Anime Review: Vision of Escaflowne

One of my absolute favourite genres has got to be mecha. But before I had the fortune of finding this out, I stumbled onto this anime, first played on TV, Vision of Escaflowne. This is how the obsession started.

If you like this series, you might also enjoy Last Exile, Neon Genesis Evangelion and Record of Lodoss War (not quite mecha). Feel free to recommend other similar anime’s in the comments section, as I cannot claim to have seen every single anime out there ^^.

Genre: Fantasy, Mecha

Episodes: 26

Sequels: Escaflowne: The movie

If you are a mecha fan and have yet to put this on you watch list, I suggest you do it ASAP! If you enjoyed Macross and Eureka Seven, you will most likely enjoy Escaflowne as Shoji Kawamori is one of the creators, while production was done by Sunrise (Gundam, Cowboy Bebop, Code Geass).

The heroine in this story is Hitomi Kanzaki, a very normal high school student with normal interests and hobbies such as track, and Tarot readings! Hitomi has a vision of a young man, Van Fanel, slaying a dragon. Van materialises later that evening as he is transported to her world in a pillar of light……along with the dragon. Van slays the dragon and rewards himself by cutting out the dragon’s heart, revealing an energist stone to take. As Van is transported back to his world Gaia, where the Earth can be seen in the sky, Hitomi is transported with him.

In Hitomi’s struggle to find a way back to Earth, her psychic powers are somewhat awakened and in turn Farnelias Mech, Escaflowne. Thus she finds herself thrust into the middle of wars and conflict between Austuria, Famelia and Zaibach.

So this series does have a great storyline, with albeit an unoriginal plotline, but the initial thought, girl surrounded by guys and love triangle soon ensues, does have the qualities of a shojou, but it actually is a fantasy mecha action series with toned down romance.

This series does a wonderful job of grabbing you and captivating your imagination in the first few episodes, and the first half of the series, but fails to continue doing so in the latter half. Much of the blame is trying to conclude the complex character relationships and plotlines built up initially towards the end of the series.

Once I tell you Escaflowne was originally planned to cover 39 episodes, but had to be cut down to 26 during production and the director did not want to sacrifice any characters or plotlines, you can begin to see why. This is reflected in the slightly erratic story development, slow initially and speeding up in the last few episodes, with the final episode being particularly evident of the forced conclusion.

That being said, the series still has a great deal more to offer, with characters developing into engaging, believable genuine people. Hitomi’s journey is particularly interesting as she grows up through the series. The very likable tomboyish heroine is not the curvy long haired airhead she was originally planned to be, but instead a stable and reserved character who takes a down to earth nature in her approach to her powers and romantic interests.

Talking about romantic interests, the love triangle between Van and Allen makes for an interesting contrast, with two different personalities. Van being the young impulsive type while Allen is the older, more mature and charming shoujo prettyboy, both likable characters. This does not however, overpower the story, in that when there is action, there is nothing but action!!!

If this series was originally meant to be 39 episodes, but was crammed into 26, you’d expect the storylines to be good, epic, and I’ll say this, it is!

The series is set in a fantasy world with evil empires and kingdoms battling it out, mecha style! On the next level there is the world of Gaia, Atlantis and control over the winds of destiny. Hitomi has the ability to see the inevitable but also change it, with various consequences of course. Then there are the side characters outside the trio, the insidious Dilandau and Folken, with both of their hidden agendas driving them and justifying their motives. Dilandau in particular was a well written antagonist. He is so menacing at times you love to hate him, although there are moments where that perception may change.

When this series came out in 1996, the animations were spectacular! Even now the animation still holds its own. Considering the world is not Earth, the animation and scenery really help to distinguish between them. The characters are well detailed, given that this series came out in the same timeframe as Ghost in the Shell and Rurouni Kenshin.

Fans of Gundam will be used to high tech state of the art mecha, but the organic nature of Escaflowne with steam and mysterious stones powering Escaflowne accompanied by cogs and gears being visible as Van pilots his machine is definitely refreshing and fitting for the timeline the story is set in whilst matching the tech found in Gaia. Mecha fights are also done well, with a battle every other episode. The only flaw which is immediately noticeable is their extended and distinct squared off noses, but hey, I’m being picky.

As expected in any good series, the music must hold its own; Escaflowne’s soundtrack fulfils this criterion. Its unlike the jazz music in Cowboy Bebop, you get epic orchestral scores fitting for an epic storyline.

The voice acting is excellent! Each character is clearly distinguishable and voiced with flawlessness from dramatic to emotional scenes. I must say my particular favourite was the insane Dilandau, with his fits of rage and unparalleled hatred and a clearly fractured persona, the character is played with utter perfection. I also initially watched this series dubbed, which I must say is very good. I was rather impressed but I will say the original is still the best.

There are three different manga’s out there for Escaflowne, but those of you who liked the anime but have yet to read them, be warned, they are worlds apart.

Escaflowne has wonderful storylines and characters but does suffer from a few flaws, mainly the crammed timeframe of the series into 26 episodes, where you sometimes feel there is little breathing space. Having said that, this is still a solid mecha anime well worth your time!

Escaflowne: Complete Collection