Customer Reviews

Escaflowne - Dragons and Destiny (Vol. 1)

5 star:		(77)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

If you've only seen the version on FOX Kids, you're missing out on something great:o)
I find it very odd that such a series is being aired on FOX Kids - this is definitely at least a teenager and older's title. It has everything anyone could ask for - wonderful animation, especially for a TV series, wonderful staff (Shoji Kawamori, Yoko Kanno), action, adventure, romance, fantasy, mecha, gripping and detailed plot, well-developed characters, and more. The music is wonderful - don't believe that that funky techno music FOX plays can even compare to the original Opening, Yakusoku wa Iranai (No Need for Promises). The original Opening is simply breathtaking and Maaya Sakamoto's voice ( age15 at the time) is beautiful.
The DVD release includes both *uncut* dub and sub versions, and all the extras(music videos, interviews) found in the Japanese LD release (or so I've heard:o)).
At first, it may seem like a simple series - A girl is transported to a magical world where she meets a guy who takes a suit of armor and fights some baddies... However, it *quickly* becomes very complicated. I'd love to explain more, but it would spoil the plot greatly.
What I love the most about Escaflowne (besides the splendid music), is the character development. Every character has multiple facets. No one is totally bad - and no "good guy" is totally good. Everyone is very *real*. Hitomi, the heroine, for example - she's just a confused 15-year old who is often homesick, confused in love, and insecure. She's not afraid to slap Van when he's too arrogant and when the wind blows too hard, she instinctively holds down her skirt. Van, while seeming tough, is only another 15-year old. It can be seen in his appearance - stringy, awkward and still growing. Under his tough exterior, we see he is still very lonely and insecure and simply has too much responsibility on his shoulders as King of Fanelia than any 15 year old should have.
Definitely consider seeing this! It's one of the best anime series to have come out of Japan recently - in fact, it's a wonderful *show* in general! It's been a favorite for all ages in Japan since it came out and I hope others will see it's beauty.

Escaflowne of the High Heavens/Escaflowne of the Sky also known as the Vision of Escaflowne is English is one of my all time favorite anime television shows (Fushigi Yuugi is my favorite). When I speak of the Vision of Escaflowne, I'm not talking about the one that Fox kids cut up so badly and is currently running as part of their fall line up, I am referring to the true, uncut, twenty-six episode masterpiece that is based on manga by Mr. Kawamori Shoji. Vision of Escaflowne is a cross-over anime series meaning that it takes elements from both the shounen (boys) and shoujo (girls) anime genre to create an anime program that can easily be appreciated by male as well as female anime viewers.

The story itself surrounds the fantastic adventures of a girl named Hitomi Kanzaki. Hitomi is a fifteen year old, Japanese, high school student, who runs track, reads tarot cards, and can see into the future. One day while practicing on the track field Hitomi has a vision of a boy from another world, she passes out and ends up in the school clinic. To her surprise and delight an upper classmen guy whom she has a crush on named Amano comes in to check on her. Later, that day Hitomi's best friend Yukuri tells her that Amano is moving away and that Hitomi should tell him how she feels. Hitomi decides to handle the situation by asking for Amano to give her her very first kiss if she breaks her old track record. He agrees to this. This is when things start to become interesting. While running on the track field Hitomi sees the boy from her vision, thinking that she's imaging things shes continues to run and ends up running into him. Also a dragon gets transported onto Earth with the mysterious boy and it tries to eat Hitomi and company. The end result of this conflict is that the boy from Hitomi's vision kills the dragon (not nearly as easily as I'm making it seem).

After the dragon has been killed a strange column of light transports Hitomi and the boy to the world of Gaea. Gaea is a world that is divided between the four kingdoms of Fanelia, Asturia, Freid, and the Zaibach Empire. While on Gaea, Hitomi learns that the boy's name is Van and that he is the king of the kingdom of Fanelia. Being that Hitomi whom they sometimes refer to as the girl from the illusionary moon ( the name that they call Earth)has no place to go Van takes Hitomi back to his kingom. While in Van's kingom (Fanelia), Hitomi witnesses it being attacked by an invisible and merciless enemy. It is this mysterious and unwarranted attack that leads to more adventures, hardships, romance complexities, shocking revelations, and growth for both Hitomi and Van as people.

Another bonus to this show besides the awesome mecha (giant robot)designs, is the powerfully gripping story, and the believeable characterizations is the phenomenal muscic which part of it is performed by a professional orchestra, Yoko Kanno, and a few other people. All of the music is put together in the appropriate scenes (unlike the Fox version) adding even more emmotions than just the visuals, and wonderful acting by the Japanese cast.

