The Vision of Escaflowne (1996) User Reviews

The anime that won my heart!

[Keyan-the-Eagle144 · 8/10 · 16 April 2018]

I'd first became aware of this series after seeing ads for it on FOX Kids, four years after it premiered. I'd also heard that the American TV version had butchered the series, but to my surprise, my local movie rental outlet had all the episodes on VHS. I rented them and watched the whole thing from start to finish. What a show!

Mecha without the guns, cat and dog-people, royal families, science and magic, an evil empire, countless revelations, and a whole new world, as Disney's Aladdin would put it. When it comes to Japanese animation, this one was the best! You can have your Dragon Ball, your Speed Racer, your Sailor Moon, your Pokemon, your Akira, or whatever, but I found one that really speaks to me. Oh, and Hayao Miyazaki comes in as a close runner-up. If you're new to Japanese animation and want a believable fantasy world without all the guns (and more medieval weaponry), look here!

Well done fantasy mecca anime!

[Irishchatter · 8/10 · 13 August 2018]

I have to say well done to this 90s anime for keeping me entertained and it was fantastic in some scenes! Even though, the noses on the characters were hilarious. Honestly never seen such long noses when it comes to anime in my entire life haha!

I was super glad that Kelly Sherdian (aka Barbie) was playing Hitomi in the English Dub. She was so good like i really didnt think she was in anime until last night. Kudos to her for doing this project!

What else can I say? This anime was just absouletely great, definately recommend peeps who love 90s anime to give this a watch!

Perhaps the most inspiring anime of all time

[KaJin · 9/10 · 16 May 2006]

After the intro with Amano and Yukari on Earth, with Van's arrival the series seems definitely kind of suspicious, and even after the first four episodes you don't get everything because all is mixed up with almost ordinary but still weird love-confusion of Hitomi. But the series has got 26 episodes. After the short uncommon introduction you can't get your eyes off it because the whole idea slowly becomes clear with the characters evolving and telling their tale. Every character, at first presented powerful and heroic, surprises with emotional weaknesses almost too well known, with their biographies told a bit further in every single episode. Therefore even the 'bad guys' soon turn out to be not just objects to fight against, but complex characters not just to be hated. Additionally, the soundtrack is just awesome, thanks to Yoko Kanno.

Gaia is more than just a fictional world just to show some Guymelefs, it binds dreams and tragic with the sense of destiny and how to change (or not?) the fates of destined friendships. Those of you who've watched Neon Genesis Evangelion while still having a romantic understanding of certain things may experience an even more inspiring anime.

Anime at its finest!

[JeffG. · 10/10 · 1 October 1999]

Wow! I'm amazed at how incredible this series is! It's one of those rare anime titles where all the elements come together: great story, great characters, great music (courtesy of the incredibly talented Yoko Kano) and some of the most beautiful animation I've ever seen. Anyone who's even remotely interested in anime has to watch this series. It's the best example of anime I've seen since "Macross Plus."

Ah, another great anime... (Vegita attempts a review of "Visions of Escaflowne")

[VegitaBOD · 12 February 2002]

Well, I just finished watching Visions of Escaflowne, and I was impressed to say the least. Sure, I'm a guy who was expecting something different, but I have absolutely no complaints with what I just saw, and I felt that, coming right off of watching the final episode, now would be a great time to pen my thoughts on the series and generally wax over this series.

When it was first recommended to me, I was told that it was an anime following political strife while big robots fought. Granted, I was never really a fan of "mech" series' (Gundam, Robotech, etc), but it came highly recommended by some friends. Therefore, I thought "what they hey, it's all for entertainment, right?" and agreed to send the money (for those of you who aren't familiar, I have a few friends in Japan who enjoy sending me shows they liked in exchange for money or other requested items). For those of you familiar with Escaflowne, you'll be laughing at that description - granted, the series does have those, but the focus of the series is far different. After watching the first few episodes, I immediately realized this, and was a little unhappy at my new "purchase".

Now, for those of you who haven't seen Escaflowne yet, the premise is fairly simple: schoolgirl Hitomi is known to her friends by her track aspirations and, more importantly (to them), her rather distinct ability with Tarot Cards. Due to circumstance and a little bit of fate, she ends up being sent to the magical planet of Gaea, where fate is a powerful tool - so much so that her Tarot abilities become so acute, she is considered a psychic. ...of course, not even THAT is an accurate description. That is merely another foil for which the series plays off of. Hitomi is befriended by several inhabitants of the planet, including the young king of Fanelia, Van, and Allen, a skilled knight who has left his kingdom to stop the wars. Hitomi is quickly swept up in their plans and attempts to stop the fighting, partially by fate, partially by a genuine desire to stop the fighting, and partially because she cares for everyone.

So we have a series that's about a young prophetic schoolgirl whom aids people in their plight against the ever-present war on their planet. That doesn't sound so bad, even for the "I prefer action and comedy" kind of guys like me. However, this plot is very quickly intertwined with a much more emotional one - that of love. Hitomi loves everyone, there's no doubt about that. From her old friends (and track coach) on Earth to her new ones on Gaea, she does whatever she can to aid them and stop their suffering - whatever that pain may be. Truly, by the end the series this combined plot reaches extremely high and, in my opinion, succeeds.

