Neon Genesis EVANGELION General Thread

[General Rasp]

Another EVA figure to buy.

 

[no3Ljm]

4 hours ago, sqidd said:

Am I correct that this is a TWE item?

No, it's a regular release.

https://tamashii.jp/item/13695/

[sqidd]

31 minutes ago, no3Ljm said:

No, it's a regular release.

https://tamashii.jp/item/13695/

[anime52k8]

3 hours ago, General Rasp said:

Another EVA figure to buy.

💓my love

[General Rasp]

I cut Bandai a lot of slack when I comes to recolors. Macross and Gundam both tend to use the similar/same designs (respectively) for multiple suits. So when you have a yellow and red VF-1S figure, no worries they are piloted by different people and are both in the show. The Zaku II C/F versions in green and the Zaku II S in red, same figure in the GFFMC line with different color schemes. No problem, one is a commander and one is a regular solider. 

But that EVA 01 renewal color version pushes it. Glancing from the pictures to my Dynaction EVA 01 there doesn't seem to be any difference. Maybe when the full product page is available it will be more apparent but sure does seem like we have to buy a whole second EVA 01 to get that spear. Making the fans buy the exact figure with slightly more vivid/saturated colors to get a weapon that wasn't included in the first release is a dick move. They could have just release EVA 01 the first time with all the weapons they intended at the start. Now the people who did buy the first release are getting screwed. 

[100mega]

23 minutes ago, General Rasp said:

I cut Bandai a lot of slack when I comes to recolors. Macross and Gundam both tend to use the similar/same designs (respectively) for multiple suits. So when you have a yellow and red VF-1S figure, no worries they are piloted by different people and are both in the show. The Zaku II C/F versions in green and the Zaku II S in red, same figure in the GFFMC line with different color schemes. No problem, one is a commander and one is a regular solider. 

But that EVA 01 renewal color version pushes it. Glancing from the pictures to my Dynaction EVA 01 there doesn't seem to be any difference. Maybe when the full product page is available it will be more apparent but sure does seem like we have to buy a whole second EVA 01 to get that spear. Making the fans buy the exact figure with slightly more vivid/saturated colors to get a weapon that wasn't included in the first release is a dick move. They could have just release EVA 01 the first time with all the weapons they intended at the start. Now the people who did buy the first release are getting screwed. 

Can't wait until the release of 02 with flight equipment six months from the release of the normal one 😫

[sqidd]

2 hours ago, General Rasp said:

I cut Bandai a lot of slack when I comes to recolors. Macross and Gundam both tend to use the similar/same designs (respectively) for multiple suits. So when you have a yellow and red VF-1S figure, no worries they are piloted by different people and are both in the show. The Zaku II C/F versions in green and the Zaku II S in red, same figure in the GFFMC line with different color schemes. No problem, one is a commander and one is a regular solider. 

But that EVA 01 renewal color version pushes it. Glancing from the pictures to my Dynaction EVA 01 there doesn't seem to be any difference. Maybe when the full product page is available it will be more apparent but sure does seem like we have to buy a whole second EVA 01 to get that spear. Making the fans buy the exact figure with slightly more vivid/saturated colors to get a weapon that wasn't included in the first release is a dick move. They could have just release EVA 01 the first time with all the weapons they intended at the start. Now the people who did buy the first release are getting screwed. 

I agree. A bit of a dick move. A dick move that works. I'll get the one with the spear.

1 hour ago, 100mega said:

Can't wait until the release of 02 with flight equipment six months from the release of the normal one 😫

You can count on it!

[100mega]

Just saw the final film. I think my wallet is now officially safe from NTE merchandise. More for Diaclone 😅

[sqidd]

The new movie is up on Amazon Prime

[Keith]

2 hours ago, sqidd said:

The new movie is up on Amazon Prime

I actually thought they were going to have the later cuts of the first 3 up too, I waited to rewatch!

[crackpot]

17 minutes ago, Keith said:

I actually thought they were going to have the later cuts of the first 3 up too, I waited to rewatch!

So it's just the newest movie only then? 

[technoblue]

The previous movies are available too. Amazon made them available to prime members at midnight, staggering the release for each timezone.

