so I finally got all of the gainax version of the series, as well as death and rebirth, and the end of evangelion. what I wanted to know is, should I skip some of the episodes, and even bother watching death and rebirth, since I got the eoe movie? I've heard that episodes 25 and 26 are not as the creator initially intended, and that death is a compilation, and eoe has most of rebirth in it. should I even bother going back after watching the whole thing just to see 25 and 26? what would people that have seen this recommend doing as far as a first time watcher goes?

 

I'd like to know as well. I've been thinking of buying the thin-pack platinum editions.

 

"Gainax" version? It was all always by Gainax

That's your call. It does mostly recap the TV series, but it also highlights some subtle aspects of the series that become important in EoE, and that does help shed some light on it for a few people.

I've heard exactly the contrary. Episodes 25 and 26 complete the psychological maturation of Shinji, which was more important than the surface story line going on around him. Some people believe that EoE is a replacement for episodes 25 and 26, but among these fans it seems to be the more common belief that the EoE version was made to appease dissatisfied fans, not the creative vision of the director. My own interpretation is that EoE takes place during episodes 25 and 26 of the series and does not replace them, which is another common way of looking at it.

The series is probably best experienced watching the TV series from beginning to end, and then watching both movies in order. Death & Rebirth can be skipped if you think you have a really solid grasp on what drives all of the characters. You can also watch the first half for the plot and character development highlights and then move on to EoE, since the first half of EoE is about the same as the second half of Death & Rebirth. I watched all of the series and both movies, and although Death & Rebirth felt a bit slow, it was helpful.

 

Thankfully, they kindly put an "intermission" segment in Death and Rebirth between the two halves, so once you see that, just switch over to EoE, unless you feel like watching half the movie twice.

The series and movies are in chronological order, though, so there's no point in mixing them all up. Just watch the series straight through, and then watch Death and Rebirth, and then End of Evangelion.

Although personally, I would preferred the whole thing to end on the note that episode 26 did, then what we got out of the movie. Then I wouldn't have felt as cheated.

 

Watch the series from beginning to end. It's well worth it.

 

Well, Death and Rebirth actually added some material, like a special thing about gendo's hand that need to be seen for something in End of Eva to make sense.

25 and 26 are as Anno wanted them to be. the show was always about shinji. the evas and angels were there as a backdrop to keep things interesting.

 

Just watch all of them.

 

the directors cut version of the last few episodes have parts of the movie cut back into the episodes plus materual that isn't seen elsewhere.

Watch it all, preferable several times. I have probally seen the entire series at least several dozen times by now, between showing it to various people.

Then go watch His and Her Circumstance, it is anouther series by Anno, that has simmiliar topics, but with the sci-fi removed.

I personally like to think the events of the 2 episodes take place in the middle of the movie, but I can't explain that without doing spoilers.

 

if you're weird like me. Stop after the defeat of the last angel then switch to watching end of eva, then watch the last two episodes. If you consider the last two eps and endof eva to be occuring simultaneously you understand why the last two eps are happening because end of EVA shows you what happened in the outside world, while the final two eps show you what's going on in shinji's head.

Also you get a happier ending that way.

Interesting to note there's a manga called Angelic days which is set after the series. When you see the ending of the series you'll see where they fit together.

 

Get the Director's Cuts of Disks 6 and 7 and watch those in leiu of the regular ones as they add quite a bit of material.

So original disks 1-5, DC 6 and 7, and then Death (of Death&Rebirth) and finally End of Evangelion. That would be my viewing order. Personally, there's not much there in Death, but the music is really good.

 

First I think everyone here needs to know what version you have, because there are a lot of Eva DVD's both here and in Japan. I personally have 20 Region 1 Eva DVD's. Did you get the ADV Region 1 Perfect collection or the ADV R1 Platinum Edition, plus the movies D&R and EoE that were in released by Manga ENT? Or one of the many Region 2 Japanese releases, the newest being Evangelion Renewal that contains the entire series plus the movies.

As for how you should watch it, watch the whole thing in order, every episode of the series, the Directors Cut ep's in place of the originals -if you have them- and D&R and then EoE, then decide for your self after that how you should watch it again, because the outcome for a show like this, is different for every person who sees it.

 

actually, I don't know anything about which versions I have, other than that I have the director's cuts. I downloaded them from an anime site, and they have "corrected" subtitles, whatever that means.

 

It means ADV seriously botched their translation on their first attempt.

 

Ok, I agree with that part about where there two epsiodes take place. You even see glimpses of the movie.

What I recommend is watch pretty much any version of 1-20. Then watch Directors Cut 21, 22, 23, 24. The Directors Cut puts the added scenes form Death back into those episodes, or shows them as flashbacks. Directors Cut episodes are much longer. I also believe that in addition to the scenes from Death the Directors cut has additional items added.

You can then skip to End of Evangelion. End of Eva is divided into 2 parts, or episodes. Watch Episode 25 "Love is Destructive" Then watch part of End of Eva Episode 26. Watch that up until you see the filming from the real world. Stop it right there, then watch Episodes 25 & 26 (preferably directors Cut) of the TV series.

It will make more sense this way, at least in my oppinion. Then after that, finish the movie.

Then, clean your brain off the wall, and repeat watching until you experience Instrumentality with Hideko Anno.

Now, I'm going to have to track down that Manga.

 

Put Death and Rebirth, EoE, and the Platnium DVD's with Eps 24-26 in a multi-DVD carousel.

Hit chapter shuffle.

Probably end up making as much sense as if you watched them in order.

-XCN-

 

Id go by date

 

Watch episodes 1-24, skip the last two, and burn the movies.


.....What?

 

well, I finished the whole series, including eoe, this past week. actually, what spider striker says is pretty much how I felt. I was watching the director's cut versions, and actually, eps 25 and 26 didn't really seem too bad. BUT, once I watched eoe, and hearing that it was the creator's "official ending" of the series, I was like "this is rediculous." I was expecting the eoe revision to make MORE sense, not less. a lot of what happened in it seemed gratuitous and just thrown together. I wish I could explain myself better, but I was literally watching and being like wtf, and it's not like I'm a dummy and can't figure complicated things out. oh well, my 2 cents...I guess this thread can fade into oblivion now.

 

Evangelion takes a LOT more analysis than any normal work of fiction, not only because the plot is bizarre and complicated, but because the purpose of the story is very personal and psychological. Simply watching and digesting the show isn't quite enough. It has to be picked apart and examined meticulously. For many people, myself included, a real comprehensive understanding of the series may require reading the interpretations of others, discussing them, and comparing them to your own impression of what the story is "saying". This is an intentional aspect of the series. Since you've already put the time into watching all of it, you might as well at least take a look at various fan commentaries so that seeing all of it won't have been a waste of time.

And I can't stress enough that the EoE is NOT Hideaki Anno's preferred replacement for the final episodes of the TV series. He's said that he was happy to leave the show as it was, but the fans wrote torrents of mail (hate and otherwise) demanding a "real" ending. I personally think he had it in mind to possibly make a movie anyway, but that's another matter. The point is it doesn't invalidate the TV ending.

 

I actually looked at a couple of faqs before wathcing EoE. what's strange was that they said that EoE WAS Anno's preferred ending, and the on-screen statement at the beginning of the second half of EoE that said something like "let the finale commence" led me to believe that was true. I actually think I liked the original ending better. if you could direct me towards a place that has good, "valid" discussion on it, I'd be grateful!