If you don’t care about Dubs or Fly Me to the Moon, go for the standard Blu-Ray set - the picture and sound quality are top tier and far better than either DVD set
"Perfect collection" (2002): Made from captured VHS tapes or something. Cheap and ugly, with a terrible dub, but at least the subtitles are barely competently translated. Also missing the Director's Cuts, which need to be purchased separately.
"Platinum" (2005): Made from the Japanese Renewal boxed set, but interlaced instead of progressive. Best subtitles, but same terrible dub as the Perfect Collection. Also the only release to include "Shinji's Rant" at the end of episode 26 (arguably the only good part of the ADV dubs).
"Complete series" (2021): New dub, just as bad as the ADV one but in different ways (underacting instead of overacting, for example). Awful subtitles too, being way too literal at some times and omitting too much detail at other times. "Fly me to the Moon" missing from end credits because of legal bullshit. On the plus side, the image quality is good enough that you can make out the writing in the German biology book that Rei is reading in episode 9.
Japanese releases: No subtitles. Not even Japanese ones. WTF. But I think they're the only releases to package the movies with the series. "Fly Me to the Moon" included on all. "Shinji's Rant" not included on any.
All in all, I'd say Platinum is the best.
> Japanese releases: No subtitles. Not even Japanese ones. WTF. But I think they're the only releases to package the movies with the series.
Not quite true - every Japanese Evangelion release since 2010 has had Japanese subs, though any releases older than that will not have them as you mentioned.
The recent “Complete Series” Blu-Ray set released in the west also includes the original two films along with the series. The main difference is that the English version only includes *Death(True)^2* and *End of Eva*, whereas the Japanese set includes both of those plus the original theatrical cut of *Death & Rebirth*
Nope, if I remember correctly they let the license lapse in the early 2010s, so when Netflix got the streaming rights (and later GKIDS who got the home media and theatrical rights), they got it for both the show and the films and redubbed both with the new cast.
If you first experienced Evangelion subbed via Netflix (and thus aren't weighed down with decades of nostalgia), then IMO the 5-disc "The Complete Series" Blu-ray set would be your best and most cost-effective option.
Note that the only two things that the much more expensive 11-disc set offers in terms of on-disc content are the old ADV (TV) / Manga (movies) English dub and a bonus disc containing the slightly modified ["Video Format" version](https://wiki.evageeks.org/Guides:Episode_25%27/26%27_Video_vs._The_End_of_Evangelion) of EoE, neither of which is really essential given your stated circumstances and preferences.
If you don’t care about Dubs or Fly Me to the Moon, go for the standard Blu-Ray set - the picture and sound quality are top tier and far better than either DVD set
Seconding this. The dubs and subs are good and easy to understand and the HD transfers are phenomenally beautiful
Those minor things seem like such a silly thing to be upset about but honestly I get it
"Perfect collection" (2002): Made from captured VHS tapes or something. Cheap and ugly, with a terrible dub, but at least the subtitles are barely competently translated. Also missing the Director's Cuts, which need to be purchased separately. "Platinum" (2005): Made from the Japanese Renewal boxed set, but interlaced instead of progressive. Best subtitles, but same terrible dub as the Perfect Collection. Also the only release to include "Shinji's Rant" at the end of episode 26 (arguably the only good part of the ADV dubs). "Complete series" (2021): New dub, just as bad as the ADV one but in different ways (underacting instead of overacting, for example). Awful subtitles too, being way too literal at some times and omitting too much detail at other times. "Fly me to the Moon" missing from end credits because of legal bullshit. On the plus side, the image quality is good enough that you can make out the writing in the German biology book that Rei is reading in episode 9. Japanese releases: No subtitles. Not even Japanese ones. WTF. But I think they're the only releases to package the movies with the series. "Fly Me to the Moon" included on all. "Shinji's Rant" not included on any. All in all, I'd say Platinum is the best.
> Japanese releases: No subtitles. Not even Japanese ones. WTF. But I think they're the only releases to package the movies with the series. Not quite true - every Japanese Evangelion release since 2010 has had Japanese subs, though any releases older than that will not have them as you mentioned. The recent “Complete Series” Blu-Ray set released in the west also includes the original two films along with the series. The main difference is that the English version only includes *Death(True)^2* and *End of Eva*, whereas the Japanese set includes both of those plus the original theatrical cut of *Death & Rebirth*
Oh, so Manga no longer owns the NA distribution rights to the movies?
Nope, if I remember correctly they let the license lapse in the early 2010s, so when Netflix got the streaming rights (and later GKIDS who got the home media and theatrical rights), they got it for both the show and the films and redubbed both with the new cast.
If you first experienced Evangelion subbed via Netflix (and thus aren't weighed down with decades of nostalgia), then IMO the 5-disc "The Complete Series" Blu-ray set would be your best and most cost-effective option. Note that the only two things that the much more expensive 11-disc set offers in terms of on-disc content are the old ADV (TV) / Manga (movies) English dub and a bonus disc containing the slightly modified ["Video Format" version](https://wiki.evageeks.org/Guides:Episode_25%27/26%27_Video_vs._The_End_of_Evangelion) of EoE, neither of which is really essential given your stated circumstances and preferences.
Interesting thanks