Was it only a dream? Or an illusion?
Hitomi Kanzaki was a normal high school student who occasionally told fortunes using tarot cards. One day while trying to break her own track record, a pillar of light comes down from the sky, and with it comes a dark-haired boy, and a dragon. Van Fanel was the heir to the throne of Fanelia and was transported to Earth, the Mystic Moon, from Gaea, in order to retrieve the drag energist from a dragon that he needed to become king. Running into Hitomi, their meeting will bring them to a different world...
Gaea, the world of two moons, one of which is Earth. A world that seems like the medieval ages, with both man, beast, and beast-man alike occupying the world.
Van and Hitomi arrive in Fanelia only to have it destroyed shortly after by Zaibach. Forced to flee, Van and Hitomi begin a journey across Gaea to fight Zaibach, the mysterious country who was Fanelia's destroyer.
But the Fate Alteration is approaching...
(Synopsis by: Twinklebyte)
Story & Characters
While the plot of "The Vision of Escaflowne" may be nothing extraordinary or new, the way everything is
executed and the lovable characters make it one of the best anime out there. An oridinary highschool girl, Hitomi
Kanzaki, has a unique power-- she can see the past and future. During a dragonslaying ritual, Van Fanel, soon to be king
of Fanelia, is transported to earth for a brief period. Of course he would bump into Hitomi, and of course both of them
would be transported to Van's planet, Gaea. We've all heard/seen/read magical girl stories before; all heard
something like this before. But Escaflowne has a little bit of everything, and appeals to both genders. Bloody mecha
fights for the guys, and gushy romance for the girls. It combines science fiction, mystery, action, adventure, romance,
and oh so much more. The characters-- which vary from the perverted Moleman to the player-of-a-knight Allen Schezar--
struggle to save Gaea from destruction (again, nothing unusual). Most, if not all, the characters go through major
changes in the way they think and feel. They take you on a roller coaster ride of emotions. Overall, Escaflowne is a
wonderful masterpiece.
Rating: 9
Art
Let's be honest-- Escaflowne doesn't have the greatest drawings in the world, but they're not bad. Sure,
their noses may be incredibly long, and some scenes make Van look incredibly anorexic, but those are balanced out with
fluid mecha fights and pretty background scenes. Okay, perhaps the mechas aren't the best either; at least they
flow with the animation, unlike some animes where they just don't seem to fit. There are also the occational
bloobers, like the one in episode eleven, when Allen is able to carry Chid even though he was behind bars. How'd
he do that?! Let's not be picky, though. The animation in Escaflowne is consistant, fluid, and stunning. Perhaps
not the best, but certainly up there.
Rating: 8
Sound
The music throughout the series is stunning-- in the original, anyway. In the dub, the music was butchered to death.
Almost no music was left untouched. How could someone dare remove the beautiful lyrics of Yoko Kanno (Macross Plus,
Cowboy Bebop)? That's a sin. The opening theme, "No Need To Promise", sets the music off on the right
foot in the original version. And it remains constant and steady throughout all of the series, with enticing
instrumental songs ("Shadow of Doubt"). It's all good-- up until the ending theme song. Then, some might
stare at the screen and go... "Is my disc defective or was that the REAL theme?!" Yes, the end song was the
only one NOT composed by Kanno, and it shows, TERRIBLY. Perhaps the song isn't all that bad, but compared to the
rest of the music throughout the series, it falls horribly short of the standards. Besides this minor glitch in every
episode, the music could not be any more perfect.
Rating: 9
Presentation
As stated before- The Vision of Escaflowne is not the most original piece of work in the world. It doesn't really
matter, however (eventually everything's going to have been done before anyway, right?). Humor falls a little short
too. The only real comic relief character wise is the Moleman (he is referred to as nothing else), the thief and pervert
and Merle (Melulu), Van's ever faithful (and ever annoying) adopted cat-girl sister. Every once in awhile
you'll catch Hitomi or Van with a funny face (such as in episode three, when Hitomi see's the Moleman and
claims he is a thief. Van is so confused....). Unless you think Dilandau's face may possibly always be funny,
that's about all for humor. But who cares? Escaflowne is extremely enjoyable to watch; there's never a dull
moment. It keeps you wanting more and more (and more). And then when it ends, it's that kind of series where you
wish it hadn't. Or the one you wish they'd make a sequel to (even though a sequel would kill it, and then
you'd feel sorry, now wouldn't you?). If you can stand not having much humor, Escaflowne is definately an
anime worth picking up and watching over and over (and over!!!!) again.
Rating: 9
Final Verdict
8.8333 (very good)
Reviewed by Spirit0, Jan 04, 2005
