I saw Escaflowne a few months ago and thought that apart from the battle scenes and some of the fantastical concepts it was pretty mediocre. I'm suprised it was as a popular as it was when I first got into fandom seriously in mid 2004. One thing I've noticed though is that nobody talks about it anymore. It's like it ceased to exist. I never see it recommended anymore and I just wondered what happened in the last three years. Did it just take a while for people to realise that it wasn't that great.
Escaflowne?
- Thread starter Ark
- Start date
silhouette-of-a-void
Brigade Leader
Ark said:
I have always maintained that Escaflowne was a mediocre series, even when its animation was more impressive. Apart from featuring an annoying and often unbelievable cast, being repetitive, frequently dull, overrated and being terribly paced, the lack of variety is what stuck in my mind the most. I agree that some of the story elements are interesting, but overall it isn't told well, and no matter how many times I watch it, trying to see what others like about the series, I end up finding more to criticise.
Escaflowne is actually one of my favourite series, and to my mind it manages to fuse many different elements together incredibly well - fantasy, action, mecha, romance and politics all come together nicely. It was one of the best things to come out of the late nineties, but to that also means that it hasn't aged that well. If you're just getting into anime, it's probably difficult to see what all the fuss was about.
The less said about the movie, though, the better.
The less said about the movie, though, the better.
I love Escaflowne too. I especially enjoy it's epic sweep over entire countries. It feels massive, a world full of little details, terrains, politics and struggles. As ever Yoko Kanno's soundtrack is fantastic too. Like the art style reflects, it's clearly very shoujo in terms of characterization and thus gets a little bogged down in romantic quagmire, but I love it as a great, swashbuckling story.
I feel it deserves it's reputation. Escaflowne is well over 10 years old now that we're talking about it today is proof enough that it still has relevance.
I feel it deserves it's reputation. Escaflowne is well over 10 years old now that we're talking about it today is proof enough that it still has relevance.
silhouette-of-a-void
Brigade Leader
I suppose the consensus is that it is still a good series then. The fans have spoken.
Animated FatCat
Student Council President
It was one of the earlier series I sought out when I was just getting into anime (along with the likes of Eva, Bebop, Trigun, Nadesico etc.), and I found it to be quite dull. It has its good moments especially around episodes 18-22 where I think it takes off a bit, then settles back into mediocre-'ness'. Hitomi was so annoying as well, Vaan would have been a more interesting main character; although I'm saying that from a male perspective.
Animated FatCat
Student Council President
I know, but 'ness' is better :wink:
I've only seen the first half of the series but I thought it was excellent for its time. Perhaps the wide appeal the show has is the mixture of shoujo-friendly magical themes and the shonen-orientated stuff like the mecha (which also look fantastic).
My only criticism is that the UK DVD release has dreadful picture quality. It's good to know that Beez have improved immeasurably since then.
My only criticism is that the UK DVD release has dreadful picture quality. It's good to know that Beez have improved immeasurably since then.
True, and horribly annoying, as IMO the dub sucks. Credit to the VAs for trying an' all, but I really didn't like it.WTFDaveMustaine said:
I'd say Escaflowne is a solid series - simple story, yet involved enough to keep my interest, and well told. It's nowhere near some of the anime out there, but it holds its own as an "ok" series, and will probably always do so.