[Marzan]

Just finished it. What a ride. To this day I still don't know if the Rebuild film's were necessary or just an act of extreme self indulgence by Anno to get his intellectual property away from Gainax. But they're a great retelling of the original story and this is a mirror to E of E in it's own way. It's a cleaner, more generous ending, coming from a more mature man who perhaps didn't feel the need of of crushing his own creation anymore.

I still think my favorite Evangelion is Sadamoto's manga version, but this one does what it needs to do in it's own visually spectacular way.
 

[100mega]

27 minutes ago, Marzan said:

Just finished it. What a ride. To this day I still don't know if the Rebuild film's were necessary or just an act of extreme self indulgence by Anno to get his intellectual property away from Gainax. But they're a great retelling of the original story and this is a mirror to E of E in it's own way. It's a cleaner, more generous ending, coming from a more mature man who perhaps didn't feel the need of of crushing his own creation anymore.

I still think my favorite Evangelion is Sadamoto's manga version, but this one does what it needs to do in it's own visually spectacular way.
 

The manga is sooo amazing. It's more like what I wanted rebuild to be in a way. I loved all the new scenes with our favorite characters who were *mostly* the same people we knew from the TV show. Not going to lie, I did feel my eyeball twitch at seeing Mari in that extra "non-cannon" chapter. LOL!

[Hikuro]

It was odd. I mean I don't wanna say much and give anything away but I feel like after seeing the original series and movies way way back and then this 4 part film series...it's like Wayne's World to me. If anyone gets that. 

[Keith]

8 hours ago, Hikuro said:

It was odd. I mean I don't wanna say much and give anything away but I feel like after seeing the original series and movies way way back and then this 4 part film series...it's like Wayne's World to me. If anyone gets that. 

I see why you feel that way, but I also see why it was done.

Spoiler

I honestly don't blame Anno for not wanting to replace the original series, and to be fair he always told us it was a "Rebuild."

It's not a huge leap at all to see Shinji looping events while reforming the world back from Instrumentality, nor that it took him a couple or times to get it right.

What was more shocking to me was just how dark this incarnation of Gendo was.

 

[Keith]

Well, I sure as hell want to discuss this.

Spoiler

Eva TV always put it out there that events were moving too fast, that Seele < Gendo's plans had to be modified to accommodate the excelleration of events, but this film really drove that point home. It truly was to 3.0's disservice that the two films were 8 years apart, but that's all water under the bridge now.

Seeing the depths that Gendo was willing to go through for absolute control in Instrumentality really shook me. Anyone paying attention over the years has probably noticed that I've been a staunch Gendo fan/defender/etc. Now, even I can't defend the depths he's gone to. Weaponizing both Asuka & Rei to break Shinji & manipulate Shinji into becoming another him was daaaaaaaaaark.

And let it be said, he most definitely did weaponize Asuka. The Shikinami Series as I theorized previously (as a thing) was most definitely a mass production version of Asuka made from the remnants of what was left of Asuka after dying in Unit-03. Through some flashbacks we see the Asuka of 3.0 & 3.0 + 1.0 was a clone (body + soul) of the original, though this one was taken in and raised by Kensuke. Finally we can put to rest the theory of theageless pilot "Eva curse."

Rei II was expectedly resident in Eva-01 after Shinji rescued her in 2.0, but Ayanami-09 (I don't know what else to call her) was a trap Gendo left to break Shinji down to his own level. Rigging her to lose her form as soon as she achieved a familiarity and happiness level with Shinji ultimately backfired, but that intent on Gendo's part was so messed up. It's never been a secret that Gendo resented Shinji for stealing Yui's attention, and I always assumed Rei was created from Yui for his own benefit. Now, oh man, now I question that whole concept. Seeing a son seeing himself in his father is pretty common, even a father wanting to live vicariously through a child isn't uncommon. But a father wanting to break his son into the same broken individual (as himself) through that level of setup & manipulation is pretty heavy. Tossing the Shikinami series into mix is an intentional overkill.

