Sometimes less is less

// Synopsis: Hitomi is your average 15 year girl who is struggling with finding purpose in living. A mysterious ethereal stranger calls out to her and she is drawn into a completely different world. There she meets up with Van, a king without a country, and a group of soldiers who are battling against the tyranny of a nation on a march of conquest. The key to their world’s salvation or possibly its destruction lies with this young girl and her unknown connection to a great mecha armor known as Escaflowne.

// Review: There are four basic options for an anime movie:
1. continue the storyline
2. make a prequel
3. create a stand alone OVA
4. sum up the entire series

/ If you have read and watched Dune, this is a perfect example of the latter attempt failing. I really wanted to like this movie. The animation was top notch (save for the awkward character models) and music was spectacular. But unfortunately you just can’t distill 8+ hours of character development and plot progression in only 90 minutes and expect to get anything cohesive. Typically manga is better than the anime series because it has more time and space to create worlds, cultures, background stories, and fuller characters. Here this movie is another step removed from the manga.

/ For those who have watched the series, the movie will come off like an alternate reality version. The personalities, story, even the premise all seem a little off. It doesn’t add to anything you’ve already seen and you aren’t being reunited with old friends because everything is a warped reflection of the original. To newcomers everything seems disjointed and forced. There isn’t any character development and it’s difficult to believe anyone’s motivations because the explanations are implausible with so little background or none given at all. If I hadn’t seen the series I would have been constantly asking myself, “why did that just happen?” I think the heart of Escaflowne is the relationship between Van, his brother and Hitomi. All three were lost in the mix.

// Wrap up: High production values are clearly evident. Ultimately it was a waste because the producers were too ambitious with the scope of what they wanted to cover and which audience they wanted to cater to (fans or newcomers). Its greatest failure was its inability to tell a good story. They cast too wide a net and came up with very little.

Entertainment rating: 2