Escaflowne (A Girl in Gaea)
Directed by	Kazuki Akane
Written by	Kazuki Sekine Ryota Yamaguchi
Starring	Maaya Sakamoto Tomokazu Seki
Produced by	Masahiko Minami Minoru Takanashi Masuo Ueda Toyoyuki Yokohama
Distributed by	Bandai Entertainment Inc. in U.S. R.S. Entertainment Inc.
Release date	June 24, 2000: theater release April 25, 2001: VHS and DVD release
Runtime	98 min
Language	Japanese English
Budget	unannounced
IMDb page

Escaflowne is a 2000 anime movie, a complete retelling of the events of the anime television series The Vision of Escaflowne. Animated by Sunrise and Studio BONES, this remake replaced many of the elements of European fantasy that were introduced into the TV series with more Asian elements. Specifically, the director Kazuki Akane has cited the use of motifs from ancient Asian mythology, and character designer Nobuteru Yuuki has noted that he based a secondary outfit for the heroine Hitomi on Korean clothing. The feel of the movie is also much darker and broodier than that of the series. The movie was developed under the pre-production title Escaflowne: A Girl in Gaea, but it was retitled simply as Escaflowne before its theatrical premiere. Image File history File links Escaflowne_movie_region_2_cover. ... Maaya Sakamoto (坂本 真綾 Sakamoto Maaya, born March 31, 1980) is a Japanese seiyu (voice-actor) and singer who made her debut in 1996 as the voice of Hitomi Kanzaki in the hit anime series The Vision of Escaflowne. ... Tomokazu Seki (関 智一 Seki Tomokazu, born September 8, 1972) is a popular voice actor (seiyū) in Japan. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... This article is about the year 2000. ... A scene from Cowboy Bebop (1998) Anime (アニメ) is Japanese animation, sometimes referred to in the Western world by the portmanteau Japanimation. ... The Vision of Escaflowne ( Japanese: 天空のエスカフローネ;Tenkū no Esukafurōne or Escaflowne of the Heavens) is a 26-episode anime television series by Sunrise. ... Sunrise is a Japanese company strongly devoted to Japanese animation and is a division of Bandai, the biggest toy company in Japan. ... Studio BONES is a Japanese animation studio that produces anime titles, including RahXephon, Wolfs Rain, Scrapped Princess and Fullmetal Alchemist. ... This article is about the continent. ... For other definitions of fantasy, see fantasy (psychology). ... // =================================== The term Asian in a geographical sense simply refers to something or someone from Asia. ...

The plot of the movie is similar to the television show, but retold in a way that could fit in a two hour movie as opposed to a one season TV show. Most of the characters present in the TV show are also present in the movie, although many of the character designs are changed and in some cases bear little or no resemblance to the corresponding TV show characters. The only major character seen in the movie and not seen in the TV show was Sora, an advisor to Folken.

Details

Differing from the series, the focus of the movie shifts more towards the relationship between Van and Hitomi and their personal issues, while other themes, such as destiny and fate, are greatly minimized or removed altogether. Hitomi, contrary to her cheerful character in the series, in the movie is a depressed schoolgirl, suffering from loneliness and feelings of alienation. Van is depicted more violent and reserved in terms of expressing any emotions other then anger. Hitomi, unlike her series alter ego, does not posess any psychic powers, but does have a mystical ability to summon (and unsummon) the Escaflowne, due to being a Tsubasa no Kami (the "Winged Goddess"), although some fans argue that there is a certain ambiguity as to who the Goddess really is. On the other hand, unlike in the series, Van, Folken, and to an extent, Dilandau, due to being of Draconian descent, possess psychokinetic powers.

Unlike in the series, Melefs and Guymelefs are virtually non-existant: only two were shown in the movie, those being Escaflowne itself, and Alseides (though it was not refered to as such except in the Escaflowne movie's Newtype artbook). Newtype USA, November 2004. ... Escaflowne Movie Artbook is a softcover book containing production artwork from the movie, character, mechanical and environmental designs (printed on coarse paper) and artwork used for posters, promo materials, and a large number of screenshots from the movie. ...

Armors themselves were thoroughly redesigned, and for the movie are more organic than mechanical in nature, and are not powered by "energists" the way they were in the series, but rather by drawing the blood of their pilots, who also have to be of Draconian descent.

Worldwide Premieres

• The North American theatrical premiere was on January 25, 2002, in select cities, including Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, Chicago, and Vancouver.
• The North American television premiere was September 10, 2005, on the Cartoon Network programming block Adult Swim.

The current Cartoon Network logo, was used in North America since June 14, 2004, in Latin America since January 1st, 2005, and in Europe since April 11, 2005. ... Adult Swim logo. ...

Trivia

The true identity of the Tsubasa no Kami is sometimes debated amongst fans; while it is implied that Hitomi is the Tsubasa no Kami, there have also been a number of arguments supporting Sora as well.^[1]

See also

• The Vision of Escaflowne (TV series)
• "Yubiwa" (ending theme)

The Vision of Escaflowne ( Japanese: 天空のエスカフローネ;Tenkū no Esukafurōne or Escaflowne of the Heavens) is a 26-episode anime television series by Sunrise. ... Yubiwa (指輪, or Ring) is the closing song for the Japanese Vision of Escaflowne movie. ...

External links

1. ^ Escaflowne: Girl in Gaea fansite
2. ^ Movie OST