Hey Sherazade (sorry if I whiffed on the spelling there) let’s talk about Escaflowne in here, but no spolilers please, I’ve only see the first 11 episodes.

Anyone else want to talk about it?  I realize it’s more directed at girls (I think)(my brother and finacee don’t really like it), so if anybody wants to bash it, it’s your right, but since I don’t want any spoilers could you please make an Escaflowne bashing thread if you really feel the need to do so?  Thanks, I’d really appreciate it. 

Anyways, I saw Escaflowne when it started airing on Fox on Sat. mornings, and I really loved it, but it got cancelled after about 11 episodes, plus they skipped the first one entirely!  I’ve gotten the first two DVD’s and saving my $ for the third now.  I’d like to hear from other FANS of this show and hear what they have to say about it, especially the difference between the american and Japanese version.

I’ve actually only seen the first 8 episodes of Escaflowne, and shoujo or not I still like it.  (Even though I’m a guy, some of my favorite series are anime for “girls”, such as Kare Kano.  ^^;;;) I definately prefer the japanese voices to the american ones though, especially with Van and Dilandu.  One thing that I still think is really funny is that my own mother seems to like that series more than I do.  After seeing my tapes of it, she wants to buy the rest of it…^^;;
Of course if you’re going to talk about Escaflowne, you’re obligated to mention the excellent soundtrack done by Yoko Kanno.  ^_^

THK

I have seen it all, is very good.
I love Van and Allen.
I know men who wath escaflowne, and as chaos dragon said the soundtrack is excelent.
Escaflowne is very good^.^!

I am a guy an I like it.  All I’ve seen is the first two DVDs (though I have accidently read spoilers of the show…), but I am getting the next two that are released for my B-day.  Yes, I must agree, the soudntrack is great: afetr all, Yoko Kanno worked on it!!!

I always thought mecha was pretty shounen, actually.  Escaflowne is a great fantasy mecha show, the only fusion of those genre that I can recall off the top of my head.  Are people talking about it as shoujo because one of the main protagonists is female?  This seems strange to me.  Oh well, I’m no expert on the subject.

My FAAAAvorite anime.  Sigh ^_^

It’s one of those which has something for practially everyone (except the kitchen sink.  Which wouldn’t add much.  Or tentacles.  NO NO NO.)

Beautiful art and animation—the backgrounds are GORGEOUS—the best cel in my cel collection is of Hitomi and the MoleMan in the woods and the woods are incredible!!

And of course the music is wonderful (I have OST 1 and 2).

And neato plot, even if the ending seemed to lack a certain something to me.  Intricate and detailed with believeable characters and motivations (and romance on the shoujo side and action scenes for the shounen side).  Two different Tenkuu no Escaflowne manga were created from initial concepts while Escaflowne was being created, one shojo, and one shounen (each quite different from each other, and from the final Tenkuu no Escaflowne TV), to show how much elements of each went into this.

I’m a BIIIIG fan—went to California (from Texas) to Anime Expo last year, mostly to see Escaflowne The Movie (again, different, but quite good—my only quibble was that Folken is reduced to a two-dimensional character). 

I actually thought even the dub was decent, though wish I could have heard how they were going to handle Dilandau’s voice… later, I mean… no further comment as I do not want to get into spoilers! You’ll know what I mean when you see it. 

I do prefer the sub, though.

GOOD stuff.
Quat(s)

(Van-sama!  ^_^)

I really wish FOx wouldn’t have cancelled it :(
Oh well.  The Gymeleth idea was really original, and Dragon trans. sequence was really cool.  I also loved the soundtrack, especially the battle theme!

..i’ve heard about this show, but never
actually seen it..

What brand of show is it? Fantasy? Scifi? Japanese-anime soap opera?

And my other question: How the heck do you pronounce that name?

Is it “S-Kah-Floo-N”?  “S-Kah-Flo-Nee”?

“Super clown”?

Is the best way I can type it.  I said it was more directed at girls because when I showed it to my brother and fiancee they really didn’t seem to be interested at all. I figured there was too much romance and not enough action for them, although I thought it was pretty well-rounded.  I can’t wait to see the rest of the episodes, I even e-mailed Fox and complained when they took it off the air and replaced it with Nascar Racers of all things.  Which I figure is most likely like a 3D Speed Racer without the monkey (don’t get me wrong, I like Speed Racer, I’m just bitter about Escaflowne being taken off   ) Anyways, is there any difference between the DVD Escaflownes and the sub-titled tapes besides the voices?  Both are available at a nearby store, and I was wondering if which I should collect. Thanks!

