Product Details

• Actors: Megumi Ogata, Megumi Hayashibara, Kotono Mitsuishi, Spike Spencer, Allison Keith
• Directors: Hiroyuki Ishidô, Kazuya Tsurumaki, Keiichi Sugiyama, Masahiko Ôtsuka, Masayuki
• Format: Animated, Color, HiFi Sound, NTSC
• Language: English, Japanese
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Section 23
• VHS Release Date: November 11, 1998
• Run Time: 60 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (109 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6304123523
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #286,671 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com essential video

One of the most popular anime series of all time, Neon Genesis Evangelion offers interesting characters, sophisticated direction, and solid storytelling. A giant meteor struck Antarctica in 2000, devastating much of the Earth. Since then, humans and the mysterious aliens known as Angels have been locked in a deadly struggle. In 2015, scientists at the NERV Center in the fortress-city of Tokyo 3 are developing ways to combat the Angels, notably the Human Enhancement Project and the giant battle robots called Evangelions. Fourteen-year-old Shinji Ikari, whose aloof father heads these research projects, is drafted to pilot Evangelion Unit 01. Shinji is a reluctant hero, as many mecha pilots are, but his reluctance is not just an arbitrary whim; it's rooted in his estrangement from his father. Shy and socially maladroit, Shinji displays a likable warmth the grimly taciturn teenagers in ordinary mecha shows lack. Rounding out the cast are Rei Ayanami, the silent, albino pilot of Unit 00; irrepressible Misato Katsuragi, who serves as a substitute mother to Shinji; technical expert Ritsuko Akagi; and Shinji's classmates Toji Suzuhara and Kensuke Aida. Evangelion offers a dark vision of the future, but director Hideaki Anno (Nadia) presents it very skillfully. Episodes include: 1. "Angel Attack," 2. "Unfamiliar Ceiling." Not rated; suitable for ages 14 and up: robot versus robot violence, brief nudity, and minor profanity. --Charles Solomon

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Powerful, complex, moving, and completely addictive., April 16, 1999

By 

Arnold Kim ([e-mail]) (Tenafly, NJ, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Neon Genesis Evangelion: Genesis 0:1 [VHS] (VHS Tape)

There are a lot of entertaining films and TV shows out there. Certainly plenty of them exist in anime, including sci-fi anime. However, this one just goes above them all. Simply put, this show goes simply beyond "entertaining", and into the territory of "thoroughly involving", and to a degree that few shows, including the X-files and Gundam wing, have even come close to. The plot is deceptively simple at first, part of what makes it so powerful. It starts out as apparently a simple "giant robot" anime with some subtle hints of what may come, but in the latter half of the series, takes a full-fledged nosedive into the depths of human emotion, with shocking truths about the series, God, government conspiracies, and mankind being craftily revealed along the way by director Hideaki Anno. One may believe that "deep" anime is nothing new, citing examples of Akira and Ghost in the Shell, but neither of these so successfully overwhelmed the viewer with the story, nor did they actually make you really want to figure ot the meaning. Evangelion may not spell all the answers right out, but it most definitely makes you want to look for them, and profoundly impacts you when you find them.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Instant Classic, January 10, 2000

By 

Frankie Mercado (Fairbanks, Alaska) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Neon Genesis Evangelion: Genesis 0:1 [VHS] (VHS Tape)

I first heard of this series in tons of anime chat rooms. People saying that it was the best and that I was so deprived for not seing it...so I decided to pick it up....By God they were right. I heard the theme song and I was instantly hooked to the amazing opening intro....and everytime all my friends heard it..it was in their heads as well...Even my mom hummed it. The story is just breathtaking. It starts off on this volume with alot of plots that turn into really big things later on in the series...The characters are great. Some you can really relate too(hopefully you don't relate too much with these people). There is so many things I can say about this series. It makes you go through great catharsis. Some scenes are so well done that you just sit there in awe. I could barely move only my mouth was open through the last 15 minutes of an episode. This is truly a must for anybody that is an anime fan and it has to be in their collection. 6 stars...

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Top-notch anime from a top-notch animator., October 27, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Neon Genesis Evangelion: Genesis 0:1 [VHS] (VHS Tape)

It's amazing. A few months ago I was all over the website raving about Oh My Goddess! While that is still an incredible series this beats it in terms of music, character development, animation, and just plain good old entertainment. When I walked into my local video store and rented what seemed to look like a good movie, I had no idea it would absorb me into it so much. From the moment the the amazing opening song started (which I still hum in my head) to the last kanji of the credits I was stunned. I have discovered much of the greatest anime by mistake, like Nausicaa and OMG!However, this was a mistake I will never regret. This movie is absolutely phenomenle. I especially like the way they made the action scenes. Another thing I like is that it is very scientifically correct. I did research and found nothing wrong with it. There is not much that can beat this.Take my recommendation and rent it or buy it preferably.