History Anime / TheVisionOfEscaflowne

-->'''Hitomi:''' I saw it -- you enjoyed fighting! I don't want you protecting me if this is what it does to you.

* BFS: In an example of TheBigGuy using one, Balgus uses one to take on a group of giant mecha, even parrying the strikes of Guymelef-sized blades and severing mechanical limbs.

* IHaveThisFriend: Between Millerna and Hitomi; Hitomi catches on almost immediately.

* ChekhovsSkill: Hitomi skills as a runner and jumper come in handy a couple of times. [[spoiler:She is fast and resistant enough to be able to run across the city and warn Van of a potentially deadly sneak attack.]]
* ClapYourHandsIfYouBelieve: [[spoiler:The reason why Hitomi's calamitous prophecies come true is that she believes in them. Also, Dornkirk's machine's function is to cause this to happen. [[TooDumbToLive Too bad people want destruction of each other instead of world peace....]]]]

* IHaveThisFriend: Twice, between Millerna and Hitomi; each catches on to the other almost immediately.

* JustBetweenYouAndMe: Let me explain how very evil I am [[IdiotBall in front of the armed guy]]. Of course, [[MyDeathIsJustTheBeginning that was exactly what he was planning for]].

* LetsYouAndHimFight: Van meets Allen when he finds the latter standing over a fainted Hitomi (whom he was about to pick up and carry to safety.) Van draws his sword and charges, [[CurbStompBattle and gets sword-hilt to the stomach and lights out]].

* LuckBasedSearchTechnique: Millerna sits at her late sister's desk and listens to a built-in music box. Then, for no reason, she presses down on the head of one of the mechanical figurines. This causes a secret compartment to open, revealing Marlene's diary.

* AMechByAnyOtherName: On Gaea a mech is called a "Guymelef".

Hitomi Kanzaki (Creator/MaayaSakamoto) is an OrdinaryHighSchoolStudent who reads tarot cards and runs on her school's track team. One day, just as she's about to earn her SacredFirstKiss from her senpai and crush, a dragon appears in a PillarOfLight, closely pursued by a young armored warrior. The warrior, [[WarriorPrince Prince Van Fanel]] (Creator/TomokazuSeki), rescues Hitomi and her friends from the dragon, and takes a power source for his HumongousMecha from the heart of the dead dragon. Another PillarOfLight then appears, whisking Hitomi and Van away to his world, Gaea, where Earth itself hangs in the night sky...

Once there, Hitomi and Van quickly become embroiled in a massive war. Van's kingdom of Fanelia is one of many at war with the sinister [[TheEmpire Zaibach Empire]], whose Emperor Dornkirk (Masato Yamanouchi) seeks to use his probability-altering technology (and army of SchizoTech HumongousMecha known as "Guymelefs" -- or "Melefs" for smaller mechas) to [[TakeOverTheWorld conquer Gaea]] and create a world without uncertainty. The best chance to turn the tide of the war is the mighty Guymelef, the eponymous Escaflowne... which is also the biggest source of uncertainty in Dornkirk's vision of the future.

Curiously, Creator/FoxKids aired the dub of the show around 2000, largely in response to the anime boom at the time. Of course since the show was not exactly kid friendly, it had to be edited a bit. It never fully finished, not even getting halfway before the TV broadcast was cancelled at 8 episodes for low ratings. The edited version played in full on YTV in Canada, with about 2 episodes worth of footage trimmed from the show.

* TwoDVisualsThreeDEffects: Mostly averted, this show was one of the first to make extensive use of computers to aid the animation, but the creators were careful to blend it with the hand-drawn stuff. However, there are a few instances that stick out, such as Zongi's camouflaging.

* AppliedPhlebotinum: Energists and Levistones. There's also [[spoiler:Hitomi's pendant, which turns out to be an Atlantean artifact salvaged by Leon and given to Hitomi's grandmother on his deathbed]].

* BadassNormal: Balgus again. You don't see a lot of people who are able to fight off a giant mecha with just a sword.

* BashBrothers: Nariya and Eriya fight with perfect synchronicity.

* BFS: In an example of TheBigGuy using one, Balgus uses one to take giant mecha headon, even parrying the strikes of Guymelef-sized blades and severing limbs from the mecha.

* BroadStrokes: The manga adaptations take quite a lot of liberties with ''Escaflowne''. You can't even recognize most of them in the shōnen manga; Hitomi has longer dark hair and glasses, just for starters.

* CatGirl: Merle, later Nariya and Eriya.