Manga Gendo actually has a relatable heart to heart with Shinji where in the light of Seele invading Nerv to take control & Gendo recognizing Shinji was in a better position to progress/take control, assumes that Shinji having gone through these experiences must feel the same way he does, and as such will initiate instrumentality.

Here though we get an older Gendo who has had time to put all of his plans in motion. Who has had time to fully shed his humanity. Who is still ultimately defeated by his son, this time not just through his relationships with others (winning over Rei/Lilith & Adam/Kowaru), but finally his own willful action (Gendo initiates Instrumentality this time using Eva-01 & Rei  Eva-13 & Asuka along with his own artificially created god/angel nature) Shinji jumps head first into Eva Imaginary (Gendo's own fully created God/Lilith rather than using the original like in EoE) and cancels it out.

During their single form contact Shinji finally sees his father for all he is, and Gendo is finally able to see Shinji as carrying on a part of Yui, not just seeing him as everything he hates in himself.

And no, repressing all life into the cores of his various mass produced Eva models was not lost on me. This Gendo eas "not" playing around. He allowed Wille to have the Wunder. He dispatched Seele in 3.0 through no simple luck or accident (he literally was just done with them). He was at all times in control, and only faltered in his pure spite of himself. This Gendo was more Gargoyle than Nemo (Nadia) in that he fundamentaly misunderstood his own nature. Strangely it was Misato who ultimately took up the Nemo role, something that went totally over my head in 3.0. I don't know how or why I didn't see it. I guess I was just hanging on too tightly to TV Misato, or my understanding of her. I always saw Gendo as Nemo & Keel as Gargoyle, It took until last night to finally let go of those images, but wow.

I guess that ultimately makes Rei Neo (Nadia's brother resurrected into a puppet, not "The One"). Excuse me for seemingly jump from topic to topic, or even rambling, but there's just so much to unpack. Did anyone else love Ritsuko going full Elektra & shooting Gendo in the head? When he actually picked his brains up off the floor and put them back I was blown away. I'm still sad that Ritsuko will never get Electra's happy ending, but at least she no longer dies as someone literally used up and tossed away.

And now for the elephant in the room, Mari. Since 2.0 she's always been such a damned mystery. Even here Anno seemed so damned intent on keeping her someone only he truly knew. It was almost frustrating to unravel her mystery, looking to just the manga to unravel her origins & part in the story, but I think maybe I've finally a grasp on why Anno made her so important. Before losing his form Fuyutsuki & Mari have a very interesting conversation, seemingly solidifying a version of Mari's manga origins. They do know each other, they do know each other from Yui's college days (as she refers to him as "Fuyutsuki Sensei"), and Mari is no accidental participant in these events. However, Fuyutsuki calls Mari by an interesting name, one that on the surface evocates one of his trademark biblical references. He calls her "Mary Iacariot", at it's surface a combination if Mary Magdalene & Judas Iscariot (an interesting reference and hint in and of itself if you were to attribute the role of Jesus to Yui), but then on my second viewing (yes, I watched it back to back) something resonated with me hard.

For an understanding of where I'm going here, I'd like you to read this wiki excerpt with the understanding that Hideaki Anno is pretty damned hardcore even among Otaku.

""The spelling of her name is uncertain. In the episode guide she appears as "Marie", in the Japanese series books she is "Mary", Streamline Pictures calls her "Mari", and in episode 24 she signs one of her drawings as "Marry" (though this could simply be that as a four-year-old she doesn't know how to spell her name). Even so, Marie is probably the most accurate spelling, as it is the French one."

This is of course a description of Marie from Nadia. Personality wise, Mari & Marie fit perfectly. Mari's ultimate role in the story, treatment of Shinji (as a pet jokingly) etc line up so damned well. For her prominent role in Nadia, Marie is an archetype that hasn't repeated in other Anno works that I can think of, so of course I missed her here. She treats Shinji like King, and her ending is similar to her winding up with Sanson. Her backstory is still one of inference, but I feel so much better about it now. A rival of Yui's from college, very likely the first proof of concept for Yui's theories, first teproduced clone (human/angel) with a dubbed/transferred soul, likely a sempai/mentor behind Kaji/IPEA/Wille, and ultimately true protector of Shinji/Yui's plan to both propagate & protect humanity.

