The Vision of Escaflowne

Gaea is an alternate world that was created from the combined wishes of the inhabitants of Atlantis when it started to sink into the ocean. On Gaea, Earth is known as the Mystic Moon. Gaea's size, mass, atmospheric composition, temperature belts, and even seasons are the same as Earth's. The series focuses on Hitomi Kanzaki and her adventures after she is transported to the world of Gaea, a mysterious planet where she can see Earth and its moon in the sky. Hitomi's latent psychic powers are enhanced on Gaea and she quickly becomes embroiled in the conflicts between the Zaibach Empire led by Emperor Isaac Dornkirk and the several peaceful countries that surround it. The conflicts are brought about by the Zaibach Empire's quest to revive the legendary power from the ancient city of Atlantis. As the series progresses, many of the characters' pasts and motivations, as well as the history of Atlantis and the true nature of the planet Gaea, are revealed. ==Production==

Shoji Kawamori first proposed the series after a trip to Nepal, during which he visited the foggy mountain region and pictured a hidden world where an epic focusing on both fate and destiny should be set. When he returned, he proposed the series to Bandai Visual and Sunrise. According to Kawamori, his pitch for the series was simple: "if Macross was robotic mecha and love songs, why not a story about robotic mecha and divining powers?". However the director disputes this in a Panel Q&A for Funimation's Kickstarter, where he states the series was always supposed to be 26 episodes. This is clarified by Shoji Kawamori in the Special Edition Booklet for Escaflowne, in which he states the original pitch was 39 episodes in 1990, but this version never went into production, it was also radically different in concept and tone. The production really began in 1994 where the show solidified its fantasy aspects and the final format., In an interview during this time Kawamori had said he was unsure what form Escaflowne would take, but eventually it was set on a 26 episode TV anime. In the retail Japanese video release, some of the extended scenes were restored to the first seven episodes. ==Media==

Anime The Vision of Escaflowne premiered in Japan on TV Tokyo on April 2, 1996, where it aired weekly until it completed its twenty-six-episode run on September 24, 1996. In August 2000, Fox Kids Network began broadcasting the series in the United States. Produced by Saban Entertainment under license by Bandai Entertainment, these dubbed episodes were heavily edited to remove footage, add new "flashback" sequences to remind the audience of the events that just occurred, and to heavily downplay the role of Hitomi in the series. The first episode was skipped altogether, and the series soundtrack produced by Yoko Kanno was partially replaced with more techno rearrangements by Inon Zur. This modified version of the series was canceled after ten episodes due to "low ratings". The Canadian television channel YTV acquired Fox's dubbed version of the series for broadcast. Following Fox's planned broadcast schedule, they premiered the series on September 11, 2000, with the second episode. YTV aired all of the episodes Fox Kids dubbed, concluding with the series true first episode in February 2001. Bandai began releasing the dubbed version to VHS in 2000, discontinuing the releases in February 2001 after only four volumes had been released. Bandai later released the entire series, unedited and in the original episode order, to Region 1 DVD. Spanning eight volumes, the releases include the original Japanese audio tracks with optional English subtitles, and the uncut English dubbed track. Bandai also later released the series in several different box sets, including a Limited Edition set released on July 23, 2002, a "Perfect Collection"—which included the Escaflowne feature-length movie—released October 26, 2004, and an "Anime Legends" box set on April 11, 2006. At Otakon 2013, Funimation (later Crunchyroll, LLC) had announced that they have acquired both licenses to The Vision of Escaflowne and the movie. On February 27, 2016, Funimation launched a Kickstarter campaign to re-dub the Escaflowne TV series using the HD materials from Sunrise, with the goal of $150,000, with it raising over the goal at $318,784. Three pieces of theme music are used for the series. , performed by Maaya Sakamoto, is used for the series opening theme for the entire series, except the first episode in which no opening sequence is used. Performed by Hiroki Wada, "Mystic Eyes" is used for the ending theme for the first twenty-five episodes, while the final episode uses Yoko Kanno's instrumental piece . In the United Kingdom and Ireland, the series was made available in its Funimation dub on Channel 4 via All 4. From November 2022 to January 2024, the series streamed on ITV Hub, along with its successor platform, ITVX. A Blu-ray box set containing all 26 episodes of the television anime and the theatrical film will be released in Japan on March 25, 2026, to mark the thirtieth anniversary of the TV anime's broadcast and the twenty-fifth anniversary of the film's theatrical release. The outer box will feature a newly drawn illustration by Kimitoshi Yamane. The second CD, Escaflowne Original Soundtrack 2, was released on July 24, 1996, and contained an additional seventeen tracks. Released on September 28, 1996, Escaflowne Original Soundtrack 3 contained an additional fifteen tracks. The fourth CD soundtrack, The Vision of Escaflowne: Lovers Only, was released in on January 22, 1997, and contained twenty tracks, including the original TV length opening and ending themes and the ending theme used for the final episode of the series. Despite the relative popularity of the soundtracks, they were not licensed for release outside Japan for some time and were only available by importing them. However, all 4 soundtracks can now be currently purchased digitally via iTunes. Manga Three alternate retellings of The Vision of Escaflowne have been released in manga form, with first two manga series developed at the same time as the anime. Due to the radical changes in the anime series during production, these two manga series are very different from the original anime series and each other. The first series, also titled The Vision of Escaflowne was one of the first manga series to appear in the then new Shōnen Ace magazine from Kadokawa Shoten. Despite the anime series itself being on hold, Sunrise gave artist Katsu Aki the existing production and character designs, resulting in the first series having the heavy manga feel and curvaceous Hitomi that was originally planned for the anime series. The Tokyopop English editions were also imported for distribution in Australia by Madman Entertainment. In 1996, with the premiere of the anime series, Messiah Knight — The Vision of Escaflowne was created. In the film the world of Gaea has a more Asian design than the heavily European-influenced television series. A video game based on the series, also titled The Vision of Escaflowne was released to the PlayStation system by Bandai Games in 1997. A limited-edition version came packaged with a small collector's book and 26 tarot cards. The action-adventure game had an altered plot line and featured additional characters. ==Reception==

Though well received, The Vision of Escaflowne was not as popular in Japan as producers hoped. Outside Japan, however, it was a worldwide hit. The series aired in South Korea where it enjoyed consistently high ratings. ==References==