Volume 4 finally sees my look with a shiny silver sleeve and it looks mighty fine. This was actually also my first Neon Genesis DVD, I remember seeing it in HMV for a paltry sum of £4 so had to pick it up though the disc seems to be slightly wrecked. No problem at all really as the disc worked fine as I tuned through the expectantly rubbish extras which is, yes, more dub talk but there is a video of someone’s Asuka fan collection which is incredibly exciting to watch… possibly.
Volume 4 really kicks the story into gear now though we lose yet another episode, this volume only has three episodes which is a bit annoying, anime DVDs really are awful when it comes to value for money… though I did only pay £4 for this so. Anyway the three episodes cover more ground than perhaps the last eight episodes did though now I actually miss the Angel fights as we get a whole girth of plot development. That’s what I wanted originally but I guess I did enjoy those Angel fights in the end. The characterisation is good though and the DVD goes through patterns of romance, to desperation, to child like rivalries and Rei doesn’t seem such a useless piece of character anymore.
New questions are also created within the volume such as what is ‘Adam’ and what is NERV really up to. It seems the corporation isn’t as clean-cut as it originally appeared and this really adds some depth to the plot, now the last volumes have given an understanding on the corporation and the Angels its time to turn things up a notch with sinister goings on which give hints on what Eva’s actually are and the reason why the pilots all seem to be at the same school with the choosing of a Fourth Child to take the helm of a new Eva. Angel’s also seem to be gathering intelligence and this leads to one of the most dramatic moments in the whole series so far with Shinji’s Eva.
This volume really does keep a steady flow of all the points the show has been creating up till now. The drama is good, the comedy is good, the action is good and the tactics are no longer so cringe worthy, I feel like I’ve accepted them now and just hanging on for the ride as the mysteries within the plot finally turning gears has got me engaged to the point that I could probably watch the rest of the series in one go. The sub plot of the human mind is incredibly interesting and the way they have linked such a subject with the Eva’s and revolving it around the whole show is impressive. It just weaves together and the final episode of the disc gives s a sensation of slight uneasiness, like something terribly wrong is about to happen and everyone is going to regret it.
But three episodes is stingy with crap extras is stingy!
