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.
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.
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