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|  | Escaflowne Movie Review by charp The most anticipated anime movie of the summer is out. Escaflowne the Movie has been 3 years in production, and the work put into it is apparent. The Movie reunites the staff of the original television series, plus a few new ones. Director is again Kazuki Akane. Nobuteru Yuuki is once more character designer. Yoko Kanno and Hajime Mizoguchi are again in charge of composing theme music. Maaya Sakamoto (Hitomi), Seki Tomokazu (Van) and most of the voice actors from the TV series remain intact. BONES, who did masterworks like Cowboy Bebop, is now in charge of animation. Escaflowne the Movie is a standalone, non-continuing work, set apart from the original TV series. The only common elements are the worlds the story is set in and the characters. Now to the actual review. Since Esca is originally a TV series, there are bound to be comparisons between it and the movie. First off, and maybe the most apparent, character design. Most people were turned off to find that everyone looks so drastically different. The 2 people you can blame are Kazuki Akane and Nobuteru Yuuki. Akane-san wanted the characters to look more mature and gothic. Yuuki's style as of late has changed too as seen from Chrono Cross. But, I have to say that it will grow on you eventually. Second, story and plot. After watching it, you know it's definitely the story of Escaflowne, but the plot is very thin compared to the TV series. The Japanese anime movie's 90 minute time frame is partly to blame. We all knew that the creators had to accommodate fans by having old characters, though not all, return, albeit some in just cameo roles. Nonetheless, these small introductions and bit roles took up valuable screen time. In the end, the movie can be summed up to boy meets girl, boy needs girl to summon huge mecha to save the world, mecha goes berserk, girl saves boy, girl and boy fly off to kill evil boss. (but of course I made a huge generalization for the ending, but it would be a spoiler if I explain what actually happened). Nothing like the intricacies of the TV series that dealt with fate manipulation, love complications and the legend of Atlantis. But of course the movie has its merits too. The animation is superb, and with some of the sequences, you'll just sit back with awe (especially if you're watching it on a big screen). Music and themes are once again top notch, from the 2 main vocals, Sora and Yubiwa, to haunting new themes like First Vision, to old favorites like Dance of Curse; it will leave you breathless. So, all in all, I think it will drag in first time fans into seeking or to be more committed in obtaining the TV series. For long-time fans, it will be a case-to-case basis, with opinions ranging from really terrible to pretty good. But most will agree that the TV series is the superior version. [ prev article ] [ top ] [ next article ] |
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