Hitomi's transformation throughout the series is easily apparent, starting off as a simple schoolgirl whom wishes to make the track team while struggling with her feelings for Amano, the star athlete whom may be leaving soon. Upon reaching Gaea, she is understandably confused as to where she is and the situations she has been thrown into, reacting the way one would expect. She frequently encounters new trials and experiences strange concepts, somehow digesting it all while attempting to sort her own feelings. She is truly the anchor of the series, always providing the viewer with someone to relate to. Of course, she IS from "The Mystic Moon", our Earth (which hangs ominously above Gaea, perpetually seen but never reached), so it would make sense for us to relate to our brethren. Her feelings about her life, the life of others, and her feelings for everyone around her are easily followed while still retaining a natural feel. This sort of quality character-development is a scant find in TV nowadays, which is why I deeply enjoyed it.

Of course, Hitomi is HARDLY the only person to be developed this well. As the story progresses, we discover more and more about everyone we meet, either through flashbacks, character interaction, their reactions to their surroundings, or good ol' fashioned monologues. Even the significantly odder of characters, such as Merle, become 3-dimensional figures whom you could find believable despite their general appearance (Merle, by the way, is a humanoid Cat person). These supporting characters, whom could generally be used for comedic relief at times, also help create some of the more emotional scenes in the series - Merle once again being a prime example (but I won't spoil THAT one, kiddies!).

Now, character portrayal can often be just as important as the writing presented for each character. Once again, I felt the series shined through. Finding fault in the series' actors, in retrospect, is quite difficult...everyone did their jobs admirably, breathing life into every nook and cranny of their characters. Upon first watching it, I had some serious problems with certain voice actors - however, as the storyline progressed I found that there was a REASON these problems existed and their portrayal was the way it was; they were intentional, and actually added to the plot (once discovered). Looking back, I found that there was no fault in the quality of the voices.

Since we're talking about audio quality, this would be as good a time as any to discuss the soundtrack. I put a lot of stock in TV series and movie soundtracks, since the different between a normal scene and one that brings forth a wealth of emotion can be as simple as the wrong song. The right music, as well as the right style and/or quality of writing, can enhance every little bit of a show. Yoko Kanno and Hajime Mizoguchi have blended together some truly striking classical pieces, capturing the various emotions throughout the entire series, and I feel did their job(s) wonderfully. Their breadth of combined musical knowledge shines clearly with memorable pieces throughout the series. Not to sound like a ranting fanboy or anything (I AM quite the fan of Kanno's work), but I have scarcely heard orchestral music of this quality before. To be honest, you simply have to hear it to believe it (I suggest listening to "Dance of the Curse" for a good example). The wonderful combination of elements with traditional orchestral glory (such as Gregorian chants) are wonderful. As per my reaction to Cowboy Bebop, and I am now in earnest pursuit of the soundtracks for this series; hopefully (upon hearing this music) you'll be able to relate.

All in all, the most powerful item throughout the series is the finished product. The acting, the writing, the music - it all forms an emotional story of love and war on the foreign planet of Gaea. I found every moment enjoyable, and highly suggest watching it if you have a few hours to kill. However, be forewarned - it is one of those series' that constantly leads from one episode to the next. Unlike some series (like Cowboy Bebop or Hokuto no Ken) where most episodes will be one-shot storylines, Escaflowne does little recapping and flows right from one episode to the next. Therefore, it feels as if it's often hard to stop watching - you simply HAVE to see the next episode to find out what happens next!

Well, chummers, I enjoyed the series greatly, and would consider myself a definite fan. I don't really know why I sat and wrote this, aside from a desire to express myself on the matter...and I figured this would be the forum to do so. Sorry if I sound longwinded, that's just my nature at times. The more I say, the more information I can give; and this, in turn, helps you to understand my feelings on the matter. Now, all I have to do is wait for my tape of Escaflowne's movie to arrive... (::begins itching nervously::)

One of the Greatest Fantasy Anime Mecha Anime ever created!

[Sabre_Wolf · 10/10 · 17 April 2013]

I first watched this on Fox Kids then I got to watch the other version but either way I found Escaflowne to be a true classic. It has a great storyline and with wonderful characters!

Hitomi Kanzaki was I think a great lead character and I liked her relationships with Van Fanel and Allen Schezar. Every episode always keeps you interested not just terms of storyline and character development but also the good animation and great mecha designs or Guymelef's as they are known.

All in all a true classic! It was one of my favorites from teen years and still remains a favorite now I'm in my thirties as of this review.

Epic...the best production ever.

[LordZepp · 10/10 · 12 March 1999]

This is IT! If you ever see one complete anime series, make this one it. Escaflowne is hands down THE BEST story presented in film. The scope is amazing, the plotline intense, the dialogue is brilliant, the animation is unmatched, the soundtrack is amazing....I just can't say enough. Not since Star Wars has a series come along that is worth watching all at once in succession. Needless to say, I was hooked from episode 1, and the rest is history. This even beats out the much fabled "Ghost in the Shell" and "Record of Lodoss War". If Disney is so bent on being the best at animation, then they need to watch this film, and learn from the masters.

This was actually shown on TV?

[D Force · 10/10 · 30 August 1999]

The quality of this series is amazing. This has better animation than anything Disney puts out at the movies and this is just a TV series. If you have never seen Anime before make sure this is your first series to watch. I shouldn't have expected any less from the man that created Macross(Robotech to us Americans) and Macross Plus.

My FAVORITE anime!

[oobrey5 · 10/10 · 11 February 2007]

I haven't really watch a whole bunch of animes, just the ones they showed on Toonami and Cartoon Network, really. So when Escaflowne came onto Fox when I was 13 or so, I fell in love with it. I loved how their noses were so long, and how the plot line developed, and how we really got entangled in Hitomi's life. The ending was bittersweet, but I can't imagine it being any other way.

