5/12/02-Ok guys, this is an update, I felt I didnt exactly do justice to this serial so I am going to write a little more and edit it, till I can feel satisfied.
So, lets see the first question that must pop into your mind is: What the heck is Escaflowne? Escaflowne is a guymelf aka: a sort of an armor that is HUGE and is controlled by the king of Fanelia (a country). In this 26 episode series there are excellent sword fights with lots of guymelfs fighting, the setting is sort of medieval with knights and all.This serial was actually supposed to be a 39 episode one, but because of not getting enough funding, they had to cut it short.
Now let me start with the main characters...
Van Fanel-Distinguishable Physical Trait: after much debate, I felt I shouldnt hide his trait, Van has wings! Gorgeous white wings (drools, by the way, I know what ur thinking ''So is he an angel?'' No!) He is a Draconian, descendants of the Atlaneans, which are supposedly ''cursed''.
A 15 year old guy who is a prince but later becomes king of a small yet prosperous country called Fanelia. Van lost his parents at a very young age (round about 5) and also his older brother was a disgrace to the family, by failing in the dragon-slaying rite in order to become king. Van is sort of aloof, he is arrogant but deep down very caring and kind. His friends are a 13 year old catgirl named Merle (whoever said that a dog is a man's best friend apparently has not watched Escaflowne!), and a samurai (warrior) called Balgus. So anyway, by the time Van is 15 he has built kind of a wall around himself, which only a few can melt. He keeps to himself and bottles all sort of emotions inside...
Hitomi Kanzaki- Distinguishable Physical Trait: Her huge green eyes! After all her name does mean eyes!
A 15 year old girl who is very athletic who runs track and has a talent for fortune telling. Hitomi is a caring sort of person, who goes to any extent to help her friends. She is like any girl at her age, nursing a crush on the track captain Amano. There is something about her that makes people want to trust her and pour out their worries.She also owns a pendant, given by her grandmother. This pendant is very special and Hitomi uses it as a ''good-luck charm'', however there is a little secret to exactly why it is a good luck charm. This pendant also helps her see the unseen, by sometimes swinging in the direction of hidden objects or people.
Allen Schezar- Distinguishable Physical Trait- His long blond hair! Gotta luv his locks!
Well lets see, here is the part that is a little debatable: his age. I personally think that Allen is ATLEAST 23 but they say he is 21. Allen has all the qualities of a true knight, he is gallant, noble, honorable, an excellent fighter and such a ladies man (lol). His father left the family in search of the power of Atlantis, his sister disappeared (I think he feels that he is to blame), his Mother died of grief and sickness, and there is also a little secret about his love life.
Merle- Distinguishable Physical trait: Her tail!
A 13 year old catgirl who is forever bickering with Hitomi and EXTREMELY possessive of Van. She has one obsession:Van Slanzar de Fanel. Some say that she has a love interest in, but I disagree; I feel that she cares about Van the way is sister would care about her older brother. I know exactly how she feels; after all I have three brothers too, and I must say I am very possessive of them. Anyway, Merle loves to have all the attention and gets really annoyed when Van pays attention to Hitomi. She is rather irritating, but still a lovably character. She clings to Van at every possible moment and all she says is “Oh Lord Van, I was so worried”.
A/N: Whew!. About the plot, I will try to write as much as I can without really giving it away. Vision of Escaflowne has soo many twists and turns (perhaps that’s why I love it soo much!) that its nearly impossible to write it all. I will give a sort of the beginning of the story, so please bear with me!
Plot:
It all starts one night when a young boy (Van) appears out of nowhere on Hitomi’s track field at night while she is running to beat the 13 second record to earn her first kiss from Amano. Along with the Van later on comes a dragon, which he has to defeat in order to become king of Fanelia. Van defeats the dragon with the help of Hitomi. She has a sudden vision of Van being crushed by the dragon and so she warns him just in time. Van finds that the perfect opportunity to slay the dragon. After the dragon is slain, he removes the energist that powers guymelefs and levi-ships from the heart of the dragon. Hitomi, asks him nervously if he’s okay, Van kind of smirks and says, “I’m not so bad off that I need a woman to worry about me”, along with other things. Hitomi gets really mad and SLAPS him right across his face and starts crying blabbing that she was really scared! Somehow her tears cause the reaction of the energist and a blue pillar of light envelopes them. They are swept up and Amano has only time to give her the pendant. Hitomi is transported to Gaea, to be precise Arzas a village in the outskirts of Fanelia. There she finds out that Van is actually a prince and is going to be coronated king! Sadly, on that day an invisible army attacks Fanelia and burns it to the ground! Balgus orders Van to get Escaflowne and flee the country with Hitomi and someday come back to rebuild the Fanelia. Van gets really mad, and starts attacking the enemies in vain only ending up by being surrounded by them. Again there is some sort of reaction and a pillar of light envelopes them both and Hitomi, Van,and the Escaflowne are transported to Asturia, another country in Gaea. There they meet the knight of everyone’s dreams-Allen Schezar! From day one, Hitomi is taken with Allen (what a fickle!). They are also reunited with Merle and meet other characters. Together Van, Hitomi and Allen battle all sorts of things whether in the real world or the spiritual.
They find the man behind all the attacks, the leader of the enemy-Dornkirk. Now, this antagonist I can't say is evil. He is a scientist, no a very misled scientist who wants to change fate and creat a ''perfect world'' of harmony and peace through machines and etc, but his plans are always thwarted by two people-Van and Hitomi. Hitomi is known as the ''unknown element'', Dornkirk knows one thing for sure, when ''the dragon'' and ''the girl'' are close the ''perfect future'' wavers.
However unlikely it is, Van slowly comes to rely on Hitomi and her powers grow emmensely! She can see the past and the future and see the invisible enemies. Both risk their lives to save each other many times. Like there is one time, that Hitomi jumps like 9 feet to get to a floating fortress to warn Van, and if she falls she is soo dead, cuz its like a cliff.
From trust, to friendship, to love, Van is drawn to Hitomi, but Hitomi isnt quite sure of her feelings. She knows that she cares about Van a lot but then there is Allen. He always makes her heart flutter, and knows what to say and when. Hitomi states in one of the episodes ''I love Allen, but I am just worried about Van''.
Is that really true? Can they defeat the enemy? Will Allen ever meet his sister? Whatever happened to Van’s brother, Folken? Would Fanelia ever be restored to its emerald beauty? Who will finally win Hitomi's heart? Watch this series and find out!
There is also a very impotant moral in this series and that is: believe in your dreams! Another thing that makes this series so remarkable is its music! I love it from the Gregorian chants to the Hitomi theme. Its FABULOUS!
