|
The Vision of Escaflowne (天空のエスカフローネ) is a
26-episode
anime
television series by
Sunrise studio, originally aired in
Japan between
April 2 and
September 24 of
1996. It is considered by many to be the best anime series of the
decade, even surpassing
Neon Genesis Evangelion. Not to be confused with
Escaflowne, A Girl in Gaea, a movie done by the same people that was
released later that retells the story with a darker twist.
It has elements of
shoujo and
mecha sub-genres.
The story is a very good mix of literature and
anime genres, getting even into mankind's history. The music, composed
by
Yoko Kanno and
Hajime Mizoguchi, is of a decidedly
Middle Eastern flavor, though incorporating such disparate elements as
western choir and electro-pop. The anime marks the debut of
Maaya Sakamoto as the voice of the main character
Hitomi Kanzaki and the singer of the opening song
Yakusoku wa Iranai.
Bandai's now-defunct Anime Village label condensed the entire
26-episode story arc into three subtitled VHS tapes in
1998, marketed as the Vision of Escaflowne Best Collection.
This version was briefly aired on the
Fox Kids network in another edited form between August and October of
2000, but was canceled while still in early plot development, probably
due to the complex themes presented in the later episodes. A 23-episode
version, heavily cut for content and timing, and with a different title
sequence, aired several times on the Fox Kids channel in the
UK.
The unedited 26-part series has since been released on US and UK
DVD sets offering a choice of dubbed and subtitled versions.
|