 

[Keith]

And yes, I am asserting that "Thrice Upon A Time" is an overt reference to Nadia being his first attempt that he ran away from, Eva TV/Movi3 being his second attempt that ran away from him, and Rebuild being his fully controlled version.

While Gunbuster is unmistakably Anno, and the origin of practice of many of his archetypes & style, it ultimately was not "his" story, though he did make it absolutely beautiful.

I think after seeing 3.0 + 1.0, if somehow I ever were to meet Anno I wouldn't want to waste his time asking him about any of this (as he has shared it in the raw-est way I believe possible), and that's besides the obvious language barrier. I would however want to buy him a drink or two (or more), and quietly bond with him on that level. After seeing the accompanying doc, I think he'd appreciate that.

[Negotiator]

i only skimmed to hear the english voices, and happy to hear it's the original cast.  glad they got to finish it out.

[Keith]

21 minutes ago, Negotiator said:

i only skimmed to hear the english voices, and happy to hear it's the original cast.  glad they got to finish it out.

When you watch it in Japanese it's always the original cast.

[Negotiator]

1 hour ago, Keith said:

When you watch it in Japanese it's always the original cast.

i watch most anime dub and sub unless i really hate the dub voices, and there are some VAs that i really can't stand.  i like to leave it on dub when i'm just trying to see all the craziness on screen or i'm doing something else at the same time, but from skimming this last movie, there's definitely alot of crazy going on.

[sqidd]

Do any of you have any of the Robot Spirits EVA's? How are they? I can't imagine they are "nice". But are they junk? I want to get the EVA-02a because it looks super cool (EVA-02 GBP?). And because I'm a moron and having only one in that scale would be silly I would probably get a few more.

I highly doubt we will ever see the EVA-02a in RAH, Dynaction or ThreeZero. Trying to get everything in one scale from one manufacturer is about the most frustrating thing in toy collecting. It seems that all of the manufacturers release everything......short a couple of choice examples. I like the RAH stuff. I've got most of them (hoping they re-release Unit 01 and 02 Awakening). I have or have PO'd all of the Dynaction releases. But what are the chances of Bandai releasing the whole lone? I'm going with zero. I PO'd all of the ThreeZero stuff. I'm not holding my breath that they will release the entire line. You can't even get the whole line in Robot Spirits. I think you can get pretty close though.

Edited August 15, 2021 by sqidd

[sqidd]

Double post

Edited August 15, 2021 by sqidd

[anime52k8]

I think they're pretty nice. they're very poseable and look good.

[pengbuzz]

Evangelion lost me after watching the "end" of the original series, and I could never get back into it even with all the "rebuilds" and whatnot. All I can imagine is at some point, Shinji becoming a psychotic mass murderer due to all the mind-screwing he's endured, combined with his own inherent faults. Asuka...not much I can say other than "run away screaming", Gendo came across to me as just human garbage that really needed a bomb to the gourd, and the rest of the cast...erm...

 

... I'll be over at the concession stand.

[sqidd]

1 hour ago, anime52k8 said:

I think they're pretty nice. they're very poseable and look good.

I see there are some Bandai Spirits releases and some Damashii releases. Are they the same size? Quality?

My guess is that the Damshii releases were similar to a TWE type release??? A little more rare? I think there are 5 of them. The most notable the Unit 01 Awakening, Unit 03 and the Unit 00 with the big NERV missile.

I see the Damashii releases sometimes advertised as Spirits. I don't get it.

[tekering]

1 minute ago, sqidd said:

I see there are some Bandai Spirits releases and some Damashii releases. Are they the same size? Quality?

They are the same product. 😅

Tamashii means "spirit."  Some product listings render the Japanese phonetically, and some translate the word into English.

[Hikuro]

I started re-watching the films and while I was watching 3.33 I noticed the Nadia easter-egg which was the Vunder's launch being the exact same theme used for the New Nautilus....I didn't start watching Nadia until back in April or May out of sheer bordem and then found out that Evangelion was originally intended as a spin-off of the series. So hearing that theme and seeing Misato and the crew acting like the various characters of the Nautilus was sort of a nice call back. 

