We know there are tons of classic anime out there, but G4 Rewind Anime Style can’t go on forever. We certainly give an honorable nod to shows like Cowboy Bebop, Rurouni Kenshin, Sailor Moon, Neon Genesis Evangelion, Trigun, Magic Knight Rayearth, Lupin III, and more. But for the final week, we have something very special for you...
Here in America, everyone is entitled to their own opinion, so here is ours: The Vision of Escaflowne is the greatest anime of all time.
Of course, also in America, we have forums and comments sections for rattling off on how much we disagree about things. Go ahead. We’re sure you want to point out how Escaflowne has nothing on Naruto or Death Note even though you haven’t seen it. Go on...we’ll wait.
Done? Look below the cut.
The Vision of Escaflowne is a highly accessible, moving story about an average teenage girl named Hitomi Kanzaki who gets whisked away to the world of Gaea. There, she develops her latent psychic powers and discovers that her wishes will determine the fate of this land.
As beautiful as Gaea appears, it is a bloodstained world. The ancient Draconians used the power of their will to create it, but that power came at the cost of their own destruction. Now Van Fanel, one of the last Draconians, must lead his devastated homeland out of strife with the help of a mysterious guymalef (mecha) named Escaflowne. Van has few trustworthy allies, but they’re strong. And now, he has Hitomi and her powers by his side.
Is it as easy as it sounds? Nope. That would be boring. Van’s older brother Folken is fighting for the other side, the technology-driven Zaibach Empire. Gotta love an underdog.
The main theme of this series is about the power of will. Are we bound by destiny, or do we forge our own? Is it possible to change destiny through technology? Does fate even exist?
Escaflowne is an evocative, epic adventure that anyone can enjoy. This is the kind of series you show to your girlfriend/boyfriend if you want to try to get them into anime. The story is long enough to be fleshed out without dragging on, but short enough that it comes full circle while fitting all the pieces into place. It may not have the most visually stunning artwork, but the directing is well done. The animation is vivid and the editing builds tension in just the right places.
When you see the scene with the fate machine in action, you’ll know what we’re talking about. (Side note: Upon recent watching, we did notice a continuity error in that scene that occurs twice.)
The soundtrack is composed by Yoko Kanno who also did Cowboy Bebop, RahXephon, and Macross Plus to name a few. For those of you not in the anime loop, she’s the John Williams of anime, and her works in this series really do resemble the music of an epic feature film.
We don’t have much to say about the dub because we generally refuse to hear it. It’s not that it’s bad. It’s tolerable. We’d accept a million dollars to listen to it. But why would we want to when we have a star-studded Japanese cast including Tomokazu Seki, Joji “George” Nakata, Shinichiro Miki, and Maaya Sakamoto? Actually, this was Sakamoto’s first work, so technically she wasn’t a star then....
Shut it. Keep reading.
The best part about getting into Escaflowne now is that the series is much more affordable than it used to be. Several years ago, it would have cost you nearly $200 for eight discs, but now you can find all 26 episodes in a value pack for $40. If you see it, snatch it up.
But wait...there’s more!
There’s also Escaflowne manga and a movie. Keep in mind, both came out after the TV series. We haven’t read the manga yet (because Courtney is afraid to see a non-bishie incarnation of Allen Schezar), so we’re not going to comment on it. The movie, however, we can tell you about. The film is a stand-alone, condensed version of the story. Same basic plot, just crammed into 98 minutes. The story isn’t as gripping as the TV series because of that, but the artwork is stunning and the soundtrack is just brilliant. If you end up really liking the TV series, you should try the film as a bonus.
If you want to call yourself an anime connoisseur, then The Vision of Escaflowne is a must-see. Heck, even if you aren’t, it’ll be the best $40 you’ll ever spend.
-- Courtney Kraft
Comment(s)
It has been so long since I watch the Escaflowne movie, gotta go look up the series now
To the Batcave!!!
P.S.: Evangelion probably got crossed out b/c they got tired of the main character's whining after 5-6 episodes (just like everyone else).
Also it isn't my favorite anime, that would goto an Anime called Twelve Kingdoms in the US, but you've prolly never heard of that one :D
As for the anime, I wouldn't call it the best in the world, but it is up there.
1.Evangelion
2.Cowboy Bebop
3.Tri-gun
4.Gunsmith Cats
5.Escaflowne
6.Blue Seed
7.Ramen 1/2
8.Golden Boy
9.RahXephon
10.Gantz
11.Super Milk Chan
12.Burn-up W
Escaflowne is like alot more by females, because it's all about emotion and feelings. That makes much of the dialog implied and empty, but the overall story and Yoko Kanno's music bring it to the top. the same goes for RahXephon, but it at least has better dialog.
Thing is if you understood what the show was about you would know how sick of an idea that is.
1) KON's breast obsession,
2) Ichigo's bad attitude and foulmouthery (yes, I made up a word, deal with it),
and 3) I believe a more appropriate term would be "junior high"...
... Oh, and Evangelion's endings (both of them) were confusing and suckish (so I borrowed that one from ICarly; bite me), the main character was annoying, and the rest of the cast had few redeeming qualities about them, and furthermore did not endear themselves to their audience...
