Escaflowne - Opinions?
- Thread starter demonj007
- Start date
the series is fantastic. the only bad thing about it is the picture quality and (in the case of the second box set, which i don't have yet) there's a major audio glitch in the last episode. otehr than that, it's a classic series. fantasy, romance, mecha and intrigue all in one show. 
The Vision of Escaflowne is an excellent series, combining fantasy, mecha, romance and everything inbetween. A great cast, giant medieval robots, an excellent story, wonderful music... it's got pretty much everything going for it. It's highly recommended by pretty much everyone that's seen it, and is one of my all-time favourites.
The film is very different. While all the main characters are present, personalities have been drastically changed and the story is completely different. It's not so much a retelling as it is an alternate version that has nothing to do with the series. As you might expect from a movie, it looks much nicer and sounds much better than the series, but the depth and development the series had is gone. Opinion is generally mixed; some love it, some hate it.
The film is very different. While all the main characters are present, personalities have been drastically changed and the story is completely different. It's not so much a retelling as it is an alternate version that has nothing to do with the series. As you might expect from a movie, it looks much nicer and sounds much better than the series, but the depth and development the series had is gone. Opinion is generally mixed; some love it, some hate it.
Animated FatCat
Student Council President
Read my...not so romantic...opinions on Esca Tv series here:
http://forums.animeuknews.net/viewtopic ... 2&start=15
I actually bought the movie last month, looks good, but as ever, I haven't gotten round to watching it.
http://forums.animeuknews.net/viewtopic ... 2&start=15
I actually bought the movie last month, looks good, but as ever, I haven't gotten round to watching it.
Charter_Mage
Pokémon Master
I love Escaflowne, have for years and years, i really think it's a story that has everything.
I still havn't seen the film though, i've wanted to for ages, but it's still R1 so not possible for me at the moment
I still havn't seen the film though, i've wanted to for ages, but it's still R1 so not possible for me at the moment
Miaka-chan
Stand User
I love Escaflowne too (although it has a lot to do with Van Fanel - I'm so shallow :lol: ). It's actually a very good series, but definitely better in the original Japanese language (too many voices from Dragon Ball Z in the dub).
The movie takes some getting used to, as the character design is completely different (everyone looks fat). The characters all have different roles in the movie and it's a much more compressed story. It's still worth watching though.
The movie takes some getting used to, as the character design is completely different (everyone looks fat). The characters all have different roles in the movie and it's a much more compressed story. It's still worth watching though.
Miaka-chan said:
I was just about to ask about which version i should watch, but my prefered method is to watch it all in japanese anyways.
Sir Haggis said:
This is everything that i have been looking for in an anime! As i have said before, ive wanted an anime with a Final Fantasy a-like theme/plot; Action, fantasy, tragedy and of course the romance which, i think, makes the story so much more worthwhile and meaningful because of more emotion...Anyway Escaflowne seems to come out trumps! However because i have completed the Last Exile boxset i must admit its going to alot of beating before it surpasses that masterpiece, im actually devestated that the series is over
oh well i hope Escaflowne comes tomorrow i really cant wait. Il be sure to post my thoughts.Suiseiseki
Hunter
Escaflowne's one of those series that got me into anime, although I haven't watched it for a while. Haven't read the manga either, yet.
Charter_Mage
Pokémon Master
Ha, ha, i know where your coming from, he, he, i am clearly just as shallow, but everyone knew that already :lol: .Miaka-chan said:
Though i've watched the first half of the series now in Japanese, and i guess it's because i've watched the dub so many times in the past that i still prefer it, guess i'm probably the only one, but i find Van and Allen so much more sexy with the dub
I'm the same actually (well, I'm not sure I'd use the word sexy), I saw the old mangled FoxKids version enough that the voices just sort of stuck. It's not the most god-awful dub ever devised, so give it a shot, it may just grow on ya.Charter_Mage said:
As for the manga, there are two different versions: an eight-book shonen version, licensed by Tokyopop, and a two-book shojo version. By all accounts, both versions are as different as the movie and neither hold a candle to the series.
Miaka-chan
Stand User
I find Tomokazu Seki a much sexier VA for Van and I can't stand Vegeta's voice coming out of Allen's mouth :cry:Charter_Mage said:
It probably would have been better to have heard them all in Escaflowne before DBZ (like hearing Eric Stuart as Gourry from Slayers before hearing him as Brock in Pokemon :lol: ).
kingkong650
Hikikomori
Somebody posted earlier that the video quality is not all that good. That is only true for the uk release of escaflowne. The US release is based on dvd masters, unlike the UK release that is based off VHS masters. Long story cut short, get the US dvds if you have a choice.
Here are samples from both releases, make up your own minds:
Here are samples from both releases, make up your own minds:
it doesn't make the R2 version such an appealing option, does it? i put it down to the fact that Escaflowne was one of the first releases Beez did, and now they are probably in a better position than before to make a better job of it. sadly a UK rerelease using the DVD masters you mentioned isn't looking very likely.
Charter_Mage
Pokémon Master
You see thats probably why i don't mind it so much, since i watched Escaflowne long before i did DBZ, so when i first watched DBZ it was always "Hay that Goku has Van's voice from Escaflowne" not the other way around.Miaka-chan said:
Plus i never thought of my copy of Escaflowne looking as rubbish as that second one
kingkong650
Hikikomori
demonj007, I rented out the 1st volume of escaflowne UK release, saw the poor quality, read dvd reviews on the internet that said the image quality was very good, so bought the 1st volume of the US release from amazon.com. Seeing as both the releases are by bandai, I expected an almost identical transfer, like most people would immediately assume. I was surprised to say the least. I don't know why the same company released two different versions. If it wasn't for the internet, none of us would be none the wiser.
As the majority of people have been saying here, escaflowne is an excellent series, regardless of release. I have watched many anime over the years and it still remains one of my top anime series of all time. 1996 truely was a blessed year for anime, both neon genesis evangelion and escaflowne. These two series still set the benchmark in anime to this day, IMO.
As the majority of people have been saying here, escaflowne is an excellent series, regardless of release. I have watched many anime over the years and it still remains one of my top anime series of all time. 1996 truely was a blessed year for anime, both neon genesis evangelion and escaflowne. These two series still set the benchmark in anime to this day, IMO.
Thanks for that King Kong i just looked at the item i brought (off Ebay) and its a region free NTSC version, so fingers crossed that i will be getting the better version of the series. But in saying that nobody really has been too put off by the poor image quality have they? Everyone still loves the series or has everyone just brought the US release?