Here Is Quite Possibly the Coolest AMV You Will Ever See

Posted on September 4, 2020    Posted by      43 Comments

Athena ScalziTo start off with, for those of you who don’t know, an AMV is an animated music video. Basically, you take art or clips from animated shows or anime, and put it to music. I used to watch a lot of AMVs when I was a teenager, and over the years of watching them I realized that making a good one is extremely difficult. Most are pretty alright, but to make a truly good one is an art. The amount of editing and time it takes is astounding, so putting together something like that is a real talent.

Today I’m going to share with you the best AMV I’ve ever seen, and it’s actually of an anime I’ve never seen, Neon Genesis: Evangelion. Because I’ve never seen the anime, I really have no idea what’s going on in the video, but DAMN is it cool. The visuals? Stunning. The editing? Flawless. The music choice? Incredible. This is a work of art. It’s honestly kind of mesmerizing. I recommend watching it on a bigger screen, like if your TV has YouTube or even a computer, but it’ll look cool even if it’s just on your phone. And definitely watch it in 1080 if you can! Oh, and fair warning, it’s a smidge gory.

I’ve seen some pretty good AMVs in my day but this one really takes the cake. If you know of any good ones feel free to mention them in the comments! And have a great day!

-AMS

Category: Athena Scalzi    

43 Comments on “Here Is Quite Possibly the Coolest AMV You Will Ever See”

  1. It’s an excellent anime, with a few redos ( a couple of movies and a movie series that redoes the story). I highly reccomment.

  2. That is impressive.

    This one is not animated but the timing and tone is spot-on. I’m a long-time fan of MGM musicals and this is amazing:

  3. that is impressive. N.G.E. (frequently abbreviated EVA) is a complicated story about what happens after an alien impact and involves young people piloting dangerous robots against the aliens.

    It is somewhat famous for its multiple endings and versions of the story

  4. Quite nice. I was a huge AMV fan back in the day (early 2000s), but most of my collection is from before the days of YouTube. However, I did find one of my favorites posted there: RahXephon set to Frou Frou’s “I Must Be Dreaming”. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xwgVADWeNkw No knowledge of the series necessary, and no significant spoilers.

    I’ll see if I can find a few others to claw back from the depths of memory and share.

  9. Neon Genesis Evangelion is streaming on Netflix, so it’s easy to find, if you’re interested.

    Along with the giant robots, it’s a deeply psychological commentary on modern Japanese culture that explores the cost of sacrifice for the greater good, and the cultural expectations of young women (as personified in the character of Rei Ayanami).

  11. If I may, I’m going to share one back at you. This isn’t about the perfection of art or editing but about the state of 2020 and our shared experience. Hope you enjoy:

    https://youtu.be/JCzRb2XFaY8

    * disclaimer: song and music by my brother. But I don’t get royalties. It’s a passion project of his.

  12. I’m always down with dubstep.

    Does the music in an AMV relate to the original anime content?

  13. Beautiful video. Stroll down memory lane.
    You and your dad really should binge Neon Genesis Evangelion. Some of the best story telling in television. Watch the original, with the original ending, and then you two can debate what’s wrong with the ending. It’s an audacious, dramatic, risky, and horribly painful ending; but so many people (myself included) love the show.

  16. Older people my age might be interested to know that musical opening credit scenes for anime TV shows are on Youtube. I won’t link any here, but I have some bookmarked on my desktop: They are worth finding.

    It’s weird to go to an anime convention and see hardly anyone near my age. I find the reverse of Hollywood, in that anime shows are more moving than the anime movies.

  18. The TV series and original movies are on Netflix, but most of this is from the more recent “Rebuild of Evangelion” remakes movies. With some bits from from last of the original movie.

    Chris S: “Does the music in an AMV relate to the original anime content?”

    Generally no, except perhaps in overall theme.

  19. Best AMV I have ever seen was one of the Teen Titans to Madonna’s “Like A Prayer” but I can’t find it online now (not the one 3:16 long that is there now).

    Failing that, there is a good one of My Little Pony to “Still Alive”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=za9f1c93FHY

    (I haven’t ever actually watched either of these shows.)

  20. This is my favorite AMV: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8THoEEdyQHI

    It uses footage from Code Geass, mixed with a Cracked video (Trailer For Every Oscar-Winning Movie Ever.) I saw it at Sakuracon in 2014 with the family. I still watch it every so often, because, well, it’s funny. I feel that the creator did a very good job matching up the characters from the comedy trailer to characters in Code Geass, and if you’ve watched the anime (you should watch the anime if anime is your thing) I think it probably adds to your amusement with the AMV.

    We also will quote some of the more amusing lines at each other to this day.

  22. Maybe I’m old but my first thought was who’s going to copyright strike it first? The animators or the musician? No denying the work and skill that went onto it though.

