The Vision of Escaflowne

The Vision of Escaflowne (Japanese: 天空のエスカフローネ, Hepburn: Tenkū no Esukafurōne, lit. Escaflowne of the Heavens) is a 26-episode Japanese anime television series produced by Sunrise Studios and directed by Kazuki Akane. It premiered in Japan on April 2, 1996 on TV Tokyo, and the final episode aired on September 24, 1996. Sony's anime satellite channel, Animax also aired the series, both in Japan and on its various worldwide networks, including Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Southeast Asia. The series was licensed for Region 1 release by Bandai Entertainment. It is currently licensed by Funimation.

The Vision of Escaflowne
Limited Edition DVD box set
天空のエスカフローネ
(Tenkū no Esukafurōne)
GenreFantasy, mecha, romance[1]
Created byHajime Yatate, Shōji Kawamori
Manga
Written byShōji Kawamori
Illustrated byKatsu Aki
Published byKadokawa Shoten
English publisher
MagazineShōnen Ace
DemographicShōnen
Original runOctober 24, 1994 – November 26, 1997
Volumes8
Anime television series
Directed byKazuki Akane
Produced byYumi Murase (TV Tokyo)
Masahiko Minami (Sunrise)
Written byShōji Kawamori
Music byHajime Mizoguchi
Yoko Kanno
Inon Zur (English dub only)
StudioSunrise
Licensed by
Original networkTV Tokyo
English network
YTV (2000-2001, edited)
AnimeCentral (2007-2008)
Fox Kids (2000, edited)
Original run April 2, 1996 – September 24, 1996
Episodes26
Manga
Messiah Knight: The Vision of Escaflowne
Written byYuzuru Yashiro
Published byKadokawa Shoten
MagazineAsuka Fantasy DX
DemographicShōjo
Original runApril 18, 1996 – January 18, 1997
Volumes2
Light novel
Written byYumiko Tsukamoto
Illustrated byNobutoshi Yuuki
Hirotoshi Sano
Published byKadokawa Shoten
MagazineNewtype
Original runJune 1996 – August 1997
Volumes6
Manga
Escaflowne: Energist's Memories
Written byVarious
Published byKadokawa Shoten
DemographicShōjo
PublishedJanuary 8, 1997
Volumes1
Anime film

The series follows a teenage high school girl named Hitomi, who finds herself pulled from Earth to the planet Gaea when a boy named Van appears on the high school track while battling a dragon. In Gaea, she is caught in the middle of a war as the Zaibach Empire attempts to take over Gaea. Van (King of Fanelia), with aid from Allen (an Asturian Knight), commands his mystical mech Escaflowne in the struggle to stop the Zaibach Empire. Hitomi's fortune telling powers blossom in Gaea as she becomes the key to awakening Escaflowne and to stopping Zaibach's plans.

While the anime series was in production, two very different manga retellings were also developed and released: a shōnen version of the story entitled The Vision of Escaflowne and a shōjo retelling titled Hitomi — The Vision of Escaflowne. In addition, a second shōjo adaptation called Escaflowne — Energist's Memories was released as a single volume in 1997. The story was novelized in a series of six light novels by Yumiko Tsukamoto. A movie adaptation, entitled simply Escaflowne, was released on June 24, 2000, but bears only a basic resemblance to the original series. Four CD soundtracks and a drama CD have also been released in relation to the series.

Plot
See also: List of The Vision of Escaflowne characters

Gaea is an alternate dimension that was created from the combined wishes of the inhabitants of Atlantis when it started to sink into the ocean. Gaea has 100 different countries. On Gaea, Earth is known as the Mystic Moon. Gaea's size, mass, atmospheric composition, temperature belts, and even seasons are the same as Earth’s, although its gravity is lower, as implied by some of the jumps and acrobatic feats of some of the show's characters.

The series focuses on Hitomi Kanzaki and her adventures after she is transported to the world of Gaea, a mysterious planet where she can see Earth and its moon in the sky. Hitomi's latent psychic powers are enhanced on Gaea and she quickly becomes embroiled in the conflicts between the Zaibach Empire led by Emperor Isaac Dornkirk and the several peaceful countries that surround it. The conflicts are brought about by the Zaibach Empire's quest to revive the legendary power from the ancient city of Atlantis. As the series progresses, many of the characters' pasts and motivations, as well as the history of Atlantis and the true nature of the planet Gaea, are revealed.

