Review of the Week:
An Interesting Introduction
Anime is a different form
of entertainment all together, or least that’s what some people think. It maybe
from a different country, but there are plenty of similarities, some more
obvious than others. Escaflowne: The Movie, is a great example.
A high-schooler by the name of Hitomi Kanzaki is
transported to the magical, but grim world of Gaea. It is there, she is prophesized
as The Winged Goddess, an all-powerful being who will bring life to a massive
suit of armor known as Escaflowne. She soon learns being labeled as a
goddess, isn’t exactly a good thing. She becomes the target of the Black Dragon
Clan, who seek to use her to end Gaea. Among Hitomi’s companions is Van Fanel,
the former king of a destroyed country, who’s now a vengeful soul out to kill
his brother Folken, who’s responsible for the destruction of Van’s home. Time
will tell if Hitomi and Van will either be Gaea’s salvation or annihilation.
Now, there's something the reader needs to be aware of: this movie serves
as both an introduction to newcomers in Anime and to the original show this
movie is from. Escaflowne is an adaptation (of sorts) to a ‘90s
Anime called The Vision of Escaflowne. This reviewer had the honor of watching
the original show prior to viewing the movie itself and there are reasons why
the movie should be viewed as an introduction. The focus of Escaflowne is the
two main characters, Van and Hitomi, despite being the leads, their developing
relationship isn’t explored as much as the original show. Also, major
characters from the series are reduced to either supporting or background characters. Not
to mention the fact that Escaflowne itself makes brief appearances at the beginning
and end of the film. Besides these accusations, there are plenty of things to
enjoy about this movie. The action is astounding, backed up by beautiful
animation by Studio Sunrise. The violence is a little more brutal in movie than
the series, this point is especially clear during the opening sequence.
Now, when it comes to listening to it in either Japanese
or English is a little complicated. There are currently two different English versions, both the movie and series were previously dubbed in the early ‘2000s,
but when Funimation (a major Anime distributor) acquired the rights in 2016,
they decided to create a completely new English dub. This reviewer can
personally say that the Funimation re-dub is MUCH better than the original.
So,
if you’re looking for an action-packed introduction to Anime and to The Vision
of Escaflowne, then you should definitely check out this film.
Final
Rating:
Escaflowne is available
on Blu-Ray and DVD by Funimation Entertainment and is also available for legal
streaming on their website in both Japanese and English as long as you’re a subscriber.
I highly recommend buying it via other sites, their prices are a bit expensive
at the moment. Whether you decide to buy it or not, is up to you. As for alternate
movie recommendations, at this time I can only think one and that is the ‘80s
cult hit Labyrinth, this one does lack action, but it has David Bowie in it, so
it’s worth it (R.I.P. Bowie). Thanks for checking out this review, if you have
seen it, do let me know what your thoughts are in the comments below.
Until
Next Time, Expand Your World…
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