[sqidd]

1 minute ago, tekering said:

They are the same product. 😅

Tamashii means "spirit."  Some product listings render the Japanese phonetically, and some translate the word into English.

Roger that. Thank you sir.

[sqidd]

43 minutes ago, pengbuzz said:

All I can imagine is at some point, Shinji becoming a psychotic mass murderer due to all the mind-screwing he's endured, combined with his own inherent faults.

I hope Shinji has a Frodo type conclusion. I have 30min left to watch.

[Keith]

1 hour ago, Hikuro said:

I started re-watching the films and while I was watching 3.33 I noticed the Nadia easter-egg which was the Vunder's launch being the exact same theme used for the New Nautilus....I didn't start watching Nadia until back in April or May out of sheer bordem and then found out that Evangelion was originally intended as a spin-off of the series. So hearing that theme and seeing Misato and the crew acting like the various characters of the Nautilus was sort of a nice call back. 

Eva is more of a complete remake of Nadia, but yeah, so many correlations.

[sqidd]

Finished it.

Spoiler

Despite not fully understanding the technology/alien's/religion/magic that was going on (I'm not sure I'm supposed to) I really enjoyed it.

Lot's of very old storytelling hero's journey stuff going on. There is a reason that type of story has been popular since the beginning of storytelling. It resonates with humans.

 

[General Rasp]

17 hours ago, sqidd said:

Do any of you have any of the Robot Spirits EVA's? How are they? I can't imagine they are "nice". But are they junk? I want to get the EVA-02a because it looks super cool (EVA-02 GBP?). And because I'm a moron and having only one in that scale would be silly I would probably get a few more.

I highly doubt we will ever see the EVA-02a in RAH, Dynaction or ThreeZero. Trying to get everything in one scale from one manufacturer is about the most frustrating thing in toy collecting. It seems that all of the manufacturers release everything......short a couple of choice examples. I like the RAH stuff. I've got most of them (hoping they re-release Unit 01 and 02 Awakening). I have or have PO'd all of the Dynaction releases. But what are the chances of Bandai releasing the whole lone? I'm going with zero. I PO'd all of the ThreeZero stuff. I'm not holding my breath that they will release the entire line. You can't even get the whole line in Robot Spirits. I think you can get pretty close though.

Hey Sqidd, I have all of the current Robot Spirit EVA releases so far and others on pre-order. Honestly they were better than I expected. The biggest appeal is the articulation and plastic quality of the figures. Any pose from the series, movies, and anything in between can be done. It lends to the play factor because they are easy to pose and the designs don't have alot of kibble to get in the way (omitting EVA 02a). And they don't feel fragile for a 6 inch figure, Bandai has been using good quality plastic. 

They do have more paints apps than I was expecting. For example EVA 01 has the red details filled in on the face and chest. Even the bottom of the soles are painted. All the colors are there but no tampo markings. It doesn't bother me at this scale and the EVAs don't have a ton anyways. Bandai usually doesn't do tampo markings at this scale for their lines unless they are a special edition figure/line (Metal Robot Spirits or Ka. Signature).  

Joints on my copies have been nice and solid. No sagging or tightening has been needed so far. EVA 01 has been in a kneeling pose with his arms up for months and haven't had any issues. The knee joints are very will done, a smooth black knee cap in between the armor to hide the mechanisms. Similar to the Mafex EVA figures but at a smaller scale. The Robot Spirits are smaller than the Mafex figures but I find superior in almost every way. The Mafex joints are lose and some of the plastic feels grumpy or going to break. They take alot more effort to display that the robot spirits. 

I have been collecting the EVA Robot Spirits, Mafex, Metal Build, ThreeZero, and Dynaction. I have stopped collecting the Mafex offering once the Robot Spirits started coming out. If you like the Dynaction you will probably like the robot spirits, they took the spirits design and up scaled it. I am collecting the robot spirits with the hope that Bandai will do a full line up, same as you. There are some weird omissions so far, Bandai hasn't done an Awakened EVA 01 or a base EVA 08 from 3.33. That is probably because of the new movie releasing and I am sure we will get them at some point. 

