EscaflowneReviews

Escaflowne Ep. 10: The Blue Eyed Prince

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Summary

The crewmembers of the Crusade all worry about whether Allen will make it out alive or not. Millerna comes in the room and tells them that the operation was successful, and she faints from stress. The Crusade arrives at Godashim, capital of Freid. The crew have easy access to the country because Millerna’s elder sister Marlene married the King of Freid years ago. She died of illness three years ago, leaving the Prince of Freid, Chid. Millerna, Gaddes and Van go to see Chid in the throne room, and Chid welcomes them to Freid. He says his father, the Duke, is away but will be back soon. Chid is anxious to see Allen Schezar, having been told many stories about him by his mother and asks if Van is him. An advisor named Voris tells Chid that this is Van, King of Fanelia. Chid apologizes for his behavior and welcomes him to Freid. They go and see Allen, who hasn’t fully recovered yet. Chid is disappointed to see that Allen was injured and says that all his mother told him about Allen must have been false. Allen wakes up to the delight of everyone. Seeing Millerna, he has a vision of Marlene. Millerna introduces Allen to Chid, but as soon as Allen sees Chid’s ring he gets up and tells him that Zaibach will be attacking the country. Van tells Chid how Allen abandoned Asturia to warn Freid. Later, Gaddes and Van talk to Voris. Voris says that they are getting a monk named Plaktu to interrogate their captive, Miguel. In the Vione, Dilandau is confident Miguel won’t reveal anything. Folken however worries because Plaktu has powerful hypnotic abilities. Folken calls for Zongi, and the man appears out of thin air. Zongi is a doppelganger one who can shape shift into anything. Folken tells him his assignment. That night, Hitomi is standing on the balcony when approached by Millerna who gives her back her duffle bag. Millerna says they should be on good terms as she leaves. The ship with Plaktu nears Freid, but Dilandau and Zongi watch from above. Using a Crima Claw, Dilandau shoots Zongi over to the ship and Zongi infiltrates his way in. Meanwhile Millerna talks to Allen, who is still in bed. The next morning, Van talks to Hitomi out in the courtyard, asking her to show him how to see an invisible Guymelef as she has done previously. Meanwhile, Zongi infiltrates Plaktu’s room and kills him, taking his form.

Back in the courtyard, Merle goes and hides and Hitomi tells Van to find her by imagining her in his mind. Van finds himself unable to do it, but Hitomi finds Merle with ease. Chid, who had been watching from afar asks Hitomi how she could do that. Merle taunts Hitomi and they get in a fight. Chid is amazed that Hitomi can read the future and asks if she can do it for him. A guard informs Voris that Plaktu has arrived, and Chid meets with him in the throne room. Plaktu, who is actually Zongi heads downstairs with Voris and hypnotizes him into a trance. Zongi goes to see Miguel, who knows his true identity. Upstairs, Allen asks Millerna to get Hitomi for him. In the dungeon, Miguel tells Zongi how Hitomi was able to see the invisible Alseides in their previous battle. Zongi says he’ll take care of it, but says there’s something he must do to Miguel first. Zongi goes up to Voris and de-hypnotizes him, telling him they can now interrogate Miguel, and Chid joins them. They ask Miguel what he was doing in Freid, and Miguel says that he was looking for an Asturian traitor, Allen Schezar. He says that Allen and Van plotted to attack Freid and overthrow the Asturian monarchy, but Voris and Chid find this hard to believe. Meanwhile, Allen asks Hitomi to read the tarot cards about Miguel. Downstairs, Voris orders the guards to take Allen captive. Hitomi sees in the tarot cards that Zaibach will bring everything to an end. She draws a blank card for Miguel. At that moment, Miguel breaks into the Guymelef hangar and knocks out the guard so he can escape in his Guymelef. Freid guards rush into Allen’s room and take him and Hitomi prisoner, to the shock of them and Millerna. Chid calls Allen a traitor, and they are notified of Miguel’s escape. Miguel steps into the courtyard in his Guymelef, however doesn’t immediately escape to Zongi’s disapproval. Van arrives in Escaflowne to attack him. Since Miguel’s Alseides is damaged he is unable to shoot his crima claws all at once, but he still has the ability to turn invisible, which he does. Van misses due to this and wonders where he is. Miguel stands behind Van, confident that if he defeats Van Dilandau will forgive him for being captured. He decides to focus all the liquid metal into one claw so he can take Van out. However, Van uses the ability Hitomi taught him earlier and realizes that he is behind him. Escaflowne chops off the Guymelef’s arm seconds before it would have killed him. Van then drives Escaflowne’s sword right through the Alseides, destroying it. Miguel stumbles away with an injured leg, but Van is unable to stop him since the Freid melefs arrive and grab hold of Escaflowne. Miguel stumbles into a corner where Zongi strangles him to keep his secret. Hitomi and Allen are held in a cell and Chid walks up to Allen and denounces the respect he previously had for him. Allen asks Chid if he has ever trusted someone with all his heart. Hitomi realizes that there is some kind of bond between Allen and Chid.

Commentary

This episode is rather dull compared to the ones around it, but does lay down some important groundwork for later in the series. With a battle only lasting a minute or so, this episode is almost entirely dedicated to world building and the relationships between characters such as Allen, Chid, Millerna and Hitomi. This episode introduces us to Prince Chid, Zongi, and the country of Freid. Also, this is the first episode that Van attempts to find invisible Guymelefs himself rather than relying solely upon Hitomi. This pays immediate dividends as he is able to defeat Miguel on his own, and will be a big asset to him in future episodes. The scene with Hitomi trying to teach Van is one of the show’s funniest due to the continued animosity between Hitomi and Merle.

Original Review: April 1, 2006

Overall Rating
3/5

Escaflowne Info

Director:
Kazuki Akane

Writer(s):
Shoji Kawamori
Hiroaki Kitajima
Akihiko Inari
Ryota Yamaguchi

Mechanical Designer(s):
Kimitoshi Yamane
Junya Ishigaki
Mahiro Maeda
Koji Sugiura

Character Designer:
Nobuteru Yuki

Musical Composer(s):
Yoko Kanno
Hajime Mizoguchi

Format:
26 episodes

Airdates:
Japan 04.02.1996 – 09.24.1996
U.S. 08.19.2000 – 10.17.2000

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