Other anime fans that I've shown this to don't seem to share my deep appreciation of it, but then again, this anime delves deeper into emotions than other animes, and isn't just surface based--It dives deeper, and doesn't deal so much with action as other animes.

*MY* favorite anime.

An excellent show

[Ganon-Dwarf · 9/10 · 6 October 2007]

The Vision of Esaflowne is probably one of the best animes I've ever watched. I'd highly recommend at least renting it, if not out-and-out buying it. Of course, I'll need to say why this is so, so on to the particulars:

Plot: The story in Escaflowne is quite good. It's not outstanding, it doesn't deconstruct the genre as Neon Genesis Evangelion did, it's not full of incredible twists, it's not going to make you change your world-view. It is, however, quite solid, very few of the events make no sense (though the one, and only, filler episode really doesn't work with the rest of the series plot-wise, this is somewhat minor.), the characters are all believable, and the show never contradicts itself. So the plot receives a solid 8/10.

It is worth noting that if you dislike love triangles then you probably won't like the plot much, but I won't say more since I don't want to spoil anything.

Animation: The quality of the animation in Escaflowne was, for the time, astounding, even now it's roughly on-par with most of the anime shows being produced. Escaflowne also was one of the shows to pioneer using CGI, but it doesn't go over-the-top, the computer effects all fit really well, and add to the believability of the animation, unlike quite a bit of CGI that just screams "fake!" Quite a few people have complained about the noses in Escaflowne, saying that they stand out far too much and, in a few cases, that they ruined the show. I have to disagree. The noses are not standard anime noses, this is true, they're big, they're really pointy, in fact, they're probably the most noticeable thing about someone's face. However, for all that, after the first episode I stopped noticing them at all.

So, the animation receives a perfect 10/10 from me. If you adjust it for current standards an 8/10 would probably be closer.

Music: Yoko Kanno composed most of the music for Escaflowne, and, as always, did a superb job. The music has a distinctly European flavour (which fits quite well with the setting), and features plenty of choir vocals. The end effect is astounding, it sounds more like the track to a movie than a show. So, without any question, a perfect score here. 10/10 (In fact, I'd say that the music alone is almost sufficient reason to buy this.) Dub: The version of Escaflowne that I own is the Anime Legends Complete Collection. (Just in case another version with a different dub is ever released.) I, personally, cannot stand dubs. English voice actors rarely fit the characters as well as the Japanese ones, and they just tend to grate on my nerves. As such I'm not going to give a score for the dub. The little bit I listened to struck me as almost, but not quite, there. The characters sounded almost, but not quite, right. Their mood was almost, but not quite, what it should've been, etc. This puts it in a sort of auditory "uncanny valley", where it's so close to being right that it's actually bad. However, other people have noted no such thing and have, in fact, said that it's one of the best dubs they've ever heard. So your millage will certainly vary.

Sub: The subtitling of my copy was beyond compare. The subtitles all make sense, avoid Japanese idioms, and tell the plot perfectly. This is one of the better subs I've seen, so full marks here 10/10.

I noted a few people complaining about their copy of the Anime Legends Complete Collection edition, saying that their disks were damaged or wouldn't play. I've had no such trouble, despite watching everything but the trailers on every disk. Presumably that was only an issue in the first print-run.

So, in conclusion, I highly recommend this series to anyone who likes giant mechas, a solid cast, astounding music, and love triangles that put Shakespeare to shame.

Disappointment: Escaflowne is not exactly all time classic

[MovTV · 5/10 · 15 February 2010]

I am reviewing the English version of Bandai release. This is not Fox Kids release.

Escaflowne is remembered by most anime fans who viewed the show as a great series. However if we look closely at this anime, we find that the diamond does have a lot of cracks.

Plot: Escaflowne is a typical rabbit in the hole story of animes. Hitomi, the main character of the anime, ends up on a world called Gaia with Vahn, a boy king of a country in this world. Hitomi haves a strange psychic link with her tarot cards. Whatever fortune she gets from the cards comes true. With this, Hitomi is made a target of a evil empire who wants to use her powers for their own means. To get rid of this threat, Vahn and Hitomi travel to a mystic city to get aid.

Now the bad: Escaflowne does try to add mysteries to the story to make it interesting. The main mysteries is what is Hitomi's grandmother's connection to Gaia and what happened to Allen's sister. At first, viewers think that both are connected somehow. The writers do give red herrings in order to add twists to the plot to keep the viewers guessing what wil happen next. But the results of twists are performed badly, are way left field, and make the characters look more undesirable and hypocritical to viewers than they should be (ex. Allen---daddy issues mixed with weird love affairs)

To make the flaws of the anime worse, a major plot hole was lefted to confuse the intelligent viewers even more. The hole begins with Hitomi finding a CD for sale. Gaia does not have the technology to produce a CD. Hitomi thinks (which is a good possibility) that someone else from Earth came here to Gaia. However the only two people, as revealed in the story, that came to Gaia are the grandmother and Issac Newton (the main villain!!!-Huh I am not joking. It's real <_<). However Netwon and the grandmother came from eras that didn't have CDs. The story makes us assume that Netwon, with his genius, made the CD. However if you think logically, Netwon could not be so advance in his knowledge to have produced a CD since he came fromt the 17th century. In matter of fact when you think about it, Newton couldn't have been able to develop the high technology of the empire without complex modern science and math. Some might claim magic or new learning caused Newton's knowledge to expand to that level but I think that is stenching the believability in a senseable story and makes it wackier than it should. If a fourth Earther was methods or hinted, the fatal flaw may have been ignored easily.