** In turn, Hitomi isn't just a fortuneteller, she's also a [[spoiler:fortune''maker'' -- she can do everything the machine can do, and between her fortunetelling skills and Atlantean ClapYourHandsIfYouBelieve pendant, she's strong enough to seriously screw with its ability to even ''see'' the futures. When she's close to Van, she does it without even ''thinking'' about it. And that's just when she's ''physically'' close to him; when she feels ''emotionally'' close to him, it's as if such a machine is being used '''[[HoistByHisOwnPetard against them]]''']]. Unfortunately, [[spoiler:until about halfway through the series, she isn't even ''aware'' she's doing this, and even afterwards doesn't realize the PropheticFallacy; she's the third wheel in ''two'' {{Love Triangle}}s(Van/Merle, Allen/Millerna), and after Zaibach whammies her at Allen to decrease her power, she tries to whammy Millerna into an arranged marriage -- this ends up instead ''supercharging'' the fate machine and pretty much enables Zaibach to '''[[CantGetAwayWithNuthin destroy over half of Palas]]''']].
** Played most straight with the [[spoiler:"Intensified Luck Soldiers" Naria and Eriya, who get powered up with "lucky blood" which causes, among other things, weapons fired at them to bend off-course if not ''self destruct'', swords swung at them to veer dramatically off to the side and flying mechs pursuing them to spontaneously power-off and drop out of the sky. Unfortunately for the two of them, that blood proves to be PowerAtAPrice. Especially since Hitomi is inherently ''better'' at pulling that stunt]].

* ChocolateBaby: A very rare inversion of the usual trope is used here. [[spoiler:While it is thought that Prince Chid is the son of the Duke of Fried and Millerna's sister Marlene, it is very obvious both in-universe and out that the Anglo-Saxon-looking Chid looks absolutely ''nothing'' like the duke, who has olive skin and Middle Eastern features. Naturally, Chid isn't his son; he's Allen and Marlene's love child. Unusually, the duke ''knows'' all of this, and keeps on vocally insisting that Chid is his, likely out of love (and avoidance of war). .]]

* CruelAndUnusualDeath: [[spoiler: Dilandau is so angry at Zongi's murder of one of his Dragonslayers that he ''crushes Zongi to death with his Guymelef's hands''.]]

* {{Determinator}}: Van, more so as the war goes on. By the halfway point of the series, silly little factors like "we've already surrendered," "your mech is utterly totaled," or "you're bleeding to death," get in the way of trying to fly straight back to the battlefield on his own two wings.
%%* DisappearedDad: Leon (Allen's dad).
* DistressedDude: Hitomi rescues Van so much he gets frustrated by it.

** Nariya and Eriya, complete with a bit of incestual LesYay.

* GoThroughMe: Merle does this for Van in Episode 15. Notable in the fact that she's ''facing two Guymelefs with only her body''.
* GoodWingsEvilWings: [[spoiler:Folken's wings, unlike Van's or Varie's, turn black. While [[YourDaysAreNumbered the cause of this]] is unrelated to his moral alignment, the FallenAngel imagery is definitely there; Folken performed Fate Alteration experiments on himself.]]

* HistoricalBadassUpgrade: [[spoiler:Sir Isaac Newton]] is an alchemist who uses the power of Atlantis. Also a case of ShownTheirWork, Newton did develop quite a bit of interest in alchemy and the occult in his later years.

* IHaveThisFriend: Millerna and Hitomi; almost as soon as Hitomi says it, Millerna catches on.

* InvisibilityCloak: Zaibach's Guymelefs can turn invisible. It's obviously a big advantage in a fight and Van needs Hitomi to dowse their location to win.

* LightIsNotGood: Arguably. The Draconians look very much like angels, but they're viewed as cursed by most people on Gaea. While it's not so much the case for the remaining Draconians (they're just subject to FantasticRacism), [[spoiler:the [[{{Precursors}} Atlanteans]] they're descended from ''were'' a something of case of this, and their angel wings (which they gave themselves through the use of some [[NeglectfulPrecursors theologically questionable and world-threatening magitek]]) were a product and major indication of their arrogance.]]

* MauveShirt: Gaddes and the other crewmembers of the ''Crusade''. They get just enough characterization to be memorable and survive the series, but remain background characters.
* MaybeEverAfter [[spoiler: Suggested in the very last moments of the TV series. Presuming that Hitomi isn't just hallucinating/imagining seeing Van, the scene suggests that communication between Gaea and Earth is still possible (and, if so, travel may be as well). Whether this is the case lays beyond the purview of official works, though.]]

** Dilandau's guymelef, Alseides, is named after the Alseids, the nymphs found in Greek mythology who live in the groves, springs of rivers, and in meadows -- [[spoiler: which possibly describes Selena's personality, seeing that Allen's flashback has her in a field and she was said to be gentle]]. It's also an IronicName given how it's used by Dilandau to burn cities and to try to impale Van.

* TheMedic: Millerna in the TV series. Note that she's ''not'' a WhiteMagicianGirl, though: she's a normal medicine student.

* MementoMacGuffin: Hitomi's pendant, given to her by her grandmother [[spoiler:which was given to ''her'' by Allen's father, Leon. Yep, turns out that Hitomi isn't the only Kanzaki that's been world-hopping...]].

** [[spoiler: Van and Folken's mother]]. It's not explained in detail what happened to her after she disappeared, though. The implication is that this character is dead.
** Encia Schezar, who [[spoiler:died of a broken heart when her husband died and her daughter disappeared.]]

