs, but to know prevail. The majority of the episode is mostly spent on recapping all that has happend thus far. Overall, these episodes will leave many wanting more and more. But I guess thats what makes Evangelion so great. It gives you a small taste and keeps you coming back for more. And if you think there isn't any reason to buy the DVD if you have VHS, your wrong. There is still the nicely dubbed versions of Spanish and French dialoge. The DVD will definetely contain Bios on Angel #10 and #11. This is also the turning point in Evangelion where everything starts getting shown. So if you are a new comer to EVA, you must see this volume. And how about ADV speed up they're releasing on this. Come on, the Evangelion movie comes out this summer. Lets hustle.

Platinum Collection 4 only contains 3 episodes. 15, 16 and 17. This strike me as odd since 01 and 02 contain 5 episodes each. 04 contained 4 episodes. It seems to me that there is no rime or reason to this box set. Just a another way to command more money from my wallet. However the 5.1 sound quality is excellent.

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.

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.

Neon Genesis Evangelion Collection 0:4 is a single DVD that contains episodes twelve through fourteen of the series.

When I first put this disc in the player, a trailer started. It turns out that there are roughly nine-and-a-half minutes of trailers at the beginning of the disc before you get to the main menu. Luckily, the disc was authored in such a way that you can skip ahead to the menu. However, I feel that including that many trailers at the beginning of a DVD is rather obnoxious.

On the disc, you can select from four menu options; the options are "Scene Access," "Communications," "Extras," and "ADV Previews." For "Scene Access," you can choose which episode you want to watch on the disc. "Communications" is the option for subtitle and language selections. For subtitles, you can choose to either have them on or off. For language, you can choose from English, Spanish, French, and Japanese.

The "Extras" menu contains three options. The first is labeled as "Character Bios"; the bios include a picture of the character and a brief text write-up. The characters included in this feature are: Ritsuko Akagi, Maya Ibuki, Adam, Tenth Angel, and Eleventh Angel. The next feature is "ADV Website"; all this selection does it to take you to a screen that has ADV's website featured on it; however, since ADV no longer exists, this link is rather irrelevant. The final extra in this menu is the DVD credits.

The final selection on the main menu is labeled as, "ADV Previews." Like the second and third discs, there is no menu to choose which previews to see. Instead, it goes straight into the nine-and-a-half minutes of previews that are at the beginning of the disc.

I was a little disappointed to see that like the third disc in the set, this disc only contains three episodes. However, the authoring of the disc is the same as for discs one and three; the viewer has the ability to skip the ending credits to get to the preview for the next episode and the subtitles were easy to read.

When watching the episodes on this disc, the religious allusions I have heard about in regards to this series finally become a bit more blatant. While some earlier episodes may have subtly snuck some imagery in, the allusions have become more readily apparent to the viewer. The first two episodes on the disc progress the story a little further, and they also include some character development for Misato and Akagi. The third episode on the disc is basically a recap episode for the first half of it, while the second half involves a synchronization experiment with the Evas. The recap portion of the episode was done in such a way to resemble a report to Seele. Personally, I'm not a fan of recap episodes; however, I'm grateful that only half of the episode provided a recap.

If you're a fan of Neon Genesis Evangelion and haven't either already picked up this DVD release or one of the DVD box sets that were released for the series, this could be worth adding to your DVD library if you can find it for a reasonable price.

I wrote this review after watching a copy of this disc that I checked out through the King County Library System.

Number four. Just as good as 1 through 3. NO NOT BUY THESE OUT OF ORDER. it will make even less sense.

I bought this item to help complete a collection of the series. I was wonderfully surprised with the condition the item was in.