4 replies to this topic

[JRPomazon]

IT'S AN ANIME TOPIC MOTHERF*CKERS

 

I recently re-watched the series, the last time being my freshman year of college (so more that five years). Being a series I've watched multiple times, there were plenty of times where I remembered what happened but was surprised when the small things I didn't remember perfectly came back on screen. For a pre-Evangelion 90's anime, it's aged quite well. It was nice to see something that was totally hand drawn. Thought I learned recently that it was supposed to be a 39 episode series that was crunched down to 26, which explains why there were some parts that felt kinda rushed. But considering everything they had the cram in or cut out, I was impressed with what the managed to do with the whole thing. At the very least, the series never dragged on anywhere. But at the same time, some characters didn't get a chance to really get well developed because they just didn't have enough screen time to let the viewer relate to them.

 

Brief synopsis: Hitomi Kanzaki, high school student and track club member, encounters a boy from another world called Gaea and is unexpectedly transported there. The young man, Van Fanel, is the heir to the throne of Fanelia and during a very brief coronation ceremony is forced to flee his homeland after it is attacked by the Zaibach Empire. He escapes with Hitomi and takes along a legendary Guymelef (Suit of Armor x Mech) Escaflowne. From there, it's pretty much an adventure.

 

But watching it with fresh eyes kinda centered what I liked so much about it as well as what they could have improved on, so there's always that. But the ending of the series is the thing that's really REALLY got me in a twist.

 

Spoiler

Compared to the theatrical retelling, the anime's ending is much better but at the same time kinda infuriating and bittersweet. Granted, the world was saved and the young stupid teenagers finally got their collective shit together so they could finally be honest with themselves and each other but the way the characters said farewell at the end gives me mixed signals. On one hand we have the whole "You can see me anytime you like" line dropped right before the whole "I won't forget you" line. She goes home, though their thoughts are still connected. So I guess long-distance relationship? I couldn't tell ya. What would make me happy would be to see what happened a few years later, maybe a reunited meeting or something. Too much to ask for at this point.

 

But aside from all that noise, I liked it. It's one of the few anime series I own that I rewatch from time to time. Maybe it's a nostalgia thing on my end but I feel I'm not praising it because it was a part of my younger years. It was a good story, infuriating at times but entertaining as a whole. I suppose I'll watch the movie sometime soon because at this point, why the hell not?

[SnowsilverKat]

The Vision of Escaflowne is pretty much the express nostalgia train to my last half of high school.  I first encountered it when it was on Fox Kids (just how high was the executive who greenlit this series as a good children's show?!!?! - but I digress), but fortunately was able to pick up watching the original uncut series on VHS (yes I'm that old shut up).  After watching the last episode, I walked away.  Don't get me wrong, I loved the series, but I got sick of my friends who at the time were into overly-crazy analysis of everything (high schoolers, natch), and maybe for me, a lot of Van and Hitomi's behavior hit just a little too close to home.

 

Fast forward an increment of time, and my roommate comes home with the Perfect Vision DVD box set from the local used bookstore - and I'm torn asunder by nostalgia.  Part of me really wants to go back to the series and its world, and another part of me wants to leave it be.  It's currently sitting on our DVD rack, with the whole cast printed on the box.  I watched a few episodes a while back with Sond and her husband - the husband never having seen the series before - but we haven't quite picked it up again yet.

 

But it really is a wonderful series, old school hand drawn animation with real care taken to the craft.  I know some people aren't fans of the character designs - the show is very shoujo, and there have been some comments regarding the super long noses.  That being said, there's a lot of excellent action scenes considering the romantic adventure plot - if you like mecha and jousting, this will probably be up your alley.  There's a lot of interesting characters, including many of your 'stock' anime characters (catgirl, long haired bishonen heartthrob, hotheaded teenager with crazy hair, schoolgirl, pervert, grizzled swordsman covered in scars, angsty antihero, etc.) though the ending does feel a bit rushed, and - in true 90's anime fashion - a little bit incomprehensible at times.

 

Anyhow, I'd say give it a watch if you haven't yet.

[Wolf O'Donnell]

(just how high was the executive who greenlit this series as a good children's show?!!?! - but I digress)

Probably for the same reason they air Fullmetal Alchemist as a Saturday morning kid's cartoon in Hong Kong. My seven-year-old nephew has seen it. People have got to get out of the it's-a-cartoon-it-must-be-for-kids attitude and actually watch the thing before green lighting it.

I don't remember much about the series. It was really interesting when I first watched it though. Liked it a great deal, but apart from the ending bit and the twists, I can hardly remember a thing.

[DarkJuno]

Not in any shape to speak too much, but for the longest time this was my favorite anime series, and it's still ranked up there for me personally. At the time I saw it I was (haha...."was") in my "ALL EMCHA LLT HE TIME!!!!" phase and consumed everything with robots and powered armor, both the great and....not so great (I'm lookin' at YOU, M.D. Geist). Escaflowne was just so different about how it approached the mecha and I really dug it, and I credit it and Patlabor as being the shows that made me start glancing over at other series that were a little more out of my wheelhouse because I liked the more fantasy elements here (and the modern slice of life stuff in Patlabor). Yeah, it can be a little rushed at times but overall it's enjoyable and not overly complicated and crazy.

 

Even the movie I liked for what it was. It's a lot more compressed, of course, but the animation was great and it's a decent version of the story.

 

As for the infamous Fox Kids dub, you know, it was bad, but it got a lot of people interested in tracking down the unedited DVD's later, so it wasn't all bad.I also remember specifically watching it for laughs and I distinctly remember the alst aired episode had a character call someone a bitch. On Saturday morning cartoons. Weird.

 

Also, the replacement score was awful, but I kinda found the opening theme catchy, much like how a lot of DBZ fans secretly like Rock the Dragon.

 

[JRPomazon]

I've actually been trying to avoid that US opening since I started rewatching it. But you're right, it's pretty damn catchy. I remember in the Fox Kids run they totally chopped the first episode into a clip show to get viewers up to speed or to presume that kids didn't have the attention span. Either or.

 

I know they have three different tellings for Escaflowne, the movie, the anime and the manga but I never found out the differences the manga had between the other two. Can anyone comment on that?

 

I've actually been trying to avoid that US opening since I started rewatching it. But you're right, it's pretty damn catchy. I remember in the Fox Kids run they totally chopped the first episode into a clip show to get viewers up to speed or to presume that kids didn't have the attention span. Either or.

 

I know they have three different tellings for Escaflowne, the movie, the anime and the manga but I never found out the differences the manga had between the other two. Can anyone comment?

 

  After watching the last episode, I walked away.  Don't get me wrong, I loved the series, but I got sick of my friends who at the time were into overly-crazy analysis of everything (high schoolers, natch), and maybe for me, a lot of Van and Hitomi's behavior hit just a little too close to home.

 

I completely understand this sentiment. There is always a fear that things don't age as well as you think they might have and it kind of ruins the initial experience (Gundam Wing is a good example of the nostalgia veneer cracking when I rewatched it several years ago). Rewatching the series from start to finish stirred up thoughts and emotions I had towards the series that I might have preferred not to revisit but ultimately I was pleased with certain things that I forgot being revisited and refreshing itself. I don't like rewatching or rereading anything I remember too well because it takes away from that sense of refreshing it in my mind and some of the surprise doesn't resurface.

 

Gonna probably rewatch the movie soon, I have my theories on how I'll receive it but I'm hoping it might still surprise me.

Edited by JRPomazon, 02 February 2015 - 01:13 AM.