(Rebuild of) Evangelion opinions wanted

[lawnor 25939xp 0]

TLDR: When introducing a noob, which version and with sub or dub?

My friends and I have a weekly takeout and TV night.  I watched a lot of Anime back in the day and with live action Cowboy bebop recently released we watched that, and then I was able to get they to try the anime version, despite them never seen any anime before.  We’re almost done (Its still great, even on a third watch through 20 years later), and the conversation switched to Neon Genesis Evangelion and how we might swap to that next.  I’ve seen it at least twice.  I have the DVDs, and I believe its on Netflix too.  It’s amazing, and messed up.  I’m also aware they finished releasing Rebuild of Evangelion last year, and I’ve not tried that yet.

Has anyone here seen Rebuild?  Is it any good?  If you were introducing a newbie, would you go with Classic or Rebuild?  I’ve always gone with the subs, but the Cowboy bebop dub was fine.  I think I read Netflix got a new dub done too for classic.  Which route would you go with an anime virgin?  My thinking would be to stick with Classic and the subs, but if the dubs are good it makes it more approachable, and easier to watch when partially distracted by good food.

How is Rebuild for someone who’s seen the original?  Worth a watch?

[sundancer 42979xp 2]

I’ve seen the rebuild and the original.

Rebuild isn’t bad per se but feels like a very weird re-telling of the same story over again confusing anybody… I’d stay with the OG DVDs.

Adding this “short” list of DVDs I still need to hunt down for a rewatch. Maybe something peaks your interest:

A.D. Police Files OVA ’90
Akira
Angel Cop
Armitage III OVA ’95
Battle Angel Alita
Black Magic M-66
Bubblegum Crisis OVA ’87
Bubblegum Crisis Tokyo 2040 TV ’98
City Hunter TV ’87
Cowboy Bebop: Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door
Cyber City Oedo 808
Dominion Tank Police OVA ’88
Ghost in the Shell ’95
Goku Midnight Eye
Golden Boy
Gunsmith Cats
Guyver OVA ’89
Initial D: First Stage
Kite
Macross: Do You Remember Love?
Macross II Lovers Again OVA
Macross Plus: Movie Edition
Manie-Manie: Meikyuu Monogatari
Memories
Parasite Dolls
Patlabor OVA ’88
Patlabor: Early Days ’88
Patlabor TV ’89
Patlabor: The Movie ’89
Patlabor – The New Files OVA ’90
Patlabor 2: The Movie ’93
Perfect Blue
Riding Bean
Seijuuki Cyguard
Spriggan
Venus Wars
You’re Under Arrest! TV ’96
You’re Under Arrest! The Movie.

[lawnor 25939xp 0]

You’ve seen a lot more than me!  I’d watch a lot more anime but I do most of my watching while painting and I prefer to watch with the subs on.  Thats not a good mix.  There’s definitely a few of my favourites on that list.

 

I’ve managed to do a little research today, and it seems Rebuild finishes the original story by the end of movie 2 then does a whole bunch of new stuff.  It’s also got a bunch of new characters and has a different tone.  The original is written mid depression, and the Rebuild is written about depression from the viewpoint of afterwards.  Seems its its own separate thing.

As for the dubs of the original, I found some side by side comparison videos.  The original dub seems cartoonishly over the top and a little silly.  The netflix dub seems more appropriate, but I saw mistakes.  Shinji was referred to as a “Children” not as a “Child” for example.

[sundancer 42979xp 1]

There was a phase in my 20ies when the local VHS rental got a visit by me ever so often 😉

[demonsub 12746xp 1]

I’ve seen both the original series and ending movies (all on Netflix) and all of the rebuild movies (on Amazon), and although the rebuild looks better and starts off very close the the original they deviate somewhat after the first few movies, I think I prefer the original series, but it’s very close for me.

I’ve only seen all in English and I know the original series on Netflix was re-dubbed and is apparently better and a closer translation than when originally released.

[limburger 21708xp 1]

Tetsuoooo!!!!! 😉

Akira is intersting. It may be a bit ‘slow’ for modern audiences though …

I was watching EVANGELION:1.11 on Amazon prime recently, because it looked interesting.
Its pacing reminded me of Akira and classic SF movies from the 60’s – 70’s (lots of ‘nothing’ happening … )

I doubt non fans actually care about the quality of the dubs and/or translations. And considering you’re crossing a significant cultural and language barrier it is a ff-ing miracle the translations work at all, because the themes are different from movies and comics that I was used to.  I’d also argue that these movies are very much a product of their era and their region.

So yeah … if you understand what the heck Evangelion is and how you’re supposed to watch the movies and in what order they make sense (if any) then you probably will worry how it fits into the rest of the series.
As a total noob I probably couldn’t tell where it sits, unless I saw anything else from the series … and even then I may have trouble. OTOH … not everyone worries about movies like fans do. Some just grab popcorn and enjoy the spectacle, provided they grok the pacing and just enough of what is happening to understand what the movie is about.

btw : no ‘Legend of the overfiend’ ? 😉
I think that is the title that is sometimes mentioned … never seen it, but it is quite infamous.

[dawfyddParticipant 11926xp 1]

The best way to think of Rebuild is not as a do-over of Evangelion, but more of a cyclical retelling. I have to say that the ultimate endpoint of the final film made a quite nice pay-off to 20+ years of EVA. I’d probably start with the OG series though – it’s regarded as a defining moment in the genre for a reason. Also because we once set a friend down to watch Death & Rebirth with no prior knowledge of EVA and I still don;t think he’s gotten over it (and this was near 2 decades ago now…)

@sundancer, that’s a hell of a list, and one that I’ve owned a good chunk of at various points (also bonus points for Macross:DYRL? – a film I ache to see get a western blu-ray release, so much so I subjected the Fluffenhammer Discord crew to it for our March Watchalong movie night).

