is a 2000 Japanese animated
adventure
An adventure is an exciting experience or undertaking that is typically bold, sometimes risky. Adventures may be activities with danger such as traveling, exploring, skydiving, mountain climbing, scuba diving, river rafting, or other extreme spo ...
dark fantasy
Dark fantasy is a subgenre of fantasy literary, artistic, and cinematic works that incorporate disturbing and frightening themes of fantasy. It often combines fantasy with elements of horror or has a gloomy dark tone or a sense of horror and dr ...
film produced by
Sunrise
Sunrise (or sunup) is the moment when the upper rim of the Sun appears on the horizon in the morning. The term can also refer to the entire process of the solar disk crossing the horizon and its accompanying atmospheric effects.
Terminology
Al ...
and animated by studio
Bones
A bone is a rigid organ that constitutes part of the skeleton in most vertebrate animals. Bones protect the various other organs of the body, produce red and white blood cells, store minerals, provide structure and support for the body, an ...
. Directed by
Kazuki Akane
is a Japanese animation director. Until the early 2000s, he was a staff member of the anime studio Sunrise, where he collaborated with Shoji Kawamori to direct his most famous work, ''The Vision of Escaflowne''. Since that time, he worked extens ...
, the film is a re-telling of the 26-episode anime
television series
A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite television, satellite, or cable television, cable, excluding breaking news, television adverti ...
''
The Vision of Escaflowne
is a 26-episode Japanese anime television series created by Shōji Kawamori and Sunrise Studios and directed by Kazuki Akane. It premiered in Japan on April 2, 1996 on TV Tokyo, and the final episode aired on September 24, 1996. Sony's a ...
''. While the plot of the film has some similar elements to the original television series, the characters differ in varying degrees from the television counterparts, with many completely redesigned and bearing little resemblance to the originals. The world of Gaea has a more Asian design than the heavily European influenced television series.
The film was licensed for
Region 1 release by
Bandai Entertainment
was a Japanese anime, film production, and distribution enterprise, established by Bandai and a subsidiary of Bandai Namco Holdings. They focused mainly in international distribution of anime properties in North America.
Most of the anime and f ...
, which gave the film a theatrical release on January 25, 2002. A
soundtrack
A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack o ...
and two drama CDs have also been released in Japan by
Victor Entertainment
, also known as in Japan, is a subsidiary of JVCKenwood that produces and distributes music, movies and other entertainment products such as anime and television shows in Japan. It is known as JVC Entertainment in countries where Sony Music Ent ...
in relation to the series.
Plot
Hitomi Kanzaki is in crisis. Her life has lost its meaning, and she is plagued by unusual dreams. She is depressed and wants nothing more than to disappear. After falling out with her only friend, she is mysteriously summoned to another world, Gaea, where she finds herself inside Escaflowne, a doomsday weapon destined to come to life at the appearance of a prophesied "wing goddess". The world of Gaea is facing its own crisis: relentless conquest by the Black Dragon Clan, the rebels against which become convinced that Hitomi is the prophesied goddess who will revive Escaflowne. Never certain of her identity in Gaea, Hitomi finds her destiny as she becomes closer to the rebel leader, Lord Van, and helps to bring about the fall of his vengeful brother Lord Folken, the master of the Black Dragon Clan.
Voice cast
Production
''Escaflowne'' varies greatly from the original ''
The Vision of Escaflowne
is a 26-episode Japanese anime television series created by Shōji Kawamori and Sunrise Studios and directed by Kazuki Akane. It premiered in Japan on April 2, 1996 on TV Tokyo, and the final episode aired on September 24, 1996. Sony's a ...
'' series. With character re-designs by
Nobuteru Yūki
is a Japanese manga artist, illustrator, animator and doujinshi artist. He has designed characters for manga, anime and video games, and has frequently collaborated with director Kazuki Akane, including on his most famous work, ''The Vision ...
, the film focuses on the relationship between Van and Hitomi and their personal issues. The characters themselves are also given different personalities, with the film Hitomi changing from a cheerful girl in love to a depressed, suicidal schoolgirl who is suffering from self-induced feelings of loneliness and alienation.
