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Escaflowne - The Movie
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Animation - 9.1 |
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Sound - 9.0 |
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Story - 6.1 |
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Character - 6.4 |
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Value - 6.5 |
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Enjoyment - 6.8 |
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Average - 7.3 |
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| Average |
6.8 |
| Animation |
9 |
| Sound |
10 |
| Story |
5 |
| Character |
4 |
| Value |
6 |
| Enjoyment |
7 |
| I should mention that I didn't watch Escaflowne the series, so my review is stand alone, based only on this movie.
Animation:
Nice fighting scenes, nice backgrounds, nice design style but then again you would expect this from any high budget anime movie. I am however dissapointed by the character design. Even so the animation was spectacular so I'll give it full grades.
Sound:
Voice acting was mediocre, but the sound effects and especially the background music were splendid.
Story and Character:
To me the story seems artificial, without any true meanings to it and rushed. It starts without any clear reason as to why Hitomi hates the world and ends without any meanings, the actions that the Black Dragon Clan takes seem without reason, so does Escaflowne and it's powers, even for a fantasy anime. It just seems like it was made to show off the special effects and tell a story that was much longer and intricate in a very short time leaving the best parts out and rushing to a blunt and unimpressive end.
That's why the character development of the two main characters and the villain seems weak, as there is no real reason behind their actions and feelings towards the world and each other (especially Vaan and Hitomi), there are given reasons but they didn't convince me at all that there were solid enough. In the end I couldn't feel a thing for any character and they left me cold as ice, none of their tears and tragedies made any sense and they seemed forced on the viewer
Overall the anime leaves you with a series of nice animations, great sounds, and a dissapointing story and character development which seemed rushed and empty of content. You could say it was worth watching if you have 1-2 hours and nothing to do with them, but don't expect a story you'll remember more than a a week.
Enjoyed it? maybe, but then again maybe I was looking for something else of a much higher value.
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| Average |
7.2 |
| Animation |
9 |
| Sound |
8 |
| Story |
6 |
| Character |
7 |
| Value |
7 |
| Enjoyment |
6 |
| Well this is not really the escaflowne movie that you want to watch. Its not an extended episode or anything, but an alternative version which seems a lot like FF7 AC movie. The darkness, the adultness is more apparent in this movie, but then trying to cram 26 eps into 1hour 30 mins does not work at all.
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Animan |
(2007-02-26 03:38:45) 2007-02-26 03:35:56 |
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| Average |
4.3 |
| Animation |
9 |
| Sound |
7 |
| Story |
4 |
| Character |
1 |
| Value |
1 |
| Enjoyment |
4 |
| This is NOT escaflowne that you have come to know from the 26 episode series.
Viewed as a standalone movie, it fits preety well with the rest of the mecha anime from the 90's till now.
I think someone in japan decided that to keep the mecha anime classics, well, CLASSICS (macross, gundam)....they had to come up with utterly ridiculous, overcooked, overdone junk like evangelion, rahxephon, or even burst angel, where they try to squeeze in as much redundant riligious, moral, political analogies, in an attempt to confuse the viewer into believing that the whole thing is actually more intelligent than it really is. So to ruin probably the ONLY good mecha anime to come out in the 90's they came up with the movie.
Where escaflowne the series had a well laid out storyline, the characters had depth and there was an air of excitement and wonder, this version is simply annoying. The characters lack all depth, you dont really connect to them and hitomi and vaan seem to develop a relationship which pops out of nowhere appearently.
The storyline is crippled with absolutely no depth in comparison to the series. Stuff is happening for the sake of it happening. The relationship between hitomi and vaan might as well not have been there since they barely speak two endearing words to one another throughout. its all forced "i wanna be with you"...."oh and by the way i wanna be with you cause like im alone too y'know".
The music is not as good as the original either.
Animation feels more fluid but for some reason the character and mecha designs are pitiful, especially when you see escaflowne turn inot a dragon you realise how utterly embarassing it looks.