To top it off, Escaflowne haves some of the worst character designs in anime. "Doonsbury" noses on every character on the show!!!. It wouldn't be so bad if three characters had it but everyone seems to have one. Didn't the artist know how to draw different noses and actually make them cute besides that one!?. It becomes distracting if its ugliness and makes you less focused on the anime (if you haven't turned out from the bad plot by then). However mechas and monsters were good in design especially the dragon in the first episode. The skin was odd with its early CG skin which wasn't really not that bad. It looks impressive and fresh in design for an anime.

Music: The another good and possibly the only good thing about this anime was the music. From its Gregorian chant battle music to its poppy 90s ending music to its shojo opening, the music is actually good to listen to. Vocals were done correctly and made you feel part of the story. If only the writing should have done that for the overall anime.

Overall, Escaflowne is not good anime to me. It is watchable till the end but it made me disappointed that a highly budgeted anime of its time would allow all the flaws it did to happen, and highly intellect people (cough the director and producers) would prove the scripts and character designs when the writers and the artist would have fired on the spot for their sloppy and poor work. If you have to watch a old-school anime adventure, try SDF Macross or Outlaw Star first then try Escaflowne (but be prepared to watch a bad anime).

Stunning production values, compelling characters, spectacular music = one magnificent series!

[JTurner82 · 19 October 2005]

For lovers of full-blooded sci-fi fantasy drama, THE VISION OF ESCAFLOWNE is a must-see. Produced in 1996, this 26-episode series begins in modern-day Japan where we are introduced to Hitomi Kanzaki, an insecure, lovestruck student who has a special gift for telling fortunes using cards. She has eyes for the handsome captain of the boy's track team, but before she can confess her feelings, Hitomi finds herself magically whisked away to a far-off planet known as Gaea. This strange new place is filled with luscious forests and kingdoms that look as though they could have been drawn from 18th Century France, and are inhabited not only by humans, but by talking humanoid animal creatures as well! Two young men--Van, a brash, hot-headed young prince, and Allen, a charismatically charming knight--vie for Hitomi's affections while their girlfriends, sassy cat-girl Merle and lovely Princess Millerna, become jealous of her. As if this isn't troublesome enough, the entire world of Gaea is at war with the Zaibach Empire, led by the brooding Chief Strategos Folken, sadistically bloodthirsty commander Dilandau, and the shadowy Emperor Dornkirk. What follows is an epic drama that unfolds gradually as Hitomi deals with her feelings for Van and Allen and the kingdoms of Gaea band together to defeat the opposing Zaibachs.

It's no wonder that this ambitious Japanese Anime series has been highly acclaimed by both reviewers and fans. For a television-made serial, production values are spectacular. The colors are rich and vibrant with imagination, and there are even some impressive, but subtle use of computer generated effects in various episodes.

What makes ESCAFLOWNE compelling as a series, though, is its labyrinthine storyline. Every episode built my interests, inspiring me to keep on watching, even when it sometimes slows down to concentrate on character development. Speaking of which, the folks who inhabit this tale are psychologically complex, showcasing positive traits as well as inner demons. Hitomi is a very confused, sometimes fickle young woman who is attracted to many people yet cannot seem to decide who she truly loves. Van is a socially washed-up young man who has suffered traumatic experiences in childhood and as such maintains an aggressive exterior. Allen, meanwhile, is handsome, dashing, and instantly wins the hearts of every women around. While Van and Allen seem to respect each other at the forefront, their feelings for Hitomi threatens to cause tragic tension. Equally interesting are the scenes involving Folken and Dilandau. The former is calm and placid, while the latter is ever-ready to display aggressiveness.

The action sequences are skillfully choreographed, namely the ones where the titular mechanical giant--Escaflowne--an impressively customized suit of armor, squares off against similar mechas. Also worthy of note is Yoko Kanno's music, an ingeniously rich mixture of John Williams, classical music, and ethnic choral chanting. If anything, it was this soundtrack that captured my interests just as much as the characters and artistry. Kanno truly is a talented musician, and her works can easily hold their own against Joe Hisaishi's scores for Miyazaki's features.

All this, plus a whole lot more, makes ESCAFLOWNE an intriguing, creative series not only ideal for teenagers, but for a more mature audience as well. (Plus, it doesn't delve too much into excessive violence or mindnumbingly misplaced filler dreck, either.) ESCAFLOWNE was first brought to the U.S. by the Fox Kids Network, and unfortunately it suffered from a series of cuts and drastic changes--notably the replacement of Kanno's masterful score with techno(!). Thankfully, the DVD release by BANDAI (which, by the way, has some interesting extras--namely the interviews with the Japanese staff) offers the entire series uncut and unaltered, and the Fox-produced changes have NOT been ported over to the DVD's English language track, so no problems there.