  23. You should watch Neon Genesis Evangelion, a magical tale about…

    (checks notes)

    …Gundams and their bicycles.

  26. Oh boy, you’ve opened up Pandora’s box, Athena!

    I’ve been a big AMV nut for about fifteen years, and have collected a ton of them in that time. A quick check of the folder properties for my AMV folder tells me I’ve got about 470 of them saved to my hard drive out of the many thousands I’ve watched. Those 470 are of varying quality; some I just like because I feel a particular connection to the anime or song used. But some of them are truly astounding, greater than the sum of their parts… works of art, as you say.

    About six months ago I posted a picked list of my 40 favorite AMVs on the Giant Bomb forums (it’s a site mostly about video games), which probably constitutes around 1% of the total AMVs I’ve watched:

    https://www.giantbomb.com/forums/anime-790045/anime-music-videos-amvs-1879888/

    Below each video I list the Video Title, Video Creator, Anime, Musical Artist, and Song Title so people can quickly see at a glance what the video is going to be like. But if you don’t particularly care about seeing that info, I also threw them all into a single YouTube playlist just now:

    https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLHDx6IU8kmtfiHF5TDYrmAS1IjSgzg6f8

    40 AMVs may sound like a lot, but like I said, this is the creme de la creme after more than a decade of watching thousands of mediocre ones, and I can sincerely recommend them all very highly. Anyway, hopefully you’ll find at least a few in there that you enjoy. Viva la AMVs!

  27. Here’s an AMV that is about 5 years older than youtube :-) blew us away back then, still holds up. and the funny part is that the Song ENGEL is about Angels, and it’s about Neon Genesis Evangelion, which…well…aren’t the Evangelion things called Angels, too? :D

    Oh, it’s a remaster, too.

  28. If it’s any consolation, “no idea what’s going on” is the normal state of watching Eva. I am hesitant to recommend it strongly: on the one hand, it is an absolutely iconic 90s anime. It runs very deep emotionally and a huge amount of anime in the next decade was in response. On the other hand, its influence is waning, and to watch it is to be drawn into the production hell. The TV series is still probably the place to start if you’re interested, despite its pulled-out-of-a-hat non-ending. If you become an Eva fan there’s time enough to learn about the rest of the mess.

    Or just watch this awesome Princess Tutu AMV (and then the show): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tHZqxecCukg
    This was best of show at AB2006 and absolutely blew people away. It shows some critical scenes but, lacking context, they’re not really spoilers.

  29. Oh my word. What a trip down memory lane.

    I have three to add:

    Firstly, this gorgeous NGE AMV that features The Scorpians. It draws heavily on End of Evangelion and…well. You have been warned.

    [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TKTptsrgOjE&w=560&h=315%5D

    then there is this compilation from Aluminium – who was at the forefront of AMV production:

    [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0_3qQ7HKvvw&w=560&h=315%5D

    and lastly, there’s this gem

    [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xC9oxYggxNA&w=560&h=315%5D

  30. I’m never gonna be moved by your music choices (nor your father’s neither) but you FORCED me to try the Honey Butter Chips and they were DELICIOUS.
    The “now get off my lawn” should go without saying.

  32. Cool. I’d actually never heard of AMV! Closest I’d come was having seen the clip that Harry embedded above a couple of times.

  33. I love the work of whoever did “Animeography,” sort of a recap of the year’s shows, brilliantly edited with excellent music. My favorite is 2014

  36. If I can get my friend Ben to link to it, I may put up the opening video he made for his giant robot/kaiju/battle tank RPG mashup. Not all aniumated, but good fun for a minute and a half.

  37. I’m writing this before I watch the video you offered.
    My favorite ones are:
    “In the End” from Lynkin Park using Street Fighter Alpha scenes.
    And the other is “10th man down” from Nightwish, using Gundam Scenes.

  39. As part of Sydney’s 2010 GRAPHIC festival, the animated film Akira (1988) was screened at the Sydney Opera House. Its soundtrack was performed live in the theatre by the rock group Regurgitator.

    It’s hard to find the words to describe what an amazing event it was. The movie, on its own, is a spellbinding cinematic masterpiece. It has had an enormous and lasting effect on pop culture worldwide, inspiring “numerous works in animation, comics, film, music, television and video games.” [Wikipedia]

    Regurgitator performed with verve and passion. They didn’t play continuously for the entire 124-minute running time; there was one intermission. At times the music & vocals meshed with the visuals so seamlessly that for a moment one could forget there were live musicians in the room.

    It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. This recorded excerpt gives a taste.

  43. I’m not really conversant in AMVs (though I’ve seen a few I like), but I’m a huge Evangelion fan, and this uses the footage really well. “Let’s hope your mind can take it all” pretty much sums up the anime.

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