All in all, watch it if youre into teenagers-end of the world-doom and gloom anime. If youre pimply and sad and frustrated and dont really have anyone who understands and down on life, this will really be your thing.
If youre normal, and have a personality and a desire to watch something deep with a great storyline and resolution, with rounded characters and a superb fantasy element, go with the 26 episode series.
THATS escaflowne. This is just an eva/rahxephon wannabe. A bad one at that....provided anything could be worse than those two.
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1 of 1 people found this review helpful.
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| Average |
7.0 |
| Animation |
9 |
| Sound |
10 |
| Story |
7 |
| Character |
6 |
| Value |
5 |
| Enjoyment |
5 |
| I had so much expectation on this movie, when I first saw the commercial/sneak preview on animax, I thought that this is a must see and I was so excited to watch. But after I finish the 90 minute movie, I asked myself, "what the heck was that, was that escaflowne? did I watched the wrong movie?" Ok, Im exaggerating, but everything is different, from story to animation and from character design to charcter's attitudes. I feel as if Im watching a version of Escaflowne based on a fanfiction.
The animation is topnotch compared to the series. It was made in 2000 and the tv series in 1996 so obviouly its more well drawn. The character design is far different, Hitomi's new look and uniform are the only things that I liked and the rest, they don't look like themselves, Van looks somewhat like a wildman, Allen looks like a gang/mob leader and Millerna doesnt look like a princess but a hooker and everyone else looks different.
The only merit is the OST, the background music is excellent and the theme song sora gives me the goosebumps, not to mention the lyrics being in ancient romanian, truly a masterpiece, never before was I impressed with a movie's song, even uncomparable to hollywood blockbuster's but sadly, I think it was just wasted.
I thought that this movie is the continuation of the series, maybe that's why I was so disappointed. The only things that's the same as the original is that Hitomi was transported to gaea and some other but are very few. Folken is not a villain in the series but he is in this movie. The thing that I like here in this movie is that it has a lot of focus on Hitomi and Van's relationship unlike in the tv series. But the ending is disappointing, Hitomi disappeared just like that, I thought that it will be continued after the credits roll but it didnt.
Not only does the characters don't look like themselves but they are not themselves at all. Everyone's attitude is not what it used to be, I felt as if I'm watching a totally different anime. The only one left with the same attributes is Hitomi as for the others it really differed.
Low re-watch value. If you liked the anime, there's a very little chance that you'll like this one too.
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| Average |
8.3 |
| Animation |
10 |
| Sound |
10 |
| Story |
6 |
| Character |
8 |
| Value |
8 |
| Enjoyment |
8 |
| This movie is kinda hard to judge, because I have to admit that after watching it in sucession to the series I didn't like it that much, but after more than a year since I last visited it, i liked it much more.
The animation and music are flawless, it's really a visual and aural masterpiece, everything is breathankingly beutiful and otherwordly.
The story is ok i guess, it's a pretty stripped down version of the original escaflwone, but it actually works better if you don't compare it much to the original.
Hitomi is a lost girl looking for meaning in her life, but she isolates herself from people not wanting to hurt or get hurt, one day she hear the call of a kindred spirit and is transported to another world, Gaia, where she appears inside the Legendary armor, Escaflowne, and is heralded as the Wing Goddess by the people there; her desire will change the destiny of this world, she could either end up destroying it or saving it with the help of Escaflowne.
She is recruited by a rebel group called Arahabaki that is fighting against and evil empire that is commanded by the person who called her to this world, who seeks to destroy it..that's about it.
Characterization is also a bit more "basic" than the TV series, the only ones that are really fleshed out are Hitomi and Van, and while they are very different to their TV counterparts, in the movie they do transmit the feeling the creators apparently wanted them to ; both are lonely people that isolate themselves from the world, but deep down they are only looking to be connected to someone, this connection will give meaning to their lives and open their eyes to the world; so while the other characters are window dressings the main two make this movie work.