Van is also depicted as being more lonely and emotionally reserved, as well as being far more aggressive and willing to slay any perceived enemies than his more pacifistic series counterpart.
Although the ''Vision of Escaflowne'' series had been produced by Sunrise, the animation for the film was handled primarily by studio Bones, a company founded by a number of ex-Sunrise staff. It was the first Bones feature film production. Studio co-founder
Hiroshi Ōsaka
was a Japanese animator, character designer and illustrator, born in Neyagawa, Osaka Prefecture. He was a graduate of the Kyoto Saga University of Arts. He was the co-founder of Bones Animation Studio.
Profile
Ōsaka, while studying in the K ...
and character designer Nobuteru Yūki split the animation director duties, with Ōsaka heading up production at Bones. Some of the film's action sequences were assigned to the studio's animators as talent showcases, notably including Yutaka Nakamura (who animated nearly a minute and a half of the opening sword fight without assistance).
The soundtrack was, as with the ''Vision of Escaflowne'' series, composed mostly by
Yoko Kanno
is a Japanese composer, arranger and music producer best known for her work on the soundtracks of anime series, television series, live-action films, video games, and advertisements. She was born in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan. She has wri ...
in collaboration with
Hajime Mizoguchi
is a Japanese cellist and composer.
Mizoguchi started playing piano at the age of 3, and the cello at the age of 11. From 1978–1985 he attended the Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music where he majored in violoncello.
In 1986, ...
.
Release
The first European presentation was on January 19, 2001, during the Future Film Festival in Bologna (Italy). The North American theatrical premiere was on January 25, 2002, in select cities, including Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, Dallas, Chicago, and Vancouver. The North American television premiere was September 10, 2005, on the
Cartoon Network
Cartoon Network (often abbreviated as CN) is an American cable television channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. It is a part of The Cartoon Network, Inc., a division that also has the broadcasting and production activities of Boomerang, Car ...
programming block
Adult Swim
Adult Swim (AS; stylized as dult swim
Dult is a village in Batala in Gurdaspur district of Punjab State, India. It is located from sub district headquarter, from district headquarter and from Sri Hargobindpur. The village is administrated by Sarpanch an elected representati ...
and often abbreviated as s is an American adult-oriented night-time cable television Television channel, channel that shares channel space with the basic cable network Cartoon Network and is programme ...
, after airing on
dult swim
Dult is a village in Batala in Gurdaspur district of Punjab State, India. It is located from sub district headquarter, from district headquarter and from Sri Hargobindpur. The village is administrated by Sarpanch an elected representati ...
on demand.
Home media
Bandai Visual
was a Japanese anime, film production, and distribution enterprise, established by Bandai and a subsidiary of Bandai Namco Holdings. They focused mainly in international distribution of anime properties in North America.
Most of the anime and ...
released the film to DVD in a two-disc limited edition set on April 25, 2001. Packed in a limited edition art box, the release included a 36-page booklet on history of the film, as well as on-disc interviews with staff and cast and the theatrical trailers and television commercials.
The film was released to
Blu-ray disc
The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a Digital media, digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and c ...
on January 28, 2008.
Formerly licensed by
Bandai Entertainment
was a Japanese anime, film production, and distribution enterprise, established by Bandai and a subsidiary of Bandai Namco Holdings. They focused mainly in international distribution of anime properties in North America.
Most of the anime and f ...
, ''Escaflowne'' was first released to
Region 1 DVD
The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...
on July 23, 2002, in "Standard" and "Ultimate" editions. The Ultimate Edition included premium packaging, the CD soundtrack, an exclusive
Maaya Sakamoto Maaya may refer to:
* Maaya (given name), a feminine Japanese given name
* ''Maaya'' (1972 film), an Indian Malayalam film
* ''Maaya'' (2014 film), an Indian Telugu film
See also
* Maya (disambiguation)
Maya may refer to:
Civilizations
* Maya ...
music video, interviews from the theatrical premiere events, and interviews with the staff and cast. On September 13, 2005, the film was re-released as part of Bandai's "Anime Legends" line, including many of the extras from the Ultimate Edition, including the CD soundtrack and interviews. The film was given another re-release on February 6, 2007 under Bandai's "Anime Movie Classics" label. Unlike the "Anime Legends" release, this version uses the same cover art and CD as the original standard DVD release. Bandai Entertainment also included the Ultimate Edition release of the movie in its 2004 "Perfect Collection" DVD set of the original ''Vision of Escaflowne'' anime series.