* MuggleAndMagicalLoveTriangle: Allen, Hitomi, and Van. While Allen may be a MasterSwordsman, he is a muggle to the bone, while Van is a HalfHumanHybrid, descendant of the cursed [[spoiler:Atlantean]] race. Also, Allen appears to be the Gaean counterpart of Amano, Hitomi's high school running coach and first crush, making him a muggle times two. From a Gaean pov, Hitomi; who is from "The Mystic Moon."

%%* ParentalAbandonment: Van, Allen, Folken, Chid.

* PillarOfLight: Transports people from Earth to Gaea and vice-versa as well as around Gaea.

* PrincessesPreferPink: Millerna; Marlene's dresses are a dark shade of pink.

* ProphecyTwist: [[spoiler:Knowing that fortunes on Gaea are [[ClapYourHandsIfYouBelieve influenced by human belief and will]], Hitomi switches out the Tower card (Separation) for the Emperor (Good Fortune) in the Tarot reading of Millerna's impending marriage to Dryden. Turns out that luck was for the ''bad guys'', who crash the wedding and -- thanks to literally supernatural good fortune -- destroy over half of Palas and defeat the Escaflowne with only two mechs]]. Cue Hitomi's cry of MyGodWhatHaveIDone.

* QuirkyMinibossSquad: The Dragonslayers and, once Van completely obliterates them, the CatGirl twins.

* RobotHair: [[SiblingTeam Eriya and Neriya]]'s guymelefs, Teiring. Each has hair in the same colour and style of their pilots'.

* SchoolUniformsAreTheNewBlack: Hitomi wears her school uniform despite being on a completely different world. She ''was'' at school when Van brought her to Gaea, therefore she only had her uniform and her track clothes with her for quite a while. Millerna gives her a new dress, but Hitomi only wears it for one or two episodes, then goes back to her uniform because the dress meets an unfortunate end. When Hitomi's racing to [[spoiler:save Van's life]], she has to rip it. When one of your best skills is running, long skirts are not helpful.

* ShowSomeLeg: Millerna pretends to trip and break her leg in the dungeon where Allen is being kept. She asks the guard to take a look and pulls up her skirt, providing a distraction long enough for him to be knocked out by one of Allen's men.

%%** Nariya and Eriya.
%%** [[spoiler:Van and Folken near the end after the latter's HeelFaceTurn.]]

** [[spoiler: Same thing with Nariya and Eriya, who are [[DemotedToExtra demoted to extras]] in the movie]].

* StandingBetweenTheEnemies: As Van's HumongousMecha is getting [[CurbStompBattle Curb Stomped]] by the leopard twins becaue they're female, Merle runs out and interposes her tiny little self in front of him. The twins back off from delivering the killing stroke because she's a catgirl like them. (We also get a flashback to them doing the same thing as kids.)

* TookALevelInBadass: Poor Van ''has'' to take every level in badass he can if he wants to stop TheEmpire and [[SavingTheWorld save the world]] and slowly becomes an all-out BloodKnight who revels in battles. Needless to say, Hitomi is horrified.
-->'''Hitomi:''' I saw it -- you enjoyed fighting! I don't want your protecting me if this is what it does to you.

* WifeHusbandry: Of the inverted, unreciprocated variety: both Naria and Eriya are in love with Folken, who saved their lives and raised them from about age eight. It's entirely one-sided, though, as Naria notes after [[spoiler:she kisses him]].
* WingedHumanoid: Draconians, [[spoiler:namely Van and Folken, and their Mom]].
* WiseBeyondTheirYears: Prince Chid is mature enough to take on the role of TheWisePrince despite being maybe six years old at most. Much of this is because [[WellDoneSonGuy the pressure the Duke of Freid puts on him]].

----

Hitomi Kanzaki is an OrdinaryHighSchoolStudent who reads tarot cards and runs on her school's track team. One day, just as she's about to earn her SacredFirstKiss from her senpai and crush, a dragon appears in a PillarOfLight, closely pursued by a young armored warrior. The warrior, [[WarriorPrince Prince Van]], rescues Hitomi and her friends from the dragon, and takes a power source for his HumongousMecha from the heart of the dead dragon. Another PillarOfLight then appears, whisking Hitomi and Van away to his world, Gaea, where Earth itself hangs in the night sky...

Once there, Hitomi and Van quickly become embroiled in a massive war. Van's kingdom of Fanelia is one of many at war with the sinister [[TheEmpire Zaibach Empire]], whose Emperor Dornkirk seeks to use his probability-altering technology (and army of SchizoTech HumongousMecha known as "Guymelefs" -- or "Melefs" for smaller mechas) to [[TakeOverTheWorld conquer Gaea]] and create a world without uncertainty. The best chance to turn the tide of the war is the mighty Guymelef, the eponymous Escaflowne... which is also the biggest source of uncertainty in Dornkirk's vision of the future.