I need some help on a questionable Eva DVD set.

[Mana]

So today I went to a local flea market and bought an Evangelion DVD set for $2 that I can't find on Svenge's NGE Compendium.

It's a single DVD case containing 3 disks which all together contain episodes 1 through 26 of the original series (not including 21'-24'). I'm not really sure if it's a legitimate DVD set, so I'm hoping that any of you could tell me. I already own the Platinum Complete boxset but I had to buy this for curiosity's sake.

[EvangelionFan]

Take some pictures, or look for the licensor/copyright info on the box and post it. As for the discs, if they have episodes 1-26 across three discs it is likely it has highly compressed episodes... possibly a bootleg, but we'd need pictures.

Edit: Oh, yeah, does it come with English subs, and if so, could you take a screencap of any shot of the subs where there is a lot of dialogue? That might help.

[Mana]

I apologize, but at the moment I don't have a decent camera to take pictures of the DVD case itself and the labels on each DVD. But what I could do is say for sure that this image is used on the front of the DVD case but without the NERV logo and the Evangelion logo. Instead there's "NEON GENESIS EVANGELION" in bold yellow letters outlined in red with "TV SERIES" in smaller white text underneath it. Both lines of text are centered at the top of the cover art.

Also, the art on the first disk is of this image but it lacks all of the logos and has them replaced with other items.

The disks do have the option to use English subtitles. I'm about to run the first disk on my computer to get screenshots of them. I'll be editing this post or making another post shortly with the screen caps.

[MandarinOrange]

What region are the DVD's?

[Mana]

^ If I'm reading the information on the back of the case correctly, these DVDs are all-coded. But, if that isn't enough information I can say that the first disk is running just fine on my United States computer.

Anyways, I have taken 2 screenshots and I'll be happy take more if anyone wants me to. This is the menu screen that I was greeted with. As EvangelionFan questioned about, this is an example of the English subtitles included.

[ReiAyanami25]

From your description, I have my doubts that this DVD set is legitimate. In fact, it sounds highly suspicious. If you cannot find it on Svenge's website, Yahoo auctions or Japanese Amazon, I would suggest you treat it as a pirated DVD.

To prove if it is accurate in any fashion, to deduce whether or not it is worth keeping, perhaps you could post some of an episode with large amounts of dialogue, perhaps Rei's monologue in Episode 13. If you wish, I could check the subtitles with the Japanese audio for the quality of the translation, as well as if the subtitles match up (if it is a subtitled edition). The picture quality would be a main factor in the true status of the DVD's origin, as would the region code.

From the pictures you just posted, the screenshot from the actual episode looks okay in terms of image quality, however, the menu is questionable in my opinion. I either own, or have rented around four different kinds of official NGE series releases, in VHS and DVD form, and I have never seen a menu that looks like the one you have shown us. Is it the main DVD menu, or a sub-menu for extra options that leads off the main page?

[Mana]

That image is indeed of the main menu. As soon as the DVD is loaded, you are taken to that screen.

I should also say that the artwork of the DVD case and of each DVD label isn't that great in terms of quality but I can't really complain about the quality of the footage on the DVDs (the first disk at least, I have yet to view the other two).

[MandarinOrange]

All coded, or region 0, DVDs are bootlegs. In fact, it's one of the biggest giveaways. I actually just learned this because I was looking to buy some Sailor Moon dvds that were a whole season on 3 disks. After some research, I found out that they were bootlegs.

[AR-99]

$2 for 26 episodes about says it all really. At least you found something new.

[ReiAyanami25]

That image is indeed of the main menu. As soon as the DVD is loaded, you are taken to that screen.

I should also say that the artwork of the DVD case and of each DVD label isn't that great in terms of quality but I can't really complain about the quality of the footage on the DVDs (the first disk at least, I have yet to view the other two).

