Escaflowne The Movie DVD

Hitomi Kanzaki is in crisis. Her life feels hollow, her dreams are plagued by darkness, and she wants nothing more than to simply disappear. But the world has other plans — she is mysteriously summoned to Gaea, a realm on the brink of destruction, where the people believe she is the Wing Goddess: a prophesied figure whose heart holds the power to call upon Escaflowne, an ancient dragon armor of terrible and awesome power. There she finds Van, the brooding sole survivor of the White Dragon Clan, consumed by vengeance against the Black Dragon Clan that annihilated his kingdom. Together, their fates intertwine as Escaflowne awakens — and with it, a force that could bring Gaea either salvation or total ruin.

The Escaflowne film is a bold, darker reimagining of the beloved TV series, stripped of its episodic romance and rebuilt as a sweeping, atmospheric dark fantasy. Produced by Sunrise and animated by studio Bones in their very first feature film production, the movie features stunning, more mature character designs by Nobuteru Yuki and another breathtaking score by Yoko Kanno and Hajime Mizoguchi — widely considered among the finest anime film soundtracks ever composed. While it takes significant creative liberties with the source material, the film stands powerfully on its own as a visually gorgeous and emotionally intense experience. It premiered theatrically in North America in January 2002 and was released to DVD by Bandai Entertainment later that year.

Notable Staff & Voice Talent

Director: Kazuki Akane (The Vision of Escaflowne, Noein)
Original Creator: Shoji Kawamori (Macross, Arjuna)
Character Design: Nobuteru Yuki (Record of Lodoss War, X/1999)
Mechanical Design: Kimitoshi Yamane
Screenplay: Ryota Yamaguchi
Studio: Sunrise / Bones
Music: Yoko Kanno & Hajime Mizoguchi

Cast:
- Maaya Sakamoto as Hitomi Kanzaki
- Tomokazu Seki as Van Fanel
- Shin'ichiro Miki as Allen Schezar
- Joji Nakata as Folken
- Minami Takayama as Dilandau

DVD Features

- Overlapping Realtime Storyboards
- Isolated Score Audio Track
- Production Art Gallery
- Staff & Cast Interviews
- Escaflowne Premiere Event Footage
- Theatrical Trailers
- Exclusive Musical Performance by Maaya Sakamoto
- Theatrical Poster Gallery

Spoken Languages: English & Japanese Audio, English Subtitles

Edition Details

Japanese Title: エスカフローネ (Esukafurōne)
Runtime: ~98 Minutes
Director: Kazuki Akane
DVD Release Year: 2002 (U.S. Release)
Original Release Date (Japan): June 24, 2000
Publisher: Bandai Entertainment
Rating: PG-13
Region: Region 1 (U.S. / Canada)
Genre: Dark Fantasy, Mecha, Romance, Action
Themes: Fate & Destiny, War, Grief, Redemption, Ancient Power

Media assumed VG+ unless otherwise noted.