EscaflowneReviews

Escaflowne Ep. 17: The Edge of the World

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Summary

As the Crusade disappears, Naria and Eriya land on the ground nearby. Folken says there is no entrance to the Mystic Valley, so they should stay there. The Crusade arrives in the Mystic Valley, transported through a large ring-like structure. The Mystic Valley appears to be the capital of Atlantis. Suddenly, Hitomi vanishes from the Crusade, and Allen and Van soon vanish as well. Merle, Millerna and the others see Hitomi down on the ground and head there. Hitomi remembers the Atlantis landscape from before when Van had nearly died. Van finds himself in the ruins of Fanelia. A feather drops beside him and he realizes where he is. He sees his mother behind him. Allen stands in a field, like that where he grew up. He sees his sister Celena behind him, but she quickly vanishes. Suddenly, the house where he grew up in appears in front of him. Hitomi arrives at a monument as everyone finds her. Hitomi somehow is able to read the writing on it. She talks about the Draconians, descendants of Atlantis who were born in the capital of Atlantis on the Mystic Moon. Those of Atlantis created an evil machine to surpass the gods that converted people’s desires into power. They created wings on their backs and changed their appearance. However, Atlantis collapses as Hitomi watches. A large group of Atlanteans stand in a Coliseum and hold up pendants exactly like hers. The energy caused from this reaction creates Gaea, a world where the mistakes of Atlantis can be prevented. Everyone is in shock to hear this. Hitomi looks at her pendant and hears Leon, who says he gave it to her. Allen stands there as well. Van finds himself in Fanelia, feathers falling from the sky. Suddenly Balgus appears next to him and says not to turn away from fate and fight it. Van says he doesn’t want to fight anymore. Hitomi realizes that Van and Allen are here. Allen stands at his mother’s grave. His father appears again in front of him, and Allen is still upset with him. Leon says his mother, Encia, must be proud of Allen, but Allen tells him that she is dead. Leon starts crying, to the dismay of Allen. Allen says he didn’t love his mother. Van sees ghosts in front of him and screams. Meanwhile, the ringed portal starts glowing strangely. Hitomi holds up her pendant and asks for Van and Allen to return to them and for them to be able to leave the Mystic Valley. Suddenly, Varie appears in front of her and says she shouldn’t make wishes. She says that Hitomi’s anxiety, combined with her wishes is causing such anxieties to become real.

Varie tells Hitomi that her fortune telling is actually determining the future. Hitomi thinks of Balgus’ death, when Allen gets injured, and when Van was mortally wounded. Varie says her anxiety amplified by her fortune telling has caused the worst possible results to happen. Hitomi stands in a snowy landscape and cries. Suddenly, her grandmother appears and tells her to believe in those that she loves. Allen also stands in the snow and watches his injured father walk. Suddenly, a Zaibach vehicle appears in front of him. Leon tells Allen that Zaibach has been pursuing him since he left the Mystic Valley, wanting the power of Atlantis. Leon is surrounded by soldiers and is stabbed. One of the soldiers takes his diary and brings it to ‘Isaac’ Dornkirk who sits inside the vehicle. He notices a page is missing and unable to obtain the information on Atlantis that he desires from it, has the diary left with Leon’s body. Leon barely grasps to life and wishes to see Hitomi’s grandmother once more. Suddenly, the pillar of light appears and Hitomi’s grandmother appears, looking identical as she did when they met years before. Leon says the power of Atlantis is the power of wishes and gives her his pendant. He thinks their wishes will come true no matter how far apart they are. Hitomi’s grandmother returns to Earth in a pillar of light and Leon falls over dead. The diary disappears and appears on a desk in his home. Encia finds it and realizes her husband is dead. Allen realizes that his parents loved each other until the very end. Leon tells Allen he loved his family, but people break away from their fate, which he did. He says he didn’t notice his own wishes. He tells Allen to be true to his wishes and disappears. Suddenly, Hitomi appears in front of Allen and grabs his hand. Allen appears, just a few feet away from the others. Meanwhile outside, Naria and Eriya attempt to enter the Mystic Valley and fly into the ringed portal with their Teirings. Folken is told of it and says it’s dangerous, but they are confident in their fortune. They make it inside the Mystic Valley. The portal shakes as everyone watches. However, Van is still kneeling down, still not wanting to fight. Naria and Eriya appear out of the portal in their Teirings. Escaflowne vanishes from the Crusade and appears behind them, with Van inside the cockpit. Balgus tells Van to break away from the sadness of war by fighting, and he takes out his sword. Hitomi’s grandmother appears once more and tells her to believe in Van, hopefully changing fate for the better. Naria and Eriya are puzzled over what Van’s going to do, sensing that he is different than from before. Van starts heading towards them, saying he’ll accept the karma of war. Van raises Escaflowne’s sword to attack and a pillar of light appears from the portal. The portal cracks and the Floating Fortress along with the two Teirings are swept away. Van and the others appear on the snowy landscape. Van gets out of Escaflowne and his mother appears in front of him. She says his wishes will determine the future of Gaea and flies away, leaving an energist. The crystal on Escaflowne’s chest glows strangely.

Commentary

Like I said in the episode 14 review, it’s hard to have a favorite episode since there are so many great ones, but this is another one of those episodes in the upper echelon of the show. The second episode in a row without any battle, it’s dedicated to solving some of the mysteries of the show, as well as providing further development for the characters. The revelation of the origin of Gaea is an interesting one, as well as the shocking reveal that Hitomi’s wishes have actually been responsible for the bad things that have been happening to them. It was also good to resolve the storyline regarding Allen’s father, which includes a reveal about where Hitomi’s pendant came from. The music that plays during that scene, Perfect World, is one of several vocal tracks that will be played in the second half of the show and is one of my favorites.

Original Review: April 1, 2006

Overall Rating
5/5

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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