Production

Shoji Kawamori first proposed the series after a trip to Nepal, during which he visited the foggy mountain region and pictured a hidden world where an epic focusing on both fate and divination should be set.[2][3] When he returned, he proposed the series to Bandai Visual and Sunrise. According to Kawamori, his pitch for the series was simple: "if Macross was robotic mecha and love songs, why not a story about robotic mecha and divining powers?"[3]

He worked with Bandai producer Minoru Takanashi to finish fleshing out the original idea.[2] They researched various mysteries for inspiration, particularly stories centered on the mythical land of Atlantis and the Bermuda Triangle.[3] As the series began taking shape, they changed the lead character from a male, the norm for an action-mecha series, to a high school girl as the lead character.[2][3] Nobuteru Yuki was hired as the character designer, and tasked with crafting a design for Hitomi and the rest of the cast. He would later state that Hitomi was his favorite character because it was the first one he'd ever designed completely from scratch rather than simply being adapted from an existing medium. Initially, Folken and Dilandau were a single enemy commander, but as the story was fleshed out, the creators felt the series would be more interesting if there were two with very different personalities.[3]

Initially, the series was planned at thirty-nine episodes, with Yasuhiro Imagawa brought on board to direct.[2][3] He is credited with coining the word "escaflowne", a Latin-based derivative of the word "escalation", that would be used in the title.[2][3] Imagawa saw the series as being a typical shōnen series that was heavily male oriented and featuring a shapely heroine and dramatic battles.[3] However, he left the project before actual production started to direct Mobile Fighter G Gundam.[3] Without a director, the series was put on hold and Kawamori left to work on other projects. After two years sitting on the shelf, Sunrise revisited the project and brought in relative newcomer Kazuki Akane as the new director.[2][3] In order to broaden the potential audience, Akane decided to add more shōjo, or girl-oriented, elements to the series. The suggestive elements were removed, several of the male characters were given more bishōnen—"beautiful boy"—appearances, and the plot element around the tarot cards were added.[2][3] Akane also gave the character of Hitomi a complete make over, taking her from being a curvy, air-headed, long-haired girl with glasses to the slim, athletic, short-haired and more intelligent and confident girl seen in the final series.[2][3]

With the series character designs finalized and the story set, Yoko Kanno was selected to write the songs for the series, including the background songs which she co-wrote with her then-husband Hajime Mizoguchi, with whom she had previously collaborated on the soundtrack for Please Save My Earth.[2][3] Initially they found it difficult to score the series as the plot itself was still being reworked around the new concept, but the plot changes were finished in time for them to prepare the score and give the film the desired final "epic touch."[3] 16-year-old Maaya Sakamoto, fresh from a small role in the anime adaptation of Mizuiro Jidai, was selected not only as the voice of Hitomi, but also to sing the Escaflowne theme song. Kanno is noted as saying that Sakamoto is an ideal interpreter of her work. After this project, they continued to collaborate on many other works and some consider her work on The Vision of Escaflowne to be the launching point of Sakamoto's career.[2]

As the series entered into production, the budget required it be cut down to twenty-six episodes before work began on the final scripts and the animation.[3][4] Not wanting to cut out any of the characters or the already elaborately planned plot lines, the series was instead forced to fit into the shorter length and cover more of the story in each episode than originally planned.[3] This can be seen some in the first episode, where in the credits were cut in favor of adding more exposition. In the retail Japanese video release, some of the deleted scenes were restored to the first seven episodes.[4]

Media

Anime
Main article: List of The Vision of Escaflowne episodes

The Vision of Escaflowne premiered in Japan on TV Tokyo on April 2, 1996 where it aired weekly until it completed its twenty-six-episode run on September 24, 1996.[5] Bandai Entertainment's North American division, which licensed the series for home video distribution under its AnimeVillage label, first released the series with English subtitles, across eight VHS volumes, including a box set, from September 15, 1998 to December 15, 1998.[6] In August 2000, Fox Kids began broadcasting the series in the United States.[7] Produced by Saban Entertainment under license by Bandai Entertainment, these dubbed episodes were heavily edited to remove footage, add new "flashback" sequences to remind the audience of the events that just occurred, and to heavily downplay the role of Hitomi in the series. The first episode was skipped altogether, and the series soundtrack produced by Yoko Kanno was partially replaced with more techno rearrangements by Inon Zur. This modified version of the series was canceled after ten episodes due to "low ratings".[2][4] Fox explained that they edited to meet their own target audience, to comply with broadcast standards, and to fit the allowed timeslot.[8] The Canadian television channel YTV acquired Fox's dubbed version of the series for broadcast. Following Fox's planned broadcast schedule, they premiered the series on September 11, 2000 with the second episode.[9] YTV aired all of the episodes Fox Kids dubbed, concluding with the series true first episode in February 2001.[10][11] Bandai began releasing the dubbed version to VHS in 2000, discontinuing the releases in February 2001 after only four volumes had been released.[12]