At least most of Naruto's cast have certain traits that make them identifiable to the people that watch the show and/or read the manga, unlike Eva and Blue Dragon (what possesses me to watch the latter is beyond my comprehension)...
Id gladly watch this over COPs/Cheaters
@sylvansorrow i've seen twelve kingdoms and i didn't like it at all. it started too slow, the lead character yoko was annoying and cried way too much, and the show was made a lot longer than it should have been, but it did have some great characters.
i accidentally wrote the same sentence twice about darker than black
I truly enjoyed Escaflowne, and I think I'm going to watch it again.
All the hate for Evangelion though *sigh* is to be expected. It's unfortunate though, since Eva to this day is still one of the most influential anime of all time. It's ability to use a seemingly traditional story, and turn it into a very untraditional story is just one of the things that made it so great. It took risks in making the main characters flawed and *gasp* human, that I feel it ruined the whole wish fulfillment mentality of anime otaku living vicariously through them in romanticized fashion. I still remember how a lot of us anime fans were simply blown away by Evangelion when it was first released, and I admit that it's a little disheartening to hear that anime fans of today don't have the same reaction.
1) Zero no Tsukaima
2) Fafner in the Azure
3) Bakuretsu Tenshi
4) Tsubasa Chronicles
5) Kenichi the mightiest Disciple
6) Claymore
7) Louie the Rune Warrior
8) Kiba
They're probably the best, but deffinately worth your time to track down and watch.
how in holy hell can you leave off rurouni kenshin on that "supposed" best list you have?
btw... escaflowne was absolutely amazing and I have had the series for years now... and I'm with the evangelion crowd as well... it's spectacular
"7.Ramen 1/2"
I'll have to check that one out, sounds tasty. I myself have always been partial to Ranma 1/2, but to each his own.
Robotech\Macross Saga, dbz, reboot, Death Note, and a few other show are on my list of good.
how in holy hell can you leave off rurouni kenshin on that "supposed" best list you have?
btw... escaflowne was absolutely amazing and I have had the series for years now... and I'm with the evangelion crowd as well... it's spectacular
Yeah the last episode is unfortunate, but I woudl like to defend it here, you see, you may not know this. But the series coincided with a series of novels that was being written and unfortunately the author of the series fell ill and was unable to continue so it ended abruptly around episode 42 or so. And yeah the main character whines and complains a lot at first, but she does grow and evolve and by the time the second arc comes around she kicks some serious ass. Specially much later during the revolution.
It really depends on taste, but there are also some anime's that haven't been mentioned that should be watched if you are really into anime.
-Genshiken (seasons 1 and 2)
-Gurren Lagann (EPIC! must watch, by the creators of Flcl)
-Zoku Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei (pure awesomeness)
-Nodame Cantibile (depends on your taste, I loved it)
-Utawarerumono
-The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya
-Mushishi (i think it's really obscure, but it is really enjoyable to watch)
-Negima! (Manga only, the animation wasn't all that great in the anime, but this one is also up to your tastes)
-The Third - Aoi Hitomi no Shoujo (I haven't watched all of it but i've really enjoyed it)
-Rental Magica
-Bamboo Blade
It really depends on taste, but there are also some anime's that haven't been mentioned that should be watched if you are really into anime.
-Genshiken (seasons 1 and 2)
-Gurren Lagann (EPIC! must watch, by the creators of Flcl)
-Zoku Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei (pure awesomeness)
-Nodame Cantibile (depends on your taste, I loved it)
-Utawarerumono
-The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya
-Mushishi (i think it's really obscure, but it is really enjoyable to watch)
-Negima! (Manga only, the animation wasn't all that great in the anime, but this one is also up to your tastes)
-The Third - Aoi Hitomi no Shoujo (I haven't watched all of it but i've really enjoyed it)
-Rental Magica
-Bamboo Blade
I'll have to check rurouni kenshin out. Hey I left off DBZ: Maji Buu too.
Lots of great anime out there, Escaflowne is not the greatest.
And let me give a shout out to Prince Planet. He gets no respect.
Btw, I HIGHLY recommend Claymore to fans. It's a GREAT story. So many plot twists and turns it's getting realy good at volume 11.
()=rank on the list.
Top Ten TV series
1.(1)Cowboy Bebop
2.(4)FLCL
3.(5)Revolutionary Girl Utena
4.(6)Neon Genesis Evangelion
5.(10)Macross Plus
6.(11)Fullmetal Alchemist
7.(12)Now and Then, Here and There
8.(14)Ghost in the Shell: S.A.C.
9.(15)Haibane Renmei
10.(17)Paranoia Agent
Top Ten Movies
1.(2)Porco Rosso
2.(3)Millennium Actress
3.(7)Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade
4.(8)The Castle of Cagliostro
5.(9)Akira
6.(13)Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind
7.(14)Ghost in the Shell
8.(16)Grave of the Fireflies
9.(19)My Neighbor Totoro
10.(21)Tokyo Godfathers
Escaflowne wanked 50th.