By The Eva Monkey on Wednesday, December 3rd, 2003
Apparently there has been a murder in Japan that is being attributed to Neon Genesis Evangelion, in which the accused came to the belief that human existence would eventually lead to ruin, and so he did not hesitate to bring it about by his own hands.
If the link below doesn’t work, search their archives on December 2nd. The mainpage is located here.
By The Eva Monkey on Friday, November 14th, 2003
ADV’s first director’s cut volume for Evangelion appears to be set for a January release according to Anime Nation. It will contain the original broadcast and directors cut edition of episodes 21-23, an interview with Richard Taylor of WETA, and some “never before seen” production images.
Source: Anime Nation
I’m excited to see that these Director’s cuts are moving along swiftly all things considered. I’m a bit unnerved at the fact that they are marketing the final two episodes as director’s cuts. They are somewhat different, but they are by no means as different as the director’s cuts. For a while, ADV was adapting Eva from the DVD releases, but eventually caught up and was forced to use the TV masters, and for that reason, the episodes towards the end of the series are somewhat different between the ADV DVDs and the Japanese DVDs. But, remember… they aren’t Director’s Cuts, more like a different edits.
I’m also interested to see that there is going to be material from the production of the Live Action Eva movie included in the director’s cuts. Given that fact, its most likely that it will be the next bit of info for quite a while.
ADV’s official press statement:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
RELEASE SET FOR NEON GENESIS EVANGELION: DIRECTORS’ CUT
FIRST VOLUME OF DIRECTORS’ CUT OF LAST SIX EPISODES OF ACCLAIMED TELEVISION SERIES IN STORES JANUARY 13, 2004; INCLUDES EXCLUSIVE FOOTAGE
HOUSTON, November 5, 2003-ADV Films today announced a January 13, 2004 release date for Resurrection, the first of two Directors’ Cut volumes of the enormously influential anime series Neon Genesis Evangelion. The Directors’ Cut is not just a remaster, but a revised and re-edited special edition produced under the careful supervision of creators Hideaki Anno and Gainax to include amazing new footage never before available outside of Japan. The first volume contains Evangelion episodes 21-23 in both the extended Directors’ Cut versions and the original broadcast versions, allowing fans to see the creative progression of this seminal title’s final moments.
In addition to the Directors’ Cut episodes, ADV has obtained special DVD extras that are sure to fuel the excitement for this highly anticipated release. Resurrection will include an exclusive 25-minute interview with Richard Taylor, co-founder and head of Effects and Creatures at Weta Workshop, the multiple Academy Award-winning (for The Lord of the Rings trilogy) special effects studio currently working on the Neon Genesis Evangelion live-action feature. Also included are numerous never-before-seen production images from the theatrical release.
Neon Genesis Evangelion is the story of a reluctant young hero, called upon to pilot an immense robotic weapon in battle against alien invaders in the year 2015. As the remnants of the human race cower in subterranean cities, a deadly war is being waged on what is left of the planet. On one side are the mysterious beings known as Angels; on the other, the special agency NERV and mankind’s last hope, the awe-inspiring Evangelions. Piloted by a special team of teenage warriors, these giant bio-mechanical humanoids are the only thing that can withstand the force of the Angels’ defense fields long enough for the pilots to tackle the invaders themselves in hand to hand combat! With the lives of every soul on the planet at stake, these few youngsters must reach down deep inside themselves to find the strength and courage necessary to meet the Angels head on in a desperate attempt to save mankind.
Neon Genesis Evangelion: Directors’ Cut-Resurrection ($29.98 SRP) includes episodes 21-23 in both director’s cut and original broadcast versions. In both English 2.0-languange and Japanese 2.0-language versions, with English subtitles. Includes ADV previews.
By The Eva Monkey on Thursday, October 16th, 2003
Two additions have been made to the omake section of the site.
By The Eva Monkey on Monday, October 6th, 2003
Special thanks go out to Charles Duan for allowing me to archive his essays. Read them, they’re good stuff.
By The Eva Monkey on Friday, August 22nd, 2003
I didn’t get all of the Anime Academy resources archived just yet, though I do have all of the reviews done, so for your enjoyment:
The profiles will be up shortly, but don’t hold your breath. And again, a big shout out to Kain and Munky of Anime Academy for their time and assistance.
