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Oh boy, this is an episode I’ve been looking forward to. The penultimate episode of Escaflowne is one of those kinds of episode that does its best to try and wrap up just about every lingering character arc. In a show like Escaflowne where its end is pretty darn definitive, this is both a necessary and proper venture. However, does it go a good job in that regard and we’re left satisfied in the end of it? Well, yes and no. I’ve never been really gaga about this episode, even if I’m aware of the momentous events occurring in it, and even after so many years since my last watch of it, it still remains. read more

When I first watched this I did not think much about why Hitomi returned to the first episode and not at a point on Earth where it matches the time she spent on Gaea. All I knew then was that it was for plot purposes and I guess made sense at the time.

Fast forward to now and thanks to keener observation I can see why it makes a lot of sense for them to do that. Recall if you will Episode 17, where Schezar Sr. wishes to see Granny Kanzaki one more time as he lays dying in the snow. When she reappears, he’s confused as to why she looks the same as she did the last time they met, yet surmises such is the case since the power of Atlantis is the human heart. As such, and given how she is unaware of what has transpired since she left (especially since her mom was kinda sorta not worried), Hitomi goes back to where it all began, a place her heart knows and desires. read more

Predictably, Van’s reunion with Folken is met with tepid response by the former. In the latter’s case however, he is met with great success when it comes to being an integral resource for Asturia and other allied Gaean nations in preparation for the inevitable clash with Zaibach.

Yet, even with this setup, Folken moves into the background for the most part this episode. Instead, we are back to Hitomi again, now feeling a further separation between her and the world she inhabits. Van maintains his emotional distance from her with a slight veneer of apathy and an itchy trigger finger, and Allen has become overly protective, scolding Hitomi for venturing out of the palace due to the previous events in the last two episodes. In an unusual volte-face, Hitomi snaps back at her current objet d’rool. Then it gets even worse when Allen finally admits his love for her, and even spills that Chid is his and Marlene’s kid. While this makes for a charming (if short) scene with her and Millerna, reversing the “I have this friend” scene in Episode 15, she comes out of this episode not feeling in the slightest bit close to anybody, everybody seems to be pushing her away. read more

Damned Dimensional Rift Attuned Gargantuan Organic Neutotypes. Always ruin everything…

Things pick up for this marked improvement over last week’s. I have always remembered this is the episode where Folken officially defects to an actual side of the conflict. However, this is also an episode with a whole slew of other things I noticed I forgot since my last viewing of it. It is disappointing, since it is not just the plot of the episode that is great (never mind the music), but the world building and especially the animation. read more

This is one of the weaker episodes of Escaflowne for me. To be sure, it isn’t TERRIBLE, but after a rather exceptional cliffhanger (which in the original Bandai release bookended Volume 6), it’s underwhelming. Picking up right after her surrender, Murphy’s Law is revived due to Van’s intervention, and messes up Naria and Eriya’s luck, revealing the flaws of the fate alteration experiments. The events of the first few minutes are sortof anticlimactic, not just because of the aforementioned cliffhanger, but also after that Next Episode preview with only one line from Folken: “Why don’t you understand, Van!?” read more

Ah the great Royal Weddings of our time…

Prince Charles and Lady Diana…

Prince William and What’s-her-face…

Shining Armor and Princess Cadance…

…are couples that will never see “Dryden and Princess Millerna” near their names at any time in the future. Obviously, the wedding does not end up well for them (I mean c’mon, the episode is titled “False Vows”), but it is done in a way that only can happen in the world of Escaflowne. If you have only got here: No, this is not a bad thing. read more

Can there be anything worse for somebody who ships two people, especially in real life, than a machine that can alter fate in such a way to put one with ANOTHER person should not be the other’s bae? In my more advanced age where I am aware of the various idiosyncracies of popular w00b culture, be it dating sims or the aforementioned ‘shipping, I cannot help but think playfully in this regard. It is good fortune, however, Escaflowne handles it with quite the serious tone, since Dornkirk is quite aware of Hitomi’s powers. It is also amusing since Dilandau and his Dragonslayers were the first to notice her, yet the former being incapacitated and the latter being all dead put the kibosh on Dornkirk being informed beforehand. Is this ANOTHER element shifted around during the series shortening? Maybe? Who knows, who cares, what we get is still good. read more

…Why else would Isaac Newton, fresh after discovering gravity, start research on destiny and its properties if it wasn’t for some rogue apple knocking his noggin? Or maybe this entire series is all just a dream, a fever dream of a dying scientist who never figured out how fate works? If it is a just a dream, how is he including 20^th century Japanese high school girls in it, nevermind also speaking Japanese, hell why is he imagining himself as a Japanese product meant for television in the particular year of 1996? read more

If you are either Japanese or a guy who bought the individual volumes as they were released, I imagine you were highly pumped and relieved to FINALLY see how Van gets out of his predicament. Thankfully, since it is Escaflowne, the conclusion to this harrowing cliffhanger is resolved with its usual high quality dramatic flair with a bit of grand teasers with where the story might be going. There are no complaints to be had here.

Now, we’ve come to the second act blues protagonists have at this juncture, which has unfortunately occurred during a breather portion of the story. Given the whirlwind series of revelations, deaths, near-deaths, and cliffhangers, it’s well deserved. Yet, Van for the first time is shaken of his confidence as a swordsman and coming to grips about the murder rampage he had last episode; Hitomi confesses her crush to Allen by accident; Allen is annoyed his father is being brought up again; and Millerna is trying to make do with a quite astute betrothed who notices her infatuation with Allen. It seems like a lot, but there is a lot of good foundation building and a lot of great callbacks, including some I’ve forgotten. Allen reminisces about his connection to Balgus (complete with flashback), and we see Millerna and Hitomi interacting once again after the former said to the latter they should try and get along a few episodes back. read more

Here we hit the climax and conclusion of the Freid arc, where our heroes are given a terrible defeat at the hands of Zaibach. What a way to conclude the midpoint of the series with one gigantic bloody nose. We have seen Zaibach’s might given their easy takedown of Fanelia, but that kingdom is backwater compared to even Freid. Even so, it is pretty much a fact now that Zaibach is also at its best with raw power. Our heroes can do surgical strikes, but on a battlefield? That’s quite the different story. read more