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The (Final) End of Evangelion

The Evangelion Rebuilds began in 2006 with Evangelion 1.11: You Are (NOT) Alone, kick-starting a mission to re-explore the story for a new generation with the best artists in the industry. The subsequent sequels 2.22: You Can (NOT) Advance and 3.33 You Can (NOT) Redo released in 2009 and 2012. The story began to follow the original TV show, before diverging greatly into new territory.

After nine long years, the final film was finally released and thankfully seemed to satisfy fan’s desires, despite the long hiatus that cast doubt in people’s minds. The story chronicles Shinji Ikari’s journey to find the will to live after the events of 3.33, and him regaining his hope in the world. Meanwhile, the members of the organization “Wille” rally to prevent the end of life on Earth.

Where Are The Rest?

Unfortunately, this means that the Funimation dub of the first three Evangelion dubs may very well vanish into obscurity, something that may not come as a concern to fans who prefer subtitles. However, among the series’ complicated dubbing history, Funimation’s work is what many in the fandom consider the best of the bunch.

Just last year, GKIDS brought the original TV series Neon Genesis Evangelion to Blu-ray in America for the first time. In the limited and collector’s editions, the Blu-rays featured the original ADV dub in addition to the standard Netflix dub. There remains a possibility that GKIDS could do something similar with the release of the Rebuild films, but the chances are admittedly slim.

Regardless of the show’s messy history with localization, soon the entire Evangelion series will likely be available on video from the same publisher, and that is something everyone can be happy about. Too many franchises get tied up in licensing battles that can leave some parts available and others trapped behind another service, which can put dubs to an end and delay home video releases.

For those yet to get into Evangelion who are interested in consuming everything, there’s never been a better time than now to get caught up in what Allegra Frank of Vox calls “One of the most powerful, visually stunning, intellectually probing anime in the medium’s history.”

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Source: GKIDS