In the end I can recommend this title to people who are looking for breath-taking visuals and music, and those who are willing look over to the basic plot to find the powerful message that this film conveys; "you're not alone".
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CyBeR |
2006-02-04 11:07:52 |
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| Average |
6.5 |
| Animation |
9 |
| Sound |
10 |
| Story |
4 |
| Character |
3 |
| Value |
5 |
| Enjoyment |
8 |
| One of the cruelest fates that one can have bestowed upon him is to be a king without a country. Even worse is to be a king that witnesses his country’s destruction at the hands of someone held dear.
Such is the fate of Van, a young prince that loses all that he knew in one attack over his homeland and is left with just the prophecy of the dragon-god, Escaflowne; a god that would save the entire world. The catch is: it may also destroy it.
But prophecies do not come to pass at their own free will and accidents to aid in their fulfillment may sometimes be in order.
As such, a young girl is brought from her own world into the magic world that is home to such prophecies. She is given the title of Goddess of Wings and is said to bring the dragon-armor, Escaflowne, back to life to help them. On her decisions rest the lives of thousands.
That would the story of Vision of Escaflowne in a nutshell. With minor modification, the movie is nothing more than the retelling of said story, in a darker, bloodier manner and with considerably less explanations as to everything that happens.
Films too rarely surpass the series they’re based on and sadly, that is not the case here. Although a host of elements from the original are improved, a lot of stuff has fallen in valor and, as such, eats away at the films value. I’m afraid it’s a curse that befalls all such productions.
But I shall not compare it to the series because it is a film that has the intent of being completely self-contained. And at that, some things it does right, some things it does not.
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maya |
(2005-11-24 14:43:24) 2005-11-24 14:36:43 |
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| Average |
5.5 |
| Animation |
8 |
| Sound |
8 |
| Story |
3 |
| Character |
4 |
| Value |
4 |
| Enjoyment |
6 |
| Well, I didn't like it. There's probably a million reviews to this movie that say that this is so NOT like the TV series... they'd be right. But then again why make a movie about Escaflowne if it has the exact same story as the TV series? Waste of time and money if you ask me.
The fact that we had the same world and characters but a different story didn't bother me at all. No, that makes sense. What bothered me was the pace of the story. Too fast. A bit confusing. As it comes from the same base as the TV series I am guessing it's a lot less confusing if you already know the world and the characters (meaning, if you have watched the series). But even then, the characters attitudes and actions make little sense.
Their emotions are too wild, they change too fast. Allen (a main character in the series), almost doesn't appear in this one. To make a long story short, the characters don't seem realistic. To their credit, they don't actually have time to be realistic... the story is not long enough for that.
The story is not nearly as good as the one from the TV series. Like it was mentioned before it is too fast-paced, a lot happens at the same time, and there is almost zero time for the viewer to get used to the world of Gaia or even get to know the characters.
Even if the title of this movie is "Escaflowne" the robot isn't a big part of it. After the situation is explained to us (world destruction, blah, blah), the story takes a little turn and everything else, besides a sappy and completly unrealistic "collection of romantic moments" takes it's place. It's all about the main characters who, somehow, manage to fall in love in record time. The drama, the action scenes... nothing in this movie seems... real. It doesn't appeal to the viewer.
Overall, the story is pretty weak as are the characters. Not worth a watch... especially if you're a fan of the TV series. This will disappoint you greatly.
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| Average |
8.2 |
| Animation |
10 |
| Sound |
9 |
| Story |
7 |
| Character |
6 |
| Value |
8 |
| Enjoyment |
9 |
| WOW! After watching Naushika, I had lost faith in the fantasy genre. I have never liked old-school fantasy , so those types of movies are usually a snore for me(if you check my other reviews, you'll find most anime I watch is either comedy or character oriented drama). But I do like Escaflowne sicne I saw most all of it on TV waaay back in the day. I randomly bought this on a whim (on a $5 bootleg DVD...I don't have $30 to be whimsically spending...), and I'm glad I did. The animation was amazing, the story was simple yet amazing, the whole thing was just superb. It reminded me why I liked Escaflowne in the first place! Yeah, it's a bit forced in places (especially how Hitomi makes a 180 degree shift in attitude overnight), but it's one of my favourite anime movies I've ever seen, and certainly the best fantasy one.
