"Escaflowne" (2000) TV series

User Rating:

7.9/10   

Director:

Kazuki Akane

Release Date:

19 August 2000 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Animation | Action | Fantasy | Drama | Romance | Sci-Fi

Plot:

Hitomi Kanzaki is a typical high school girl, with typical problems, but when a vision of a young man battling a dragon becomes a reality...

Plot Keywords:

Empire | Dragon | Vortex | Swordsman | High School

Cast

Kirby Morrow	...	Van Fanel (voice)
Kelly Sheridan	...	Hitomi Kanzaki (voice)
Brian Drummond	...	Allen Schezar / Amano (voice)
Jocelyne Loewen	...	Merle (voice)
Andrew Francis	...	Dilandau Albantau (voice)
Paul Dobson	...	Folken (voice)
Richard Newman	...	Emperor Dornkirk (voice)
Terry Klassen	...	The Mole Man / Pyle / Additional Voices (voice)
Venus Terzo	...	Princess Milerna
Ward Perry	...	Gaddes (voice)
Don Brown	...	Balgus (voice)
Saffron Henderson	...	Serena Schezar (voice: English version)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Lisa Ann Beley	...	Varie (Van's Mother) (voice)
Ted Cole	...	Site Leader (voice)
Michael Dobson	...	Dryden Fassa (voice)
Alex Doduk	...	Prince Chid (voice: English version)
Rice Honeywell	...	(voice)
Janyse Jaud	...	Eriya (voice)
Willow Johnson	...	Additional Voices (voice)
Ellen Kennedy	...	Elysse Aston
Scott McNeil	...	King Aston, Jajuka (voice: English version)
Dillon Moen	...	Additional Voices (voice)
Nicole Oliver	...	Naria, Hitomi's Grandmother (voice: English version)
Alvin Sanders	...	Additional Voices (voice)
Sean Smith	...	Additional Voices (voice)
Dale Wilson	...	Duke Freid (voice: English version)

Also Known As:

"FoxKids' Escaflowne" (USA)
"The Vision of Escaflowne" (USA)

Runtime:

USA:30 min (26 episodes)

Country:

Japan

Language:

English | Japanese

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

South Korea:12 | Australia:M (some episodes) | Australia:PG (some episodes) | UK:PG (some episodes) | UK:U (some episodes) | USA:TV-Y7

Company:

BEI

Trivia:

When the show aired on Fox Kids 26 episodes were ordered, but the network only aired 11.

Quotes:

[After Van can't find Merle with Hitomi's dowsing technique, Hitomi finds Merle and points at the bush where she's hiding.]
Hitomi Kanzaki: There!
Merle: Yeah, like I'm gonna stand up!
Van Fanel: Merle!
[Merle gasps and jumps up into sight]
Merle: Here I am, Lord Van! You found me!

Movie Connections:

Alternate language version of "Tenkû no Esukafurône" (1996)

Was this really made by Shoji Kawamori?

I love Escaflowne. It is one of the most beautiful and touching Anime I have ever seen. That said, I also feel that it had no place on children's television.

But is this really the work of Shoji Kawamori? The man who designed mecha for Macross and directed Macross plus? The great animation director? Well sure. The mecha (machines like Escaflowne and the Red guymelif(sp?)) are awesome. They take up the whole screen.

But the thing I love most about Escaflowne is the balance between Mech and shojo (girls) style. The setting of the story is also one of the best things about the anime. It feels like you're taken back to an Italian castle in the middle of Middle Earth. The rough relationship between the Taro deck that Hitomi uses and the setting really hits the mark.

Most of all, the character relationships, the outline of fate and the endless questioning that all the major characters go thorough make the story worthwhile and fun to watch. The story surely will keep you guessing and wondering