We’ve talked about The Vision of Escaflowne a few times here at Geek & Sundry. We keep singing its praises for a reason. No. Make that many, many reasons. Frankly, it’s one of the greatest anime series of all time. Of. All. Time.
The show is a 26 episode fantasy-adventure about Hitomi, a teen girl who has the power to predict the future as well as control a powerful machine called Escaflowne. Hitomi has a vision of a boy named Van battling a dragon. The vision becomes reality, and Van takes her back to his world of Gaea to help him win his battle against the Zaibach Empire–which may or may not be led by evil Sir Isaac Newton. The secondary villain is Van’s super hot, David Bowiesque brother Folken. Behold movie Folken. Behold him!
There are twists and turns, excitement and romance, cat girls, giant robots, and holy cow, Yoko Kanno’s amazing musical score. The Vision of Escaflowne is one of the most revered series in the history of anime. It just has one flaw: the dub kinda sucked. A lot.
But now FUNimation celebrating epic series’ 20th anniversary with a brand new dub by teaming up with Sunrise and the show’s original creators to create the definitive Escaflowne experience. The original English dub, aside from not having the greatest acting, cut out several scenes. The new dub will be uncut and match the original Japanese version. Directing the dub will be none other than industry veteran Sonny Strait, whose directing credits include Fullmetal Alchemist, Ouran Highschool Host Club, and parts of Dragonball Z.
Also, the re-release will be in glorious HD!
Image credit: NBC
But wait, it gets better. They’re also going to re-release the Escaflowne movie, a film that frankly makes little sense on its own, but has some beautiful animation and the best soundtrack in the history of ever (in my opinion). I already own both series, but I intend to spend whatever money I make writing this article to purchase this 20th anniversary bundle of anime glory.
By now, you’re probably wondering just who will be in the cast for this epic undertaking? FUNimation has released some preliminary names:
Van – Aaron Dismuke
Hitomi – Caitlin Glass
Merle – Alexis Tipton
Allen – Sonny Strait
Millerna – Colleen Clinkenbeard
Dryden – Eric Vale
Dilandau – Joel McDonald
Folken – Vic Mignogna
Eriya – Felecia Angelle
Naria – Michelle Rojas
Emperor Dornkirk – Jeremy Schwartz
Balgus – Chris Guerrero
Prince Chid – Bryn Apprill
Shesta – Chris Cason
Jajuka – Chuck Hüber
Gaddess – Ian Sinclair
The Vision of Escaflowne returns on Blu-ray/DVD combo this fall. Screening party at my place!
Are you excited as we are about this? Share your thoughts in the comments!
Featured image credit: Bandai