Bandai later released the entire series, unedited and in the original episode order, to Region 1 DVD. Spanning eight volumes, the releases include the original Japanese audio tracks with optional English subtitles, and the uncut English dubbed track.[13] Bandai also later released the series in several different box sets, including a Limited Edition set released on July 23, 2002, a "Perfect Collection"—which included the Escaflowne feature-length movie—released October 26, 2004, and an "Anime Legends" box set on April 11, 2006.[14] At Otakon 2013, Funimation had announced that they have acquired both licenses to The Vision of Escaflowne and the movie.[15] On February 27, 2016, Funimation launched a Kickstarter campaign to re-dub the Escaflowne TV series using the HD materials from Sunrise, with the goal of $150,000.[16]

Three pieces of theme music are used for the series. "No Need for Promises" (約束はいらない, Yakusoku wa Iranai), performed by Maaya Sakamoto, is used for the series opening theme for the entire series, except the first episode in which no opening sequence is used. Performed by Hiroki Wada, "Mystic Eyes" is used for the ending theme for the first twenty-five episodes, while the final episode uses Yoko Kanno's instrumental piece "The Story of Escaflowne ~ End Title" (ザ ストーリー オブ エスカフローネ~エンド タイトル, Za Sutoorii Obu Esukafuroone ~ Endo Taitoru).

Soundtracks

Maaya Sakamoto voiced the main character of Hitomi Kanzaki and performed the opening theme song "Yakusoku wa Iranai" and other songs from the series.[2] Yoko Kanno and Hajime Mizoguchi composed and produced the series' musical themes and background, incorporating a variety of styles including contemporary, classical, and Gregorian chant.

Four CD soundtracks have been released in Japan by Victor Entertainment. Escaflowne: Over the Sky was released on June 5, 1996, with sixteen tracks, including the series' full opening and ending themes.[5][17] The second CD, Escaflowne Original Soundtrack 2, was released on July 24, 1996 and contained an additional seventeen tracks.[5][18]

Released on September 28, 1996, Escaflowne Original Soundtrack 3 contained an additional fifteen tracks.[5][19] The fourth CD soundtrack, The Vision of Escaflowne: Lovers Only, was released in on January 22, 1997 and contained twenty tracks, including the original TV length opening and ending themes and the ending theme used for the final episode of the series.[20] Despite the relative popularity of the soundtracks, they were not licensed for release outside Japan for some time and were only available by importing them. However, all 4 soundtracks can now be currently purchased digitally via iTunes.

Manga

Three alternate retellings of The Vision of Escaflowne have been released in manga form, with first two manga series developed at the same time as the anime. Due to the radical changes in the anime series during production, these two manga series are very different from the original anime series and each other. The first series, also titled The Vision of Escaflowne was one of the first manga series to appear in the then new Shōnen Ace magazine from Kadokawa Shoten. Despite the anime series itself being on hold, Sunrise gave artist Katsu Aki the existing production and character designs, resulting in the first manga series having the heavy shōnen feel and curvaceous Hitomi that was originally planned for the anime series.[2][3] Given free rein to change the story however he wanted, Aki's version is a violent saga focused primarily on fighting and has Hitomi transforming into a "curvaceous nymph" that is the power source of the mecha Escaflowne.[3] The series premiered in Shōnen Ace's first issue on October 24, 1994 and ran until November 26, 1997. The thirty-eight chapters were collected and published by Kadokawa across eight tankōbon volumes.[3] It was licensed for released in North America by Tokyopop with the first volume released on July 10, 2003.[21] The Tokyopop English editions were also imported for distribution in Australia by Madman Entertainment.

In 1996, with the premiere of the anime series, Messiah Knight — The Vision of Escaflowne was created.[2] This shōjo oriented adaptation was written by Yuzuru Yashiro and serialized in Asuka Fantasy DX[3] from April 8, 1996 through January 18, 1997. Unlike the first manga, it focused more on the interaction of the characters and severely toned down the violence to the point that the mecha are not used for battle at all and Escaflowne only appears near the end of the series. It was abruptly canceled after only 10 chapters and the end of the anime, due to the slowing popularity of the series.[3] The individual chapters were released in two tankōbon volumes,[3] at which time the series was retitled Hitomi — The Vision of Escaflowne.

