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.

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.

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.

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 the 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.