Primarily fantasy, though they do have mecha (the enemy Guymelef (mecha) have liquid-metal weaponry; Escaflowne has cool Victorian-style machinery internal design (also reminiscent of German precision engineering ^_^)).  The Zaibach empire has a industrial age/Victorian machinery feel with machinery everywhere.  Also one of the primary characters is from modern-day Japan (main setting is alternate world orbiting Earth).

And it’s “ess kah flow ney”  (I just had to use my own phonetics ^_^)

Quat(s)
Unmei kaihem!
(apologies if mis-spelled)

and I absolutely *love* Escaflowne. I’ve only seen up to episode 9 (I have the DVDs up to Vol.4 which has up to episode 12), and I have to say that if the show keeps up its current pace, I will crown Escaflowne my new favorite anime of all time. Yes, above Macross, Robotech, and Ranma 1/2. It’s a damn good show, and I wouldn’t say it’s aimed primarily at girls. I think its one of those rare shows that has something for everyone in it.

And yeah, I prefer the sub version also. I love Maaya Sakamoto’s voice (Hitomi). ANd of course, Yoko Kanno’s superb soundtrack… she has now made 3 unbelieveable soundtracks (Mac +, Esca, and Cowboy Bebop). Has anyone heard of the new series that Shoji Kawamori, the creator of Escaflowne and Macross, is working on? I forgot the details, but it looks really interesting and I think Yoko Kanno will be doing the soundtrack again. Thank heavens… if any of you want to look for confirmation about this story, check out http://www.animenation.com That’s where I read about this some weeks ago.

Thanks Dan and Quat(S)!

I’ll definitely check Esca-flo-naise out

(I have an allergy medication called “Flo-naise”.. Sorry, i couldn’t resist

^_^

Before I get into this, don’t even consider the dub. If you are going to pay for Escaflowne, pay for the sub and get the real thing.  The japanese voice actors are the goods, let me tell you.  They have a little, crutial thing in them that most ( nearly all ) dubs lack, and that is the weight of emotion. That said, let me get down to the meat of this here post. =)

Here goes, DanRyu. I’ll give you my 2 cents on Tenkuu no Escaflowne…

Escaflowne is one of those rare series that can’t easily be put in a genre because it has so many integral elements from so many genres. 

It has a deep, intelligent plot, which makes you ask a lot of questions, and to me at least, thought provoking plots are always a bonus. The plot had the same effect on me as the premises for the series Shinseki Evangelion, and the movie Spriggan.  You just think “Damn… that’s deep.”

There is certainly a large amount of drama and romance, which I believe that’s why people are lead to believe it should be categorized as shoujo. There are two answers to that, 1) Consider it Shoujo, but then you must also consider it Fantasy, Science fiction, and Shounen as well. Or 2) Just consider it to be one of those rarest of rare anime that cannot truly be categorized, like our beloved Robotech =)  Either way there is definitely something here for everyone.

The art is amazing, as are the costumes/character designs.  At first glance people tend to notice that the characters in general have long, pointy noses. While true I feel this only adds to its originality and flavor. Tons of detail, vibrant colors and the best soundtrack I have ever had the priviledge to hear make the asthetics more than worth the price of admission. *side note* Kanno could be a close runner up for God. =)

Can I come back on this? I have to go for now, but I’d like to post a bit more on this topic. If that’s ok with you all =)

Scherazade, guymelf to all mighty Allen Schezar

Escaflowne really was never considered shoujo in Japan except for maybe the shoujo manga version of the story. The other manga version was clearly shounen having run in the comic magazine Shounen Ace.

Supposedly, Fox took it off the air because of low ratings. However, I tend to think they took it off because of the increasingly dark tone the series took on. Having seen Escaflowne it its entirety makes me think this.

On another note, I think Escaflowne would have been a lot more popular in Japan if they waited a bit longer to release it on TV. Escaflowne started right after Evangelion finished it TV run. I tend to think that Eva’s popularity at the time hurt Escaflowne’s popularity.

That’s funny, escaflownaise!  That’s what my mom used to say whenever I played the battle theme from my computer or watched the show.