Escaflowne

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

Escaflowne

By Marq Mosier
28th May 04

This show does everything right. It is the most perfect and beautifully crafted anime that I have ever been blessed enough to see. From the characters and scenery, to the music and animation. Escaflowne never lets you down with its wonderfully thought out plot and realistically human characters.

The plot revolves around a young girl named Hitomi Kanzaki's journey to the planet Gaea. This happens when she meets a boy named Van Fanel on her homeworld Earth when he mysteriously appears on the track at her school. They are then transported by a beam of light from the sky back to Van's home planet, where "the Earth hangs in the sky next to the Moon".

The characters in Escaflowne are so real that they really become important to you. From Hitomi and her search for true love, to Van and his independence and desire to regain his destroyed kingdom Fanelia. To Allen Schezar, a member of the aristocracy of Asturia, and his search for what's right and just. Even the supporting characters, such as Allen's first mate Gadess, and the beast man Jajuka have unique and intrigueing personalities.

The mecha design in Escaflowne is some of the best that I have ever seen, possibly even better than some of the best Gundams, such as the Wing Zero or the Deathscythe Hellcustom. On the world of Gaea mechs are known as Guymelefs, and are piloted by some of the greatest warriors in the land. The main protaganist of the story, Van, is the pilot of the fabled Escaflowne.

The world of Gaea is a wondrous place where bordering nations are always on the brink of war. The emperor Dornkirk is manipulating these nations into this oncoming war with hopes of his Zaibach empire gaining control of what is left in the aftermath. Who is this mystery man and why would he want such a thing? Watch and find out!

The music in Escaflowne is wonderfully composed by the brilliant Yoko Kanno, who also did the breathtaking music for the excellent Macross Plus series. Her work is also abundantly heard in Cowboy BeBop, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, and many other anime series and movies.

I can not stress enough how much I highly recommend this series to everyone. The story is not only the best anime story ever told, but in my opinion, one of the best works of literary fiction ever available in any medium or format! If you have not seen it, or even worse, never heard of it, go out and find it, you won't be dissapointed. This is the ONLY anime I have ever caught my wife watching without me because she couldn't wait to see what happened next! If that doesn't say it all, I don't know what does.

A very emphatic 10 from me for Escaflowne!

10/10

-- Marq Mosier 28th May 04

Escaflowne Images