Today’s series had an interesting premiere when it was shown on American television. In order to be eligible for broadcast enough content needed to be cut that several episodes were able to be merged into one, including the very first episode. If you can`t tell today’s series is the Vision of Escaflowne. I promise not to make any comments about the pointy noses.

High School girl Hitomi wants nothing more than to confess her love to her first crush and be the best track runner she can. Unfortunately for her this life is shattered when a young prince named Van appears before her. Soon she is whisked away to Gaia a fantasy world where people fight in giant robots called Guymelefs. As trouble grows, Van awakens the legendary Guymelef Escaflowne to help him as he works to fight against the evil empire of Zaibach.

Escaflowne was a series designed to appeal to both males and females. For the guys we have intense action and giant robots and for the gals we have romance and good looking men with long flowing hair. Other series try to incorporate this elements but some how forget to get the balance right usually forgetting that on top of just good action and intense romance their also needs to be some type of story to top it all off with. The story of Escaflowne though is deep, mystical, and has fans insisting even today that a sequel to the series should be made.

Id be in the wrong if I didn’t address Hitomi as a character. Yes she is a bit annoying and way too focused on the wrong guy in the series, focusing too much on Alan despite the fact that Van is the man she is obviously meant to be with. That and the fact that she actually bends fate to her will but for the totally wrong reasons result in large amounts of chaos to unfold. Other than that shes a perfectly lovely character.

Basically Escaflowne is a classic that everyone needs to see. Sadly most people cant get over the crap job done with the American broadcast and others who insist the English dub is horrendous (personally I liked it. I don’t really see what all the complaining is about). Still, I highly recommend that everyone tracks this series down and watch it. Use the original Japanese if your not a fan of the dub

Rating: B+