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[carbonbased]

Sell me on this show, people. Right Stuf's got the beautiful boxset and action figure for 70 big ones this week, and I'm extremely close to pulling the trigger. I've read many positive reviews of it, comparing the series to many of the classics out there. The overall response at AnimeOnDVD seems to be positive, too, but I'd like to see what all you hardened bastards here have to say on the matter.

 

[SpoonyBard]

Escaflowne is one of the best anime series ever, I'd rank it as high as Cowboy Bebop and Evangelion.

 

[Luscious LeftFoot]

I already know I'm going to be in the minority here...

I thought it was okay, likeable characters, I didn't like the direction or focus it took in the latter half.


I still find in funny when Evangelion get praised as one of the best animes ever.

 

[NotMSRP]

The show was originally suppose to be 39 episodes. Got resized to 26 eps partway through production so you got the result you see. Surely would have been much better if it had more episodes.

 

[speedpop]

Escaflowne is probably my favourite series I have ever watched, closely followed by Planetes.

The music itself speaks volumes.. everyone praises Yoko Kanno for her great work on Cowboy Bebop or her new funky tunes for GITS: SAC. Personally I think the best music she ever composes is when she collaborates with Hajime Mizoguchi.

However if you're in the mood for a fantasy anime then you should have picked it up straight away. As for the ending, it's kinda hard to perceive a straight judgement on it. Personally I thought they finished it up rather well, something I cannot say to 80-90% of anime out there.. but you have to take into account that years before Escaflowne, stories were already being written and it was supposedly going to be much more longer, possibly 40+ episodes.

Anyway I think you should grab it, or rent it out or something.

 

[Chrono]

70 dollars? w00t.

Escaflowne get! I might want to grab the movie too. XD


edit: is the movie a remake of the TV series?

 

[duckroll]

Escaflowne is my favorite anime TV series ever. That will never change because it doesn't mean it's the best anime TV series ever. It's just a magical show that when watched at the right time creates an experience you'll never ever forget.

It has all the elements which I'm a "fanboy" of in terms of entertainment. Part sci-fi, part fantasy, a solid coming of age story that doesn't get over dramatic, kickass mecha, knights, swordsmen, princes, princesses, kingdoms and empires, steam tech, fate and destiny, love in more ways than one, and catgirls.

I looooooved Escaflowne then and I love it now. The entire worldview and characters are like something out of an awesome RPG that never got made.

*WUV*

is the movie a remake of the TV series?

Yeah in a way. The movie is a 90min alternate reality story of Escaflowne with the same characters but in a radically different world. The central theme remains the same but it's darker and there's more action vs character development as opposed to the series. It's still awesome though!

 

[Chrono]

Yeah in a way. The movie is a 90min alternate reality story of Escaflowne with the same characters but in a radically different world. The central theme remains the same but it's darker and there's more action vs character development as opposed to the series. It's still awesome though!

meh, I don't like any "alternate" stories of something-- especially something good that worked. I did some searching and the manga is also a re-telling of the story and has nothing to do with the anime. Looks like it's only the boxset for me. I don't want to spend more anyway.



[Edit]


I hate right stuf. -__-

They insist I have a mastercard and not a visa... there's no freakin' way I can change that too. I'll get the 'complete collection' that comes out on october 26th instead of the limited edition. I think the only difference is the toy and maybe the box too. Deep Discount DVD has the complete collection for $59.99 which seals the deal for me.

 

[carbonbased]

Are you sure about the Mastercard thing? I order off their site all the time with my Visa.

Keep the impressions coming.

 

[ManDudeChild]

Its been years since I saw Escaflowne (so forgive that I'm terrible with the names), but how far into the series is it where Alan discovers that the insane guy's his sister? I never got to see past that point.

 

[slayn]

escaflowne is so very very awesome.

it is also, to date, the only anime series with a romance I actually believed.

 

[Mugen]

Yaya one of the best animes I've seen^^

And probably the best soundtrack also.

 

[Tsubaki]

I already know I'm going to be in the minority here...

I thought it was okay, likeable characters, I didn't like the direction or focus it took in the latter half.

Nah, there's a sizeable group of dislikers of Esca TV. I can understand it, though I don't necessarily feel the same. I liked Escaflowne, and it was instrumental in getting me into anime. It's got high production values, great animation, one of the best soundtracks ever anime or otherwise, and mixes things from all genres that would appeal to both guys and girls. But the latter half, it sometimes got into absurd-territory. It's still one of my favs.

I still find in funny when Evangelion get praised as one of the best animes ever.

Eh? What's Eva got to do with Esca? I think Eva is a must-watch regardless of what one may come away with. Because it's a very influential title spawning off many wannabes, and changed the world of anime forever. Love it or hate it, when you see it, you will have a strong opinion. It's a show that breeds discussion and deserves it.

 

[vangace]

Escaflowne is one of the best anime series ever, I'd rank it as high as Cowboy Bebop and Evangelion.

I agree

 

[Blatz]

Escaflowne is great!!.. I have a box set that includes the movie. The movie sux tho in comparison. It's probably my 2nd favorite anime behind last exile. Kenshin is a close 3rd.

