Neon Genesis Evangelion, Collection 0:5 (1997)

The dashing Ryoji Kaji reveals he is playing a double game, working for both NERV and the Japanese government. Through him, Misato learns that Commander Ikari has somehow preserved Adam, the first Angel, who was the prototype for the Evas. He also tells her that the Marduk Institute, which is supposed to oversee NERV, is just a shell: Ikari is secretly pulling all the strings. In "Sickness Until Death," Asuka goads Shinji into attacking a weird Angel that resembles a black film only microns thick--yet it engulfs him and Eva 01. As the power supply for his life-support system nears depletion, Shinji experiences what may be hallucinations--or a fragmentary dialogue with the Angel. As the rescue mission Ritsuko has organized is about to begin, the Angel suddenly ruptures, expelling Eva 01. While Shinji recuperates, Eva 04 and the US NERV First Unit disappear from their Nevada testing ground in a mysterious explosion. Shinji's seemingly ordinary classmate, Toji Suzuhara, is revealed to be the "4th Child," the pilot of the newest Eva. The combination of revelations, mysteries, and action make for exciting viewing, and director Hideaki Anno skillfully builds suspense over the extended screen time. Not rated; suitable for ages 14 and up for robot versus robot violence, brief nudity, and minor profanity. --Charles Solomon Amazon.com

Incredible

I purchased these dvds a long time ago. Since then I believe this is my 4th time watching this dvd. The series makes a huge change in tone with this dvd. The first four dvds are more light-hearted, yet this one is very somber.

The first episode is an interesting story between Kaji and Misato. It is a pretty good love story now that I think about it. There are some new revelations brought about here that shed more light on the evas.

The second episode is my favorite of the whole series. Shinji has to fight one of the more unique angels, and the ending is classic.

The third episode sheds some light on some other characters that you haven't heard alot about so far. They make it pretty obvious who the fourth child is, but it is still fun to watch.

This series is one of the best dvd investments ive ever made. Even if you don't like the first dvd, you have to watch them all to truly realize how great the series is. August 25, 2005

"Tear open the door to your heart."

If the previous DVD's story was a hint that nothing is quite what it seems, in the three episodes here, the scales begin to fall away, almost without warning. We will only encounter one Angel, but the interplay of the characters is so intense that one hardly notices. In addition, the steady pace of revelations about, NERV, SEELE, and the Human Instrumentality Project leave the viewer as unnerved as the characters.

The first episode, "Lie and Silence," has Misato trying to deal with her own interior loneliness and her ambivalent feelings about Ryoji Kaji, would be lothario and suspicious character. Confronted by a series of unnerving discoveries that includes the remains of the first Angel secreted in the chambers below NERV headquarters, Misato finds herself questioning NERV's true agenda.

In the next episode, "Sickness unto Death, and...," is one of the most terrifying episodes thus far. Shinji and Unit 01 are trapped in the interior field of an Angel that does not seem to exist and the boy's hallucinations strip him down to a fragile core. When this triggers impulsive action on the part of the EVA, everyone, pilots and staff, suddenly realizes that the EVA's are much more than robot slaves. And that their true nature may be just as dangerous to man as the angels.

This episode lays the groundwork for the tragedies to come. In an inexplicable event EVA 04 and the entire secondary NERV site vanish without a trace. Gendo Ikari's bleak ruminations leave us with little doubt that he has his own priorities, and even Misato becomes suspicious of the speed at which the fourth child, Toji Suzuhara, is identified.

In a stream of small betrayals, the tension between the characters mounts. It becomes clear that the destruction of the angels has a timetable of its own, and is being used to mask both SEELE's expectations and Gendo Ikari's own intentions. In the middle are the pilots, victims of the ambitions of others. The more human they become, the stronger grows the sense of some impending inexorable fate. November 19, 2002

Things start to get serious.........

This DVD is definiately a turning point in the series. Up to this point has been basically slapstick sexual humour and utterly awesome action sequences. This collection is when the series gets dark.....really dark.

In episode 15 we find that there is still some kind of spark between Kaji and Misato and that there is a new spark imerging with Shinji and Asuka....And Kaji reveals a disturbing secret about NERV.....BUM BUM BUM!!!

In episode 16 a new, oddly bizarre, angel attacks the city and when Shinji hotheadidly thinks he can take on the angel by himself, he and his Eva get trapped inside it. Here we start to understand that the Evas arent just biological robots, but beings with souls and humanity. Pay attention to the music when Shinji defeats the angel; You're gonna hear that alot from now on. And when you do, things are gonna get bloody......very bloody.

In episode 17 we find that there's a new fourth child on the way. They dont say exactly who it is but its fairly obvious....I think you can figure it out.

In conclusion this is a great collection in the series. My only complaint is that there isnt too much that happens, (I mean cmon only one angel attack!!). This DVD paves the way for particularly more disturbing happenings to come. Buy it. Buy it now!! October 7, 2002

Wow.

Well theres not alot of fighting, but the part were theres only a white stripe in the screen and Shinji talking about the craizest stuff.I kept saying outloud "what the hecks goin on."This part of evangelion messed wiht my mind. the only other anime to do that was PERFECT BLUE which i highly recommend, this plus PERFECT BLUE opened me up to animes to mess wiht my head after i am done with this series i plan on starting SERIAL EXPERIMENTS LAIN. July 22, 2002

This is the genesis of weridness

I think that this series overall is one of the better anime out there. There are so many to chose from and it is hard without knowledge to chose good from bad. That being said this is the DVD where the series takes a turn. It is still very good. But the mecha action that prevailed in the early episodes starts to drop off.
What replaces it is a hell of alot of weridness. Some of it is very cool. Ideas about what the angels are and what is really going on, as well alot that Nerv has been hiding.
But it also the beginning of some serious soul searching by Shinji. That would not be so bad if he wasn't such a whiner. Overall I still think the series is good and this DVD is well worth the buy. But be prepared for a different path than the one we started on. December 29, 2001

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