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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 "meh..." ok, here's the deal. i bought escaflowne the series and stayed up all night watching it. i was VERY VERY pleased with the series. it's a real adventure from start to finish. (despite those moments when you wish you could strangle hitomi...) after i finished the series i jumped straight to my computer and tried to find out more about escaflowne and the art. i came across pictures and art work that i didn't see in the series and shortly found out there was a movie. "glory be!" i had to have it. finally, after impatient waiting i had my hands on it. i watched the movie and was amazed by the music and animation... it's just the plot that fell short. most of the movie you in the dark and have no idea where this is going. i was smiling simplily towards the end of the film, then went into a rage whent he credits came on. the only thoughts going through my head, "WHERE THE HELL IS THE REST OF IT????" maybe i fell asleep or something... but i'm quite sure i've found art, that looks like it's from the movie, THAT'S NOT IN THE MOVIE... T_T i was quite disappointed. i found that they wasted time on unimportant parts but you had no idea what was happening in another. as much as i adore lord van, i was disappointed with him as well. there is no character development and it's like those stupid chick flicks you wish people would stop making. "guy meets girl, guy falls for girl, guy and girl swear love after only one day" ... there was never that connection like in the series. and meryl, allan, yukari and malerna were completely unimportant to the story in the movie. (which i didn't mind so much because i want to shoot allan multiple times in the series. but that's what makes an anime great. one that grabs you and doesn't let you go, one that connects you to the characters. i can tell it's a good anime if i'm yelling at my tv set at 3:00 in the morning. "HITOMI YOU @#%*ING MORON! VAN, STUPID! NOT ALLAN, NOT AMANO, VAN! V-A-N!" (ahem) anyway, if you're looking at buying escaflowne the movie, you should either get the series first, then the movie, or just the series and maybe some cowboy bebop. ^_^ those are sure not to disappoint. Laters "A great anime tittle for new and old" As an anime enthusiast I must say it was thoroughly entertaining. While being an alternate story-line to the show, Vision of Escaflowne, as opposed to a tie-in, it did little to deminish it and while I admit it could have been "tweaked" a little more, it was still a resounding success in my humble opinion. The movie is great for anyone interested in anime in general and can be watched without prior viewing of the show, but is even better once you've seen it (and vice-versa). I personally think that the differences between it and the show are quite irrellivent seeing as it's entertainment quality isn't, for the most part, dependant on viewing the show, however, they are worthy to note for the most die-hard viewer. Van and Hitomi's personalities for one, where altered (though I would debate Van was still much like the "original" Van if only a bit more dark and Hitomi didn't come off as an entirely different character, again, it played more on her "darker side"). The other star players of the show where put more notably into "side character", but I feel for one, that it didn't harm the movie and that they still held much of what they "where" in the show just not spotlighted so much, which I would add would be where watching the show benefits the viewer of the movie, explaining their actions a bit more than the movie did and such. Another notable difference was how condenced the movie was, which I quite enjoyed, as utterly enjoyable as the series is, it would trail off on tangents from time to time and had some extremely minor, yet notable, goofy or almost irrelivent themes (such as her Tarrot Card reading) though that is just my opinion. Condensing the show allowed to play off more on the relationship between Van, Hitomi, and to a lesser extent, Folken, which where the most interesting of the cast to me. As I said in the very beginning, they could have "tweaked" it a bit and I do agree it would have been a bit more entertaining if they lengthened it to develope their relationship a bit more, but I for one still came off satisfied. And last (but not least), the animation and music in the movie are absolutely second to none, even it's predicessor can't match the level of detail the movie produced. The animation was simply exquisite, a true feast for the eyes. Words can't do it justice, one simple has to view it's entirety to understand the careful, marvelous balance it maintanes. The music is equally impressive and flows perfectly with the movie. All in all, as an avid anime enthusiast, I found it utterly entertaining and would suggest it to anyone interested in anime new or old. I give it 5 full stars for it's overall high quality that anyone should be able to enjoy. "Ignore the Series: It's A Wonderful Movie" After reading many reviews, most of them focus on the differences between the show and the series, but there are those few reviews who actually get why they rehashed the series into the movie. In my views, as well as the views of many others, which is explained at lizzard.com, the movie is not about all the characters from the the series, and involving all the plot twists and turns that anime series usually have. It was about two people: Hitomi and Van. The movie does a fantastic job of bringing them to the foreground, as it is supposed to. We watch as Van evolves from that-as one reviewer put it-"apathetic and a-moralistic" individual, into a caring person, with the end realization of both Hitomi and Van that they are not alone, and that there are people who love and care for them. Hardcore yet close-minded fans may not enjoy the reworkings of the movie, but if one can see the movie for what it is: a semi-love story and loneliness diminisher, then a fan can really get to enjoy the movie, its fantastic soundtrack, and great art. "Anime in a nutshell" This movie is one of the best i have ever seen. It turned me into what i am now. A person who likes anime like escaflowne and princess mononoke but isnt a geek with anime shirts and hats and no social life. you should always have at least one anime movie in the house and this should be it. "A good addition to the series" I liked the movie but not as much as i did the series. The movie basically compacts the entire television series into a 2 1/2 hour movie and changes the characters we've grown to love in the series to, almost seeminly, dark doplegangers. Hitomi is suicidal and Van is a dark brooding boy who cares nothing about others, until of course he meets hitomi. And what of escaflowne itself? It's a god of either death or rebirth....wow....go figure. I love the music init if your into that kind of thing...but i found the movie to be not like much of the anime at all. So if you were expection the movie to be a continuation of the television sereia im sorry to dissapoint you. All in all, the movie is basically like an alternate or parralle universe to what happens in the series. It is good, so i would recommend watching it...i loved it myself but was dissipointed in the chnage in character profiles.