Finished Escaflowne again. It really is a goddamn crime how thoroughly this series has been memory-holed by history. This honestly should be in every discussion about mecha, isekai and fantasy anime. It is everything I love about fantasy fiction: imaginative, grandiose, operatic and sincere. Gaea feels like a fully fleshed out, living world that exists outside the story and not just for it. In a world full of shitty pandering and cynical cash grabs the series stands head and shoulders above most anime released today.
Hitomi is such a great protagonist: she's just so eminently endearing and good-willed. Relentlessly helpful and empathetic characters can easily slip into boring goody-shoes territory, but the series balances her desire to help with her emotional flaws about perfectly. Her ability to see into the pasts and thoughts of people gives her an ability to empathize with them on a uniquely deep level, which the series really uses to its full effect. In lesser hands this could make her a boring saint who just understands everyone perfectly, but she's not: she's often taken aback and frightened of the pain and darkness she witnesses in people. It's her decision to push through that darkness to reach people at their core that makes her engaging and likeable. I honestly don't know why she isn't talked about more in dicussions about well-done female protagonists: she doesn't fall into the "man with boobs" trope, she isn't made into an emotionally unflappable badass or a violent, cynical warrior. Her true superpower is her empathy and willingness to see the good in everyone. She doesn't come across as naive or stupid, she genuinely believes in people around her that much.
Another balance the series handles perfectly are Hitomi's clairvoyance powers. I love when supernatural abilities are presented as much as a curse as a gift, and this is one of the strongest examples. Her powers are absolutely vital for the story, and save multiple characters' lives throughout the course of it, but they also cause immense distress and take a huge emotional toll on her. The element of her not just seeing the future, but having a hand in guiding it as well is an incredibly creative take, and made even better by being dependent on her emotional state. You really feel the weight of every time she's using her powers, because she's already damaging herself, but could also be guiding everyone around her to disaster. They're also incredibly well woven into the larger story with the revelations about her connection to Gaea through her grandmother, and the surprise nature of her pendant, which in turn connects her personally to Van, Allen and the larger fate of Gaea. It's genuinely masterful storytelling.
The relationship between Van and Hitomi is really well done and engaging. From the initial setup it seems for all the world to be your typical "ooh, will they won't they" type dynamic, but like so many other things in this series it takes a much more interesting direction. Van doesn't see Hitomi as inferior, but treats her as an equal pretty much from the get-go. The moment I always think of when I think how great his characterization is is right in the first episode: Van goes all smug an aristocratic on Hitomi after slaying the dragon, but when she slaps him and breaks down in tears there's a look of instant regret on his face. It's a small moment, literally just a few seconds, but adds so much to him. Van's character arc is also pretty grim when you think about it: in the beginning he has an active distaste for combat, but over the course of the series he's basically forced by circumistance to become more and more bloodthirsty. If you pay attention you can see his demeanor becoming gloomier and quieter over the course of the series from the weight the world forces on his shoulders. It is through Hitomi that he has a final lifeline, and it is she who prevents him from falling into darkness at the end. It is a romance, but it's about so much more than mere attraction: it genuinely feels like they were meant for each other on an almost metaphysical level.
One thing I was always kind of skeeved by was how Allen, after her and Hitomi become an item, suddenly becomes really creepily possessive of her all of a sudden. This man in his mid-twenties (at least) macking on a high schooler is creepy to begin with, but suddenly he's talking about putting her in a "birdcage" and telling her not to go anywhere. It's one of many things where I'm still kind of left scratching my head: I can see several plausible explanations for it, but the series never really elaborates on any of them and kind of post-hoc rationalizes it with Allen seeing his lost sister in her or something. And yeah, I can see Allen having lost her sister so unexpectedly having an effect on wanting to not lose others he loves, but he's been with Hitomi for months and knows her well enough at that point to know that he can't really put a leash on her all of a sudden.
But as is known by anyone who's watched this show, it is hopelessly flawed towards the end. I talked about this previously, but the last 5 episodes or so really are a showcase for trying to shove too much into too brief a runtime. I wouldn't call it unsatisfying exactly: all the characters get satisfying endings and their arcs neatly wrapped up. It's just that so many of those arcs could have had so much more elaboration. Millerna and Dryden's marriage and relationship is basically settled in just a couple of minutes, even though it could have had like 10 times that amount because it's so interesting: he's a rich playboy but genuinely loves her and wants to earn her love instead of just having it handed to him, she's a flighty ditz torn between her feelings and her understanding of her role and responsibilities... you could probably have given a whole episode to just exploring that dynamic. Same goes for Dilandau and Jajuka: we're still getting details of their backstory together in the very last episode. There's tons of interesting drama you could have explored between them, but because of the lack of runtime we mostly get just a few central moments and really interesting implications. The list goes on: the Zaibach generals all have really distinct designs and clear personalities, but they have maybe 10 minutes of screentime in the whole series. There are entire different species of humanoid living on Gaea, but they're only a miniscule part of the story aside from the requisite catgirls Nariya, Eriya and Merle. Escaflowne gets an all new energy source at one point, but I'm not sure it's ever brought up after that. There's just so many interesting story and worldbuilding elements the series gives glimpses of, but simply lacks the time to go into proper detail.
Holy shit, I still find this much to talk about in a series pushing 30, and which I've seen like 5 times at this point?
