Escaflowne episodes 24-26 (end)
Jul. 24th, 2006 10:17 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kate_nepveuFinished Vision of Escaflowne over the weekend. Spoilers behind the cut.
Well, that was strange.
I'm really not the person to be impressed by a love-conquers-all ending, at least not such a woo-woo version. And Dornkirk's plan to end war was . . . to grant everyone's wishes? What made him think that would work? (Not to mention that it apparently didn't so much grant people's wishes as remove their inhibitions about trying to achieve their wishes, else there would have been, I dunno, multiple worlds where each country was on top, instead of just a lot of fighting.)
Or, perhaps it's unrequited-love-conquers-all, since the next time we see Van and Hitomi, it's apparently been decided that they must part forever. Why, I'm not sure; sure, Hitomi has a mom back on Earth, but they could have the solar system's longest long-distance relationship. (It's a bit odd, the way the series very resolutely ends with no romantic pairings (except Hitomi's two Earth friends). Nice, in a way, for not forcing it, but considering the love-conquers-all, odd.)
I wasn't expecting all that with Dilandau, but I think that's because no-one had hinted to me that there was a big reveal with him, for which I thank you all. I'm going to agree with the comments I've seen that it would have been much more interesting if it had come earlier; I think the point was supposed to be that even the most awful person wasn't intrinsically Eeeeevil, but it came and went so fast it was hard to tell.
It's really too bad that the series length was chopped in pre-production from 39 to 26 episodes, because it would really have benefited from the extra time, especially toward the end.
Random things:
- Everyone but me hates Merle. I didn't mind her, and was actually impressed when she tells Van how to get Hitomi back somewhere in the last few episodes.
- Everyone but me loves Folken. He got on my nerves all the way until the end. Sorry.
- Was the allied-country's secret weapon meant to literally be an atomic bomb, or just an obvious stand-in?
- The "don't grow to depend on others" theme came and went pretty fast, too.
Umm, I think that was about it.
Thanks again to ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif){kind=small}
yhlee for loaning us the discs to get started on this.
no subject
Date: 2006-07-25 01:42 pm (UTC)Chad's been eyeing the, err, the space opera that isn't _Crest of Stars_ that you lent us, so we may try that next. And if you need any of those back, just yell--I know we've had them for a ridiculously long time.
Escaflowne...
Date: 2006-07-25 02:49 pm (UTC)Well, that was strange.
I'm really not the person to be impressed by a love-conquers-all ending, at least not such a woo-woo version. And Dornkirk's plan to end war was . . . to grant everyone's wishes? What made him think that would work?
Not exactly. Dornkirk (i.e., Sir Isaac Newton)'s plan was to engineer a perfect fate -- to make the ideal come true. The problem was that the power of the fate engine was not controllable at that point. This was what eventually destroyed Atlantis. Note that Hitomi's use of that power had good and bad consequences. It was a power that should be used very sparingly. What Dornkirk/Newton did was treat it as a power no different than gravity or electricity, when it's a power linked to the living souls around you.
(Not to mention that it apparently didn't so much grant people's wishes as remove their inhibitions about trying to achieve their wishes, else there would have been, I dunno, multiple worlds where each country was on top, instead of just a lot of fighting.)
It's changing FATE -- think of it as a probability alteration device. The problem is that in its ultimate form what it was doing was granting people the ability to fulfill their dreams by their actions. But dreams being often contradictory, this led to chaos and destruction rather than the perfection Dornkirk expected. His visualization was limited by his own mind, and he wasn't able to see (as Mentor of Arisia might have, for instance) that this power, fully used, would be destructive.
We've actually seen something VERY like this before in SF; Dornkirk was Professor Morbius, and the Fate Alteration technology the machine of the Krell from Forbidden Planet; it's just that EVERYONE became a little Creature of the Id rather than creating some disembodied monster.
Or, perhaps it's unrequited-love-conquers-all, since the next time we see Van and Hitomi, it's apparently been decided that they must part forever. Why, I'm not sure; sure, Hitomi has a mom back on Earth, but they could have the solar system's longest long-distance relationship. (It's a bit odd, the way the series very resolutely ends with no romantic pairings (except Hitomi's two Earth friends). Nice, in a way, for not forcing it, but considering the love-conquers-all, odd.)
It's not really love conquers all, but rather Choice Conquers Fate. That we must make our own choices.
I believe that they are not separated at all; instead, I think Hitomi simply went home to see if Gaea is really what she wants. When she's graduated from school, Van will return for her.
I wasn't expecting all that with Dilandau, but I think that's because no-one had hinted to me that there was a big reveal with him, for which I thank you all. I'm going to agree with the comments I've seen that it would have been much more interesting if it had come earlier; I think the point was supposed to be that even the most awful person wasn't intrinsically Eeeeevil, but it came and went so fast it was hard to tell.
It was more a matter of everyone has things about them that you don't know. Allen's sister being missing mysteriously had been actually a recurring theme throughout the series. Looking carefully at the faces one could come to the conclusion earlier than it's revealed.
It's really too bad that the series length was chopped in pre-production from 39 to 26 episodes, because it would really have benefited from the extra time, especially toward the end.
I would not object to anything that would have increased the length of Escaflowne.
**DAMN COMMENT LENGTH LIMITS... Continued...**
Re: Escaflowne...
Date: 2006-07-25 10:58 pm (UTC)I heard the ghost-Emperor saying, as Van breaks the machine and he and Hitomi fly off, "this love they have for each other . . . does it surpass that fate of war which is borne of man?" Sounds like love-conquers-all to me.
But it's apparent that you're much more enamoured of the series than I am, and so perhaps I'm not giving it enough credit.
Escaflowne reply Part II
Date: 2006-07-25 02:50 pm (UTC)Note that it had TWO separate manga versions -- one shoujo, one shonen -- and neither was as good as the version on the screen.
DO NOT SEE THE MOVIE.
Random things:
* Everyone but me hates Merle. I didn't mind her, and was actually impressed when she tells Van how to get Hitomi back somewhere in the last few episodes.
Most people I know hate Merle in the first few eps, but warmed up to her later. I know few people who hate her at the end. Usually they feel sorry for her.
* Everyone but me loves Folken. He got on my nerves all the way until the end. Sorry.
I feel sorry for Folken, but he was not very likeable. Compared to Mr. Psycho, of course, he was positively warm and huggy.
* Was the allied-country's secret weapon meant to literally be an atomic bomb, or just an obvious stand-in?
It's the EQUIVALENT of an atomic bomb, but using the mystical tech they have instead of ours. Whether it's actually using plutonium or something completely different we don't know.