I just did some comparisons, and maybe this is already known, but the Japanese BD did not have the original OA for 21-24. It had the edits of the Director's Cut versions, meaning the Asuka image above is not on the BD, the redrawn one is--it's just that certain things were omitted so that it more closely resembles the original cut in content and length. Purists had no real hi-res OA in Japan, so it only makes sense they wouldn't get it in NA. And speaking as a completionist, I don't even see the point of the OA edit versions and would not have cared for their inclusion.

Axx°N N. wrote:I just did some comparisons, and maybe this is already known, but the Japanese BD did not have the original OA for 21-24. It had the edits of the Director's Cut versions, meaning the Asuka image above is not on the BD, the redrawn one is--it's just that certain things were omitted so that it more closely resembles the original cut in content and length. Purists had no real hi-res OA in Japan, so it only makes sense they wouldn't get it in NA. And speaking as a completionist, I don't even see the point of the OA edit versions and would not have cared for their inclusion.

Holy shit you are right!
The Blue-Ray's OA 21-24 are indeed trimmed-down edits of the DC!

Yes, they were based on the same process as the renewal/platinum version. The only way to get the real OAs is the Japanese Archives set, or (in the US/UK) the pre-Platinum "Perfect" edition.

Entire seasons of anime of prohibitively expensive anyway. People who are into collecting anime DVDs already know this. Adding an extra $50~ish bucks for uncompressed versions of each English Dub (if they are indeed uncompressed) seems fair to me. Adding multiple language tracks to a single disc would force one of them to be compressed, and I don’t think anyone would think that to be fair either.

And, yeah, true OA versions are bad and deservedly rare. Everything else is the edited down DC version, which, in that case, you might as well just watch the full DC version.

Axx°N N. wrote:I just did some comparisons, and maybe this is already known, but the Japanese BD did not have the original OA for 21-24. It had the edits of the Director's Cut versions, meaning the Asuka image above is not on the BD, the redrawn one is--it's just that certain things were omitted so that it more closely resembles the original cut in content and length. Purists had no real hi-res OA in Japan, so it only makes sense they wouldn't get it in NA. And speaking as a completionist, I don't even see the point of the OA edit versions and would not have cared for their inclusion.

Some of the original animation was rescanned though, where it actually differed in content. See the Terminal Dogma scenes in Episode 23.

Also on FMMTM, I think it is quite clear that statements about it becoming more expensive to license because of the entry of new music publishing companies are false, as it is owned by an old music publishing company and the number of music publishing companies would not seem to have a direct effect on the costs of licensing music.

eldomtom2 wrote:Some of the original animation was rescanned though, where it actually differed in content. See the Terminal Dogma scenes in Episode 23.

Yeah, I should have been more thorough in my description. Another example in 23 is when Rei self-destructs Unit 00, the old version of the explosion (without anything trippy going on) was rescanned. But things like the old design for young Ritsuko in 21, where she looks more like Misato, are replaced by new versions so we get the newer, skinnier, more-obviously-Ritsuko young Ritsuko. If they couldn't merely edit something down, because it was a completely different sequence, they rescanned.

Axx°N N. wrote:

eldomtom2#930757 wrote:Some of the original animation was rescanned though, where it actually differed in content. See the Terminal Dogma scenes in Episode 23.

Yeah, I should have been more thorough in my description. Another example in 23 is when Rei self-destructs Unit 00, the old version of the explosion (without anything trippy going on) was rescanned. But things like the old design for young Ritsuko in 21, where she looks more like Misato, are replaced by new versions so we get the newer, skinnier, more-obviously-Ritsuko young Ritsuko. If they couldn't merely edit something down, because it was a completely different sequence, they rescanned.

This might be a bit off-topic, but is there a thread/source where I can look into these rescanned sequences? Would love to learn more.

neongenesisvandelay wrote:This might be a bit off-topic, but is there a thread/source where I can look into these rescanned sequences? Would love to learn more.

Not that I'm aware of, all of my comparisons are from watching the Japanese BD Box (KIXA-90501) and Archives of Evangelion DVD Box (KIBA-92191). There is however thorough comparisons of the differences between the On-Air vs. Directors Cuts versions on the wiki here: https://wiki.evageeks.org/Category:Comparison_Pages

Unfortunately the pictures of the original drawings and redraws are tiny.

I arise from my dormancy to whinge about the lack of OA episodes. Whether they're the true OAs from original broadcast and original Western DVD release, or the cut-down-tidied-up faux OAs on the Renewal/Platinum DVDs, they don't deserve to be consigned to the rubbish bin of history.

Firstly, the OAs don't just have 'historical value'. Some scenes are arguably better in the OAs. Well, a couple. Okay, at least one: Unit 00 blowing up. It's handled much more effectively in the OA. No overcomplicated weirdness dragging it out and distracting you from the tragedy. Just boom, gone, dead.

Secondly, as others have mentioned, the OAs lead into the TV ending more neatly without wasting extra time on things that won't be paid off.

