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Escaflowne - The Movie Actor: Kazuki Akane Number of Items: 1 Format: Animated, Color, Widescreen, Dolby, DTS Surround Sound Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated) Studio: Bandai Entertainment Product Group: DVD Release Date: 2004-03-02 Buy from Amazon

Customer Reviews: Total numer of reviews: 152 Average rating: 4.0 "Alternate universe, unrelated to the series" Escaflowne is about an earth girl who gets transported to a fantasy world where people use swords, flying ships, and giant robotic battle armor. The Escaflowne movie has no real relation to the Escaflowne series other than its name and the names of its characters. The story itself is almost completely different (including the ending). Good parts: 1. The artwork and animation are excellent (far superior to the series). 2. The music is decent. 3. There are some good action scenes. 4. The story is significantly different from the series. Bad parts: 1. Too many really slow, almost waiting scenes. It was like the artists wanted to show off some of their excellent artwork, but couldn't figure out how to integrate some meaningful dialog with it. 2. The story and character development are not nearly as good, deep, or meaningful as the 26 episode series. Overall, it's very watchable, it just seems weak when compared to the series. If you are going to watch both the movie and the series, you should probably watch the movie first, because the series is truly excellent and you'll end up disappointed by the average quality of the movie. Again, the movie does NOT ruin any part of the series as long as you understand that the movie characters are NOT the series characters. They simply share the same names and have similar appearances. The movie characters' abilities and backgrounds are typically significantly different from those of the series. "A nice return to Anime" I hadn't seen any of the TV series but picked up the Movie anyway. I thought it was really well done and the only thing I would have liked to see more of would be to see Vahn's (spelling) friends do some fighting instead of sitting back and talking the whole time. I guess you can only put so much in 90 minutes. I hadn't been too big on anime lately but this is definately good enough to keep my interest up. Yes, the infrequent appearance of Escaflowne itself made me want more but what you see is cool. Where's part 2? "Great movie, but it makes the series worthless." After seeing what I have of the original Escaflowne series, this movie seems to take an entire 20+ episode creation and destroy it completely. I am sure that several other original Escaflowne fans will see the same thing because right from the start the entire story, portrayed in the series, is rewritten. Hitomi did not act as she did in the movie and was not on the verge of committing suicide in the original series, as well as Van and Alen working together from the beginning. The two were still at odds with one another, but they didn't know each other from the start. I found this fact very disturbing: the creators of this movie were willing to rewrite a larger story. Standing these facts off to the side, I would also like to point out that the characters appear more human looking than Kawamori's original character designs which I found quite impressive. The movie itself was beautifully animated and done with a much darker storyline in mind. Yes, there was increased violence, but they rewrote the story, so why not make it more gruesome to follow the ever darkening storyline. The story was good and enthralling, but the fact that the entire series was rewritten makes me cringe at the new story that this movie puts out. For those who haven't seen the Escaflowne series, this movie is not an opening or an ending, it is a movie and I recommend watching it because of the animation and story both. "I love the story, I love the art!" I watch lots of anime movies and shows and this is one of my fav.s, But I really wish (as do all the fans of escaflowne) that Hitomi and Van would stay to gether! Why do all anime love storys do that anyways? Oh well, but that movie is very worth it! "Wasurenaide... Don't Forget" Hitomi, a young high school student has lost her interest in life. She fears things will never change, is so depressed that she hopes that somehow she will just fade away. What she doesn't expect is that her desire to escape would catapult her into the mythic world of Gaea. From a young highschool student, she finds herself thrust into the role of the Wing Goddess, who can call up Escaflowne, a terrible suit of giant armor destined to destroy the world. Hitomi's first encounter on Gaea is with Van, a king whose people were destroyed by his jealous brother. First, she is badly frightened, then deeply attracted to this lonely, tormented boy. Unfortunately, there is hardly time for romance. Van and his brother both attempt to gain control of Hitomi and, through her, Escaflowne. A war is building and Van must fight repeatedly for his life. Director Kazuki Akano is kind to his viewers, and the fight scenes alternate with visions of the loveliness Gaea contains, as reflected in both the scenery and the wondrous creatures that people it. We do not need to be told for what Van and Hitomi are fighting, we see it repeatedly before our eyes. The documentation and extras that come with this set repeatedly make the point that this film is not a recap of the series, but an alternate tale set in the same world with the same characters. Hitomi and Van are older and more mature, and the film spends far less time on the theme of destiny that drove the series, focusing instead on the feelings and emotional contexts of the characters. For me this adds great impact to the film, which is already notable for artistic imagery and a superb score. I'm not a big fan of the interviews which make up many disks of extras, but I found those that came with this set quite interesting. All of the participants seem to conscious of having made a truly special film, and are justifiably proud. I even found myself repeatedly listening to the CD of music from the lush score by Yoko Kanno. One of the reasons I have come to like anime as an art form, is that it always manages to surprise. Born from the world of comics and manga, the Japanese have taken a relatively straightforward medium and turned it into something where magic works, giant robot suits are used to fight for the futures of planets, and comedy, romance and horror can cheerfully coexist in settings both rare and commonplace. This is the world of 'Escaflowne.' A story made richer for the retelling.