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0 of 0 people found this review helpful.
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| Average |
6.2 |
| Animation |
6 |
| Sound |
5 |
| Story |
7 |
| Character |
6 |
| Value |
5 |
| Enjoyment |
8 |
| My only two complaints with this anime were the storyline and the characters. How could Hitomi fall in love with a guy 20 minutes into the story after he tried to kill her?! Also, it was hard to understand the emotions of Hitomi and Van because the story went along so fast. THe other characters weren't explained really well either. Other than those two things, I would recommend it to anyone who likes complicated stories.
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0 of 0 people found this review helpful.
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| Average |
7.7 |
| Animation |
10 |
| Sound |
10 |
| Story |
7 |
| Character |
5 |
| Value |
7 |
| Enjoyment |
7 |
| I'll be honest, I haven't watched the TV series to Escaflowne (that may either give me a positive or a negative bias with regards to this review, but I hope to be as "unbiased" as possible). However, I was pleasantly surprised and quite enjoyed this movie. I wanted to wait until I saw both the sub and the english dub of the movie before I reviewed it, and I have to say that both really impressed me considering only 98 minutes of storyline. The only thing I would say that took away from this movie is the lack of character development, it felt sincerely rushed and I felt that I couldn't get into the heart of the characters as much; plus, although the story seemed epically told and presented, some events were anti-climatic due to the rush to tell the story in the constraint of time (but that's a fault that many anime movies tend to have, like Akira trying to fit volumes of manga into one solid movie).
Nevertheless, if you're looking for a good movie with great animation and music and a sentimental tale, this would probably be one for you. (And if the TV series is much better than this, I'm sure I'll watch it in the coming future and update my review accordingly).
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petran79 |
(2006-04-27 13:40:54) 2005-08-31 18:11:11 |
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| Average |
5.0 |
| Animation |
0 |
| Sound |
0 |
| Story |
0 |
| Character |
0 |
| Value |
0 |
| Enjoyment |
5 |
| I wasnt familiar with the series so I decided just to watch this movie. I have to say this movie was generally enjoyable and it has a merit of its own even as a sole movie without the series. But not without its faults which could deduce some points, depending on the reason you want to watch a movie.
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| Average |
7.8 |
| Animation |
10 |
| Sound |
9 |
| Story |
7 |
| Character |
7 |
| Value |
7 |
| Enjoyment |
7 |
| I think every review really got it right. THIS IS NOT AS GOOD AS THE TV SERIES. It truly is IMPOSSIBLE to squeeze 26 episode anime into 98 minutes. Escaflowne TV was an incredible anime, but this one fall short by big time. What a let down. But like others have said if you watch it without any expectation i think there are few good things...
the stand out trait of this anime has to be the animation. Movie quality animation for escaflowne is beautiful. All the character designs are even more stylish than before and the colors are every so rich. Action is well choreographed and intense.
complimenting masterful animation is great music by Kanno Yoko. though i was disappointed that lot of the music were reused but it isn't a big problem at all.
Now if you take incredibly rich anime and squeeze it into one movie somethings are bound to get lost. and the things that get lost here are characters. Now even if i didn't watch the TV series i would still be disappointed with the characters. All of them are merely an empty shells walking around doing something that we are not quite sure of (unless you watched the anime). I at least thought the main characters would be developed or be interesting, but its not. Hitomi is annoying and Van is just aggrevating. Romance doesn't work between van and hitomi. and that's not good.
without great character there can't be a great story. Story is quite a change from the animation and it fits the movie format but it really is anti-climactic in my opnion. It just is not that good
This movie version of one of my favorite anime of all time got to be a let down for escaflowne fans. But if you wanna spend about 100 minutes without feeling too bored i think this can give you that entertaining 100 minutes. Just don't expect masterpiece.
