Im a nub, please help

[Tagron]

Ok i dont watch anime, but i find myself with two DVD's, one is Evangelion The End of Evangelion, and the other is Evangelion Directors cut: Genesis Reborn. Ive been told they are amazing so im going to give them a chance.

Now ive been told these will make absolutly no sence because i didnt see the series, but i also heard about a movie that has an abbreviated version of all the episodes to catch you up and allow you to see the movie. So my question is, what is this DVD, where can i get it, and would you suggest i watch it or is it really worth seeing all the episodes, if so what dvd/s do i get to see them.

Any advice would be awsome, thanks.

[HeWhoPostsStuff]

one is Evangelion The End of Evangelion...
A theatrical release, unlike the TV show, but basically it's what the series' director originally wanted to make the last 2 episodes of the TV series into: when doing the original series, however, funding fell short and he was forced to do sort of a cut-and-paste "trippy" version of the events. Later on, when Eva became more popular and he had the money to do it, he made the mvoie to fulfill his original vision for how the series should end. Both the TV ending and the movie are worth watching, though.

...and the other is Evangelion Directors cut: Genesis Reborn.
This was the first Western release of additional material added into some of the original Evangelion episodes (the term "Director's Cut" is misleading), there's another volume which has the same thing for a few other episodes (forget what it's called). Most would recommend that you instead get the "Platinum" edition release of the original series, it has the new stuff added in, plus its image quality is better and a few other enhancements.

but i also heard about a movie that has an abbreviated version of all the episodes to catch you up and allow you to see the movie.
That would be "Death," it's basically a summary of the series with a few extra bits added in. It gives you a general idea of what goes on, but to truly have any chance of getting the full effect you should probably watch the whole series. Off to the side, "Death" usually comes packaged with "Rebirth," which is simply the first half of "End of Evangelion," not necessary to watch on its own (though it does have a really funky ending song).

In short, most would recommend getting the "Platinum" episodes (which make the Director's Cuts pretty much irrelevent) to watch the full series before watching "End," though if you're not about to spend all that money "Death" is about the best alternative you have.

[TS-Scorpio]

Evangelion: Death and Rebirth

Death is a one hour synopsis of the series, and Rebirth is the first 30 minutes of The End of Evangelion.

I think watching Death and then deciding if you like it enough to watch the whole series is a good idea.