SPOILERFREE This review was originally written in July 2021 published as a YouTube video on my channel. In an ideal world youd be able to make a piece of entertainment exactly as you would want with no worries about meeting deadlines budgetary issues or any other similar limitations. Unfortunately the real world has so rarely afforded that opportunity. Its not unheard of for a director or creative team to be told that because of varying circumstances they must either limit their productivity or be told that their resources have been cut off in some way. Its cruel but thats sadly the reality of show business sometimes. Vision of Escaflowne was one such show where I actually knew in advance the forced expectations upon it. Originally slated to last for thirtynine episodes its budget got cut so that the episode total ended up being reduced from thirtynine to twentysix. Taking such a giant slice out of the shows runtime presents some obvious difficulties upfront such as worrying about the story progressing too quickly and therefore by extension having moments land with far less impact than one might hope. Regardless a show is not to be judged based on what happened behind the scenes it is what we got in the end that matters warts and all. Kanzaki Hitomi a fortunetelling girl on a high school track team has a crush on a boy named Susumu Amano. One day she asks him to give her her first kiss if she can complete a sprint in a certain time. Before she can complete the challenge a portal to another world opens with a boy and a dragon coming through and battling each other. Hitomi has a macabre premonition about the dragon killing the boy and uses that to help the boy named Van kill the dragon instead. After that she and Van are pulled through another portal to Vans home world Gaea where both the moon and Earth are in the sky. While on Gaea Hitomi and Van find themselves dragged into a largescale military conflict that will cross magic mechs and swords with the Zaibach Empire. At the center are the mysterious Dornkirk and Folken of Zaibach while Hitomi Van their friends and allies and Vans mech Escaflowne resist them. The overall conflict takes place in a war but the series is not dominated by action. In part because the story had to be compacted and the actual plot left largely unchanged if theres no action going on then theres romance to develop No romance going on? Theres political gamesmanship at play No political gamesmanship at play? Theres mythology to explore No mythology to explore? Theres Folken and Dornkirk wondering what to do next. Vision of Escaflowne rarely sits down twiddling its thumbs there is always something happening in the story even in its slower moments. Because of the nature by which all the elements factor into one another each event that occurs carries with it importance and consequences for both the heroes and the villains. And the heroes and villains together make for a wonderful blend of personalities and motivations. Both Vans allies and the Zaibach Empire feature many characters that come across as either welldeveloped or having strong enough personalities to carry their scenes and the overall narrative. Therefore most characters and their roles are fascinating to see unfold. Dilandau is a wonderfullysadistic character Folken is mysterious and Allen throws some great wrenches into the political and romantic aspects. Merle might stand out as the only character in the series who I can honestly say that I didnt like too much with her attachment to Van and antagonistic attitude towards Hitomi getting tiresome early. Thankfully her actual role in the military conflict is pretty inconsequential so when things get particularly hairraising shes not too much of a bother. The story in Vision of Escaflowne revolves around the shows main theme of destiny which while in and of itself is nothing new is given a refreshing shift in how fate actually factors into the plot. Headed by Dornkirk the Zaibach Empires main goal lies in using its unusual Destiny Prognostication Engine and other similar devices working towards a future where there is no more war on Gaea no matter how many people or cities need to be destroyed in order to achieve that end. As a gifted fortuneteller on Earth Hitomis capabilities translate to using her pendulum tarot cards and prophesizing to foresee consequences often dire ones. The series thus frames its military conflict against these two competing vehicles for changing fate. The actions taken by each side either consciously or unconsciously seek to create what they each perceive as a better future. As the series goes on and we eventually begin to understand precisely how fate is impacted by the characters deeds and thoughts it makes for a compelling drama. Its because Hitomis powers are intimately tied to the conflict that she is thankfully a main protagonist who gets involved rather than simply being a damsel in distress. Because she keeps seeing visions of death or destruction she takes an active role in helping Van and the citizens of Gaea survive Zaibachs assaults. When Van is fighting with Escaflowne against the other mechs called Guymelefs she is sometimes right there by his side aiding him or has done something that gives Van more of a fighting chance. Not to mention that there are times where she doesnt put up with anyones attitude which was so satisfying to see. Even one of her earlier defining traits gets referenced on occasion her abilities as a runner come in handy with one seriouslyepic moment of her jumping across a giant chasm in a horriblyunderappreciated scene for a female anime character. Such moments are not limited to Hitomi but are also shared throughout the series with its action scenes. The mid90s aesthetic might move and appear rougher compared to the moremodern sakuga but the overall sense of tension and thrills permeate. Watching Escaflowne slash its way through enemies was always great to see and the series does not relent on showing some violent moments that while bloody never cross the line into gratuitousness. The music that plays throughout the anime both during the action scenes and outside of them was brilliantly handled with a plethora of styles utilized. The Escaflowne chant was delightfully haunting while some battle music excellently enhances the weight of each encounter. As much as I loved Vision of Escaflowne it does have one noteworthy issue throughout the course of this review Ive made it seem like a show that managed to overcome the difficulties imposed with the budget cuts and reduced episode count. The drama though dense in its compressed timeframe never felt like it got out of hand as learning more about the world of Gaea and the characters personally mythologically and militaristically never tired me out. A combination of both short skirmishes and longer moregrueling battles gave variety to the pace. In brief I felt that most of the show was not terribly impacted by the reductions. But unfortunately it is not true for the ending. While the show may not necessarily add new plot threads that need to be resolved at the lastminute there are still a few too many left to tie up. With only two episodes to get it done the series hits fastforward by having some of the final events and revelations come far too quickly and breeze by leaving the show frenetic in its climax and resolution. For this particular time however it did not bother me nearly as much as it potentially could have. Though rushed it does serve as a worthwhile thematic conclusion to the series bringing into perspective some of the overarching themes the series was attempting to convey and even still managed to pull off some great portions nonetheless. As much as the ending might potentially come off as hokey it was not nearly as infuriating for me as it possibly could have been. Your mileage will mostdefinitely vary on whether the rushed ending will cause the previous twentyfour episodes to feel like a waste of buildup and truthfully I fault no one for saying that it spoiled their enjoyment of the show. Ill let you judge for yourself but it was something too important to go unmentioned. Vision of Escaflowne takes the numerous features of the fantastical and weaves them together into a slow but always moving tale. If the isekai genre has tired you out I would consider putting this series on your list. By dispensing with the usual power fantasy and taking so much time to create imperfect characters engaging battles political intrigue and magical elements it moves with a level of escalating grace that injects life into the story. It may somewhat botch the ending and not answer every lingering question but even in its stumble I can largely forgive it for providing a wealth of fantastic moments such that it left me ultimately satisfied with the overall experience. One final note to bring up while I dont normally comment on something like this I recommend avoiding the original English dub of the show. It has not aged well. To get the most out of the experience see either the morerecent Funimation dub or the subtitled version.