Subs can be a “purer” experience, but it dismisses just how good a dub can be, as well as making things more accessible. The Netflix Evangelion dub is good, just weird after 20 years hearing the classic cast to get new voices and readings of lines.

And if I can make some recommendations?
Black Lagoon
Eureka 7
Martian Successor Nadesico
R.O.D.
Kiznaiver
SSSS.Gridman
SSSS.Dynemon
The Orbital Children
Your Name
Junjutsu Kaizen
86
Full Metal Panic!
Samurai 7
Berzerk
Ghost In The Shell: Stand Alone Complex
GITS:SAC: 2nd Gig
Zombieland Saga
Mobile Suit Gundam: The 08th MS Team
Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans
Legend of Galactic Heroes: Die Neue Theiss
Aldanoah Zero
Gate
Cells At Work
BNA: Brand New Animal
Rahxephon
Gurren Lagaan
Assass#sination High School

And @limburger no one tries to think about Legend of the Overfiend if they can avoid it (although having read the manga I am amazed at how much they managed to fit into that original OVA…)

 

[sundancer 42979xp 1]

I have the Uritsukidoji films on VHS…. all of them (as far as I know) Legend, Return etc…. some weird shit XD

[limburger 21708xp 1]

There is more than one ?
I knew they were sick bastards with the tentacles … but that’s just overkill 😀

Isn’t there a Guyver cartoon series ?
I remember seeing that ages ago.
There’s definitely a few titles in the lists that I want to see. And as for Evangelion itself … it is an interesting setting/concept.
Huge robot suits that can only be piloted by these two ‘special’ kids and a hint of a conspiracy. Not quite sure if I want more, because sometimes things are best left unexplained.

@dawfydd I think for anyone not used to reading subs in a foreign language they can’t understand the dubs are definitely the way to go. I’ve noticed soo many mistakes in subtitles for English movies/tv-series that I only have them as an assist for understanding the language and not as a replacement for the voices. The Dutch subtitles for Star Trek (or any science fiction series) are beyond horrible …

As such I’d argue that unless you want to learn Japanese or are a sucker for punishment you’d better pick dubs. It’s not like dubbed movies where you can see an actor’s mouth move long after the dubbed voice has stopped speaking …

[sundancer 42979xp 2]

I knew they were sick bastards with the tentacles … but that’s just overkill

Oh believe me, the first one is more or less just “the baseline”. It gets worse from there. And even more so when you don’t watch the somewhat cut last episode of the dub.

[demonsub 12746xp 2]

As such I’d argue that unless you want to learn Japanese or are a sucker for punishment you’d better pick dubs. It’s not like dubbed movies where you can see an actor’s mouth move long after the dubbed voice has stopped speaking …

This is why I have no problems watching animated stuff dubbed but live action I always watch in the original language with subtitles.

[lawnor 25939xp 1]

Thanks guys.  If I can get them to watch NGE next it’ll be the original, with either the subs or the netflix dub.  If I cant, then I’ll likely watch this myself, maybe giving netflix dub a quick try, and then go for Rebuild afterwards.  I’ve got a NGE itch now.

And because it’s been in my head since I started this thread, here’s the theme: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nU21rCWkuJw

I’m not seeing Blood: The Last vampire on anyone’s lists.  Its a short but great ride I’ve seen quite a few times.  Blood+ was disappointingly generic and bland when I watched it though. I didn’t finish it off though.

You also cannot mention Full Metal Panic without mentioning Full Metal Panic? Fumoffu.  The original is a serious show about mech pilot mercs fighting battles and political intrigue.  The second is a spin off parallel show about the main character building a mech inside a stolen Mickey Mouse costume at Disneyland in order to protect his girlfriend without her knowing he’s there.  Its a very different and silly show concept.

There’s no mention of Ghibli I see.  I assume that’s for a similar reason that you don’t need to remind people that Disney  films exists.

[sundancer 42979xp 1]

Vampire Hunter D…. don’t forget him!

[dawfyddParticipant 11926xp 1]

Blood is an interesting case. Blood+ has issues licencing abroad due to music the series used, but whilst you are right it is a but slow to start, it really picks up and has some gut wrenching moments. There is a third series, Blood C which in turn had a sequel movie, both tremendously animated but the pot, well, goes some places.

And you are correct – FOMOFU is absolutely bonkers, up to and including a riff on Gundam SEED’s signature “levelling up” effect. If I remember rightly it was all the stuff from the light novels that was too zany to fit into the main series. Which is fair as the 3rd & 4th series – The Second Raid and Invisible Victory – strip most of the humour out as Souske & Kanami’s worlds start to collide big time.

And yeah, Ghibli is kinda the 100-pound gorilla in the room

[lawnor 25939xp 1]

From what I understand Blood is a full multimedia experience.  The story spreads over books, movies, tv shows, comics and games and in order to follow it you need to engage with all of them in the correct order.  That’s a bit much for me.  I’m still miffed that Star Wars resolved Clone Wars’s Asajj Ventress’s plotline in books outside of the shows.  I was waiting forever for her to reappear and had to google to find out what happened when I wasn’t looking.

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