Escaflowne: The Movie Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		1.5
Overall		3.5

Escaflowne: The Movie Blu-ray Movie Review

Far different from the television series, the film offers a darker, menacing tone.

Reviewed by Dustin Somner November 5, 2009

Thinking back on the theatrical anime releases unleashed on western shores in the early portion of this decade, Escaflowne ranks near the top of my list. Loosely based on the 26-episode television series titled “The Vision of Escaflowne”, the film was directed by Kazuki Akane (who also directed the prior series), and provided anime fans their first glimpse at the capabilities of the newly created BONES animation studio. Back at the time of the film’s production, it was rare for a theatrical anime production to be green lit based largely on international success, but despite Escaflowne’s modest popularity in its native homeland of Japan, the show’s immense popularity in America and other global markets gave producers the motivation they needed to proceed with a big-budget film version.

Get that kid some armor (or at least a sweater to keep warm).

On the surface of a foreign planet, there exists an ongoing power struggle between Lord Folken’s Black Dragon clan and a rag-tag crew of rebellious militants. Lord Folken wants nothing less than total domination over the land, which he knows could be difficult if Prince Van (a prominent member of the guerrilla fighters) is able to awaken a monstrous suit of organic armor, known as Escaflowne. Meanwhile, back on Earth, a young schoolgirl named Hitomi Kanzaki contemplates the idea of ending her life, believing this world has nothing to offer her. She doesn’t exactly get her wish, but she does awaken a glimmer of hope when she’s mysteriously transported to the nation of Gaea and stumbles across the path of Prince Van. Believing Hitomi is a legendary goddess with the ability to bring Escaflowne to life, Van and his comrades make her safety their top priority, in hopes she will eventually harness the power to swing the war in their favor. Unfortunately, it isn’t long before Lord Folken discovers her presence, and realizes he must capture Hitomi in order to destroy the last of his enemies. With the epic battle approaching the breaking point, Hitomi must forget the woes she left behind on Earth, and join the fight for the fate of Gaea.

At the time of the film’s release, many fans lamented the substantial divergence in the tone between this version of the Escaflowne story, and the version told in the television series. While I certainly don’t disagree that the mood of the film is far different, I don’t share the same level of disappointment in the new direction chosen. Van is a much darker character, Hitomi is a depressed, suicidal wreck, and the atmosphere of Gaea feels slightly foreign next to the environment of the original series. Personally, I feel these changes were made to accommodate a much shorter runtime (98 minutes versus 530 for the series), and they give the film a greater sense of urgency in the storyline. We simply don’t have time to flesh out the various personalities of the characters, or allow the plot to be steered away from the main conflict at the heart of the story. Although the war for Gaea is a central focus of the film, I particularly enjoyed the blossoming relationship between Van and Hitomi, which begins on a rocky note, but becomes a truly genuine element as the film draws close to its conclusion. Their flawed personalities desperately need something to fill the void of anger and despair, which they eventually find in each other.

Looking at the film from an action standpoint, Escaflowne offers enough eye-candy to keep you coming back for years to come. Between the brutal display of Van’s sword-fighting skills during the opening scene of the film, and the epic battle between two giant mecha warriors, there’s never a shortage of visceral entertainment to hold your attention. Adding to the effectively staged battles is some of the most impressive animation I’ve seen to date. The artistry on display throughout the hand painted backgrounds recreates an asian-inspired landscape that’s punctuated with advanced technological machinery. I know this isn’t the first film to incorporate medieval elements with futuristic weaponry, but the balance struck by the artistic team on Escaflowne never misses the mark. Along the same lines, the accuracy in character movements rarely wavers, giving every element in the foreground a smooth, realistic appearance. Considering the intense pace of the fight sequences, one would expect the animators to cut corners here and there to stay within budget, but as with the recent release of Sword of the Stranger, we never get the feeling any shortcuts were taken in the completion of the film.

