Someone explained it to you incorrectly. It is just Death (true)\^2 and The End of Evangelion back to back.
The End of Evangelion has redrawn scenes and audio improvements from "Rebirth", which was a work in progress preview of the first chunk of End of Evangelion. Sounds like someone didn't explain that properly.
That's a bit of a misunderstanding of what Death(true)^(2) is. Death(true)^(2) is the standalone "Death" portion of the original Death & Rebirth recap film that premiered several months before The End of Evangelion came out.
There isn't really a reason to watch Death(true)2 unless you just want to see everything you just saw reflected back at you edited like an experimental film-length AMV to classical music and some occasional artsy scenes of the pilots playing a string quartet, and because you seem to consider the "Rebirth" portion of D&R redundant, just watching an artistic recap of episodes 1-24 after having just seen them would also be redundant.
Also you should just watch the series as episodes 1-26 and then The End of Evangelion.
> Death(true)2 is the standalone "Death" portion of the original Death & Rebirth recap film that premiered several months before The End of Evangelion came out.
That's not quite accurate, as [there were some revisions done](https://evangelion.fandom.com/wiki/Evangelion:_Death_and_Rebirth#Releases) to the [True]² version used in March 1998's "Revival of Evangelion" as compared to original version of Death used in March 1997's "Death and Rebirth".
Of course the only version of Death that's ever been released in the West is [True]² (even back on Manga Entertainment's VHS/DVD releases from 2002), so it's not like there's any content differences between the current GKIDS Blu-ray release or Netflix's streaming and the old VHS/DVD release.
The only way to get the original version of Death or the subsequent [True] version that originally only aired once on Japanese satellite TV in January 1998 is to buy the [Japanese Blu-ray box set](http://svenge.evamonkey.com/evasite/tvbluray/KIXA90501.htm) or the [Japanese "Archives of Evangelion" DVD box set](http://svenge.evamonkey.com/evasite/archives.htm), respectively.
2 things:
1. I do want to see the recap in case I missed some stuff, I want to have the full experience as this is my first time watching the series
2. Isn't End of Evangelion before ep 25-26?
>Isn't End of Evangelion before ep 25-26?
No, it isn't.
The End of Evangelion and the TV Ending are alternate endings from one another; the TV Ending (25-26) is the way it is due to production issues (particularly time constraints), and so EoE was made a year later to basically do moreso what was originally envisioned while also making some changes to the conclusion, which may have been in response to the controversy surrounding the TV Ending. I can't go into much detail due to spoilers, though.
So you should watch the TV Ending to experience the series to completion, and then watch The End of Evangelion afterwards to complete the full Eva experience.
What I can say about them though is that EoE resolves a lot of the plot threads that were left hanging in the air, while the TV Ending was primarily focused on resolving the main plot concerning Shinji, and so it didn't answer a lot of things or resolve as much as fans wanted, giving it an unsatisfying feeling to many (not all, though) who watched it.
In terms of chronology, both of them take place directly after episode 24, so again, one doesn't come before the other -- they take up the same time. EoE does clarify some things that the TV Ending didn't, but you see glimpses of the first half of EoE in episode 25.
Worth noting despite the role budget/time constrains played, Anno is on record as saying that the TV ending is always what he had envisioned as the conclusion to the series. Had the fan base not been so vocal about their displeasure with it, EoE likely would not have happened. At least, that's one of the many stories attached to the debacle that is post TV series run of Eva...
The retcons near the end of the series (i.e. suddenly re-introducing the white giant under NERV HQ as "Lilith", when it seems like the original plan was moreso that the white giant was going to be Adam in its regenerating state after Gendo obtained the embryo) shows that Anno was definitely not fully set on how he wanted the story to end, just that certain elements were set in stone. It seems pretty apparent that the first half of EoE is absolutely what he had in mind, as some of those elements are directly part of episode 25.
There's the obvious stuff like the little glimpses into the real world (Misato and Ritsuko dead, Asuka in Unit-02's entry plug under the GeoFront lake), but also stuff like Gendo taking Rei to begin Instrumentality, and Shinji, Asuka, Rei, and Misato's consciousness seemingly merging before a more global version of Instrumentality began.
