Escaflowne

Director
Kazuki Akane
Production
Sunrise, TV Tokyo
Country of origin
Japan
Format
Series
Running time
26 episodes
Year
1996

Escaflowne

By Jonathan Chapman
9th Aug 04

This is a review of both the movie and the anime series. I find they are two different beasts entirely. For this reason I'm reviewing both in two different sections. Because the series is much longer and more complicated I'll dedicate more time to it over the movie. I'm pulling the spelling of the names from the series' subtitles. I apologize if they are incorrect.

First, this series is very in-depth and elaborate. It's a great series to get into. If you don't like romance you might find several parts dull. But if you enjoy both fighting and romance, you'll get the best of both worlds (no pun intended). I'll try not to spoil the plot during my review, but I am going to address characters and styles that might give away hints. Read at your own risk.

The series focuses around fate and the fact that there are two different worlds. Like most Japanese series that use other myths, things are twisted. The tarot cards aren't exactly the same as their English origins. There is the myth of Atlantis, which becomes involved in the magic and technology throughout the show. Traditional culture has it that Atlantis was an ancient city of great technological advancement, that met its fate to some great catastrophe. This part is left intact by the Escaflowne series. However, last time I checked, Atlanteans didnt' have wings and weren't referred to as Draconians.

I can't see what more any anime fan could ask for. In Escaflowne we have swords, action, magic, love, politics, mechs, explosions, you name it.

The World & Characters of Escaflowne

Hitomi is a track runner from earth who is secretly in love with another runner who will leave for England soon. Her best friend is also in love with him. She makes her lover Amano promise that if she can run in a certain time, he'll give her her first kiss. Hitomi is also a fortune teller and her grandma gave her an enchanted amulet. As Amano keeps time with her amulet Hitomi runs and is caught in a beam of light, which teleports her and her amulet to a distant land called Gaea.

Don't confuse Gaea with Earth for they are similar, but are not alike. Gaea is filled with half-animal, half-human people. It is also populated by dragons. Other differences are the existence of floating stones called "levistones." This has allowed Gaea's inhabitants to build floating ships and fortresses. Gaea's populace use the crystal hearts of slain dragons to power their technology and to use Guymelefs, giant suits of armors similar to mechs. Escaflowne is, itself, one of these mobile armors - one that is caught up in legend. Supposedly Escaflowne can only be piloted by royalty and it's pilot shares a bond with it that can only be ended in death.

Van is such royalty, the child of the king of Fanelia and an Atlantean survivor. His parents were killed while he was a child. Van falls in love with Hitomi from the get go and pilots Escaflowne to protect her and the peace of the land. Van's brother disappeared when he was sent to slay a dragon as a right of passage to becoming king.

Merle is a catwoman who has always been Van's friend and companion. She's insanely jealous of Van's affection for Hitomi and doesn't get along well with others. For most of the series Merle is an annoying child-like figure. Later on, her personality gains depth - and we see through others how her kind is treated.

Allen Schezar is a knight who trained from the same swordmaster as Van. He, too fights in the name of justice. As he saves Hitomi from a mole man (don't ask), he is introduced to Van - who immediately picks a fight. Allen has feelings for Hitomi, but also for Millerna (the sister of his old lover). Allen's sister has been missing since she was a child, and he's constantly looking for her. Allen is an excellent swordsman and pilots his own guymelef.

Millerna is the princess of Asturia and has been betrothed to Dreyden Fassa against her wishes. She harbors a secret love for Allen Schezar - but is held back by ritual and custom. This is represented in Millerna's sister, who always spoils her fantasy with talks of duty and royalty. Millerna's a natural healer who wants to become a doctor over a princess. Perhaps more on-track than the rest of her family, her one desire is to help and protect the subjects of her land. This is just the first facet of the complicated life of Millerna - one which is explained further in the series.

Dreyden is the son of an impossibly rich merchant king. He love Millerna because she evades him. Strangely, he is quite intelligent and wise - yet retains a playboy attitude that Millerna finds disconcerting. Here we have the end of the love triangles - well those on the protagonists end (quite a tangled mess I might add). In case you haven't noticed we have:

Allen, Van, Hitomi
Allen, Millerna, Hitomi
Van, Hitomi, Merle
Dreyden, Allen, Millerna

Dornkirk is an ancient man of Earthly origin, originally called Issac. He sought the answers to the mysteries of the universe regarding fate and gravity. Using science, he built up the Zaibach empire and became its ruler. Seeking nothing less than to control fate itself his goals of conquest drive the plot of Escaflowne. He's not exactly an evil person, although he is misguided in thinking that all humanity wants is constant war and destruction.

The Art and Music of Escaflowne

The music of Escaflowne is among the best I've ever heard. From the opening to the credits, they never get old.

The DVD box set actually has a live concert, featuring the singer on stage for "Mystic Eyes." These were all songs that I'd had downloaded and listened to before I even watched the series. The only two other soundtracks I can think of that are better are Akira's soundtrack and Macross Plus.

The art is fantastic for such a long series. There are some parts where they've gotten lazy, much in the same fashion as Record of Lodoss War. But for the most part we have clean, clear lines with nice background detail. Of course this isn't a dated series, so better art is expected.

The Movie

I had seen the movie before the series. We all know that movies based on series are a pale comparison, but this is one extreme example. It's almost a crime against the series that the movie exists. In the movie, characters appear without explanation. Hitomi is a dull, flat character. Van is overly aggressive without any background. Parts of the plot change completely. The background of Van's brother is all but forgotten - as is Dornkirk. The romance is all but forgotten. Instead of multiple kingdoms there is one single kingdom that the entire movie takes place in. The nature of the entire story has changed, with Hitomi being able to summon Escaflowne. I'm sorry, but without the plot you have utter rubbish - and this is the case exactly. The art from the movie is better than the series, but that is to be expected. Of course the fight scenes are spectacular, but they'd have to be to make up for the complete and utter lack of story. It seems the movie was made for people with low attention spans or for those already familiar with the series who wanted nothing more than an elaboration on action sequences. It's equivalent to reading just the index to a science book and then taking a test on the subject. Sure, if you already know the material, it might be alright - but you'd be totally lost otherwise.

Conclusion

The series is a definite "must watch." I've never played the PSX game but I'm sure it's good as well. There isn't a whole lot of immediate re-watchability value in the package, but perhaps that is because of the series' long running time. When compared to other similar series Escaflowne is in the top range (right around Berserk in my opinion). The movie isn't horrible, but is really a pale comparison to the series. Normally I'd just rent the series and then maybe buy the movie. But I'd recommend not buying the movie in this case, but instead buying the series (which sells for a modest price). It's something worth having for a rainy day, to pull out yearly to rewatch.

Series: 9 / 10
Movie: 3 / 10

-- Jonathan Chapman 9th Aug 04

Escaflowne Images