NEON GENESIS EVANGELION Addition CD

NEON GENESIS EVANGELION ADDITION CD
Copyright © Gainax/Project Eva, TV Tokyo, NAS
Star Child KICA-334
¥1700

— by Kenneth Jin-ho cho

1. Zankoku na Tenshi no These (Cruel Angel's Thesis) 4:04

<Director's Edit Version II>

2. Drama track 21:33

3. Fly Me to the Moon 1:31

<Misato 4 Beat TV size Version>

4. Fly Me to the Moon 1:27

<Asuka Bossa Techno TV Size Version>

5. Chorus: Hallelujah (MESSIAH) 3:39

6. Chorus: Worth is the Lamb... Amen (MESSIAH) 6:45

7. 4th Movement: Presto 23:08

(Symphony No. 9 in D minor Op. 125 "Choral")

8. Tendoumushi no Sanba (Bonus Track) 1:15

9. Fly Me to the Moon 4:30

<Main Version II>

10. Evangelion Movie TV trailer, "Death and Rebirth": Misato 0:29

11. Evangelion Movie TV trailer, "Death and Rebirth": Rei 0:37

12. Evangelion Movie TV trailer, "Death and Rebirth": Asuka 0:30

The marketing juggernaut that is EVANGELION continues to move forward with no sign of slow down, and the strange thing is it continues to be successful. Through three previous CDs and a combined nineteen versions of the show's ED, "Fly me to the moon," EVANGELION marches on by releasing a fourth CD, ADDITION. Offering twelve tracks, the question about ADDITION is: How many more versions of "Fry me to the moon" can we take?

The answer is three. The overall theme of ADDITION is indulgence, and the ED versions are just a few of the examples. Nothing on this disc is really a motivated purchase point and it seems more like an outlet for the cast of EVANGELION to kick back and let loose with the vocal cords.

The OP of EVANGELION starts off ADDITION, and the three main female characters of EVA — Misato, Rei, and Asuka — give their rendition of "Zankoku na Tenshi no These" (Cruel Angel's Thesis). It is jaunty and fun; however, at times the vocalists Hayashibara Megumi (Rei), Mitsuishi Kotono (Misato) and Miyamura Yuko (Asuka) sound strained and restricted due to the limited vocal range they must operate in to stay in "character" mode.

"Fly me to the moon," widely known as Frank Sinatra, Sr.'s signature song, is given another rendition with a very high-pitched and whiny-sounding Rei and a valiant try by Misato that actually is not bad. Perhaps to come full circle, all three characters combine for a trio of "Fly me to the moon" set to the original version with a collage of various monologues of the three characters in the middle.

Two particular pieces of music on the soundtrack separate themselves from the rest, Georg Handel's "Messiah," from episode 22 during the fifteenth Angel's attack, and Ludwig van Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 in D minor Op. 125, "Choral," the background music to the devastating end of episode 24. Gainax's usage of each classical track in the series was rather dramatic, and the inclusion of the pieces here are refreshing although most classical fans will probably already own these tracks elsewhere.

The real jewel of ADDITION, however, is a lengthy radio show style drama. Featuring just about the entire seiyuu cast from the show, the drama is a comical farce and showcases the humor aspect of EVANGELION. The cast covers such material as a newly designed plug suit and the premise of the EVA pilots forming a sentai team; it ends with the cast having to rely on nothing but their own vocal cords to provide background music and sound effects for an episode. Another laugh included in the drama track is a Pen-pen speaking!

Perhaps the most puzzling track on ADDITION is track eight, the "bonus" track: "Tendoumushi no Sanba". A track that was used for all of three seconds in episode fifteen at the wedding, it certainly shows the overall theme of ADDITION; indulgence on the part of the EVANGELION merchandise machine.

ADDITION, at this point, is in no way a critical or necessary purchase for anyone, even die-hard EVA fans. When first released, ADDITION was available in a limited run with a movie ticket for the first EVANGELION movie, "Death and Rebirth," when it was released. It sold for ¥3000 and by now, is no longer available. With the ticket incentive gone, ADDITION is a pale product that really does not demand any attention.