One last thing, there are three EVA Robot Spirts released in 2010, don't buy those. They were released before Bandai revamped the robot spirit line and the earlier figures are crap. All the new ones have been released in 2020 and 2021. Hope that helps and apologizes if that too information! 

[sqidd]

1 hour ago, General Rasp said:

Hey Sqidd, I have all of the current Robot Spirit EVA releases so far and others on pre-order. Honestly they were better than I expected. The biggest appeal is the articulation and plastic quality of the figures. Any pose from the series, movies, and anything in between can be done. It lends to the play factor because they are easy to pose and the designs don't have alot of kibble to get in the way (omitting EVA 02a). And they don't feel fragile for a 6 inch figure, Bandai has been using good quality plastic. 

They do have more paints apps than I was expecting. For example EVA 01 has the red details filled in on the face and chest. Even the bottom of the soles are painted. All the colors are there but no tampo markings. It doesn't bother me at this scale and the EVAs don't have a ton anyways. Bandai usually doesn't do tampo markings at this scale for their lines unless they are a special edition figure/line (Metal Robot Spirits or Ka. Signature).  

Joints on my copies have been nice and solid. No sagging or tightening has been needed so far. EVA 01 has been in a kneeling pose with his arms up for months and haven't had any issues. The knee joints are very will done, a smooth black knee cap in between the armor to hide the mechanisms. Similar to the Mafex EVA figures but at a smaller scale. The Robot Spirits are smaller than the Mafex figures but I find superior in almost every way. The Mafex joints are lose and some of the plastic feels grumpy or going to break. They take alot more effort to display that the robot spirits. 

I have been collecting the EVA Robot Spirits, Mafex, Metal Build, ThreeZero, and Dynaction. I have stopped collecting the Mafex offering once the Robot Spirits started coming out. If you like the Dynaction you will probably like the robot spirits, they took the spirits design and up scaled it. I am collecting the robot spirits with the hope that Bandai will do a full line up, same as you. There are some weird omissions so far, Bandai hasn't done an Awakened EVA 01 or a base EVA 08 from 3.33. That is probably because of the new movie releasing and I am sure we will get them at some point. 

One last thing, there are three EVA Robot Spirts released in 2010, don't buy those. They were released before Bandai revamped the robot spirit line and the earlier figures are crap. All the new ones have been released in 2020 and 2021. Hope that helps and apologizes if that too information! 

Thank you sir!

Do you know how I can tell which ones were released on 2010? I just bought a bunch this morning. I don't think I got anything of that vintage except maybe the Unit 00 with the big NERV missile????

I am going to pick a Unit 03 and then 02 Beast Mode when I can find decent price. Are those 2010 units?

I got what I want to do for my display figured out last night. For now I will put all of the RAH's out and then what you can't get in RAH I will represent with Robot Spirits.

Edited August 16, 2021 by sqidd

[General Rasp]

20 minutes ago, sqidd said:

Thank you sir!

Do you know how I can tell which ones were released on 2010? I just bought a bunch this morning. I don't think I got anything of that vintage except maybe the Unit 00 with the big NERV missile????

I am going to pick a Unit 03 and then 02 Beast Mode when I can find decent price. Are those 2010 units?

I got what I want to do for my display figured out last night. For now I will put all of the RAH's out and then what you can't get in RAH I will represent with Robot Spirits.

All three that you mentioned, Unit 00 with the NERV missile, Unit 02 Beast mode, and Unit 03 are all the older style. I personally don't have any experience with them. But if they are similar to the old Gundam robot spirits then they maybe iffy. The easiest way to tell the new ones from the old ones is the packaging. The old ones have the clear plastic front and the new ones have photos of the figures on the front. 

Below is the tamashii website I was using for reference. The older figures were re-released in 2012 and that is were the website starts. They don't list all the original figures.

https://tamashii.jp/item_brand/robot_tamashii/1/?number=20&order=new&character=evangelion&sub_brand=&ck1=1&ck2=1&ck3=1&ok=Narrow+down+by+this+condition#category_search