hamletsmage

Let me start out by saying I rather liked Escaflowne, despite some of the harsh criticism I will probably give it. The characters and the adventure of it all were enough for me to overlook some of the minor flaws. Overall, I'd give it about a 8/10, for being an enjoyable and an interesting anime. 

Story: (6/10)

While some may protest, this is one of the weaker points of this anime. For one, the plot shakes a bit, especially towards the end. The plot twist involving someone's sister was so convoluted, I had to watch the episode twice to comprehend. The main point of the plot is that certain characters have world-altering mental strength tied to their very human emotions. One of these characters is a teenage girl. Off the bat, this is a bad idea. The land of Gaia is magical, and has an old world charm that is only broken by the use of giant mecha. Why? Because it's Sunrise, and they have to have mecha. The rest of the plot it taken up by the love triangle that really isn't a triangle because it involves most of the main cast in some way.   Still, the story line was enjoyable and always kept me guessing. 

Animation: (7/10)

Perhaps it was the streaming video player I was using, or perhaps my computer screen was a bit dimmer than I thought. In any case, several of the fight scenes were held on dark backdrops. My guess is this was done to add the horror of battle effect; it sadly failed to impress me. However, the rest of the anime was done beautifully, and is quality befitting the later half of the 1990's.

Sound: (8/10) 

Imagine a fight scene between two mechs, and in the background, Gregorian Monks are chanting the name of the main mech. That is pretty much the entire soundtrack to Escaflowne. the only reason I am giving the sound a higher rating is because of the opening and ending songs, which were both beautifully done. 

Characters: (8/10) 

The characters were probably the best part about this anime. The cast was colorful and intriguing. I would have liked to see some of the characters get more screen time, but such is the way of life. The background stories for the main characters provides them with wide emotional ranges. And since the plot is thickly set in the power of emotions, that's obviously necessary. The characters are flawed, and they have their secrets. They appealed to my empathy.