Barnes & Noble

A re-interpretation the 1996 TV series seen recently on Fox Kids, Escaflowne: The Movie is an outstanding action-adventure, pure and simple. A bored high school girl named Hitomi finds herself whisked away from her mundane life in Tokyo to a war-torn parallel world called Gaia lorded over by a feudal clan. Turns out Hitomi is the fabled Wing Goddess of prophecy and gets to pilot a robot-like giant suit of living armor called Escaflowne. Whether in Japan or in the West, few anime films have been given the treatment on home video that Escaflowne: The Movie enjoys. For the remarkable Ultimate Edition, a sturdy blue box opens up to reveal three separate, bonus-packed DVDs and a 20-page booklet. The first contains the film itself, along with an isolated score and optional real-time storyboards. The second disc offers a wealth of Escaflowne extras, including a "making of" featurette, an art gallery, and footage from the film's premiere. The third disc affords the original soundtrack. With an expansive package like this, even newcomers will be impressed by the amount of work and depth of creativity involved in bringing such a film to the screen. Fans of the show and film will be in heaven. Volk Lindsay

All Movie Guide

In this animé feature based on the popular Japanese television series, Hitomi is a high school student who is trying to come to terms with a severe case of depression. When her spirits are at their lowest, Hitomi makes a psychic connection with Van, the young king of the nation of Gaia, located on another planet visible in the night sky of Earth. Gaia has been brought to the brink of war by the evil Black Dragon Clan, and, while the nearby nation of Abaharaki wishes to form an alliance with Gaia for their mutual protection, Van is a leader who prefers to act on his own. Hitomi finds herself transported to Gaia, where she becomes a valuable if unlikely ally to Van; as the Black Dragon Clan advances, Van discovers that Hitomi may hold the key to the magical dragon armor of Escaflowne, the weapon that would make Gaia invincible. Escaflowne (also advertised as Escaflowne the Movie: A Girl in Gaia) features Kelly Sheridan as the voice of Hitomi; the voice cast for the American release version also includes Kirby Morrow, Brian Drummond, and Paul Dobson. Mark Deming

Product Details

• UPC: 669198044595
• Source: BANDAI
• Region Code: 1
• Time: 1:36:00