released 04 jul 04 / last mod 01 jun 07 / greg goebel / public domain
* I picked up ESCAFLOWNE THE MOVIE (ETM) on a gamble, knowing nothing about it ahead of time. I was expected from what I saw of it that it was a fairly straightforward fantasy piece, and as it turned out, that was precisely what it was.
ETM is the story of Hitomi, a discouraged and depressed Japanese high-school student, drifting somewhere near the end of her rope when she runs into a mysterious stranger, who transports her to the world of Gaea. There she finds herself involved in a war between a gang of fighters, including the hotheaded young warrior Lord Van, and a fairly traditional Evil Empire, led by the brutal Lord Folken, who has a death wish literally as big as an entire planet.
Hitomi finds that she is actually the "Wing Goddess", who is linked spiritually to the ultra-powerful "Escaflowne" battle armor -- think a mecha based on mystical instead of mechanical principles. In a series of adventures with Lord Van, she must use her relationship with the Escaflowne to guide the future of Gaea.
The story premise is straightforward fantasy-novel stuff; the whole "disaffected adolescent who is really a messiah or wotnot in an alternate world" comes across as a bit comical, considering the way it panders to the egotism of the reader or viewer, often disaffected adolescents themselves. However, although the plot of ETM is somewhat by-the-numbers, it still snaps along nicely and the movie never drags or insults the viewer's intelligence. The characterizations come across as a bit sketchy, but ETM covers a lot of ground in a short time and it would be hard to do much more under the circumstances.
All that in itself would not amount to much of a recommendation for ETM. However, although I was expecting something very run-of-the-mill from this movie, from the outset I had to think: "This is very nicely done!" The production values are very conscientious, with pretty artwork, particularly of landscapes and skyscapes, backed up by a sparkling soundtrack, beginning with Indian raga music, progressing through various musical styles (including a techno-disco number) and ending with what sounds perfectly like a country-pop romantic tune -- sung in Japanese.
I definitely found ESCAFLOWNE THE MOVIE to be time well and pleasantly spent. It's not really topknotch -- the plot is forgettable, the character designs tend to come across as a little wooden and stereotypical, and it's somewhat more gory and violent than necessary. I doubt that anybody who doesn't like fantasy will much care for it, and I couldn't claim it was a really memorable film -- but it is pretty! It's a bit like watching a long, atmospheric music video, and worthwhile if you're not expecting greatness.