Understood. Well, I can tell you that I own copies of the English language platinum DVDs, as well as the original Japanese NGE DVDs, and an NGE VHS tape, the former two releases have different (very different) main menus that do not resemble the one you have shown us. The menu that is found on the NGE Perfect Collection DVDs shows a technical type drawing of Unit 01, I recall from memory, and has fairly similar colouration to the menu in question, but it is still quite different in appearance.

[Mana]

@ Everyone that posted: I want to thank you all for posting because I highly doubt that I would have found the answer on my own about these certain DVDs.

@ MandaringOrange: Thanks for that information. I could use it for whenever I'm serious about buying hard-to-get anime DVDs.

@ AR-99: I wouldn't say that the disk set being $2 was a dead giveaway about the actual origin of the DVDs since many other vendors were selling dirt cheap DVDs in general just to get rid of them.

So overall, I'm glad the mystery behind the DVDs is solved and for them being illegitimate, I don't regret spending a lousy 2 bucks on them. It's interesting to have them really.

Edit:
@ ReiAyanami25: That's quite the collection of releases. I really didn't know what to think of these DVDs since I only have the Platinum Complete boxset to compare them to.

[svenge]

That's absolutely a bootleg, albeit a pretty sophisticated one. Still several things give it away:

- It uses only 3 discs for a 26-episode series. I've never seen a licensed set for any series of that length that had less than 4 discs. Never.

- The cover art and disc art are way too gimmicky, like it should be used for cheap wall-posters. Starchild / King Records would never allow that kind of art to be used on a legit DVD release.

- It uses the menu template from ADV's release, but I know for a fact that they only released Evangelion DVDs in the US, UK, and Australia. Also of note is that ADV used the same 8-disc release format in all territories for their pre-Platinum releases, so no single disc would have more than 4 episodes.

From what you've posted, I can say with a fair amount of certainty that your set's audio and video was originally sourced from the pre-Platinum US DVDs from ADV. Not only that, but since the text on Misato's photo is in Japanese (instead of being painted over in English), that means that the bootleg set was originally created after the US "Perfect Collection" release in April 2002. As for its menu, it "borrowed" from the original ADV release, but they cleverly made a seamless extension of the episode menu to list each episode on the disc.

[ReiAyanami25]

@ ReiAyanami25: That's quite the collection of releases. I really didn't know what to think of these DVDs since I only have the Platinum Complete boxset to compare them to.

Yes. I find it fun to watch the Japanese releases especially, as they have no subtitles. I also think that it is more fun to watch Kaworu die on VHS tape for a change... (Ha.)

[MandarinOrange]

You're welcome :)

[Mana]

@ svenge: Thank you so much for all of the specific details about the DVDs. Now I feel stupidly proud of myself for finding a bootleg that really isn't too bad to say the least.

@ ReiAyanami25: I must ask, why is it more fun to watch Kaworu die on the VHS edition? XD

[ReiAyanami25]

@ ReiAyanami25: I must ask, why is it more fun to watch Kaworu die on the VHS edition? XD

Because I know that when it finishes, I can watch it all going backwards while I rewind it... A very funny experience, in short.

[Mana]

^ Haha, I see why now.

[PolarisX]

From what you've posted, I can say with a fair amount of certainty that your set's audio and video was originally sourced from the pre-Platinum US DVDs from ADV. Not only that, but since the text on Misato's photo is in Japanese (instead of being painted over in English), that means that the bootleg set was originally created after the US "Perfect Collection" release in April 2002. As for its menu, it "borrowed" from the original ADV release, but they cleverly made a seamless extension of the episode menu to list each episode on the disc.

Interesting!

[soul.assassin]

- It uses only 3 discs for a 26-episode series. I've never seen a licensed set for any series of that length that had less than 4 discs. Never.

Three discs means a lower bitrate, and a lower bitrate means low quality. And I bet the discs are purple.

[Mana]

^ I don't think the footage of the DVDs are in low quality but the quality could be better in my opinion. My only real complaint about the DVDs I have is that the sound is kind of low even when I have my speakers and Windows Media Center on full volume.

The disk aren't purple; they're silver like most DVDs are.