EscaFlowne

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.

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.

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."

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.

The Vision of Escaflowne is quite simply the best Japanese Anime currently available in United States. It combines awesome soundtrack by Yoko Kanno, amazing character and mechanical design, and finest animation that Sunrise Studio has to offer.

This title should already be familiar to veteran anime viewers, and would be a fine introduction for any novice viewers whose view of Japanese anime have been colored by US media's bias portrait. Watch it.