By The Eva Monkey on Wednesday, August 20th, 2003
Today’s shout out goes to Sarah Myer for her submission entitled “The End of Evangelion: What is going on Here?”. You may know her better as the Shinji Ikari cosplayer.
Some other developments are as follows:
Commentary Demo: I’ll be doing a commentary demo of the first 4-6 episodes on a low tech mic as a springboard into the actual commentary tracks which will be done at Decay Studio. So, look forward to listening to me, Arcadian, and Silversword try our very best to sound interesting.
FLCL subsection: I intend to spotlight the other Gainax anime (FLCL, Kare Kano, Otaku No Video, etc) in subsection format. These subsections will be your basic fansite format, character bios, episode guides, production info, story synopsis, etc. First up is FLCL, which SilverSword is currently developing.
An actual crew: Arcadian will be assisting me with research, providing input and so forth. And Munky of Anime Academy will be doing research and whatever assignments I can come up with for him.
By The Eva Monkey on Wednesday, August 20th, 2003
Today, mad props are given to Kain, for giving me permission to reprint content from Anime Academy, and Munky for speaking to Kain on my behalf. The content is forthcoming, and should be up soon.
In the meantime, please go check out Anime Academy. I hang around there on occasion, its a great wealth of information if you’re a hardcore otaku.
By The Eva Monkey on Wednesday, August 13th, 2003
Today, I’m giving mad props to Matt Leporati for his most excellent essay entitled “The Meaning behind Evangelion”, which is as good as it is long. Also, many thanks go out to Maverick of Neon Genesis Evangelion Portal Forums for relaying Bochan_Bird’s translations of Manga Volume 8 to me.
By The Eva Monkey on Tuesday, August 12th, 2003
I’ve got some more pictures from the panel if you are so inclined.
By The Eva Monkey on Monday, August 11th, 2003
I just got back from Otakon, and the Evangelion panel went very well. I got somewhere in the neck of 100-150 attendees. I also managed to get onto a web design panel, that was cool too. The Eva panel was almost delayed due to the Japanese dress panel that went over time…. all the way up till midnight. But, unlike them, I got to go for an hour and fifteen minutes, cause no one was after me. Got to answer many questions, got to plug Otaku Hooligan…. I was a bit foggy, so of course I forgot to mention some stuff here and there, and I was a bit disorganized at a couple of points. But feh… its gotten me a few guestbook comments, a couple emails, and an IM.
Shout outs:
Christina, For taking these pictures of the panel for me. Melissa, For putting me up for the weekend three years in a row. Chuck Shandry, For giving me Anno’s unused Otakon ’99 badge, and for the copy of AnimePlay. Tiffany Grant, For her time, and for the permission to reprint “In Defense of Asuka” on EvaMonkey. Michael Haymore, For putting up with my incessant emails and getting me the panel. Ben, Jason, and Dave: For doing the panel with me. And of course, all the people who attended the Eva Q&A panel, you made my weekend.
Shout outs to unnamed attendees:
The Shinji cosplayer, you’re without a doubt the best Shinji cosplayer out there, and one of few excellent Eva cosplays I’ve seen. The UMBC anime member I spoke to outside of Nescaflowne, it was nice talking to you, see you at the UAS meetings this fall. The short guy with the camo vest outside of Nescaflowne, nice talking to you as well, thanks for the support, be sure to drop a line.
News & Rumors from the ADV Films Panel:
Also, I went to the ADV Films Panel. Eva related stuff to consider are as follows. The director’s cuts will be on two DVDs, and the “six director’s cut episodes” include a slightly different version of 25 and 26 from the TV Series. No new news on the Eva LA film, Greenfield did however comment that a script has been written, whether that is the final script, or the script they WILL be using is questionable. As for the rumor about Dreamwave Productions’ Eva comic in development, Greenfield said something along the lines of “Dunno. Can’t say.”, does this mean that Dreamwave may do an adaptation of the LA movie? Who knows. Also, ADV is expanding into manga, and toys, and so forth, so you can expect ADV to distribute plenty of lovely Eva merch in time.
That’s it. I’m about to do quite a bit of work on the site. The support I’ve received has been a great help to me.