Japanese Title: Tenkuu no Escaflowne

 

Related: Escaflowne the Movie (alternative version of series)

Similar: Avatar – The Last Airbender

Gundam SEED

The Twelve Kingdoms

 

Watched in: Japanese & English

Genre: Fantasy Action Adventure Romance

Length: 26 episodes

 

Positives:

• Van, the [actual] protagonist, is a strong character with his head on straight.
• The world has a great blend of magical technology and medieval roots.
• Surprisingly deep with its character webs and backstories. Cat-women with literal luck flowing through their veins are a cool idea.
• The mech duels have a sense of weight and power behind them.
• A soundtrack that inspires epicness.

Negatives:

• Hitomi, the [supposed] protagonist, doesn’t do enough considering her position in the series.
• Certain aspects of the animation shows their age.
• English dub sounds awkward during moments without music or effects.

When Hitomi is practicing sprint at high school one evening, a beam of light opens a portal, summoning a young warrior and a dragon on to the track. The warrior, Van, slays the dragon and teleports back to his planet of Gaea, accidentally taking Hitomi with him. Having slain a dragon, Van ascends to the throne of his kingdom, but alas, the Zaibach Empire obliterates Fanelia. They seek Van’s unique mech, Escaflowne, powered by the heart of a dragon. His country in ruins, Van must flee, bringing Hitomi with him and hopes to rebuild upon his return with allies.

Vision of Escaflowne was the first series to show me that the anime had a high level of sophistication with fantasy. Until I saw this, it was nothing but superpowers, sci-fi, or high school settings when in the real world. The universe of Escaflowne is fully realised with more depth than necessary, which is exactly what every good fantasy has – detail and more detail. We see several kingdoms of different cultures, each based on the major empires of our medieval time, fictional races such as Beastmen, and magical technology that fits in the world. The standout in lore for me is the mecha (referred to as Guymelef) with their Da-Vinci-like inner workings. They are extensions of the warrior, each movement tracked one-for-one by an exoskeleton of gears and cables. Every movement, every swing of a giant sword has weight behind it, selling the size and power behind these machines.

On their adventure, they meet a wide array of characters, most notable of which is Allen, a charming knight from the neighbouring kingdom of Asturia. Hitomi swoons at the sight of him. He may look like a ponce, but he’s a good character. He breaks the mould of his archetype by understanding that there is nothing honourable in fighting a losing battle, just stupidity. Similarly, the main villain hounding Van and crew, Dilandau, fits into the young and bloodthirsty psycho category, but his emotional dependence on the subordinates he abuses brings an extra layer to his character.

Most impressive of all though is Van. I like his indifference to Hitomi at first. A girl doesn’t instantly distract him when he has responsibilities as king. It shows a maturity uncommon in young adult anime. Hitomi has several instantaneous crushes throughout the series, which also make sense, as the greatest dilemma she has faced so far in life is getting her first kiss. Van’s care for her, at first, doesn’t extend further than owing her for warning him of danger with her power to see the future. While Van is impetuous and inexperienced as king, he has no delusions about what it means to be king and knows his responsibilities to Fanelia. It’s good to see the writer didn’t make him a high school kid that we are somehow supposed to accept is king. He is competent; I like competent characters.

Hitomi is a bit of a let-down, sadly. Her power of precognition and the fact that she operates outside of the destiny machine used by the Zaibach emperor to control the tide of battle is crucial to the plot and Van’s quest, but she doesn’t do much beyond that. She spends much of her time as an onlooker to the battles. And for the love of magic, are you seriously going to stay in a school uniform for such a dangerous journey?

Vision of Escaflowne is very much a character story with its relationship dramas, flawed personalities and tenuous alliances. Van and Hitomi must contend with fate in a war-torn world littered by death.

Art – High

The art is good, despite age, though not on the level of Trigun or Cowboy Bebop. Fight animations look great (love the PoV shots from within the cockpit) with weight behind the attacks, but smaller details, like mouth movements, are comparatively poor. Why does everyone have a nose that could spear a rhino?

Sound – High

Excellent soundtrack of chants and choir with the occasional light string or flute pieces. The dub is awkward during several moments without music. You can “hear” the dubbing; the voices seem to come from forefront of the screen, not the characters. It’s alright, but the Japanese spatial audio is better. Also, in Japanese you get Tomokazu Seki (Sagara in Full Metal Panic, Brandon in Gungrave) as Van, one of the best in the business.

Story – High

Van’s struggles to reclaim his kingdom with a group of allies by his side make for an engaging war story infused with fantasy. Hitomi could have stood around a little less as the protagonist.

Overall Quality – High

Recommendation: An easy anime to recommend. Vision of Escaflowne is a classic of anime that mixes action and romance in a world of magic technology and mysticism bound to the machine of fate.

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Awards: (hover mouse over each award to see descriptions; click award for more recipients)

Positive: 

Negative: None.