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Vision Of Escaflowne

Genre: Fantasy/Action

Date Submitted: May 5, 2003

Review By: Ratgirl

Plot Summary: This 26 episode series opens with a girl running in her High School. This smart and athletic girl is first shown on her way to a track meet to practice sprints, and is of course late to watch her young crush Amano race. This girls name is Hitomi Kanzaki. Hitomi is quite the normal girl in all but one way; she is able to read very acurate fortunes with the help of some Tarot cards and a special pendant on a chain that her grandmother had given to her. She makes note that whenever she swings it, the necklace completes one cycle per second, never slowing down. One evening she is trying to beat her sprint record with Amano and best friend Yukari when all of a sudden a beam of light streams out from the sky and Hitomi runs right into a young man that appeared from within it. His name is Van of Fanelia, and he doesn't even realize what had happened just then either. Before anything else can be explained the light appears once more, sweeping up both this mysterious man and Hitomi into the sky. When they land Van is relieved but Hitomi is both scared and bewildered, for she looks up into the night sky and sees the Earth and Moon shining down on them. She soon finds out that she is in a world called Gaea and in this strange world exists men that are half beast, pieces of earth and rock that can defy gravity, and amazing civilizations where soldiers pilot giant machines called Guymelefs to fight with rather than much hand-to-hand combat. This world also has some troubles. An army from the Empire called Zaibach has begun to move. Led by an unkown being named Dornkirk, the forces begin to move in on Fanelia. Zaibach seems to have few motives; to destroy everything and everyone who opposes them, and to uncover the ultimate power of Atlantis...and the plot thickens.

Main Characters: There are many wonderful characters in the story of Escaflowne and I would love to name them all, but for the sake of keeping the review short enough I need only to name off the main ones. Well, here we go!

Hitomi Kanzaki is with no doubt in my mind the main character the story completely revolves around what happens mainly with her and then the people she is around. Hitomi is a cheery-eyed Fortune-telling High School student who can always be seen wearing a necklace that her grandmother gave to her when she was younger. She finds out that her powers and necklace are amplified when she arrives in Gaea and can not only predict the near future, but helps Van fight the invisible soldiers from Zaibach (They wear Stealth clokes on their Melef units). Hitomi may seem very wise to others around her, however inside she carries a very indecisive heart. She thought that back at home she really loved Amano at her school, but after being in Gaea for a while her feelings are constantly swaying. Because of this doubtful nature of hers, she faces many hardships and puts others with her in constant danger. Throughout the series she grows in a number of ways and learns how to decide what she really wants in her life.

Van Fanel comes next in the list. He ran into Hitomi when briefly taken to the Mystic Moon (the place Hitomi calls Earth) and when this all happened he was in the middle of passing a test to become the new King of his country Fanelia. He is seen most of the time being accompanied by his childhood companion Merle. She is a Cat-girl that is obviously fond of Van and does anything in her power to stay with and protect him. After becoming king, he inherits a special "Ispano Guymelef" called Escaflowne. Escaflowne is a powerful and myterious Melef that has some amazing abilities all its own. With it, Van discovers much about himself as well as some history of Gaea. And Van has some interesting secrets as well...

Now we have Allen Schezar. Allen is a Knight of the country Historia who had abandoned his post for reasons that are unfolded later in the story. He meets Hitomi in a forest when she is being hasseled by an annoying merchant known only as Mr. Mole. Allen attempts to rescue Hitomi and Van runs in thinking that he was kidnapping her. Right from the start the two men rubbed eachother the wrong way but Hitomi helps them to eventually become allais. Allen speaks little of his past to anyone but has fought to gain the respect and title of a knight. He fights in a fancy Guymelef named Scherazade and also owns a floating trade ship with a crew mostly led by Gaddes, his most trusted first mate and friend. On top of all this, is Hitomi getting another crush? Allens story is fun to watch to say the least.

Zaibach: There are two important characters in the Zaibach Empire that need recognition. The first is Lord Folken, a sorceror who acts as Dornkirks right-hand man. He stays inside of their floating fortress and acts as more brain than brawn. From the start you can tell he has a few tricks up his sleeve, but not much is known about him at all. But he seems to have an intruiging past with Van Fanel... The other is Lord Dilandau. He is a blood-thirsty young man who will storm the battlefield burning everything in his path. He is the leader of the Zaibach troops and will sometimes take an order or two from Folken. Not even Lord Folken knows of Dilandaus past but one thing is certain, this person has more to him than meets the eye. Together, these two Zaibach commanders plan to take any measures to uncover the Power of Atlantis.

Final Grading: Escaflowne is a wonderful series with original and consistant character designs, vast scenery and backround art, and breathtaking animation. Its story has virtually no holes and by the end you aren't left guessing, just wanting to see more. What is great is that many of the side and minor characters are just as colorful and deep as the main characters which keeps the episodes entertaining and fresh. The voice acting is fabulous in both the Japanese and English dubbed versions and I actually prefer to watch it in English. This is an Anime worth buying if you are into fantasy and can be watched over and over by most audiences. I gladly give this series a 10/10!