Bandai released a Blu-ray version of the film on October 20, 2009. At
Otakon
Otakon ( ) is an annual three-day anime convention held during July/August. It stands for Otaku Convention. From 1999 to 2016, it took place at the Baltimore Convention Center in Baltimore, Maryland's Inner Harbor district; in 2017, it moved to ...
2013,
Funimation Entertainment
Crunchyroll, LLC, previously known as Funimation from 1994 to 2022, is an American entertainment company owned by Japanese conglomerate Sony as a joint venture between Sony Pictures and Sony Music Entertainment Japan's Aniplex that specializes ...
had announced that they have rescued both ''The Vision of Escaflowne'' and the movie. Both the movie and ''The Vision of Escaflowne'' were re-released in 2016 with a new English dub.
;Soundtrack
The ''Escaflowne OST'' was released on July 5, 2000 and contains twenty-six tracks, including the movie's full opening and ending themes.
Yoko Kanno
is a Japanese composer, arranger and music producer best known for her work on the soundtracks of anime series, television series, live-action films, video games, and advertisements. She was born in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan. She has wri ...
and
Hajime Mizoguchi
is a Japanese cellist and composer.
Mizoguchi started playing piano at the age of 3, and the cello at the age of 11. From 1978–1985 he attended the Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music where he majored in violoncello.
In 1986, ...
composed and produced the movie's musical themes and backgrounds. Vocal performers include
Maaya Sakamoto Maaya may refer to:
* Maaya (given name), a feminine Japanese given name
* ''Maaya'' (1972 film), an Indian Malayalam film
* ''Maaya'' (2014 film), an Indian Telugu film
See also
* Maya (disambiguation)
Maya may refer to:
Civilizations
* Maya ...
,
Shanti Snyder
Shanti Snyder (born 4 June 1981), better known as Shanti, is a Japanese lyricist, singer, songwriter, and music TV host of mixed descent, based in Japan and hailing from Kanagawa Prefecture. She performs with a few different formations at clubs i ...
,
Midori
Midori (みどり, ミドリ, , , ) is the Japanese word for "green" and may refer to:
Places
* Midori, Gunma
* Midori-ku, Chiba
* Midori-ku, Nagoya
* Midori-ku, Sagamihara
* Midori-ku, Saitama
* Midori-ku, Yokohama
People Given name
* M ...
, Children of Adom — Vocals and the Warsaw Chorus.
In North America, the soundtrack was released with the Ultimate Edition
Region 1 DVD release on July 23, 2002 and with the "Anime Legends" re-release on September 13, 2005. The CD has not, however, been given an individual release.
;Drama CDs
Victor Entertainment released two drama CDs: ''Escaflowne Prologue 1: Earth'' and ''Escaflowne Prologue 2: Gaea'' were both released on October 21, 2000 and originally broadcast as part of the Bunka Hoso radio show.
Both drama CDs are
out-of-print
__NOTOC__
An out-of-print (OOP) or out-of-commerce item or work is something that is no longer being published. The term applies to all types of printed matter, visual media, sound recordings, and video recordings. An out-of-print book is a book ...
in Japan.
References
External links
*
*
*
*
*
{{Kazuki Akane
2000 anime films
2000 fantasy films
Adventure anime and manga
Animated films based on animated series
Bandai Entertainment anime titles
Bones (studio)
Dark fantasy anime and manga
Fantasy adventure films
Funimation
Japanese fantasy films
Japanese animated fantasy films
2000s Japanese-language films
Films scored by Inon Zur
Films set on fictional planets
The Vision of Escaflowne
Japanese adult animated films