Escaflowne: The Movie Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in 1080p utilizing the AVC codec (at an average bitrate of 28Mbps), Escaflowne looks almost as beautiful as I imagined it would in high-definition. Fine-object detail receives a dramatic upgrade over the prior standard definition version, revealing intricacies never before seen in the hand-painted backgrounds. Lines and textures on the characters in the foreground look nice and clear as well, though we still have a handful of scenes that appear slightly hazy in comparison with the rest of the film. The coloring on a film like this is difficult to rate as positive or negative, since the various locations generate spectrums that range from drab and dreary, to rich and bold. Sitting through the length of the film, I have no doubt the various hues offer an accurate representation of the source material, which is obviously the goal of any Blu-ray transfer. Moving along, black levels offer reasonable depth, but I was a little disappointed in the contrast during the darker scenes. A perfect example is the nightclub sequence around the hour mark, where the darker portions of the background show little to no differentiation between the black shade of Van's hair. It's certainly not a deal-breaker, but I'd hoped for better.

Lastly, there's one deficiency in the source material that becomes a more prominent issue with the upgrade to 1080p. Viewers with a larger display will easily notice the presence of shadows along the outlines of the hand-painted cels in at least thirty percent of the film. If you have a large enough display, you'll probably be able to spot the effect in several of the screenshots included with this review (to gain a better idea of whether or not it will affect your purchase decision). Additionally, Bandai has continued their trend of adjusting the picture for overscan along the sides, creating black borders to the right and left of the image. We don't lose a tremendous amount of screen space with this technique, but it's still something I'd like to see corrected on future anime releases.

Escaflowne: The Movie Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Continuing their excellent track record of offering lossless tracks in the native language of Japanese AND the dubbed English version, Bandai has once again given viewers the option of deciding which version they prefer. Switching back and forth between the two, I'd conclude the Japanese version is slightly superior given the higher volume of the dialog on the track. The English version is still far from disappointing, but anime enthusiasts who prefer the native track will have little to complain about with this offering. Getting down to the particulars of the track, I should first mention this is a film with some beautiful audio elements. The music has always been a highlight in the film, but listening to the various songs fill the speakers of your home theater with lossless clarity is an amazing experience. I don't often choose to sit through the credits at the end of a film, but I doubt I'll ever pass up an opportunity to hear the closing song on this release. Along the same lines, the use of surround activity in the track creates a wonderful level of immersion, surrounding the viewer with mystical elements that breathe life into the world of Geae.

This might not be the best anime audio track I've heard (Akira still holds that honor), but it's one of the more proficient genre offerings on the Blu-ray format.

Escaflowne: The Movie Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Staff Interviews (480p, Dolby Digital 2.0, 23:52 min): Containing interviews with several major players in the production of the film, this supplement is interesting more for the level of discomfort generated during multiple interviews. For instance, the second interview has director Kazuki Akane and English voice actor Kelly Sheridan in the same room, but Akane had not been given an opportunity to hear her work. The interviewer doesn't know they going in, and does his best to make them both as uncomfortable as possible (which doesn't seem difficult considering how shy the director is).

The Line for Escaflowne: Anime Expo 2000 (480p, Dolby Digital 2.0, 7:12 min): This supplement takes viewers behind the scenes at the anime expo where the film was first premiered. I wish they'd provided a longer runtime dedicated to the panel discussion after the film ended, but all we get is a single question and answer.

Rounding out the extras, we have two standard definition trailers ("The Girl Who Leapt Through Time" and "Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex Solid State Society").

Escaflowne: The Movie Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

You'd be hard pressed to find an anime fan that hasn't seen Escaflowne at some point in the past seven years. Back when it was released on DVD, the film was a day-one purchase for me, and I've been equally excited to get my hands on the new high-definition release. Unlike some fans, I consider the darker tone of the film to be a welcomed change from the television series, and despite the confusing initial half hour of the film, newcomers to the Escaflowne franchise should be able to pick up on the main plot with ease. Having said all of that, I do recognize this version will rub some viewers the wrong way (depending on your love of the original story), so I'd warn some anime enthusiasts to give this a shot as a rental prior to a purchase.