My first introduction to Escaflowne was the FOX kids version, thanks to a fellow anime lover. After watching an episode of this magnificent series you can not help but become hooked. After FOX kids had cancelled the series I obtained a set of tapes and the first DVD, it is amazing how much had been cut out. I highly recommend this series to anyone, the people I've introduced have all loved the series but how could one blame them. Escaflowne is the tale of Hitomi Kanzaki an ordinary high school student swept away in an extrodinary adventure on a place called Gaea where the Earth and the Moon hang in the sky.(Couldn't help but borrow that line) It's amazing to watch the story develop with many twist and the confusion of Hitomi trying to sort out her own feelings (I leave it there before I spoil something. The music in this series is also wonderful, I could listen to it all day. All in all I have to say that this series is a must see for any fan of anime or anyone just being introduced to anime. Now to get down to just this DVD, I love how you can change the languages and add subtiles. Personally I prefer the DVD to the tape because I love listening to the different voice actors, in my opinion the Japanese voice actors are better but some people don't like dealing with subtitles like my brother for example. Also the music videos on the DVD are a big bonus, the songs are wonderful and nice to listen to. This DVD is a MUST BUY for any Esca fan or anyone interested in the series.

Thus begins the best anime series ever. A great series that incorporates great animation, action, romance, suspence, and more all in one. The basic story is about a girl named Hitomi who finds herself transported to a mysterious world called Gaea. The first DVD contains the first 4 episodes, in subbed and dubbed formats. These are the full, unedited versions, not to be confused with the edited FOX stuff that has been replaced with some crappy nascar series. These episodes introduce us to the main characters of the show, including Van, Hitomi, Merle, Alan, Dilandau and Folken. Highly recommended.
The Included Episodes are:
1. Fated Confession
2. The Girl From the Mystic Moon
3. The Gallant Swordman
4. The Diabolical Adonis

As is normal for me, I always watch the wrong part of a series first. In the case of Escaflowne, I saw the movie, and that convinced me that I wanted to see the original TV series. Since that meant laying my hands (and eyes and ears) on an eight DVD series, I've been slow to carry out that commitment. Not that there is anything wrong with the film. In fact, I thought it was remarkable, visually, musically, and dramatically. Moreover, the director made a careful effort to point out the film is an alternative story line, not a recap of the original. But still, what a difference!

The first thing that strikes you (no matter which version you see first) is the comparative youth of the characters in the TV series, and, more important, the comparative slowness of development in the series. This is for the good. Already I have a better idea of who Hitomi Kanzaki, the beautiful young runner, really is. And a more meaningful sense of the mysterious world of Gaea where both dragons and giant robots are real, and our Earth is called the Mystic Moon.

When Hitomi is snatched from the earth in mid-race by the dragon-hunting Prince Van, she is barely in time to watch the destruction of his kingdom at the hands of Van's fallen brother, Prince Folken. Assisted by the insane Dilandau, Folken now serves at the head of the expeditionary forces of the Zaibach Empire. His instructions from Emperor Dornkirk are to seek out and destroy a mysterious dragon that threatens the future of his overlord. And the nature of the dragon is hidden within the magical suit of armor called Escaflowne.

The war spreads from Van's homeland to the castle of Knight Allen Schezar in Asturia. Leaving a trail of fire and destruction behind it. Hitomi's role is still unclear, although she is already showing considerable sensitivity as a Tarot card reader. Romantic complications ensue, than the viewer will quickly realize that this is more than a skeletal plot to enable a lot of action. Whatever the future holds, this first DVD proves a magnetic introduction to the series.

Stylistically, this is a no holds barred production. Fin graphics and animation by a noted production staff, and a musical team led by Yoko Kanno (also noted for Cowboy Bebop, among other things). Plot and dialog show complexity much like Evangelion. In fact the two series have a lot of quality in common, although they are much different in all other ways. As US audiences have become more aware of anime, Escaflowne's stature has steadily risen. It is a shame that it is almost impossible to find the individual DVD's but the complete set is well worth it, despite the cost.

Now, I'm not much at writing reviews, but I felt Escaflowne deserved one. I've been an anime fan for over 10 years and have seen them all, but Escaflowne by far is the best series I've EVER seen, from all aspects.

This is the type of series that needs to be watched multiple times to get the full effect of how brilliant the character development, storyline and plot development all intertwine. As an example, something minor someone says or does in one episode can affect someone four episodes later. Minor characters you may see for one episode have a big impact on how the story is played out. Just brilliant! Not only the story, but the music, the animation, everything!!

And if you can't wait for the rest of the series to come out on DVD, pick up the Japanese/English sub box set. DON'T BUY the awfully dubbed/edited box set that Fox is putting out. It does NO justice to the original. Important plot and storyline elements are cut and ruin the entire thing.

