Neon Genesis Evangelion going out of print?
By The Eva Monkey on Wednesday, November 30th, 2011
I made a few tweets and facebook updates already, but after some reflection, I thought I should take a bit of time to muse over the recent developments concerning RightStuf’s sale of the Evangelion thinpack. Around black friday, RightStuf.com began a sale on a number of items, in particular, the Evangelion thinpack for $30. That in and of itself was definitely worth spreading the word. After all, I hail from the days when Evangelion was distributed on thirteen single language format VHS tapes for $25 (dubbed) or $30 (subtitled) a piece. That progression in the past ten years says a lot about the affordability of video releases these days, as well as the desperation of some of these companies to continue selling a dying industry.
Where things get more interesting is that yesterday, RightStuf posted a news item indicating that they had received word that Neon Genesis Evangelion is going out of print. This is not a terribly new thing in anime fandom. Companies pay a lot of money to acquire the rights to redistribute various anime properties to foreign markets, and they can’t always afford to renew those agreements. But when we’re talking something like Evangelion, it’s worth taking note. Evangelion is a show whose financial success built several companies, Gainax, the late ADV Films, and Khara to name a few. And it launched the careers and credibility of quite a few people, on both sides of the world. For a show that has continued to prosper to go out of print is both shocking as well as revealing.
Neon Genesis Evangelion was a title that was (and still is) marketed very heavily to fans. I remember back in the day going into a Suncoast, pulling the Perfect Collection set off the shelf, and having a good chuckle at the sticker slapped unto it which read “The Greatest Anime Series of all Time” or something to that effect. It’s one of a few that could even begin to make that boast, but I still find it amusing, and I know I’m (not) alone. Evangelion was released numerous times, a task that proved amusing to document in full. Did you know ADV Films even tried to release the series on laserdisc? It’s true, a factory sealed copy of the first disc is one of my favorite items in my collection.
What this ultimately means is that Evangelion is over-saturated in our modern anime fandom. On one hand, I am a bit sad to hear that it’s going out of print, but on the other, maybe it needs a rest for a bit. Making something a commodity can be a good way to make people sick of something. At the very least, I am happy to see that RightStuf is selling the thin pack, which is my favorite release, as well as the one with the highest quality. If for some strange reason you don’t own Neon Genesis Evangelion, or if you have the old “Perfect Collection” DVDs, or even the VHS tapes, you might want to seriously consider picking up a copy on the cheap. Thirty dollars is a damn good deal after all.