That said, some folks have issues with the dub, produced by Canada-based Ocean Studios; while it has its share of problems, notably occasional scripting mistakes in the TV series (Folken calling Van "brother" at a time when he's not supposed to, for one), and Andrew Francis' jarring portrayal of Dilandau (he plays him more like a spoiled brat rather than a maniac), this English track does benefit from some generally good voices. In particular, Kirby Morrow and Brian Drummond are superb as Van and Allen, Paul Dobson does an excellent job as Folken, but Jocelyn Loewyn takes the cake for the best performance overall as Merle; mainly because she reminded me of Angora Deb's delightfully sassy Leaf in the LODOSS WAR TV series (and I like these kind of voices, too). Kelly Sheridan, meanwhile, makes a decent Hitomi, although there are some times when she doesn't emote as strongly as she should. But even after hearing bits and pieces of the (higher-caliber) Japanese language track, I don't consider this dub to be too unaffordable for folks who can't stand subtitles.

Either way, chances are that you will find yourself absorbed in the dramatic power, twisting plot, and imaginative sceneries of ESCAFLOWNE from the moment you first lay your eyes on the dazzling opening sequences.

Not your average Sci-Fi/Fantasy anime.

[emasterslake · 8/10 · 17 January 2007]

Hitomi Kanzaki, is an average Japanese High School Girl you'd expect to know. She lives through her daily life as a teenager including: fortune telling, the track team, admiring guys, and talking to friends. But on one night, she was transported from her world to Gaee, a magical World where the Earth is viewable from the sky.

There she's met by Van Fanel, who is a dragon slaying princess of his own kingdom and owner of the legendary Escaflowne. A giant machine made for combat and defense. As the countries of Gaee is against the ominous Zaibach empire. Hitome soon accompanies Van Fanel and many other characters on a quest to restore the balance of peace in Gaee and eliminate the Zaiback. During the journey, Hitomi discovers that her fortune telling and six sense becomes an aide to everyone. And learns a bit about Gaee's history, and the past of the characters who surround her.

Escaflowne is filled with Action, Suspense, Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Adventure, Romance, and Drama. I didn't see this series till mid 2005. And in my opinion, I think it's good for it's own genre. The use of 2-D Animation & small use of CGI makes this anime visual for only 10 years old. That and the cool thing about it is it's was made by Sunrise Earth, which later did the notorious Cowboy Bebop series.

I read it wasn't well received on American TV media, but least it became a worthy classic to average anime fans alike. It's worth looking into if you like Fighting Robot/Fantasy/Heroine related Animes.

A really good classic

[WeAreLive · 10/10 · 16 April 2019]

The Vision of escaflowne is an anime which came out in the late 90's was first dubbed by FOXkids in 2000 but was cancelled after 11 episodes because of how mishandled it was then Ocean entertainment picked it up and redubed with the same their same cast. Then in 2016 Funimation held a kickstar to redub the series for it's HD release with a new set of voice actors and with some deleted scenes added which weren't in the Ocean dub or the original format.

If you don't want to be spoilt I recommend you click off my review and go watch it.

A young fit and beautiful girl called Hitomi is a middle schooler who on a track team with her friend Yukari and her crush Ameno. One day her crush Amano announced that he is going to leave the county, so as a favour Hitomi ask him to time her rounds.

As Well as a good runner Hitomi as can tell fortunes with her tarot cards and because of the pendent she is wearing she can spot a hidden enemy which is invisible or clocked.

Meanwhile on Gaaia a 15 year old soldier by the name of Van has been sent out on a mission by his general/mentor Balgas to kill a dragon. He bumps into Hitomi along the way and though their relationship starts off as to rocky start but eventually it becomes more then just that. As a reward he ends up taking Hitomi as a souvenir to his planet but he later sees her more then that.

Things then become worse for the characters when the sibok soldiers invade his village and he most find somewhere to stay.

Story wise it was thoroughly enjoyable with all the battles, the past of why Van was living with Baglas and what happened to his family including his brother and picked up some good lessons from the story. The only thing I did not like was the whole love relationship with Hitomi and Allen not because I am a HitomiXVan fan or because I hated either of the characters. I just think because 1 Hitomi is 15 and Allen is 21 so big age gap and 2 it just ruined the atmosphere. Mainly in episode 21 I hated especially that one scene when they kissed I literally cursed at the screen. Because there were two dubs of the series I had to experience that twice, I didn't so it the first time but second time I did. And honestly, it feels a lot like if your older brother (who is 28) is making out with your crush/girlfriend (who is 14-15 and is in the same class as you) in other words the relationship between them did not feel right.

Other then that it was a good story.

Animation and art style was good especially in HD release.

The music in both the end credits and opening are dope. Not the FoxKids version they removed it and added their own music which just made me cringe like if it was some Saturday morning cartoon and on top of that in serious scenes they added music which was inappropriate for the setting.

In terms of which dub I prefer I think both dubs did good although there was a few faults with Ocean dub, which included mishandling of script, hilariously bad acting and of course poor quality of dub. But of course at the time Ocean dubs in the late 90's and early 2000's were like that. But as far as going for voice acting the best voices were Kirby Morrow as Van Fanel, Brian Drummond as Allen Schezar, Alex Doduk as Prince Chid, Scott McNeil Jajuka, Paul Dobson as Folken Fanel and Venus Terzo Princess Millerna Aston.

The only voices I did not like were Kelly Sheridan as Hitomi (Barbie as Hitmoi seriously), Jocelyn Loewen as Merle (too annoying), Andrew Francis as Dilandau Albatou (bad acting and his voice sounded like a pre-pubescent kid but i am glad his voice for young Vam made up for it) and Brian Drummond as Susumu Amano (just cause Allen and Amano look like each other that doesn't mean they should sound the same.

Everybody else did a good job in that dub.

