I always considered myself a huge anime fan, with Ninja Scroll, Akira, Perfect Blue and Fist of the North Star being some of my favourites. But I always found I never had the time to take it all in. I had always meant to watch Neon Genesis Evangelion, but as with everything, life got in the way.

However I have now finally been given the chance to enjoy this classic series in glorious high definition, and I am very happy to say it lives up to the hype. There is are several reasons that became evident to me as I watched the series, that explained why this series holds a special place in the hearts of many anime fans.

It astounded me how deep this series is. The themes present throughout each episode shows that NGE is more than just spectacle. On the surface it focuses on a group called NERV that use giant mechs called Evangelion’s to battle huge hulking beings called ‘Angels’. These monsters definitely aren’t angels in the classical sense though. The action is phenomenal and the animation is slick and really grabs your attention.

However when you dig deeper, there is a lot of symbolism on show and it really evokes themes evident in the Bible. Yes….that Bible. You may not be able to correlate the two at first, but upon repeat viewings you begin to see it.

I really love how much care has gone into this release. You get all 26 episodes of the original series plus the two movies. The series is presented in 4:3 (full screen) and the movies are presented in 16:9 (widescreen). You also get the option to watch the series and movies with their Japanese audio (both 5.1 and 2.0) or dubbed in English (also in 5.1 and 2.0).

You also get a few music videos on disc, TV spots, voice auditions and even live action scenes. It’s an incredible package and a must for any fan of anime.

Neon Genesis Evangelion is available to buy now from https://www.alltheanime.com/products/neon-genesis-evangelion-standard-edition-blu-ray in a standard release, with the limited edition release now sold out. Highly recommended.

5/5

JM