Possible very very vague spoilers:

As was said, this is a great anime combining all kinds of genres. I have some personal nitpicks, namely some of the action scenes have the “camera” set a little too close and you can’t see exactly what is happening sometimes. (I want to emulate it dammit! Step 1: Engage enemy…Step 3: Enemy owned…show me more of Step 2!) Another thing that keeps it from being perfect in my opinion is the Hitomi/Amano aspect on earth mirroring the Hitomi/Allan aspect. I mean… it was a small crush in high school! How come she keeps thinking about him?!?! YEARGH! Aside from those two personal nitpicks, the overall presentation and the like was flawless. All the protagonists had unique personalities and their own motivations. The main antagonists don’t have selfish motives, and are doing what they think is right for humanity. All the characters were personalized extremely well.

As I mentioned before, I had some personal nitpicks with the action sequences, but for the most part they are fluid and the Guymelefs are well-animated. The enemy’s special cloaks were a great touch. The story has many plot-twists, but many are hinted at in preceding episodes so you never feel blindsided.

The philosophical aspect might be “out there” for some people, relating to the possibility of controlling fate and seeing destiny. However, it is presented very well, with suppporting arguments for both sides of the issue that emerges at the end. There is also a lot of great insight on war.

There are sad overtones throughout the series (which is a definite plus in my book) but I’m sure an anime lover who doesn’t really like those type of storylines will still find the series great…the overall package appeals to all senses.

With some of the coolest characters, a deep storyline, and the gosuness that is the Ispano Escalfowne, I heavily recommend this series. And if you have no money to buy it, at least download the opening theme..(almost) second to none!

( Editor’s note: Guymelef are what the mecha in Escaflowne are called.)

Individual Rating: Art:8; Story & Plot:9; Characters:10; Sounds:10

This entry was posted on Sunday, December 16th, 2001 at 10:32 am and is filed under Escaflowne, Tenkuu no, Anime. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.