For the Funimation dub the voice actors including Aaron Dismuke, Vic Mignogna, Caithlin Glass, Alexis Tipton, Joel McDonald, Sonny Strait, Colleen Clinkbeard, Eric Vale, Jad Saxton, Chuck Huber, Christopher Guerrero and Jeremy Schwartz all did an excellent job and I gradually prefer them over their Ocean counter parts.

The only voices I did not like was Bryn Apprill as Prince Chid and Maxey Whitehead as Kid Van as both Andrew Francise (who was 15) and Alex Dudok (who was an actual kid at the time) and alot of people say child actors are bad. But not here.

Also there is one thing I would like to point out, I have been hearing a few claim that Joel McDonold was not good as Dillandau because he is a genderbend. In my opinion Joel voiced the character in personality and acting. Sure the voice might sound weird if you watched the Ocean dub first but honestly, I watched the first half of the funimation dub first then I switch to the Ocean dub when I did that voices sounded very alien too me but I got used to them then went back to the funimation dub to pick up where I left. Back on topic Joel might not be perfect but at least he is better then his badly acted Ocean counterpart. Plus if a woman was casted as the character I would have likely cringed.

I am going to let you decide which dub you would want to watch that depends if you are going to watch it dubbed because I don't want to recommend you the wrong thing.

If you want a classic which has adventure, drama, violence, love and amecha I recomand this anime.

WONDERFUL!

[washuu · 10/10 · 13 December 1998]

This is the second best thing to ever grace the earth. It has nifty technology, great characters, a highly developed plot line ... you name it it's got it.

A beautiful anime about love, betrayal, friendship and war.

[SamiCybertron · 10/10 · 28 June 2007]

Lets see where to begin...

I first saw this show on fox kids when I was channel surfing and I saw this show called "Escaflowne" on fox kids, I watched it and was pretty amazed at what I saw. Apparently I soon realised the UK got a terribly edited screwed up version of Escaflowne which pretty much almost made me loose interest in the show entirely.

Never the less I still watched it and enjoyed it despite the horrible censorship the show had at the time.

The story is basically about a girl called Hitomi Kanzaki that some how meets a strange boy called Van Fanel (Who is sent to earth during some freak accident) Van, along with a random blood thirsty dragon who is chasing him get caught up with Hitomi and her 2 friends Amano and Yukari. Eventually the dragon is killed and Van goes back to his home, the planet Gaea, and along with Hitomi by accident.

When Hitomi arrives, she soon notices 2 moons in the sky, the Moon and the Earth (On Gaea, the Earth is called the Mystic Moon) She is on the planet Gaea.

Later on, a group of mysterious attackers destroy Van's country of Fanelia and kill Van's old sword master Balgus in the process.....

I don't want to spoil the rest of the story ^_^ hehehe.

The story itself is absolutely amazing and incredibly deep, the music score is composed by the John Williams of Japan, Yoko Kanno (Macross Plus, Ghost in the Shell: STC, Oban Star-Racers Etc) each of her songs fit the anime very well and beats what Fox did when the got Escaflowne and edited it with there own rubbish with only a few of Yoko's pieces.

The voice actors, oh yes ^^. The VA do an incredibly brilliant job of delivering the drama and suspense in the characters in both English & Japanese.

While I'm on the subject about the English voice actors, Anyone who thinks that the dub of Escaflowne sucks is an idiot, because the dub was done by Ocean Group (Beast Wars, Gundam Wing, Ed, Edd 'n' Eddy, Inuyasha) and they do a superb of delivering the voices to the characters. Richard Newman, Terry Klassen, Venus Terzo, Brian Drummond, Kelly Sheridan, Scott Mcneil & Kirby Murrow, Great VA this anime has to offer!

This is most definitely one of the top 100 anime's you should see before you die! Buy it on DVD now and watch it now! Strongly, Strongly Recommended!

A Story for All Ages

[dstilley-1 · 10/10 · 10 September 2006]

Being a newcomer to anime I've been reading lots of things on the internet and searching out things I think I might enjoy. I've read so many positive reviews of EscaFlowne that I thought I might give it a shot. There's a newly released "Anime Legends" line from Bandai and this title was on the list. I ordered and I wasn't disappointed.

I'm probably a lot older than the average American anime viewer and I was totally sucked into this story. The animation was beautiful, with a few scattered static frames but not too much. The music everyone agrees is top notch. When I'm watching anime on DVD I tend to start skipping the intro and end music as I view several episodes in a sitting, but not with EscaFlowne. The opening reminded me of the band "YES". A lush and beautiful song that I never got tired of hearing.

This show has been described by many good reviews already, but if you like classic fantasy, fairy tales, Lord of the Rings type stuff you'll love this. It's well paced with no boring episodes, each one unfolding the story enough more and leaving you wanting to see the next one. It's just one of the best television programs that I've ever seen, Anime or live action.

Mystic Eyes

[Rectangular_businessman · 8/10 · 28 September 2022]

Nowadays, the whole "isekai" genre seems to be associated either with cheesy power fantasies, making viewers biased towards stories where premise deals with ordinary people being taken to magical fantasy worlds. The thing is, said kind of stories largely predate the creation of all those generic anime shows by a long time (Alice in Wonderland, Peter Pan, The Wizard of Oz, A Princess of Mars, Narnia, etc.) so I think it's a bit unfair to entirely dismiss an entire genre just by its association with a lot of weak titles.