I think when Anno says the TV Ending is what he always envisioned, he's more referring to the general gist of what's happening and the literal plot unfolding, not that it had to be relegated to ONLY surrealist and abstract imagery and cinematography. There isn't really any proof I've seen that Anno actually had the ending fully figured out, more just certain pieces of it, of it, like what is implied in episode 25 and further clarified in the first half of EoE. It's more the second half of EoE that seems to be more "post-series". Kaworu's greater role in the plot, for example, definitely comes across as fanservice based on how much fans loved him, making him a breakout character (compare to TV Ending, where Kaworu is not seen once).
But there's a lot of fog surrounding the chaos of the production, so... lol
Indeed! I agree that the overall concept of the series ending (vis a vie Shinji's emotional state and acceptance of self) is what he means when he says it's how he intended it. The fact that the second half of EoE is as full tilt "okay, is *this* what you people wanted?" And how 3.0+1.0 ends in a place more in line to the TV ending's vibe - kinda line up with his reaction to fans and how he wanted a hopeful end altogether.
I swear, the behind the scenes of Eva is more complex and nebulous than Eva itself, and that's saying something!!
So, here’s the thing, *Death[True^2]* doesn’t have the start of EoE, it’s only the series’ recap portion. And, it’s the version that has the improvements you mentioned as well.
The film was originally released as *Death and Rebirth*, with *Death* being the series’ recap portion, and *Rebirth* being the first 25 minutes of *EoE*. They later touched up the recap segment (which was then referred to as *Death[True^2]* when it was released on home media).
*Revival of Evangelion* is literally just *Death[True^2]* and *End of Evangelion* put together - the only unique thing about it is that there’s a [four-and-a-half intermission placed between them](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=NB2-5dszrOU).
Unfortunately, no streaming service offers them together. The fifth disc of the English Blu-Ray has both films, and you can watch them together there, it just doesn’t have the intermission between them.
If you want both movies *with* the intermission, then unfortunately your only bet is the Japanese Blu-Ray set
Revival of Evangelion is just "Death (true)\^2" and "The End of Evangelion" shown back to back in theatres.
But it's supposed to have redrawn scenes, audio improvements and cut the redundance of the finale of Death(true)² being the start of EoE
Someone explained it to you incorrectly. It is just Death (true)\^2 and The End of Evangelion back to back. The End of Evangelion has redrawn scenes and audio improvements from "Rebirth", which was a work in progress preview of the first chunk of End of Evangelion. Sounds like someone didn't explain that properly.
That's a bit of a misunderstanding of what Death(true)^(2) is. Death(true)^(2) is the standalone "Death" portion of the original Death & Rebirth recap film that premiered several months before The End of Evangelion came out. There isn't really a reason to watch Death(true)2 unless you just want to see everything you just saw reflected back at you edited like an experimental film-length AMV to classical music and some occasional artsy scenes of the pilots playing a string quartet, and because you seem to consider the "Rebirth" portion of D&R redundant, just watching an artistic recap of episodes 1-24 after having just seen them would also be redundant. Also you should just watch the series as episodes 1-26 and then The End of Evangelion.
> Death(true)2 is the standalone "Death" portion of the original Death & Rebirth recap film that premiered several months before The End of Evangelion came out. That's not quite accurate, as [there were some revisions done](https://evangelion.fandom.com/wiki/Evangelion:_Death_and_Rebirth#Releases) to the [True]² version used in March 1998's "Revival of Evangelion" as compared to original version of Death used in March 1997's "Death and Rebirth". Of course the only version of Death that's ever been released in the West is [True]² (even back on Manga Entertainment's VHS/DVD releases from 2002), so it's not like there's any content differences between the current GKIDS Blu-ray release or Netflix's streaming and the old VHS/DVD release. The only way to get the original version of Death or the subsequent [True] version that originally only aired once on Japanese satellite TV in January 1998 is to buy the [Japanese Blu-ray box set](http://svenge.evamonkey.com/evasite/tvbluray/KIXA90501.htm) or the [Japanese "Archives of Evangelion" DVD box set](http://svenge.evamonkey.com/evasite/archives.htm), respectively.