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| Average |
8.3 |
| Animation |
10 |
| Sound |
9 |
| Story |
7 |
| Character |
8 |
| Value |
7 |
| Enjoyment |
9 |
| This movie is definitely not as good as the TV series. That said however this movie is still fairly enjoyable. I would say to watch the movie before the TV series so you don't have any expectation of what it should be like. If you've seen the series, forget everything you know about it (like you had to with Utena) and I can assure you that there will be something for you to enjoy.
The animation is truly amazing. The color is vibrant and the background and designs are sharp and striking (Much like the Utena movie).
The sound is very similar to the TV series which is why I didn't give it full score as there are not that many new compositions.
The story is very condensed in this and at times a few situations feel a bit forced and do not quite fit.
The characters are good but not as good as they are in the series. They are handled quite well though considering the rush of the story.
This movie does not have as much value to me as the TV series but it is still worth owning just for the beautiful animation.
I enjoyed this movie a lot as I wanted to see where it was going and was not bored at all while watching it.
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| Average |
9.8 |
| Animation |
10 |
| Sound |
10 |
| Story |
9 |
| Character |
10 |
| Value |
10 |
| Enjoyment |
10 |
| I'm reviewing this movie while still watching the credits go up and hearing the wonderful ending theme. I have to say, I'm speechless. I once watched this movie by accident, actually that was the reason I watched the TV series. But this one is a true masterpiece, a genuine work of art. Although I recommend this movie to people who have already seen the TV series, that doesn't take this movie's greatness away. It is, in a nutshell, the fantastic tale of Escaflowne TV retold in a beautiful, and very poetic, way.
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| Average |
9.0 |
| Animation |
10 |
| Sound |
10 |
| Story |
8 |
| Character |
8 |
| Value |
9 |
| Enjoyment |
9 |
| Jeez people, ease up. Considering the fact that they had to smoosh the story into 96 minutes, I think they did a great job. I am a huge fan of the series, and yes I was sad to see how drastically everything had changed...but fans need to keep an open mind with this one. It's simply an alternate universe, and I think they did a great job. Yes Van and Hitomi's relationship is a bit rushed, but again...96 minutes! I thought it was handled well. My only complaints are a few character designs (WOW they changed millerna...and dilandau, my fav, looked a like a drag queen...oh and folken was just horrible) And because of the animation, though it's beautiful and fluid, i'm so used to the tenkuu no escaflowne noses...it looked like they all had nose jobs in the movie haha. I didn't appreciate the lack of merle, but again, when pressed for time- they could only focus on what was important- Hitomi and Van and a message of hope. Give this movie a chance with an open mind.
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| Average |
4.5 |
| Animation |
10 |
| Sound |
10 |
| Story |
3 |
| Character |
2 |
| Value |
1 |
| Enjoyment |
1 |
| The Escaflowne tv series is overrated, has ugly character art, and has an annoying heroine. But it least it had characters you could care about, a decent story, and some wonderful animation and music. All the movie has are the last two things I mentioned.
The characters are lame (Hitomi is suicidal, Van is homicidial, Allen is a Sephiroth ripoff , etc.), and the only tolerable one is Merle, which gives you a good idea of how horrible the characters are in this movie.
The story is non-existant. It's just an excuse for Van to kill hordes of people for nearly two hours. The "love story" between Van and Hitomi is poorly done, since Van is only a step above Tarzan on understanding women.
The dialogue is terrible. People repeat the same things over and over again. In one ten minute period, I seriously counted at least 9 or 10 usages of the terms "Escaflowne, the God of War" and "The Goddess of Wings". I've seen better writing in episodes of Sesame Street.
And despite the word "Escaflowne" in the title, very little of the movie actually has Van in Escaflowne. He fights with his sword most of the time. Personally, if I wanted sword action, I'd just rent a samurai movie or one of the Kenshin OAVs.