And back then in the 90s, there were pretty good anime shows featuring this kind of premise, like this series. In fact, it was a rather ambitious show in comparison with many other titles from the same decade, featuring a rather impressive animation and a incredible soundtrack, worthy of an epic production.

The mixture of fantasy with some science-fiction elements was one of its most captivating elements: It was already present in other 90s series (Such as Magic Knight Rayearth) but the writers still managed to make this alternate world pretty unique in its own manner.

And the main character, despite being a relatively ordinary person, was well-rounded an interesting, and more importantly, believable.

From what I understand, the english dub of this show removed all the "girly" aspects from the story, focusing only in the action and adventure, removing the "heart" of the series in the process.

Like Robotech (or Macross), since part of the appeal of Escaflowne was its solid mixture of action and romance with a certain element of mysticism.

Also, it affected negatively the pacing of the series, removing entire episodes.

Good thing the dub shown in my country kept the content of the series intact.

Modern Isekai could learn a thing or two from Escaflowne, instead of just recycling the same premise over and over with just some mere cosmetic changes.

An insult paired with the glorious compositions of Yoko Kanno

[reizamundi · 3/10 · 12 February 2022]

A disappointing and predictable series riding on the mesmerizing musical compositions of Yoko Kanno.

The story of Escaflowne had the opportunity to incorporate engaging and complex explorations of predeterminism and how one's state of mind is the catalyst to one's destiny. The inspirations drawn from archeology and ancient mythology could also have had immense potential to support the theme.

Nevertheless, the narrative failed to dive into the underlying philosophical and rich subject matters. It is a pity that such powerful motifs were not thoroughly illustrated or perhaps the implicit aim was to cater to the generic audience. Either this or the writer gave up on the narrative midway.

Everything from the underdeveloped drama and tension in the plot, dry characters, and unoriginal environment art are cliché and monotonous, especially being contrasted by Yoko Kanno's ingeniousness and the majestic elements of Gregorian chats in the theme song.

This anime should be considered an insult to be paired with the glorious compositions of Kanno.

Summary: only watch this if you like predictable plots or if you are a Yoko Kanno fan.

Excellent: worth seeing!

[espeegee_2000 · 29 March 2001]

The story is about a schoolgirl named Hitomi, who gets unexpectedly transported to a fantasy world called Gaea after encountering a young man named Van. Once she is there, she begins having powerful clear visions of the future which she can't explain. Gaea is threatened by war and Hitomi gets caught up in the conflict, alongside Van. Hitomi becomes essential to deciding the planet's fate... Escaflowne is without a doubt one of the best anime series I have ever had the pleasure to see. Just about everything about is well done, and satisfying: from the music to the characters to the mech designs. It's also very appealing to a wide audience, featuring exciting action sequences (some serious gore in the unedited version, to warn younger viewers), romance, comedy, drama and some very surprising plot twists. The animation is fluid and motion-picture quality, with a very unique style. And the musical score, (composed by Yoko Kanno, famous for Cowboy Bebop and Brain Powered, among others) is just as impressive as any to come out of Hollywood. The dub isn't the worst I've ever seen, but it really does the series no justice. See it sub-titled version if possible. In short, Escaflowne is a top notch series that is definitely worth seeing.

The Vision of Escaflowne is consistent and well-made from beginning to end. There are almost no filler episodes.

[khanbaliq2 · 9/10 · 28 December 2023]

As for The Vision Of Escaflowne, I would say that it's my second favorite out of the three shows, behind Evangelion and ahead of Cowboy Bebop. Escaflowne is the most consistent out of the three shows when it comes to quality. It starts out well and it remains good until the end, but I must say that some of the early episodes are my least favorite episodes of the show. There isn't a noticeable dip in the quality of animation or storytelling after the first few episodes. The reason why Escaflowne isn't ahead of Evangelion for me is because it doesn't quite reach the same heights as Evangelion. The characters in Escaflowne are appealing, but they're not as interesting as the characters in Evangelion. What's also worth mentioning is that the creators of the show clearly wanted it to appeal to girls and not only to boys. The main character, Hitomi Kanzaki, is a school-girl. There isn't a shortage of scenes of her and the other female characters talking about their feelings for male characters and trying to get together with male characters. I must say that these scenes bored me. Escaflowne features impressive mecha designs and action scenes, but it has fewer memorable action scenes than Evangelion. However, the story of Escaflowne may be just as interesting as the story of Evangelion, perhaps more so. Evangelion is ultimately a story featuring aliens and about how these same aliens created mankind. Escaflowne is ultimately a story featuring Atlantis, a civilization of legend and lore that thrived 12,000 years ago on Earth, and about how the Atlanteans created Gaea. So, anyway, my three most favorite episodes are The Guided Ones, The Edge Of The World, and The Girl From The Mystic Moon. Although Evangelion is my most favorite one out of the three shows, I have to say that watching Escaflowne moved me the most this time. It's because there are things in the show that I didn't realize before and because I got to see some of the episodes in a new light. When it comes to characterization, Escaflowne manages to reach some of the heights of Evangelion. Some of the scenes in Escaflowne are simply incredible, like when Allen's father briefly meets Hitomi's grandmother in the Mystic Valley. What's also worth adding is that I watched all three of the shows this time with English subtitles. I didn't turn on the English dubs. English dubs for anime are almost always disappointing because they're lower in quality than the original Japanese language and sound tracks and because sometimes even the meaning of what is said gets changed. This is obvious, for example, in an OVA like Rurouni Kenshin: Trust & Betrayal, where, in some scenes, the excellent dialogue got changed completely. I was a bit stunned when I found out that the people that made the English dub for this OVA completely changed some of the dialogue for the dub. Some people praise the English dub that got made for Cowboy Bebop, but I think that it's not really good. I don't like that some of the words got changed for the dub, and I don't really like some of the performances. I think that Escaflowne has the best English dub out of the three shows, although this dub too isn't worth praising much, in my opinion. It's kind of funny that now that I'm done watching the three shows again, I feel a little sad that they're over. There's so much to like about the three shows, and I can watch them over and over again. I appreciate them now even more than I did when I watched them for the first time, partly because I now realize that good anime shows like these just don't get made anymore. I can obviously watch these shows whenever I like because I own them on video, but I can't simply spend all of my time watching anime. I have to do other things too, though I probably won't wait another several years before watching them again. What's also impressive is that all three of the shows are original creations. They weren't adapted from manga. However, manga based on these shows did get released.

