Neon Genesis Evangelion Director's Cut

Publisher
ADV
Director
Hideaki Anno
Production
GAINAX, Project Eva, TV Tokyo
Country of origin
Japan
Format
Series
Running time
6 episodes of a 26 episode series
Year
2004

Neon Genesis Evangelion Director's Cut: Ressucrection (eps. 21-23)

By John Huxley
22nd Jul 04

Hang on a minute; this is a director's cut of an animation? How does that work exactly?!? We all know how these things are supposed to work: in the film world a director's cut DVD will reinstate all the scenes that were missing from the cinema release, usually because the film worked better without them or they simply couldn't find room for them within their ideal running time. So a director's cut won't always make for a better film, but the attraction of more 'never before seen' footage is usually enough to get those all-important sales after the regular release has run its course. This is all fine and dandy for live-action films where the extra footage probably cost a fraction of their budget to shoot and there's reams and reams of other useless out-takes and no goods lying on the cutting room floor. A regular animation, however, is usually meticulously planned and executed, leaving little or no room for 'extra footage' to be shot because there's neither the time nor the budget to allow it. Any 'extra footage' is cut before the artist's brush even touches a cel.

All of which makes me wonder how on earth ADV have managed to squeeze a director's cut edition out of Neon Genesis Evangelion, an animation with a notoriously tight budget. The answer is simple: this isn't a director's cut in the traditional sense, it is in fact a re-release with brand new footage added. New backgrounds, new animation, new everything. You can accuse Hideaki Anno of being cynical in releasing what is essentially the same animation with a few minutes of new footage, but you can't deny the effort that's gone into realising this perfect rendition of his vision - this is no simple cash-in to take advantage of the fan's gullibility.

So what does this new version add to the original, exactly? Well, as ADV have been kind enough to include the original episodes alongside the director's cut versions, you can compare them for yourself. But to the Evangelion fanatic, it should be more than obvious. This DVD kicks off with episode 21, in which Fuyutsuki relays his part in the Nerv story, from meeting Gendo and Yui as young college students through to their involvement in the human instrumentality project and the dark secrets behind the second impact. This is a pivotal if unspectacular episode that's an ideal starting point for Anno to retell his confusing epic. From the word go we're treated to some new footage (perhaps taken from the OVA's, but that's a moot point) that's seamlessly edited into the original animation, managing to feel neither contrived nor pointless. Several scenes in this episode alone help to build character, making Professor Fuyutsuki appear slightly more sympathetic (but even more apathetic towards Gendo) than he was in the original version. Likewise, during episode 22 Asuka's nightmarish dream sequences have been greatly extended to include more detail concerning the relationship between herself and her biological mother, heightening the effect of her descent into madness.

This isn't an all-singing, all-dancing, CGI-enhanced version of Evangelion - the new backgrounds and animation are far from spectacularly rendered, but they do match the quality of the original artwork and so do not look out of place in comparison. So don't go expecting these new scenes to knock you off your feet; they have more effect on the story and its characters than they do the audio and visuals. That said, there are a couple of instances where a certain design element has been improved and enhanced with extra frames of animation, most notably the angel that appears during episode 23. Where this was previously a simple beam of light, the new director's cut gives this design an extensive update, enabling it to alter it's shape and size depending on the host and also providing us with a more graphically detailed death sequence that's considerably wince inducing.

Evangelion was undoubtedly a masterpiece of animation, but this new director's cut edition improves upon almost every single facet of Hideaki Anno's magnum opus. Perfecting perfection? Not quite - for all the obvious enhancements, this director's cut is unable to rectify the few flaws that really had an impact on some people's opinion of Evangelion.
Primarily, it's still every bit as confusing as it was when first released, possibly even more so. Seemingly critical plot developments are often glossed over or ignored completely, which can be extremely frustrating when it appears to be so easy to provide us with those tantalising answers. We'll have to wait and see if the final volume comes up with the goods, but even if does, I doubt that will be enough to persuade those of you who disliked the original version to drastically change your opinion of Evangelion.

Still, for Evangelion fans the director's cut remains a must-buy. If you've yet to start your Evangelion DVD collection (for shame) I'd recommend skipping the seventh and eighth volumes and replacing them with the directors cut versions (there's little point in doing otherwise since these DVD's contain the original versions of the episodes, unless you're a manic completest!). However, casual fans may want to think long and hard about this purchase before they commit, especially if you own volumes seven and eight already. But if you've ever found yourself wondering what Professor Fuyutsuki got up to during the time between the second impact and working at NERV (I know I have), you can't afford to miss out on the director's cut of Neon Genesis Evangelion.

R2 DVD Notes

Features: English 2.0 and Japanese 2.0 audio, English subtitles, interview with WETA workshop, clean open/close, ADV previews

Release information: UK: 21st June 2004, ADV

Notes: Bar a few minute details, the design work on the cover is almost identical to the original Evangelion release, so you'll have no problem storing this on the shelf alongside volume six. As with the original release, you get a single page insert full colour artwork on one side and a chapter listing on the other. The disc menu is once again presented as if it were a NERV computer, which is a nice touch. Extras are thin on the ground, unless you count the original three episodes as extras, which I guess they are. And no, there's no option to play them both alongside each other to compare directly - you'll have to skip between the two (as I did on a regular basis) or buy two copies, two DVD players and two TVs, which is kinda obsessive. The most noteworthy extra is the interview with the creative staff over at WETA workshop in New Zealand where they've been hard at work drawing out the concept art for the upcoming live action Evangelion. It's a lengthy interview but a very interesting one for those of us who are fascinated by the film's progress, so make sure you check it out after you're finished with the main episodes. This isn't quite the spectacular DVD that Evangelion deserved, but it is a step-up from the regular release.

-- John Huxley 22nd Jul 04

Neon Genesis Evangelion Director's Cut Images