Eva, so lost.

[DuskvsTweak]

I want to buy Neon Genesis Evangelion but I am so lost. What set do I buy for the Series. If I buy the thinpack with the directors cut, do I need to see the movies? If someone can tell me what I should do, that would be great. Thanks.

[Merm]

Director's cut just comes with the series. You will also need to get "Death and Rebirth" and "End of Evangelion" for the entire set. Basically Eps. 25 and 26 are one ending, "Death and Rebrith" is another, and "End of Eva" is a third ending.

[mikestrife]

Unless you're really hardcore eva fan, I wouldn't get Death and Rebirth. I did years ago and consider it a waste of $. Just get any box with the series and get the End of Eva movie.

[GloryQuestor]

Here is how the episode scheme for Evangelion works:

The first 20 episodes comprise the beginning and middle of the story.

After Episode 20, the Director's Cut episodes begin. The Director's Cut episodes are 21', 22', 23', and 24' (note the "prime" symbols after the number -- this differentiates the Director Cut versions from the Original Cut versions)

The storylines are exactly the same and result in the same outcome, however there are many scenes added that enhance the episode's story and the story of Evangelion as a whole.

After Episode 24 (and Episode 24'), you have the last two ending episodes. This is where Evangelion really splits into two very different (but also somewhat similar) outcomes:

Episode 25 ("Do You Love Me?") and Episode 26 ("Take Care of Yourself") are the Original ending, and are included on the Evangelion Platinum boxset.

Episode 25' ("Air") and Episode 26' ("My Purest Heart for You") are the Director's Cut endings, and were released as the movie End of Evangelion.

(The Death and Rebirth movie are really two OVAs: Death, which is an recap of the series up to Episode 24 with a few new added scenes just for this OVA, and Rebirth, which is nothing more than a "sneak peek" at Episode 25' ("Air"), which is in its complete form on End of Evangelion. This is why Death and Rebirth isn't as needed if you have the rest.)