# Tell me how to watch Neon Genesis Evangelion **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 13, 2010, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-how-to-watch-neon-genesis-evangelion/535983 "2010-04-13T20:42:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![BwanaBob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bwanabob/32/2985_2.png) [@BwanaBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BwanaBob)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2010, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-how-to-watch-neon-genesis-evangelion/535983/1 "2010-04-13T20:42:41Z")
Okay, can someone explain the variants of these episodes? I’d like to watch (possible buy) the series, butI see two apparently different length “complete box sets”. Could a true fan explain the difference and make recommendations? Also, explain these new 1.0, 2.0 movies. Thanks ---
**Author:** ![Grumman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/43a26b/32.png) [@Grumman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grumman)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2010, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-how-to-watch-neon-genesis-evangelion/535983/2 "2010-04-13T20:58:32Z")
There’s a 20-odd episode series and then the movie, _End of Evangelion_. It’s possible that one of the two box sets doesn’t include it. I’d assume the 1.0, 2.0 movies refer to the _Rebuild of Evangelion_ remakes of the series. Any other recommendations (apart from “don’t”) will have to wait for someone who actually enjoyed the series. I’m more a TTGL guy. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2010, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-how-to-watch-neon-genesis-evangelion/535983/3 "2010-04-13T21:01:43Z")
When they first made Evangelion, they started to get behind schedule on the animation about midway through the series, so started to throw in long speeches with no movement, reuse scenes like all hell, or just throw any other random crap to fill out space. They also didn’t really seem to know how to end it so they just threw in some random psychoanalysis stuff and went, righto, and finished it there. While this should have made the audience lose interest in the show, instead it made people get more intrigued for what was really going on with the story. So then Gainax tried to make a movie ending to it, but -again- they got behind animating it and had to throw in random stuff to fill out the whole time. Eventually they released a version that was only the first half of the movie ending with old episodes spliced in to fill it out. Then they finally released the actual movie ending separately, but filled out with various random wonkiness. So the people kept asking for yet more. So then Gainax cut out some of the cheesey stuff from the movie and again attached previous episodes from the show to fill it out. No new animation was added. This finally stopped the madness… **for a while**. A couple of years ago, the guy who directed it all to begin with started his own new studio and has been going back through and finishing the animation like he wanted, using 3D and modern techniques. But at the same time, he’s also editing the show down to be shorter and more pointed–more like a miniseries instead of a TV show. I saw the first episode or two of this, and it was definitely improved but I haven’t seen the end. I don’t know whether it will have a new and proper ending, if it will fix one of the old endings, or if it will go absurd in an all new way. Original TV series: Neon Genesis Evangelion Original Move Re-Ending First Half: Death and Rebirth Original Movie Re-Ending: The End of Evangelion Modified Movie Re-Ending: Revival of Evangelion New Miniseries Version: Evangelion: 1.0 You Are (Not) Alone, Evangelion: 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance, and 3.0 is still to come (if ever) Personally, I guess I would recommend watching the original series + The End of Evangelion, or waiting until the Miniseries has completed and been released. ---
**Author:** ![BwanaBob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bwanabob/32/2985_2.png) [@BwanaBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BwanaBob)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2010, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-how-to-watch-neon-genesis-evangelion/535983/4 "2010-04-13T21:12:33Z")
> [@Grumman](#): > > There’s a 20-odd episode series and then the movie, _End of Evangelion_. It’s possible that one of the two box sets doesn’t include it. > > I’d assume the 1.0, 2.0 movies refer to the _Rebuild of Evangelion_ remakes of the series. > > Any other recommendations (apart from “don’t”) will have to wait for someone who actually enjoyed the series. I’m more a TTGL guy. Sorry to be dense but TTGL is…? ---
**Author:** ![Grumman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/43a26b/32.png) [@Grumman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grumman)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2010, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-how-to-watch-neon-genesis-evangelion/535983/5 "2010-04-13T21:13:59Z")
> [@BwanaBob](#): > > Sorry to be dense but TTGL is…? _Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagaan_. The anti-_Neon Genesis Evangelion_, if you will. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2010, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-how-to-watch-neon-genesis-evangelion/535983/6 "2010-04-13T21:29:20Z")
You might also consider checking out Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water. It was Gainax’s first TV show and while it started out like a kid’s show version of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, it ends up sharing a lot of themes and styling as Evangelion. It also has a proper and quite good ending. The only downside is that there are sections that are clearly young kid TV, sometimes for many episodes on end, just to have really gruesome and heart-rending stuff an episode later. It had no idea what it wanted to be.