The Neon Genesis Evangelion Blu-ray is a paradoxical object. It is simultaneously the best and worst way to watch the series. Technically, it offers unprecedented resolution and color fidelity. Artistically, it represents a revisionist impulse that would make George Lucas proud. By removing grain, repainting cels, and erasing a signature song, Studio Khara has produced a version of Evangelion that never existed in history. The 1995 broadcast, with its dirt, grain, and budget-conscious static frames, is dead. In its place rises a ghost—a pristine, digital, legally-safe simulacrum.
The Children’s Crusade for Pixels: Technological Fidelity, Authorial Revision, and the Cultural Logic of the Neon Genesis Evangelion Blu-ray
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The most legally and nostalgically significant change is the near-total removal of Claire’s cover of “Fly Me to the Moon” from the English and international Blu-ray releases. In the original broadcast and Japanese home video releases, this song played over the credits of every episode (in unique arrangements) and as an insert in episode 15.
The delay for an Evangelion Blu-ray release in the West was legendary. The primary culprit was the complex international licensing surrounding the show’s original music rights. Specifically, the iconic ending theme, Fly Me to the Moon (in its various covers by Claire, Yoko Takahashi, etc.), was a legal minefield. While Netflix managed to release the series in 2019, they notably stripped Fly Me to the Moon from the audio entirely, opting for a generic instrumental. The Neon Genesis Evangelion Blu-ray is a paradoxical object
For years, fans adored the ADV Films dub (featuring Spike Spencer as Shinji, Tiffany Grant as Asuka, and Allison Keith as Misato). When Netflix re-dubbed the series in 2019 with a new cast (via VSI Los Angeles), fans rioted over changed scripts (removing the "homosexual" undertones between Shinji and Kaworu) and the lack of the original actors.
Typically housed in a rigid slipcase, these sets often feature artwork by the legendary illustrator Yoshiyuki Sadamoto. Inside, collectors are usually treated to: Artistically, it represents a revisionist impulse that would
The colors are finally accurate to the original cel-painted aesthetic. The grain is intact (meaning no terrible DNR "wax face" effect), and the line art is sharp without being jagged. The angel attacks, particularly Ramiel’s geometric transformations, are breathtaking in HD.
The Neon Genesis Evangelion Blu-ray is the release the series has always deserved. It respects the history of the show by preserving the original ADV dub for nostalgic purists while offering the polished VSI dub for newcomers who started on Netflix. Yes, the exclusion of Fly Me to the Moon from the English track stings, but having it on the Japanese track is a fair compromise.
Ready to buy? Search for "Neon Genesis Evangelion Blu-ray Standard Edition" at retailers like ShoutFactory, Amazon, or RightStuf. Get in the robot, Shinji—in glorious 1080p.
The absence of “Fly Me to the Moon” serves as a sonic monument to the fragmentation of global media rights. The 2021 Blu-ray is, in this sense, a silent film wearing the mask of a sound one.
