The Vision of Escaflowne: The Complete Series [Blu-ray]

I first saw Vision of Escaflowne back when I was in college, and was greatly impressed. It only occurred to me recently to see if it was available. I am happy to say the series stands up well even today, and I feel is actually better than many more modern series.Animation quality is high, with great designs and smooth movement. Story wise the series was great. Many of the characters are emotionally damaged yet struggle on, not always making the best decisions but always trying. I liked how the main character Hitomi has special powers in the form of fortune telling, but her visions of the future are often traumatic, so she's paying a price for this gift. The series does deal with destiny, a theme common to anime, but does so in an interesting way. I do wish there had been further adventures, as I feel that while the main conflict was settled, the world was large and interesting enough for more stories.There was one issue I should address in the form of dropped plot elements. Van receives an energist from his mother, but this is never brought up again. Hitomi finds a CD, proof someone else from Earth has been brought to this world, but nothing ever comes of it. This second element actually comes up in a deleted scene I found on Youtube, which I wish they'd included in the show. These are minor flaws, though, in an otherwise great series.

I've loved this anime classic for years, but I hesitated to purchase this BR set because my old Bandai DVDs are still in good condition. Then, during a sale, I went for it, and I'm glad I did.The video is beautiful, the Japanese track audio is fine, the overall sound is great (Yoko Kanno's fantastic music inspires), and the subs are okay—not mucked up by Funimation. (I spot-checked, and the subs are pretty much dups of the originals. That was a big whew for me after buying the Funi Ruroken live actions and finding an intolerably immature botch of subtitles for certain words and characters).I usually prefer subs for anime, but figured I'd check out both dubs (old and new) for the heck of it. Although I never liked E's old dub, from what I heard this time, I'd say the older dub is much better than the new. It has more authentic emotional resonance, whereas the newer on is rather histrionic. However, I still don't like it enough to watch all of Escaflowne with it. The Japanese voice actors are just too good to give up.So, a great set—a sweet tribute and re-intro of a wonderful series to the otaku world. While there is still something nice about the old DVDs, with the depth perception of the Guymelef duels and clashes slightly better for some reason, the brilliance of the restoration is truly enchanting and there is no contest re the audio quality. The set has some rather fun extras too.My final comment: Funi needs to upgrade the blu-ray cases. Mine came intact, which seemed a miracle, although a couple of discs had sprung the flimsy hubs. The whole case is flimsy. I can't believe Funi can't provide something better without breaking the bank.

This anime will put hair on your chest

great remaster

Both the original and the new dubs are available, it's unclear though that disk 1 and disk 2 are the same episodes with the different dubs, and on the rest of the discs both dubs are included. Very strange way to organize that information in my opinion, but alas. A fantastic anime with a wonderful story- a classic.

I missed watching this and never got to finish it when it aired on tv. So happy for the digital and blueray set!

I loved this anime as a child and I'm glad to say I still love it as an adult! Fantasy and mecha in one show? Yes, please.The blu-ray quality is great. Much clearer and sharper than the DVD version. Also, the original 2001 English dub IS an audio option! It's just not on the first disc because the first disc contains the original uncut version. Start with the second disc if the new dub bothers you.

If your only memory of Escaflowne is the Fox Kids dub then this will scrub your memory clear of it. This is a classic anime from the mind of the creator of Macross, Shoji Kawamori. The story is a great science fantasy romance that manages to cross the boundaries of genre and demographics. Men, women, boys, girls, they can all enjoy this. Aside from one iffy part, this series is a classic for a reason and worth its asking price.