After three years of waiting, delays and finally production, Manga
Video finally was able to get its Neon Genesis Evangelion movie package
on store shelves with the release of the first of two videos this summer.
Was the product worth the delays? Keith Burgess of Manga Entertainment
replied that the Evangelion videos are working well for the company. When
Burgess was asked if the company has made back the money it spent to acquire
the titles, he answered, "Yes." That's a significant answer, since the
cost to acquire Death and Rebirth and End of Evangelion was said to have
been the highest price in anime history at the time (reportedly exceeded
only in 2002 by the price Miramax paid for Spirited Away by Hayao Miyazaki).
And when Burgess was asked how to get the rights to an anime series, his
answer was "With a lot of money."
As sometimes happens, the Evangelion video release has some bumpy parts.
Burgess said he's learned that the "omega" side of the DVD - the one with
the producers' commentary track and extras - won't play properly in some
RCA-brand players. Next up for Manga Video will be the second part of the
Evangelion drama, the End of Evangelion. Burgess promised that the second
video will be released on time, and said it was being pressed at the time
of the New York conventions. He noted that "the extras are going to be
more limited" because most of them went on the first Evangelion release.
For fans, Burgess has a bit of a warning: "Will it answer all of your questions?
No."
Manga Video's next big titles are expected to be Virus Buster Serge
and Read or Die, which is scheduled for an April 2003 release. Burgess
said that Manga has a treasure trove of Read or Die extras, from storyboards
to production art, and that will find its way on the Read or Die DVD. Included
will be interviews from the series' creators that Manga Video conducted
at Anime Expo. However, another Manga Video project likely will be delayed
because of a similar title. The Manga Video DVD of Astro Boy shows will
have to wait until after the production of an Astro Boy live action film,
Burgess said.
