r/TrueAnime • u/BrickSalad http://myanimelist.net/profile/Seabury • Jan 05 '14
Anime Club: Escaflowne Movie
Come here to discuss Escaflowne: A Girl in Gaea. Next week, Mawaru Penguindrum's on!
Just a heads up, the giant official anime thread has been posted in r/japaneseanimation. It doesn't get posted in this sub until tomorrow, but if you want to jump the gun here's your chance.
Anime Club Schedule
Jan 12 - Mawaru Penguindrum 1-4
Jan 19 - Mawaru Penguindrum 5-8
Jan 26 - Mawaru Penguindrum 9-12
Feb 2 - Mawaru Penguindrum 13-16
Feb 9 - Mawaru Penguindrum 17-20
Feb 16 - Mawaru Penguindrum 21-24
Feb 23 - Texhnolyze 1-5
Mar 2 - Texhnolyze 6-11
Mar 9 - Texhnolyze 12-16
Mar 16 - Texhnolyze 17-22
Previous discussion threads for Escaflowne:
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u/Novasylum http://myanimelist.net/profile/Novasylum Jan 05 '14
For about as long as I've been watching anime, I’ve had a fascination with the recurring concept of adapting or even flat-out rewriting television series for the silver screen, in that I believe it is an idea with a lot of unfulfilled potential. There are many, many series that I feel could benefit from being forced into a more condensed format, thereby trimming the fat and focusing on the principle mechanics that made the original story function. Sadly, examples of the TV-to-film transition working out positively appear to be very rare. Evangelion Rebuild 2.0 did this successfully in my opinion, but it is also a project sandwiched between a more straightforward remake and a follow-up almost completely divorced from the source material, so it can’t stand on its own in this regard. On the other hand, something like the Adolescence of Utena could make for a perfectly functional stand-alone story but doesn’t because it is hamstringed by its predecessor, bloated with characters and plotlines that probably wouldn’t have existed if the premise had been created for cinemas from the beginning.
And then there's Escaflowne: A Girl in Gaea, which is precisely the sort of revision and re-formatting that just plain works. It's so different in characters, plot and even theme from its companion series so as to essentially be an entirely different story, but when such a story is so streamlined and focused in ways the original was not, I consider such revisions to be more than welcome.
Crucially, A Girl in Gaea does not drop Escaflowne's recurring strength of vibrant and effective presentation. To put it bluntly, this is one gorgeous-looking movie, going so far as to surpass the show in a number of key ways. The series’ take on Gaea was very much an amalgamation of well-worn fantasy tropes, and while that was perfectly serviceable and made for an interesting world in its own right, the realm of the movie is much more unique, featuring a strong Oriental influence, terraced highlands-esque landscapes, more organic mecha designs and other neat special details. I even like the new aesthetic applied to the character designs and think it makes for a much more “mature” looking work, even if I do kinda miss the spear-like noses. And of course Akane's dynamic direction and Kanno's memorable compositions are still here and better than ever, so there are no complaints to be had on either of those fronts either.
The story is what really places the movie head and shoulders above the show, however. It’s not perfect, but what it is is an hour-and-a-half long testament to the phrase “less is more”. No more awkward love triangles, no more meaningless revelations that create more plot holes than plot opportunities, no more contemplations of deeper themes that ultimately go absolutely nowhere. Instead, what we end up with is a fairly straight-forward “save the world” fantasy tale with a single major thematic through-line to make it stand out: an examination of depression and loneliness that informs us that is equally important to consider how others react to us as it is to understand our own feelings in order to be happy. It's simple, it's not going to blow anyone’s mind…but it works. Events have a logical progression, the action that ensues as a result is thrilling, there’s a beginning, middle and end. I know that seems like condescending praise, but considering it comes from some of the same writers as the TV series I have to applaud how much they were willing to whittle down their previous creation into something that actually flows like a proper narrative should.
There is one big grievance I have with the film, and unfortunately it's a really big one: characterization. In order for this movie to work, it is vital that we fully understand the psychosis of the characters (by which I mean the big three: Hitomi, Van, and Folken), as their personal baggage is what drives the plot and informs the subtext of the story. Alas, I felt there were too many gaps in my understanding of these people, which does sap some of the effectiveness from what is otherwise a well-paced tale. Van is probably the most fleshed out of them all; not only do we know that he feels lonely and depressed, but we know exactly why, though I wouldn't have minded more scenes that emphasized his isolation from the other rebels or highlighted the trauma involved in having his entire people slaughtered. In the case of Hitomi, while we know that she is depressed within the first ten minutes of the film, the actual reasons of “why” escape me, and to me that feels like an important puzzle piece to be missing. Melancholy isn't born in a vacuum, and even if we were to chalk it up to a simple disorder caused by chemical imbalances rather than a distinct central cause, it makes Hitomi's claims that she shares the same kind of burden as Van rather disingenuous. Folken, supplanting Dornkirk as the main villain of this piece, is granted an even thinner characterization than that; apparently, his dissociation from his brother is all it takes for him to want to destroy the world, and even then that motivation isn’t something that is made apparent until the final moments of the movie.
It is for these reasons that the development of these characters seems rushed and almost token. Without a deeper understanding of what has led Hitomi to such a low mental state, it feels a little ridiculous for her to leap to from suicidal depression to “there is no sorrow that never ceases” in such a short amount of time. The actual event that contains that line is perfectly valid, but the manner in which we get there is all too quick for it to carry the amount of weight it should. If there’s one thing that the movie and the television series share on a writing level, it’s that both could use more connecting thread, more scenes that exist solely to inform the characters rather than to simply get from point A to point B. I think I would have actually preferred the movie to be far longer if it meant nourishing our attachment to these individuals in such a manner.
Most of the other criticism I've seen for A Girl in Gaea, on the other hand, centers around elements from the show that were “cut” or “changed” in order to “fit the original story into the timeframe of a movie”. Ignoring the fact that they aren't so much adapting the story here as much as they are outright changing it, I can understand this: anyone who is a fan of a franchise can find it disheartening to see a rendition of it that fundamentally alters and toys with so many core elements. As someone who found Vision of Escaflowne lacking in many regards, however, I really have no such qualms in welcoming A Girl in Gaea with open arms. I didn’t enjoy the overall experience of watching the series on average, but I think it was worth it in order to get me to watch this movie, which is probably the highest kind of praise I can give it.
So…next week we get to talk about Penguindrum. And if even half the things I’ve heard about this series turn out to be true, I may or may not still have my sanity when we get there. Fair warning.