The Vision of Escaflowne

Episode 3-4

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The Vision of Escaflowne ?

Community score: 4.7

While there are a lot of really impressive elements of The Vision of Escaflowne, one that struck me a lot during these two episodes was the fact that both Van and Hitomi act their ages. They're teenagers, which means that they're technically still children, and we can absolutely see that. Van especially puts on a good show – which he has to; no matter what's going on, he was still crowned king and he's been working towards that ever since his brother vanished – but his body language and facial expressions give the lie to his maturity. Allen is especially good at helping to highlight this: as a leader of his own people, he's clearly in charge, while Van relied on his retainers. Most of the time, Allen's responses and actions reduce Van to a quivering mass of barely repressed indignation. At this point Van's only marginally jealous of Allen and Hitomi's interactions (that kiss on the cheek was a bit more than he could handle), but what really sticks in his craw is the way that Allen is a competent, trusted leader – something Van barely had a chance to attempt. Merle showing up is clearly a relief for him, because it put him back on solid ground; she's someone he's known for a long time and he can lean on that for support, even as the world keeps falling apart around him.

Hitomi, meanwhile, is also trying her level best to maintain her equilibrium. In her it comes out differently – when she meets Allen, who (the show tells us) bears a striking resemblance to her beloved Amano-sempai, it's easy to just fall back into her familiar crush. It's something of an escape for her; while she probably really does find him attractive, it's more that “liking” him is something she knows, and like Merle's worship of Van props him up, her crush on Allen/Amano functions as a raft she can cling to in turbulent waters. It's a little piece of normal, and she desperately needs that. What's more interesting, however, is that when Hitomi's in trouble or missing life on Earth, the person she calls out for isn't Amano or Yukari, it's her mom. The scene where the mole man scares her (and I'm still not 100% sure of his motive) and she screams for her mother to save her is one of the most realistic teenage reactions I've seen in anime: she's a kid and Mom is still the all-powerful savior. Crushes are fine, but really, when things get tough, the tough call for Mommy.

Plot-wise, these episodes introduce us to three important characters: Allen, Dilandau, and Folken. You may remember Folken as Van's older brother who ran away; well, Dilandau's the guy he allied himself with and who destroyed Fanelia. Yes, Dilandau and his group of wide-eyed flunkies (I remember my sister and I referring to them as “the Quatre Squad” because we were watching Gundam Wing at the same time) may have burned Van's country to the ground, but it was at the behest of his older brother. Those are some heavy family politics, and while Folken's reasons aren't yet clear, I have to wonder if the tear tattooed on his face is a symbol of him being sad about who and what he's become, and the destruction he's facilitating.

Dilandau has, at this point, no such depth. He comes across in the moment as totally unhinged, delighted to carry out orders of destruction, and only angry when those plans are less than fully implemented. Clearly there's got to be more going on with him, because this show is too detailed in all other aspects to just leave him as a madly laughing mustache-twirling bad guy. But that's just what he is in these two episodes, and honestly, it's kind of nice to have someone we can hate because the war and destruction is just so wanton.

In that respect, this is still a little difficult to watch. It's fantasy with teeth, and every fight is clearly one for someone's life – and as we saw in the first two episodes, they aren't always won. In fact, Van and now Allen have lost more battles than they've won, which can be a little disheartening. On the plus side, they should be learning to listen to Hitomi, whose powers with the Tarot cards Van callously dismissed. She's filling a Cassandra of Troy role right now, and that's almost as bad as watching people die at the hands of Dilandau and his henchmen, because if they'd just listen to her, the toll wouldn't be as high.

Cry, Trojans, cry, indeed.

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The Vision of Escaflowne is currently streaming on Funimation.