Neon Genesis Evangelion VHS

In 2015, fifteen years after a global catastrophe called Second Impact that melted the polar ice caps and killed half of humanity, the city of Tokyo-3 exists as a fortress designed to fight the Angels — massive, inexplicable beings that appear periodically and can only be destroyed by the Evangelion units: enormous bio-mechanical weapons that require a specific type of pilot to operate. Shinji Ikari is fourteen years old, estranged from his father Gendo — the cold, calculating commander of NERV, the organization that built the Evas — and summoned to Tokyo-3 with no warning and no preparation to pilot Unit 01. What follows across 26 episodes is simultaneously a mecha action series, a psychological portrait of depression and dissociation, a dense mythology about human origins and the nature of consciousness, and one of the most formally ambitious anime ever produced.

Neon Genesis Evangelion is the 1995 television series directed and written by Hideaki Anno, produced by Gainax and Tatsunoko Production, and broadcast on TV Tokyo from October 1995 to March 1996. It is one of the most influential anime ever made — reshaping the mecha genre, the psychological anime tradition, and the international perception of what anime could be.

The series was released in North America on VHS by ADV Films between August 20, 1996 and July 7, 1998 — making it one of the earliest major anime series licensed and released in North America on home video. The 13-volume VHS run spans the complete 26-episode series, with two episodes per tape, under the "Genesis" label. Each tape was released in both subtitled and dubbed versions; some early volumes also received bilingual editions.

The English dub produced by ADV Films in Houston features Spike Spencer, Allison Keith, Tiffany Grant, Amanda Winn-Lee, and Tristan MacAvery, and aired on KTEH San Jose in 1999 — the first domestic TV broadcast of the series in North America. 

Notable Staff & Voice Talent

Director: Hideaki Anno (Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water, FLCL executive producer, later Shin Evangelion)
Series Composition / Screenplay: Hideaki Anno
Character Design: Yoshiyuki Sadamoto (FLCL, Diebuster, The Girl Who Leapt Through Time)
Mechanical Design: Ikuto Yamashita & Hideaki Anno
Studio: Gainax / Tatsunoko Production (FLCL, Mahoromatic, Gunbuster)
Music: Shiro Sagisu (Bleach, Megazone 23, Macross II, Black Bullet)
Opening Theme: "A Cruel Angel's Thesis" by Yoko Takahashi
Ending Theme: "Fly Me to the Moon" (multiple arrangements) by Claire

Japanese Cast:
- Megumi Ogata as Shinji Ikari (Cardcaptor Sakura, Vampire Princess Miyu TV, Sailor Moon)
- Megumi Hayashibara as Rei Ayanami (Slayers, Gestalt, Tenchi in Love, Love Hina, Tekkaman Blade II, Paprika)
- Yuko Miyamura as Asuka Langley Soryu (Apocalypse Zero, Rurouni Kenshin, Sorcerer Hunters, Hyper Police, GXP)
- Kotono Mitsuishi as Misato Katsuragi (Dragon Half, Sailor Moon, A Little Snow Fairy Sugar, Noir, Maze, Alien Nine)
- Fumihiko Tachiki as Gendo Ikari (El Cazador de la Bruja, Evangelion films)
- Yuriko Yamaguchi as Ritsuko Akagi
- Koichi Yamadera as Ryoji Kaji (Cowboy Bebop, Shinesman, Moldiver, Night Warriors, Metropolis, Ghost in the Shell: SAC)

English Dub Cast (ADV Films — Houston):
- Spike Spencer as Shinji Ikari (Sorcerous Stabber Orphen, Princess Nine)
- Allison Keith as Misato Katsuragi (Paprika — Cindy Robinson Paprika dub; Allison Keith on all ADV Eva releases)
- Tiffany Grant as Asuka Langley Soryu (Nadesico, Sorcerer Hunters, Burn Up Excess, Noir, City Hunter, Chivalry of a Failed Knight)
- Amanda Winn-Lee as Rei Ayanami (later director of Evangelion Death & Rebirth dub)
- Tristan MacAvery as Gendo Ikari
- Sue Ulu as Ritsuko Akagi
- Aaron Krohn as Ryoji Kaji
- Matt Greenfield as Kozo Fuyutsuki (ADV Films co-founder and EVA dub producer)

VHS Volume Breakdown (ADV Films Genesis Series)

- Genesis 0:1 — Episodes 1–2 (August 20, 1996)
- Genesis 0:2 — Episodes 3–4 (September 17, 1996)
- Genesis 0:3 — Episodes 5–6 (October 22, 1996)
- Genesis 0:4 — Episodes 7–8 (November 19, 1996)
- Genesis 0:5 — Episodes 9–10 (January 14, 1997)
- Genesis 0:6 — Episodes 11–12 (February 18, 1997)
- Genesis 0:7 — Episodes 13–14 (April 1, 1997)
- Genesis 0:8 — Episodes 15–16 (May 20, 1997)
- Genesis 0:9 — Episodes 17–18 (July 1, 1997)
- Genesis 0:10 — Episodes 19–20 (August 19, 1997)
- Genesis 0:11 — Episodes 21–22 (October 7, 1997)
- Genesis 0:12 — Episodes 23–24 (January 13, 1998)
- Genesis 0:13 — Episodes 25–26 (July 7, 1998)

Spoken Languages: English Dubbed VHS / Japanese with English Subtitles VHS (separate releases)

Edition Details

Japanese Title: 新世紀エヴァンゲリオン (Shinseiki Evangelion / Neon Genesis Evangelion)
Runtime: ~650 Minutes (Complete Series, 26 Episodes, 13 VHS Volumes)
Director: Hideaki Anno
VHS Release Dates: August 20, 1996 (Genesis 0:1) – July 7, 1998 (Genesis 0:13) — ADV Films
Original Broadcast Date (Japan): October 4, 1995 – March 27, 1996 (TV Tokyo)
Publisher: ADV Films
Format: VHS (NTSC)
Rating: 14+
Genre: Mecha, Psychological Drama, Sci-Fi
Themes: Giant Biomechanical Weapons, Angel Invasion, Identity and Trauma, One of the Most Influential Anime Ever Made

Media assumed VG+ unless otherwise noted.