A wonderful mix of fantasy and mecha anime, this series has it all. The version shown on FOX Kids does NOT do this series justice, and you might come away from it indifferent to this series. Trust me, when you see the original, uncut version, you will change your mind immediately. With powerful music by Yoko Kanno (of Cowboy Bebop and Macross Plus fame), and great animation, especially during the battle scenes, you'll want to see the rest of the series immediately after this DVD is over.

As with most anime series ported to DVD, this first disc is primarily concerned with getting character introductions out of the way. You meet the main characters of Van, Hitomi, and Allen, and you see some awesome battle scenes involving a dragon, and Van and Allen's mechanized armor suits (called melefs or guymelefs), Escaflowne and Scherezade (respectively). But unlike most mech anime series, the battles in this series are primarily swordfights, rather than gun battles, which is a refreshing change. You are immersed in a world of fantasy, the world of Gaea, that lies close to the planet Earth, although hidden from view.

The special features on this disc are great, too. You get to see the non-credit intro, which has awesome music, as well as some music videos with other great tunes from the series, and also featuring some of the great scenes as well. The menu system is easy to navigate, and is pretty to boot.

All in all, this disc is very deserving of the 5 stars I gave it. Set aside some money to get involved in this series; you won't regret it for a second.

A friend of mine recommended Escaflowne to me several years ago, and it was the best thing she ever did for me.

Escaflowne is the greatest anime I have ever watched. It has something for just about everyone. Lots of swordfights, lots of mecha, lots of romance, and a strong female lead. All the characters are incredibly real and believable. There's also a beautifully written story, incredible animation and breathtaking music.

This DVD contains 4 episodes (your choice of English or Japanese voice acting) and has some bonus music videos of some of the songs in the series.

At the beginning of the series, you will be confused about a lot of things. As the series progresses, things that didn't make sense early on are brought back and everything falls into place.

Be warned that this series is spread across 8 DVDs, which can put a strain on your pocketbook. Trust me, if you buy this DVD, you will want to watch the series to the end.

After waiting for quite some time (a good couple of years), fans of Escaflowne (myself included) were treated to a wonderful little morsel: the release by Bandai of the first DVD of The Vision Escaflowne.

The story, covered very well by previous review authors, is definitely everything that those previous authors have raved about and more. Escaflowne is one for kids, adults, boys and girls alike. The story has enough twists and turns for adults to have a good time, but is easy enough for kids to follow as well. There's a little bit of blood spilled in the first episode, but other than that, kids will have a fun time following the adventures of Hitomi, Van and the gang. There's mecha and sword fighting for the guys and a dash of romance for the girls. Escaflowne is definitely an anime title you can share with the family.

Bandai did a relatively good job with the first volume of Escaflowne, with a pretty good transfer (a few rainbows here and there, especially in the hair), a very nicely done menu system, and some good extras. The music videos I definitely enjoyed, but for those of you out there that haven't watched the series, BEWARE! A lot of important spoiler scenes appear in the videos, so a good suggestion would be to watch the entire series before watching the Music Videos. For those of you adventurous enough to sing along, romanji can be shown instead of the english subtitles.

The one thing I noticed when I watched this DVD again was that a few scenes cut from the TV series, but added in the Japanese LaserDisc version, were not included in the transfer. Although these scenes were miniscule and really unimportant, it would have been a nice little thing for Esca-heads (who bought fansubs that did have these little scenes). My last gripe was that perhaps a few more extras could have been added to this DVD; a character guide or an art gallery might have been nice.

But, even without a billion extras, the fact remains that the first DVD for Escaflowne is definitely one to buy, for Escaflowne fans and non-fans alike.

Just wanted to share my thoughts on (Vision of) Escaflowne. It is an absolutely stunning anime for all ages to enjoy. First, a comment to "Rabid Rabbit"...the FOX broadcasts of Esca are edited quite a bit for reasons of time constraints as well as content (war violence and mild language). My point to the "Rabbit" is you will NOT be disappointed with the uncut/unedited DVD...you'll see Esca totally intact and should be a profound anime experience for you. Now, on with my thoughts...I think it's cool to have the edited version available on VHS to ease concerned parents minds. However, your kids need to eventually watch Esca as it was meant to be seen...filled with danger, romance, drama and interesting character development, Esca is one of the most compelling TV shows (live action or animated) I have seen...period. The music is one of the coolest elements of Esca (though the music is rather sloppily edited on the edited version, the unedited version is absolutely glorious! ) I have read neat Internet articles about entire families (not just in Japan, here in the US, too) watching this anime and are so entertained by it. I think all ages can appreciate this stunning work of art for all the reasons I just described. Hard core anime fans like myself will appreciate the unedited VHS/DVD. Young kids should appreciate the edited VHS...as they grow up, please don't let them miss out on the real (unedited) Vision of Escaflowne as it was meant to be seen. Highly recommended.