One of my fav animes

[magictoolsemma · 10/10 · 1 May 2022]

Love this Anime. Each episode happened something important, not like in other animes.

The story is really good and also the characters.

Watch this anime at least 5 times.

Breathtaking

[danielmckay · 10 September 2005]

There are MINOR SPOILERS in this review.

I can't state enough how much I adore this TV series.

Escaflowne is an extremely moving fantasy series with very deep, complex characters and an emphasis on emotion. The production values were first rate. At the time this was made, this had the highest quality animation of any TV anime made to date. The music, by Yoko Kanno (with some additional stuff done by her husband Hajime Mizoguchi), is amazing, and on par with most Oscar nominated film scores. Yoko Kanno is one of the top three or so film and television composers in Japan, and this is one of her best work. The orchestral pieces were even recorded using the Warsaw Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra.

The story involves a girl named Hitomi in modern day Japan who gets sucked into another universe, the world of Gaea, after which she quickly gets caught up in the intrigue of an ever expanding empire and the kingdoms that are still resisting being conquered, and falls into a love triangle. It sounds like a collection of clichés, but its pulled off so beautifully that they're hardly noticeable as clichés.

That being said its not all perfect. The ending is kind of rushed; Some of the character designs are a bit bizarre. Unfortunately this includes the lead, Hitomi; The ending theme, "Mystic Eyes" by Wada Hiroki, is horrible and is everything that was wrong with J-Pop at the time (although thankfully not used in the final episode). The younger cat-girl character, Merle, can be kind of annoying.

Still, this is a tremendously moving TV show with broad appeal that deserved much better than the butchering Fox Kids gave to it. It is not particularly appropriate for kids. There's little in the way of sex (although one of the cat twins jokingly makes a pass at her sister), a fair amount of violence (much of it involving giant medieval robots called guymelefs, but also several scenes of mass battlefield death, including a stunning sequence involving something similar to a nuclear bomb, that is treated with appropriate gravitas), and other things that will either bore some kids (romantic tension and love triangles), or go right over their heads (i.e. a brainwashed character who also occasionally switches between genders; the use of "luck" as a changeable force of nature instead of a matter of fixed mathematical probability). Unfortunately, despite the fact that Fox Kids only aired 9 episodes of the series before canceling it, they had acquired the U.S. television rights for five years, and they only recently became available again. The fact that Saban replaced most of Yoko Kanno's score so they could use music from their own crappy music department and charge Fox for doing so, is despicable. Hopefully Cartoon Network will pick it up now and put it on its Adult Swim programming block, where it'd be done justice.

I know this review/commentary is about the TV series, but I'd like to dispel some misconceptions about the movie. It is not a sequel to the TV series. Escaflowne The Movie is a 're-imagining' of the TV series, in a way that Tim Burton's Planet of the Apes is a "re-imagining" of the original movie. While beautifully animated, with improved character designs and all-around awesome production values, the movie is nearly incomprehensible if you haven't seen the TV series, and is hard to decipher at times even if you have, which is a rather unfortunate trait for a piece of art that is supposed to be able to stand on its own.

This review is just for the original, subtitled version. Supposedly the dub as a whole is so-so, but I've seen too little of the dubbed version to really comment on it.

Anyway, I highly, highly recommend this series, as its just an amazing piece of art, that deserves much wider exposure than its gotten in the U.S. (or the rest of the English speaking world for that matter). It's hard to really reduce something like this to a numerical rating, but I'd say it's about a 9.5/10.

To me, the most beautifully done animated TV series

[Breravin · 22 September 2002]

One of the few series where the animation only gets better as the show goes on. Yoko Kanno's music is absolutely perfect, truly heart wrenching. It really adds to the very professional feel of the entire series. It may be your classic good versus evil plot (in a way) but there are so many other elements that make the whole escaflowne world come to life. A truly well done series. The only animated TV series I know of that feels like I'm watching a movie.

The greatest anime ever.

[tspence · 17 April 2000]

The director and script writer of Escaflowne, Shoji Kawamori, was a big part of the original Macross anime (nee Robotech, as it was called in the USA). Macross/Robotech was widely recognized as a pivotal moment for animation in the USA; definitely one of the best filmed entertainment ever. Now, imagine if Shoji Kawamori spent fifteen years after working on Macross carefully refining his technique, practicing and perfecting his storytelling abilities. Imagine if the greatest living musician on the face of the Earth, Yoko Kanno, was then contracted to produce a four-cd soundtrack for Kawamori's next production. That, then, is what Escaflowne is; the greatest work of some of the greatest artists ever.