Whenever Khara lets Funimation get their hands on NGE is when it will get released. I don't know how Anime Blu-Ray/DVD sales do nowadays but a release like Neon Genesis Evangelion on Blu-ray (with an End of Evangelion transfer for the first time on a disc in the West that doesn't blow) is probably one of the few titles that can sell outside of the niche anime circles.

I think FreakyFilm4ever has the right mindset. It's all about when Khara feels they've reached peak saturation of sales in Japan. With any hope that will be within the next year.

I find it hysterical how fucking Nadia's already gotten an English blu-ray release and had a limited run on Hulu US. I wasn't aware Nadia was mainstream enough in the anime community to warrant licensing and blu-ray production before Evangelion. Newsflash: It isn't.

^ Nadia was brought over by Sentai Filmworks, one of the many companies spawned by the (un?)death of ADV. They (along with Maiden Japan, Section 23, and Kraken Releases, all of which also grew from the corpse of ADV) tend to buy up the rights to whatever they can get their hands on as quickly as possible and toss it out for purchase. As a result, a lot of it is either niche-genre stuff (even as far as anime market in America is concerned) or low-hanging fruit.

Now that Evangelion grew from being the smart anime from a down-on-their-luck animation studio in 1995 to being one of the biggest franchises in Japan, it has enough clout to keep it out of reach from the distributors looking to make a fast buck out of sheer volume. And this is probably for the best. For as bad of a track record as Funimation has had with Eva releases lately, at least they aren't placing minimum-effort on an $80 release. Their box sets are of high quality and generally come with various printed material and even some special features from the Japanese releases, even if there are complaints to be made about translations and dubbing. Most other anime distributors don't even place that much effort into their releases these days. (The only other anime distributor I can think of that puts out neat box sets is Right Stuf/Nozomi, and even they're struggling getting that Utena Blu-ray project completed.)

I've said before I'd love there to be a redub, and I'll say it again. I'd love there to be a redub.

Maya Ibuki wrote:I'm fine with the original English dub. I think some people are really harsh regarding their opinions of it. Remember this was dubbed in the 90's (for the most part).

That's definitely a reason to go easy on criticizing the dub, but it's not a reason to not want a new one.

Maya Ibuki wrote:I'd be happy to give my coin to a western bluray release or HD streaming crowdfund campaign or something though.

Me too, especially because crowdfunding campaigns usually have really cool rewards you won't be able to get anywhere else.

Chuckman wrote:This may seem odd since I defend the dubs religiously but I'd like to see Grant replaced. Actually, I'd like to see the entire thing redone with a totally new voice cast. The original dub will still exist.

I'd like them to use the Rebuild cast. Spike Spencer is already a terrific Shinji when given proper direction.

Tumbling Down wrote:I'd like them to use the Rebuild cast. Spike Spencer is already a terrific Shinji when given proper direction.

He's arguably the best dubber in the franchise (Though Allison Keith as Misato when she's serious and John Swasey in the DCs and EoE are quite great). While I love Ogata, Spencer's voice is better suited.

I'm mixed on replacing Grant, I think that while she does Asuka's fake persona well, she does it too well, too a point that the people I've introduced to Eva find her grating until the horrors of Episode 22 come along.

Guy Nacks wrote:I find it hysterical how fucking Nadia's already gotten an English blu-ray release and had a limited run on Hulu US. I wasn't aware Nadia was mainstream enough in the anime community to warrant licensing and blu-ray production before Evangelion. Newsflash: It isn't.

Wait, did Nadia get a dub? Is it any good?

^ Nadia got dub when ADV released it in the early 90's, which replaced the original, half completed dub. I've only heard ADV's early 90's dub, which was also used for Sentai Filmworks' Bluray release. (They're basically the same company anyway.) They got children roughly the ages of the main characters to voice Jean and Nadia, so it has a "Peanuts Gang" feel to it. Surprisingly enough, the youngest voice actress, playing Marie, is one of the best aspects of the dub. She almost makes the Island Arc watchable.

I still stick to the subs, myself.

I would probably hold to the opinion that a re-release in the West would be better before 4.0. Spark interest in the franchise once again, educate (mindscrew) the next generation of anime viewers...

And it would possibly leave people eager to view something that's (hopefully) somewhat more mentally stable than the original series and EoE.

I would love to see a full blu ray release of the original series dub with it being completely digitally remastered along with EOE before they bring out 4.0 personally rather than re dub of the original series because I don't think it will be the same or feel the same.

silvermoonlight wrote:I would love to see a full blu ray release of the original series dub with it being completely digitally remastered along with EOE before they bring out 4.0 personally rather than re dub of the original series because I don't think it will be the same or feel the same.

It not being the same or feeling the same is a good thing, though, at least if you're not someone who liked the original dub.

And in any case, both could be provided - as has been done before, e.g. for Akira or EscaFlowne.

Guys, the question isn't "Is it likely NGE will get released before 4.0?" it's "Would you prefer to get before or after 4.0?" Which begs the real question, why would anyone want to wait for an NGE rerelease?

^ Actually, the question is "Would it be better if it was released before or after 4.0?" And I would actually argue that it would be better if it were released after the last NTE film. Nobody wants a confusion amongst the people just discovering Eva as to the chronology of the franchise. Releases NGE between Q and Shin might cause a fair amount of American audiences to conclude that there's a whole TV series between Q and Shin, or at least be upset with Funimation when they find out that NGE isn't the conclusion to NTE that they were looking for.

FreakyFilmFan4ever wrote:^ Actually, the question is "Would it be better if it was released before or after 4.0?" And I would actually argue that it would be better if it were released after the last NTE film. Nobody wants a confusion amongst the people just discovering Eva as to the chronology of the franchise. Releases NGE between Q and Shin might cause a fair amount of American audiences to conclude that there's a whole TV series between Q and Shin, or at least be upset with Funimation when they find out that NGE isn't the conclusion to NTE that they were looking for.

Funimation could clearly advertise it as a different series. Plus I think most people watching rebuild are aware that it's based on a tv series. And I've seen worse (ADV once advertised an adaptation of Makai Tensho in a way that purposefully tricked people into thinking it was a sequal to the completely unrelated Ninja Scroll).