Escaflowne’s vision is an underrated mech anime that is perfectly designed for isekai fans. Until Funimation successfully funded a Kickstarter campaign to re-release the series in 2016, Escaflowne seemed to have gone down in anime history as an underrated cult classic. However, Escaflowne is now more accessible than ever, and it’s the perfect time to explore this classic anime.
Although Escaflowne was originally among the English dubbed anime released in the early 2000s, it never received a full broadcast in the United States. Originally included in Fox Kids’ Saturday morning programming block, Escaflowne was pulled from the broadcast due to its excessive violence and subject matter. Although originally placed on the children’s programming block, Escaflowne still feels out of place compared to other Fox Kids shows. As part of the 2016 re-release, Funimation produced a second English dub with a new cast.
Escaflowne is a unique blend of many genres
At its core, Escaflowne is an isekai story. A high school student named Hitomi is trapped in a portal between worlds and Prince Van of Fanelia crosses over into the real world while hunting a dragon and returns to his home world of Gaea with Hitomi. Hitomi, Van, and their companions are soon drawn into war with the Zaibach Empire, whose Emperor has built a powerful machine to control destiny, and are constantly hindered by Van’s Escaflowne transformation mech prevents his plan from coming to fruition. The Fantasy setting helps distinguish Escaflowne from other mech lines that tend to be science fiction and are often set in space. Likewise, the prominence of real mech action sets Escaflowne apart from other high fantasy isekai series. There really isn’t any series that can easily compare to Escaflowne
While Van plays an important role and Escaflowne herself is the main factor driving the plot and conflict, Hitomi is undeniably the main character of the series, and the romance between the pair drives main story. On the other hand, the series’ depiction of mecha violence and combat is unflinching in its brutality, and it can be jarring given the series’ romantic focus at other times. That said, the visual design of the mechs, especially the eponymous Escaflowne, is very unique among mech anime and the battle scenes are impressive, especially given the absolutely phenomenal soundtrack by accompanying series.
Combining a Unique isekai premise with impressive mechanical action and an emotionally realistic romantic plot, and the underrated classic is finally getting its time to shine and attract new fans. Escaflowne’s vision is unlike any other anime and definitely deserves a watch.
Escaflowne’s Vision is available to stream on Funimation.
