Category: The Vision of Escaflowne

The Vision of Escaflowne – 5/6 [Seal of the Brothers/City of Intrigue] – Throwback Thursday

by Lenlo, posted in The Vision of Escaflowne, Throwback Thursday

Hello everyone! Apologies for being late on this, Thanksgiving will kinda do that to a man. Food coma’s are dangerous don’t ya know? This week we finish up our conflict with the Zaibach Empire and make our way to Allen’s home of Asturia. We have a lot to talk about so lets dive in!

This week picks up where we left off, with Van leading Dilandau and co away from everyone else. And you know what? He gets caught! I should have expected this but I really didn’t. I was prepared for a half episode long chase sequence where we get to see what the dragon can do. Something that culminated in Van proving himself superior to Dilandau and flying off into the sunset! Instead he gets captured almost immediately and has to be rescued. And I’m into that for a lot of reasons. Not only does this curb Van’s power, giving him something to grow into, it also gives the rest of the cast room to flex. From Hitomi and Allen all the way to the individual soldiers, everyone get’s a small moment to shine. And the best part? The villains get to have personalities!

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The Vision of Escaflowne – 3/4 [The Gallant Swordsman/The Diabolical Adonis] – Throwback Thursday

by Lenlo, posted in The Vision of Escaflowne, Throwback Thursday

Hello everyone and welcome back to The Vision of Escaflowne! This week we meet our next party member, receive our mandatory exposition dump and get to know our villains. We have a lot to talk about so lets dive right in!

First up we need to talk production because Escaflowne took a bit of a dip this week. And then a rise. And then another dip. In just the 4 episodes I’ve seen it’s already clear to me how wildly inconsistent Escaflowne’s visuals are. Sometimes you get this really strong contrast! Saturated colors, heavy blacks and bright whites! The kind of stuff I love. But other times the linework becomes thin and weak, feeling almost rushed, and the colors lose a lot of their luster. You can see this most clearly with Allen and his blonde hair. The way it loses a lot of depth between scenes and the black lines become almost pointless, or how his chin suddenly becomes a lot weaker. And then there’s the fire at the end of Episode 3! Oh that fire. It does not look good…

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The Vision of Escaflowne – 1/2 [Fateful Confession/The Girl From the Mystic Moon] – Throwback Thursday

by Lenlo, posted in The Vision of Escaflowne

Hello everyone and welcome to a new season of Throwback Thursday! This time, for those who weren’t already aware, we are watching The Vision of Escaflowne from the late, great Studio Sunrise! I say late, they are still making anime today but how much of it is any good. No seriously, how much, I don’t watch Gundam or Aikatsu. Anyways my bad jokes aside, lets dive into it!

And what better place to start than my old reliable, the visuals! Initial impressions: I quite like how Escaflowne looks. It has all the hallmarks of the cel-era of animation, as it should since it was made in the 90s. I’m talking heavy, saturated colors instead of the more modern pastels and the uneven linework you just don’t find in digital. On top of that it also makes use of heavy blacks in some of its more dramatic moments, a style I’ve loved since I first saw it in late 90’s comic books. And then we have the character designs! These people are long and angular, with sharp edges all over their outlines. I love it! It makes them feel so much older than a lot of modern series where the designs emphasize the softness of youth over the stiffness of age. So yeah, Escaflowne, right up my visual alley.

Continue reading “The Vision of Escaflowne – 1/2 [Fateful Confession/The Girl From the Mystic Moon] – Throwback Thursday” →