Thirdly, if you're a fan of the original ADV dub and you're watching all the way through the show--or just revisiting old scenes for nostalgia--getting to the DC episodes can be jarring.

The OAs were done using the same voice cast as the rest of the series--obviously, since those were the internationally distributed versions rather than the DCs that went to home video in Japan. But when the DC episodes were finally released in the West (on two special edition one-off DVDs at first--Resurrection and Genesis Reborn--and later Platinum), they had to be redubbed to cover the new scenes. A couple of regular voice actors changed, e.g. for Gendo and Maya, which makes for sudden inconsistencies that distract from the drama.

Kaworu was also redubbed and I much prefer his ORIGINAL original voice (but that's personal taste).

Moreover, some lines were kept the same but redubbed by the original voice cast, meaning they sound similar but not quite the same as they did before. Emphasising different words, speaking slightly faster or slower, etc. If the lines from the original VHS releases or Perfect Collection DVDs are burned into your brain, like mine, the revamped DC dub grates; it's a bit like hearing actors at a convention repeating their famous lines but not quite hitting the mark. And then you have to put up with more voice cast changes for the Manga EoE dub, when Tristan comes back.

A similar problem has afflicted the ADV dub of TV 25 and 26 for a long time. Even though they don't technically have DC versions, their original dubbing was overwritten by the cast who redubbed them for the DC releases. Anime DVD releases being the cash-grabs that they were at the time, ADV didn't put out 21-24 all on a single disc release. Oh no, that would be too reasonable for the buyer. Instead they stretched it over two releases. They put out the first three DC episodes on one disc (21-23), and then had only one left (24) for the second disc. They added 25 and 26 to pad it out and redubbed those as well. Platinum kept the redubbed versions as far as I know. We lost original Gendo for the TV finale at that point. Nobody says "INCORRECT!" like Tristan MacAvery.

Whether any of the above bothers you, the reader, is another story. When I recommend Eva to a new viewer, I tell them to watch the DCs. But for those of us who imprinted on the original, there are reasons to be miffed.

(Incidentally, I don't think the true OAs looked all that much worse than some stuff earlier in the series, like the Ghibli-esque faces in spider-Angel's episode. But then again, fuzzy TV broadcasts hid a lot of sins.)

will totally be buying meself a Collectors Edition anyway

I now return to my slumber in a certain volcano of which I am fond.

Speaking of narrative differences in the “DC” cuts, Kaworu’s arc makes less sense, since in an added scene Seele tells him that Lilith is in Nerv’s basement, but then Kaworu still assumes that it’s Adam when he actually goes into the basement to make contact.

It’s weird, and I’ve never seen any Japanese documentation or interviews addressing this inconsistency. (Maybe I just haven’t come across them yet.)

i was talking to gkids in twitter dms and they said that the blu-ray set will not have the intermission from death(true)2; i suggested giving the viewer the option to either play both death(true)2 and the end of evangelion as a double feature with the intermission (revival of evangelion), or just separately (basically whats on netflix) i will see what they respond with (i also sent them a link to a video of the intermission on youtube) what does everyone here think about that

I mean, that’d be nice, but I am under the assumption that everything in this disc collection has already been carefully negotiated and all of the details approved by all parties involved with a fine tooth comb. While it would be nice to have the intermission, I don’t think anything will change, especially if Khara didn’t already give GKIDS any of the digital video masters containing the intermission to begin with.

I can’t imagine that they wouldn’t have the disc images finalized and ready for mass production considering we’re this close to release. I feel like a change of this size would delay the release at this point.

Honestly, I really want to know if official English subs were made for EoE’s Alternative Live-Action scene.

Surely they would subtitle the bonus features? I don't see why they wouldn't, except to be ridiculously cheap and lazy which is not something either of these two US and UK distributors are known for.

We are definitely getting subbed bonus features, the question is which bonus features are included in the first place. For example, the full music video for FMTTM isn’t included in the bonus features for copyright reasons.

Itunes version is available now. Got to admit however, I think $77 is a bit much for a digital version, was expecting $50 max. I'll be curious if the subs are different from Netflix as I know there were some fixes that Netflix never bothered to upload.

So the standard edition BD has been out for a couple days. Anyone seen it, how is it? Any differences from the netflix version, did they fix that dumbass "Third Children" mistake and use tanslator Dan Kanemitsu's final version of the sub script that netflix turned down for some reason? And I MUST know about the bonus features, specifically the End of Evangelion "alternate take", is it just a different audio recording or do we get to see some of those incredibly elusive two alternate endings, the one where Asuka kicks over her own grave marker and the one where Shinji's alone holding [what's probably Rei III's] severed arm by the hand?

The only thing I've heard talked about is apparently while the cut live action scene from EoE is included, it wasn't subtitled.

Just got notice that the package is in my mailbox....too bad I have to work tonight...can't wait to take a look tomorrow!