Summary

Hitomi Kanzaki was a normal high school student who enjoyed telling others' fortunes with her tarot cards, had a crush on an upperclassman, and ran track too. Everything seemed normal as usual until Hitomi is somehow transported to Gaea, a world where the Earth can be seen in the sky, and is known as the "Mystic Moon." Why was Hitomi brought to this other world? Well it seems that she plays an integral part in the fate of the planet....

Sound familiar already? The generic shojo anime always seems to involve a "normal" high school girl going to another world...blah blah blah...but wait! There's more!

Hitomi meets many people on Gaea, including Van, the King of Fanelia who happens to be able to control a living mecha known as Escaflowne. Along with Van and Escaflowne, Hitomi is taken off to numerous and exciting adventures filled with fast and furious fighting!

Wait...doesn't this sound like a shonen anime like Gundam? Wait a minute...

Oh yeah...if you want to know, the original Japanese name for the series is Tenkuu no Escaflowne, (Escaflowne of the Sky) runs 26 TV episodes, and  Escaflowne the movie is scheduled for release in either 2000 or 2001 (I'm not sure though!). 

What I like about this series:

As you may have noticed, in my "summary" above, Escaflowne is a great mix between two genres, shojo, and shonen. Things never get too mushy and romantic, or get too testosterone laden either (in other words, not TOO much manly fighting!). All in all, the "in the middle" approach of this series is great for everyone's enjoyment!

The music for this series is great! If you've never heard of Yoko Kanno before, she will quickly become one of your favorites because of all her spectacular music! Cowboy Bebop, another one of her series, has kickin' music as well! Everything she composed for the series fits seamlessly and the lyrical songs are just wonderful! La la la mystic eyes.....

Hitomi's visions! The visuals are very cool when she has them, and the way they affect the story is great too.

The character interaction and development is also a very strong point of this series. Think about Merle the cat girl, who seems very very annoying at first, (Van-samaaaaa!) but later grows on you. awwww...

Plot twists! And lots of them! I can't tell you those, or else I would spoil it for you!

What I don't like about this series:

The story is great until the very end, where there isn't really a strong resolution to end the series neatly (and fan-pleasing). The future of Hitomi, Van and the other main characters were kinda left out on a limb. It isn't as bad as the cliffhanger for "End of Evangelion," so don't worry too much about it. :-)

Pointy Noses! When you watch the opening credits for the first time, you will most definitely catch sight of the needle point noses most of the characters seem to sport. They stand out for a few episodes, then you get used to it after a while. Not a big problem, just a little quirk.

The Ami Rating: 

This is a great series for everyone! Young, old, boy, girl...etc. No nudity here, the blood isn't too bad (think tomato juice!) and there's lots of romance and fighting for everyone.

If you've just started watching this series in its dubbed version on FOX, it shouldn't be too bad, though I still recommend seeing this series in its subtitled version. I have a bias toward the original Japanese-language anime if you haven't noticed! I will have to see the Escaflowne movie eventually, and you should too!