Some potentially disturbing news here for North American fans of classic Japanese animation Neon Genesis Evangelion hoping for a local means to scratch their itch.
Distributor Funimation - home to the North American release of the first in the ongoing series of feature film reworkings of the series - have just announced an extensive list of new acquisitions and in that list specifically mention that they do NOT currently hold the license for the second Evangelion feature.
Frankly, I'm shocked by this. Funimation gave the first film a theatrical release and a handsome BluRay release, publicity work that seemed geared to build up the entire series. And, bluntly, I'm surprised that anyone would pick up the rights to the first of these features without locking up the entire series in one fell swoop.
With the films being an ongoing, continuous narrative the first film does not stand complete on its own and the later films will make no sense without the first, meaning the chances of a different company moving in to pick up the remaining volumes is very slim. If Funimation doesn't do it, I don't know who will ...
Good thing, then, that the just-released Hong Kong BluRay edition is coded Region A and includes English subtitles ...
Distributor Funimation - home to the North American release of the first in the ongoing series of feature film reworkings of the series - have just announced an extensive list of new acquisitions and in that list specifically mention that they do NOT currently hold the license for the second Evangelion feature.
Frankly, I'm shocked by this. Funimation gave the first film a theatrical release and a handsome BluRay release, publicity work that seemed geared to build up the entire series. And, bluntly, I'm surprised that anyone would pick up the rights to the first of these features without locking up the entire series in one fell swoop.
With the films being an ongoing, continuous narrative the first film does not stand complete on its own and the later films will make no sense without the first, meaning the chances of a different company moving in to pick up the remaining volumes is very slim. If Funimation doesn't do it, I don't know who will ...
Good thing, then, that the just-released Hong Kong BluRay edition is coded Region A and includes English subtitles ...
More from Evangelion 2.0: You Can (Not) Advance
- Reviews: NEON GENESIS EVANGELION 2.22 YOU CAN (NOT) ADVANCE Bluray Review
- Reviews: EVANGELION 2.22 BluRay Review
- Mastheads: Evangelion 2.22: You Can (Not) Advance
- Reviews: REEL Anime 2010: Evangelion 2.0 You Shall (Not) Advance
- News: EVANGELION 2.22 has a home in the USA and so does SUMMER WARS
- Reviews: Fantasia 2010: EVANGELION 2.0 YOU CAN (NOT) ADVANCE Review
- News: EVANGELION 2.22: YOU CAN (NOT) ADVANCE Hits Subtitled BluRay In June.
Who knows. My bet is Funi will still get it though. Of course, Geneon could try for it to save itself (aren't they doing releases through Funi now though.) Maybe Bandai could pick it up or NIS America is new to the game and this would be a great way to get people to notice them.
Funimation WILL put it out, but it won't be this year, just as 1.0 took 2 years to come out here.
Funimation got dicked around by Gainax over the first movie, losing a bunch of money on the theatrical release and the 1.01 DVD, and are holding out for a better deal.
Todd, that should be Evangelion 2.22. 2.0 was theatres-only.
You capitalized the wrong word. It should be "they do not CURRENTLY hold the license for the second Evangelion feature."