All in all, Escaflowne: A Girl in Gaea is a depressing, stupider, lamer take on the already overrated, stupid TV series. It may have beautiful art and music, but it doesn't a decent story, OR likable characters, OR decent writing, OR go at a decent rate. Avoid.
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|
| Average |
4.7 |
| Animation |
9 |
| Sound |
5 |
| Story |
3 |
| Character |
3 |
| Value |
3 |
| Enjoyment |
5 |
| I was sorely disappointed with it. Van and Hitomi's relationship is forced, and I missed the part where Van all of a sudden forgave his brother. On the other hand I LOVE what they did with the characters this time around. Theyre nothing like their series counterparts, they have different personalities. There in which lies another problem- they didnt seem to know what they wanted to do with these new personalities. These other characters dont ever really do much of anything. With the exception of Van, Hitomi and Van's brother (his name escapes me). So in the end you have this movie that really does nothing until the closing credits.
I dont know how people are saying it's a condensed version of the series, it's absolutely nothing at all like the series. They took the plot and characters in a different direction
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0 of 0 people found this review helpful.
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| Average |
7.5 |
| Animation |
9 |
| Sound |
8 |
| Story |
7 |
| Character |
8 |
| Value |
6 |
| Enjoyment |
7 |
| I haven't seen the series, so the OVA was a bit confusing to me. I understand they needed to condense the story, but everything seemed so rushed and random that I couldn't really connect with the characters or the drama. I don't understand why anihilation by Escaflowne is the only cure for sadness and suffering (that's some case of depression). Hitomi came off as helpless and annoyingly attached to Van. But the combat scenes were really impressive, and the characters/scenes/imagery were varied and creative - reminded me of the Never Ending Story. Some characters seemed important (the lion-man, folken's girl sidekick), but were basically afterthoughts in the film. I've seen much worse though.
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Max |
(2004-08-10 14:11:03) 2004-08-10 14:08:39 |
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| Average |
9.5 |
| Animation |
10 |
| Sound |
10 |
| Story |
9 |
| Character |
9 |
| Value |
9 |
| Enjoyment |
10 |
| Condensing a 26 episode series, 23-25 minutes per episode, into a one and a half hour movie is not easy. The creators of Escaflowne took on the challenge and succeeded brilliantly. Anyone who tells you otherwise is either giving you a knee-jerk reaction because s/he is too attached to the series, or doesn't understand quality film-making when s/he sees it.
The movie is top-notch throughout, especially the storyline, which I felt in many ways superceded the series. Though not on certain themes such as fate and the ability to change/control it (the series inherently has a leg up on that one as it has more time to unfold it, and it did so quite well), on other themes such as isolation and personal relationships the movie offers a much more dense version which allows you to enjoy all of that which was in the series in, again, one and a half hours. Van and Hitomi's individual characters and relationship is pushed to the forefront here, and I couldn't be happier. Their journey is just as fulfilling here as in the series.
The animation is much much better than the series (I think the character designs were done by the same guy who did Chrono Cross, no?), the soundtrack is also on par if not better, and the enjoyment went up for me, as the battle scenes, both human and machine, were extremely well-done (read: realistic). Van has three swordfights and they're all incredible - the one that opens the movie is eye-popping - really.
The entire movie panders less to teens, giving it more of an edge, which I also appreciated. To be completely honest, I have no idea how anyone could not like this movie, be they anime fan or not, someone who has watched the series or hasn't. It's a work of art, a beautiful one in every aspect, plain and simple.
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| Average |
8.3 |
| Animation |
10 |
| Sound |
9 |
| Story |
7 |
| Character |
7 |
| Value |
8 |
| Enjoyment |
9 |
| With a little bit more anime viewing under my belt I have decided to withdraw my former, shorter, review of this piece. Escaflowne the Movie, while still being the amazing movie that I said before does have some withdrawls to it.
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