 

[Hournda]

Escaflowne is one of the most cliched anime series ever. It's just another "me too" anime with robots, fantasy stuff, evil empires, lame bad guys, a stupid romance, cute characters, blah, blah, blah. If that's what you enjoy then you'll find plenty of it in Escaflowne but if you actually want something original and interesting then look elsewhere.

 

[Mugen]

Escaflowne is one of the most cliched anime series ever. It's just another "me too" anime with robots, fantasy stuff, evil empires, lame bad guys, a stupid romance, cute characters, blah, blah, blah. If that's what you enjoy then you'll find plenty of it in Escaflowne but if you actually want something original and interesting then look elsewhere.

Hmm... you could argue it's cliched and nothing original but you can't deny the fact that everything is very well made. Yah it's no Bebop but still great a nonetheless.

 

[Luscious LeftFoot]

Eh? What's Eva got to do with Esca?

I was referring to SpoonyBard's post. I agree with all your points though about it being required viewing and prompting discussion, but I don't think it should be placed on pedastal to which all other shows are compared.

 

[distantmantra]

The show was originally suppose to be 39 episodes. Got resized to 26 eps partway through production so you got the result you see. Surely would have been much better if it had more episodes.

That's one of the things that I love most about Vision of Escaflowne, how every episode ends on a cliffhanger. While it was originally scripted for 39 episodes, the 26 episode series we got is extremely tight in terms of pacing and story. If you enjoy fantasy and mecha with some romance, you should enjoy Vision of Escaflowne.

Oh, the figure that comes with the box set is pretty worthless. I never took it out of the box, it's just sitting somewhere in a drawer.

 

[Cloudy]

One of the best animes out there. BUY IT!!!!!

 

[Hournda]

Hmm... you could argue it's cliched and nothing original but you can't deny the fact that everything is very well made. Yah it's no Bebop but still great a nonetheless.

Actually I do deny that it's very well made. It wasn't made poorly, I'll give it that, but I didn't feel that it was made any better than most other mediocre animes. My biggest complaint with Escaflowne was that it all had a "been there, done that" feel, since i've seen virtually all the elements of this anime in one place or another before and the makers of Escaflowne just thought "well we can't come up with any ideas of our own, so we'll take the most popular parts of every anime we can think of, slap them together and then make millions off of the sheepish anime fans who will let us get away with this creative wasteland of a TV show."

 

[Mugen]

Actually I do deny that it's very well made. It wasn't made poorly, I'll give it that, but I didn't feel that it was made any better than most other mediocre animes. My biggest complaint with Escaflowne was that it all had a "been there, done that" feel, since i've seen virtually all the elements of this anime in one place or another before and the makers of Escaflowne just thought "well we can't come up with any ideas of our own, so we'll take the most popular parts of every anime we can think of, slap them together and then make millions off of the sheepish anime fans who will let us get away with this creative wasteland of a TV show."

Isn't most anime, hell, movies even, have the same 'problems'? Bebop itself is a derivative of the 'original' Lupin yet the way it was presented and executed didn't stop itself to being one of the most hailed anime series ever. (Some call it overrated but that's left for another discussion.)

 

[speedpop]

Escaflowne is one of the most cliched anime series ever. It's just another "me too" anime with robots, fantasy stuff, evil empires, lame bad guys, a stupid romance, cute characters, blah, blah, blah. If that's what you enjoy then you'll find plenty of it in Escaflowne but if you actually want something original and interesting then look elsewhere.

*hands you the king of shit crown*

I enjoyed Escaflowne because I saw it in 1996 and to my knowledge, it did a fairly well representation of a fantasy anime with somewhat strange yet interesting characters at times. The closest I could claim to be the same to it around those years would be Record of Loddoss War and back then the fantasy medieval anime genre was and still semi-is not being pumped out as much as your fanfare high school comedy-drama. Even then anime and manga was considered another kids thing. If you wanted an animation with the examples you setup, I could've always watched The Lion King.

As for the saturation of anime that the US is being shown and it's effects on simple minded plots with baseless characters, your arguments are valid. E.G. Samurai Champloo - Shinchiro Watanabe needs to be shot due to pumping this out. My god let's watch Spike in a different time and dimension!

Bebop itself is a derivative of the 'original' Lupin

Heh so true.

 

[Shouta]

It's at the very least a "Should watch" show.

I disliked it myself for some of the reasons Hournda pointed out. A little too much of everything that ultimately lost focus in the latter half of the series. It does feel "me too" in many regards which made it feel a bit more generic as the series went on. I don't mind generic (for example, I love Wild Arms TV and Arc The Lad TV) but it just didn't have a catch to it that made me look past the standard elements. I also disliked the characters outside of Van and the story just wasn't great IMO. However, the soundtrack is very nice (not my favorite but it's still very good) and the production values are excellent.

 

[Great Wasabi Man]

It's a definate should watch IMHO much better then the Movie. When I was in to anime I loved this series for the story, the sound track and chracter design