Entangled in a struggle over life and death, Van must learn to master the suit of armor, Escaflowne. Chased by the Empire of Zaibach, Van and Hitomi will encounter both allies and enemies in an effort to unlock the secrets within Escaflowne.

One Liner: A good anime that is very satisfying.

How can Escaflowne "lack refinery?" Escaflowne, in its own way, tries to break free of the traditional animated style. Where anime characters have humongous eyes, a dot for a nose, and a incredibly small mouth, the characters in Escaflowne are elongated. There is no "roundness" as expected in anime characters, particularly the face. It is hard to watch the first episodes of the series and wonder whether or not the inhabitants of Gaea are the decendants or Pinochio. What is with the noses? Thus, the character style is a bit off-set, if not distracting at first. Another thing with the Escaflowne animation is that most characters look like each other. Take the Aston princesses for example. If it wasn't for the height differences, I'm surprised Allen doesn't confuse them all the time.

Though the Escaflowne expectations are low at first sight, the animation in the series definitely gets better. After one is used to the animation Escaflowne is just another normal anime, with one exception - it has awesome action sequences. When action is called for, Escaflowne delivers. Instead of shirking from the work of battle, the animators in Escaflowne pay much more detail to action than most anime. Action is not curtailed - the viewer get the pleasure to watch every detail of the fights, down to the last swing (which often times come too soon than preferred). Regardless, the viewers are not cheated in the action scenes. All in all, Escaflowne serves as a testament that anime does not necessarily require computer graphics. In the end, it all boils down to the amount of work the animators put into the cartoon. In Escaflowne, the work is certainly high caliber.

Sound: The sound Escaflowne is awesome. This might be the first series in which I wasn't drawn into the OST from the OP and the ED (wait, Kenshin is the first, but then again, Kenshin OP and ED is the worst). Even though the soundtrack for Escaflowne consists mainly of the conceived Middle Ages Gregorian chant / quasi-religious music, the track also includes some pop and opera. In the animation, the music plays the ever crucial role in setting the mood - and does a great job at it too. The only down-side of the sound in Escaflowne is that it gets a bit tedious. Towards the end of the series the viewer realizes that he has heard this specific track before - several times. However, the OST is still awesome and does a wonderful job in bringing the mood in crucial scene.

Story: The story of Escaflowne starts out great. Hitomi discovers herself in a mystical war that is on the verge of massive war. This war is highly Middle Age, with knights and chivalry and strategic marriages, except for one thing - guymelefs (mechs). The guymelefs are very anachronistic in the setting of Escaflowne - fortunately, their presence does not detroy the mood of the series, but help preserve it.

As expected of anything set in a Medieval setting, Escaflowne has a tendency to be dark and Gothic. While not as dark as Berserk (I think few will ever surpass that), the Escaflowne does not disappoint. Filled with mystery, intrigue, and despair, Escaflowne does a great job to help implant the mood of the setting into the feelings of the viewer. The plot is surprisingly complex, always progressing on the same pace - there are no episodes that do not contribute to the anime. The story is actually a story, and a very exciting one at that.

However, the story in Escaflowne becomes rather weak in the end. While it starts out with everybody having one unique passion and/or ideal, towards the end the story starts to mush itself together - before you knew it, everybody is almost the same. At the completion of the series, one cannot help but feel that the Escaflowne plot did not reach its full potential, leaving a disappointing feeling towards the story that had such a great start.

Character: The characters in Escflowne were pretty good. Each are certainly their own individual and complex enough that the viewer wants to pay attention to every word (but not so much that the speak mumble that nobody cares about). The good characters were simply noble, while the evil villians are enigmatic and dark. However, it is rather disappointing that their alignment does not remain constant throughout the series. It becomes blantantly obvious when the animators try to win the sentiment of the viewers through the villians, reducing some of the magic that was at first established among them. Maybe this was done on purpose to reflect the true nature of humans; while I do not object to the subliminal implantation of themes into the viewer, it could have possibly been accomplished through a more satisfying manner.

Value: Good animation, sound, and story, makes Escaflowne valuable. Though questions whether or not it will be effective the second or third time around.

Enjoyment: Escaflowne is a great anime that definetly satisfies. It acts like an anime that respects its viewers and demands respects from its viewers simultaneously. With the animation, sound, and story, Escaflowne would certainly appeal to a majority of the people, and deliver.

Bottom Line: A good all around anime.