Title - "Tenk no Escaflowne"/"Tenkuu no Escaflowne"
Alternative title(s) - "Escaflowne of the Heavens"/"The Vision of Escaflowne"
Genre(s) - Action and fantasy

What went on in the year 1996? I just started high school as I was on my way to be an anime and manga fan, the days of the modern anime wave have started recently, Hayashibara Megumi-sama was at the peak of her career, Hong Kong was about to be handed over to China for the first time in more than a century, Capcom gave us the first "Street Fighter Zero" game the year before and of course, I can not forget the fact that 1996 was the year we first got to know Sakamoto Maaya-sama in "Escaflowne". My, 1996 was a memorable year. There's no doubt about it.

"Escaflowne" was released in 1996, as I said earlier. The Sunrise series, brought to you by Pioneer for people in North America has 26 episodes and a movie that came out four years later. The movie tells the television series from a different view. I will explain that later.

Kanzaki Hitomi is your standard high school student. She is love with Amano-senpai, a real good friend of hers. Somehow, a brave warrior from a different place appears and before you know it, that warrior brings Hitomi to his world. There's a war going on with the use of machines called Guymelefs and the fate of the world lies in Hitomi.

When I first heard about this series, I knew nothing. Then, I found out facts like Hitomi had longer hair in the manga. Why was this done? I don't know.

Fun - 7

Let's start with the good parts. The story is so good, the series will stick to you. This is how you do a story folks.

The characters are fun to watch, though at times, Hitomi can be a bit annoying. If there's a character that I have enjoyed looking at the most, it would be Allen. He has a wonderful personality and he will battle to the death. He is really amazing to watch.

From episode 1 to 26, you will enjoy this series. The fights are remarkable. There will be some funny moments, but the series is action and drama for the most part. There's no question, you will enjoy this series. It is really filled with elegance.

It's a shame I have to explain the bad parts here as well. First off, I was peeved off that Fox would bring the series in the first place. Bringing in "Escaflowne" was a bad move because of the target audience. Kids will not like a series like this. They would rather see action and comedy than drama in the morning and besides, there are a lot of concerns with the series as it was shown on television. This is why I'm glad the rumor about Fox getting "Slayers" was false and International Channel got that series at the time.

In some cases of the series, it seemed rushed. There were supposed to be at least 10 more episodes from what I have heard, but why that's not the case is beyond me. Money problems? That would be my guess.

Strike three lies in the movie. The movie is good, if you treat it as a new "Escaflowne" saga. Did I enjoy it? To a certain point, I did. The movie does have flaws of its own like some characters not getting enough time to shine.

Life - 8

"Escaflowne" has a good amount of life within. Of course those flaws hurt the series a bit. Still, it's a strong series to keep.

Story - 8

Nice story, but look above for more details.

Audio - 8

Saying that the music is good here would not be enough. This is Kanno Yko-sama for crying out loud! Of course the music has to be beyond good!

The seiy: I want to ask a question here. Is "Escaflowne" obsessed with Tokyo? Majority of the seiy: they're from Tokyo! Van's Seki Tomokazu-san is from Tokyo. Allen's and Amano-senpai's Miki Shinichir-san is from Tokyo. Shoot, even some of the supporting characters have seiy from Tokyo!

While we're still on the topic of Tokyo seiy, I want to explain about one in particular: Hitomi's Sakamoto Maaya-sama. If you're have started out as an anime fan and you watch the Japanese version of this series, your mind will instantly say, "Wow! Hitomi does sound like a teenage girl!" Well, that's because Maaya-sama played as her when she was only 16. When I was 16, all I did was attend high school and nothing much else. Maaya-sama on the other hand played as Hitomi at that time. That's a big task to do at a young age if you ask me.

Well, since then, she went on to become a big Japanese pop singer and have many of her songs composed by Yko-sama. I'm not talking about anime songs only. She's a big artist in the world of Japanese pop. Maaya-sama does not play in many anime series now these days. She just wants to continue with music.

After all this talk, I bet you're wondering why did I deduct a couple of points here. The dub is a question mark. Some people did sound good like Allen, Amano-senpai, and Van, but Hitomi was, well, bad. It's that bad. Hitomi's actress in the dub was a real drag. I'm sorry whoever you are, but you are no Maaya-sama.

Art - 10

One word can describe "Escaflowne's" art. No. Wait. Scratch that. Two words can describe "Escaflowne's" art: sugoi na.

My fellow fans, "Escaflowne" brings in some of the most beautiful art. The art will take your breath away. Whether you see Allen Shezar or Escaflowne, Van Fanel's machine, you are looking art that is as good as it can get. The art may lose its touch in the movie at times, but it's not enough to bring it down a point.

Overall - 8

In the end, "Escaflowne" is a series that gets an good old solid 8. It is a series you will enjoy. Nice art, nice audio, the series is really awesome. Just don't let the flaws bother you too much. Okay?

+

Terrific art, nice story, Yko-sama, the birth of Maaya's fame, the series is one of the best of the middle part of the 1990's.

-

The series is rushed in some cases and the question marks in the series are the dub and the movie.

Date of creation - 1/11/03

Last update - 8/10/04

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