A final manga retelling, Escaflowne — Energist's Memories, was a collaborative effort of various manga artist around Japan to create 15 "mini-stories" related to the anime series. The single volume manga was published in January 1997 under Kadokawa's Asuka comics DX shōjo imprint. Artist's who contributed to the volume include: Tammy Ohta, Yayoi Takeda, Kahiro Okuya, Daimoon Tennyo, Kazumi Takahashi, Masaki Sano, and Kyo Watanabe.

Novels

Yumiko Tsukamoto and Shoji Kawamori collaborated in the writing on a novelization of the Vision of Escaflowne anime series. The light novel chapters were originally serialized in Newtype, and the illustrations were provided by Nobuteru Yuuki and Hirotoshi Sano. The individual chapters were collected and released in six individual volumes by Kadokawa under their "New Type Novels" label between June 1996 and August 1997.

No. Release date ISBN
1 June 19964-04-701603-9
Volume title: Escaflowne
Cover characters: Hitomi Kanzaki, Van Fanel, Allen Schezar, Susumu Amano
2 August 19964-04-701604-7
Volume title: The Dragon's Wanderings (竜の流離, Ryū no Sasurai)
Cover characters: Van Fanel, Hitomi Kanzaki, Allen Schezar
3 November 19964-04-701609-8
Volume title: The Dragon's Training (竜の修練, Ryū no Shūren)
Cover characters: Allen Schezar, The Doppelganger, Dilandau Albatou, Hitomi Kanzaki, Prince Chid
4 April 19974-04-701610-1
Volume title: The Dragon's Silence (竜の沈黙, Ryū no Chinmoku)
Cover characters: Millerna Aston, Allen Schezar, Dryden Fassa, Van Fanel, Hitomi Kanzaki
5 May 19974-04-701613-6
Volume title: The Dragon's Preference (竜の愛憎, Ryū no Aizō)
Cover characters: Eriya, Folken Fanel, Nariya, Van Fanel, Hitomi Kanzaki
6 August 19974-04-701617-9
Volume title: The Dragon's Eternity (竜の永遠, Ryū no Eien)
Cover characters: Van Fanel, Hitomi Kanzaki, Escaflowne

Movie
Main article: Escaflowne (film)

Escaflowne (エスカフローネ, Esukafurōne) is a ninety-eight-minute anime film released in Japan on June 24, 2000 that retells of the story in The Vision of Escaflowne. The film was produced by Sunrise, animated by Studio BONES, and directed by Kazuki Akane. Featuring character re-designs by Nobuteru Yūki, the film focuses on the relationship between Van and Hitomi and their personal issues. The characters themselves are also given different personalities; in the film Hitomi changes from a cheerful girl in love to a depressed, suicidal schoolgirl who suffers from self-induced feelings of loneliness and alienation and Van is now a violent, hot-headed man.[22] In the film the world of Gaea has a more Asian design than the heavily European-influenced television series.[4]

Other media

Victor Entertainment released one drama CD for the series, Escaflowne Original Drama Album, which was released on December 18, 1996.[23]

A video game based on the series, also titled The Vision of Escaflowne was released to the PlayStation system by Bandai Games in 1997. A limited edition version came packaged with a small collector's book and 26 tarot cards.[24] The action-adventure game had an altered plot line and featured additional characters.

Reception

Though well received, The Vision of Escaflowne was not as popular in Japan as producers hoped. Outside Japan, however, it was a worldwide hit.[3] In the United States, it outsold Gundam on video tape,[3] and the first volume of the English DVD release of The Vision of Escaflowne was the fourth best-selling anime DVD for the month of September 2000.[25] The series aired in South Korea where it enjoyed consistently high ratings.[3] Producers noted that it was the worldwide success that led to the eventual creation of the anime film, Escaflowne.[3]

Egan Loo, writing for Animerica, considered it an "epic fantasy" with some of the "most dramatic music in any soundtrack, anime, or live-action", and a "breathless pacing" that result in its being an "acclaimed masterpiece."[3] The Anime Encyclopaedia calls it the "genuine family entertainment, both in and out of the anime world, and arguably the best TV anime of the 1990".[4] It is called a "fantastically beautiful series, with striking production design" and an "incredibly well executed fusion of familiar anime genres and devices" by Anime Classics Zettai![26]