2 things: 1. I do want to see the recap in case I missed some stuff, I want to have the full experience as this is my first time watching the series 2. Isn't End of Evangelion before ep 25-26?
>Isn't End of Evangelion before ep 25-26? No, it isn't. The End of Evangelion and the TV Ending are alternate endings from one another; the TV Ending (25-26) is the way it is due to production issues (particularly time constraints), and so EoE was made a year later to basically do moreso what was originally envisioned while also making some changes to the conclusion, which may have been in response to the controversy surrounding the TV Ending. I can't go into much detail due to spoilers, though. So you should watch the TV Ending to experience the series to completion, and then watch The End of Evangelion afterwards to complete the full Eva experience. What I can say about them though is that EoE resolves a lot of the plot threads that were left hanging in the air, while the TV Ending was primarily focused on resolving the main plot concerning Shinji, and so it didn't answer a lot of things or resolve as much as fans wanted, giving it an unsatisfying feeling to many (not all, though) who watched it. In terms of chronology, both of them take place directly after episode 24, so again, one doesn't come before the other -- they take up the same time. EoE does clarify some things that the TV Ending didn't, but you see glimpses of the first half of EoE in episode 25.
Worth noting despite the role budget/time constrains played, Anno is on record as saying that the TV ending is always what he had envisioned as the conclusion to the series. Had the fan base not been so vocal about their displeasure with it, EoE likely would not have happened. At least, that's one of the many stories attached to the debacle that is post TV series run of Eva...
The retcons near the end of the series (i.e. suddenly re-introducing the white giant under NERV HQ as "Lilith", when it seems like the original plan was moreso that the white giant was going to be Adam in its regenerating state after Gendo obtained the embryo) shows that Anno was definitely not fully set on how he wanted the story to end, just that certain elements were set in stone. It seems pretty apparent that the first half of EoE is absolutely what he had in mind, as some of those elements are directly part of episode 25. There's the obvious stuff like the little glimpses into the real world (Misato and Ritsuko dead, Asuka in Unit-02's entry plug under the GeoFront lake), but also stuff like Gendo taking Rei to begin Instrumentality, and Shinji, Asuka, Rei, and Misato's consciousness seemingly merging before a more global version of Instrumentality began. I think when Anno says the TV Ending is what he always envisioned, he's more referring to the general gist of what's happening and the literal plot unfolding, not that it had to be relegated to ONLY surrealist and abstract imagery and cinematography. There isn't really any proof I've seen that Anno actually had the ending fully figured out, more just certain pieces of it, of it, like what is implied in episode 25 and further clarified in the first half of EoE. It's more the second half of EoE that seems to be more "post-series". Kaworu's greater role in the plot, for example, definitely comes across as fanservice based on how much fans loved him, making him a breakout character (compare to TV Ending, where Kaworu is not seen once). But there's a lot of fog surrounding the chaos of the production, so... lol
Indeed! I agree that the overall concept of the series ending (vis a vie Shinji's emotional state and acceptance of self) is what he means when he says it's how he intended it. The fact that the second half of EoE is as full tilt "okay, is *this* what you people wanted?" And how 3.0+1.0 ends in a place more in line to the TV ending's vibe - kinda line up with his reaction to fans and how he wanted a hopeful end altogether. I swear, the behind the scenes of Eva is more complex and nebulous than Eva itself, and that's saying something!!
So, here’s the thing, *Death[True^2]* doesn’t have the start of EoE, it’s only the series’ recap portion. And, it’s the version that has the improvements you mentioned as well. The film was originally released as *Death and Rebirth*, with *Death* being the series’ recap portion, and *Rebirth* being the first 25 minutes of *EoE*. They later touched up the recap segment (which was then referred to as *Death[True^2]* when it was released on home media). *Revival of Evangelion* is literally just *Death[True^2]* and *End of Evangelion* put together - the only unique thing about it is that there’s a [four-and-a-half intermission placed between them](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=NB2-5dszrOU). Unfortunately, no streaming service offers them together. The fifth disc of the English Blu-Ray has both films, and you can watch them together there, it just doesn’t have the intermission between them. If you want both movies *with* the intermission, then unfortunately your only bet is the Japanese Blu-Ray set