References
  1. Chapman, Jacob (January 26, 2017). "The Vision Of Escaflowne BD+DVD - Review". Anime News Network. Retrieved December 14, 2018.
  2. Drazen, Patrick (October 2002). Anime Explosion! The What? Why? & Wow! of Japanese Animation. Berkeley, California: Stone Bridge Press. 288–297. ISBN 1-880656-72-8. OCLC 50898281.
  3. Loo, Egon (September 2000). "Animerica Spotlight: The Vision of Escaflowne". Animerica. San Francisco, California: Viz Media. 8 (8): 7–10, 36–38. ISSN 1067-0831. OCLC 27130932.
  4. Clements, Jonathan; Helen McCarthy (September 1, 2001). The Anime Encyclopedia: A Guide to Japanese Animation Since 1917 (1st ed.). Berkeley, California: Stone Bridge Press. 115. ISBN 1-880656-64-7. OCLC 47255331.
  5. 天空のエスカフローネ. Bandai Channel (in Japanese). Bandai Entertainment. Archived from the original on January 21, 2008. Retrieved February 10, 2008.
  6. "The Vision of Escaflowne Video Tapes". Escaflowne Compendium. Archived from the original on March 24, 2008. Retrieved August 8, 2008.
  7. Erickson, Hal (2005). Television Cartoon Shows: An Illustrated Encyclopedia, 1949 Through 2003 (2nd ed.). McFarland & Co. pp. 305–306. ISBN 978-1476665993.
  8. Loo, Egan (November 2000). "Escaflowne Q&A". Animerica. San Francisco, California: Viz Media. 8 (10): 22–23. ISSN 1067-0831. OCLC 27130932. Archived from the original on February 22, 2003.
  9. "YTV Programming". Anime News Network. October 31, 2000. Retrieved May 16, 2008.
  10. "YTV Finishes Vision of Escaflowne". Anime News Network. February 19, 2001. Retrieved May 16, 2008.
  11. "YTV Broadcasts the first episode of Escaflowne". Anime News Network. February 27, 2001. Retrieved May 16, 2008.
  12. "Edited Escaflowne Tapes Cancelled". Anime News Network. February 22, 2001. Retrieved May 16, 2008.
  13. Beveridge, Chris (October 3, 2000). "Escaflowne Vol. #1 (of 8)". AnimeOnDVD.com. Archived from the original on December 1, 2008. Retrieved May 16, 2008.
  14. "Escaflowne". AnimeOnDVD.com. Retrieved May 16, 2008.
  15. "Funimation Adds Cowboy Bebop, Escaflowne, Outlaw Star, More". Anime News Network. Retrieved 10 August 2013.
  16. "Exclusive: Funimation Launches Kickstarter to Dub Escaflowne TV Anime Director's Cut". Anime News Network. February 27, 2016.
  17. "ESCAFLOWNE Soundtrack". CD Japan (in Japanese). Neowing. Retrieved February 10, 2008.
  18. "ESCAFLOWNE Original Soundtrack 2". CD Japan. Neowing. Retrieved February 10, 2008.
  19. 天空のエスカフローネ(3) (in Japanese). Retrieved February 10, 2008.
  20. "天空のエスカフローネ THE VISION OF ESCAFLOWNE" (in Japanese). Retrieved February 10, 2008.
  21. "Tokyopop Acquires Vision of Escaflowne and Confidential Confessions". Anime News Network. April 28, 2003. Retrieved January 4, 2008.
  22. Beveridge, Chris (April 15, 2005). "Escaflowne Movie: Standard Edition". AnimenOnDVD.com. Retrieved July 31, 2006.
  23. "ESCAFLOWNE Original dorama album". CD Japan. Neowing. Retrieved September 13, 2007.
  24. 天空のエスカフローネ [The Vision of Escflowne] (in Japanese). Namco Bandai Games.
  25. "Anime Radar: News". Animerica. San Francisco, California: Viz Media. 8 (10): 32. November 2000. ISSN 1067-0831. OCLC 27130932.
  26. Camp, Brian. (2007). Anime classics zettai! : 100 must-see Japanese animation masterpieces. Davis, Julie. Berkeley, Calif.: Stone Bridge Press. ISBN 978-1-933330-22-8. OCLC 124985401.
Preceded by
Sorcerer Hunters
(10/3/1995 – 3/26/1996)		 TV Tokyo Tuesday 18:00 Timeframe
The Vision of Escaflowne
(April 2, 1996 – September 24, 1996)		 Succeeded by
Saber Marionette J
(10/1/1996 – 3/25/1997)
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