hontou ni Stripey Insists Sisters Cry Oniichan Now

Vision of Escaflowne DVD 7: Light and Shadow

Episode 21. Reaction of Fortune: Catgirls' Eriya and Naria's fortune runs out as equal and opposite reactions take place. The younger sister Eriya escapes back to the flying fortress Vione. The latter crash lands but still manages to nab Hitomi who then refuses to escape. Her belief in Naria' innate goodness is reciprocated when she is released. Van goes on a rampage but Eriya stops him from killing Folken; her words also cause Escaflowne to react with Vione's core, destroying the flying fortress. As the catgirls die in his arms, Donkirk gloats about the success of the experiment. This finally convinces Folken that Zaibach's methods are wrong and he escapes in the flying guymelef.

This was all very SUNRISE - the catgirls may have been portrayed as the bad gals but their back story makes them more sympathetic and are still shown to truly care for Folken. And finally it is those bonds of affection and the terrible cost that shatters Folken's loyalty to Donkirk. It's also the first instance of Hitomi taking her grandma's advice - trusting in her feelings and getting a good result.

Episode 22. The Black Winged Angel: The weedy Asturian nobility discuss handing Hitomi over to Zaibach. Van receives a message from the beastmen that Folken is waiting for him in the ruins of Fanelia. Flying there with Hitomi in tow, they are confronted by land dragons and we get the back story of what happened to Folken during his dragonslaying rite. He teaches a Yoda-like lesson to Van; fear and anger do just lead to the Dark Side but also to getting munched on by dragons!

And so the brothers were reunited. Folken was really quite cool and you can see how Van would look up to him and why he was so bitterly disappointed that he disappeared and then turned up serving Zaibach. Also probably one of Joji Nakata's roles that I don't think GIRO GIRO GIRO. There was a particularly surreal scene in Zaibach when one of the big four generals looked at a certain someone looking at a snail. How was that related to the state of Zaibach?

Episode 23. Storm Premonition: Returning to Asturia, Folken convinces the other countries of Zaibach's hostile intentions and an alliance is formed. Relations between Van and Folken remain tense and Folken's alteration still stings in the Hitomi rabu triangle. Zaibach launches a pre-emptive strike on the alliance's forward base and we see the return of Dilandau with new flunkie, the lion-man, Jajuka. But Hitomi is horrified by how she can sense Van's enjoyment of killing and fighting, driven by his thoughts of protecting her. Scotty beams her back to Earth.

Quite surprised that Folken didn't say anything about messing with Van x Hitomi x Allen. I suppose it's easier to forgive conquest, espionage and diplomacy with technological and intel gifts but playing with a girl's heart recalls that phrase about hell hath no fury. With Hitomi returning to Earth, it sets the scene for how Van x Hitomi hold the key to the fate of Gaea.

Related posts:

1. Vision of Escaflowne DVD 6: Fate and Fortune
2. Vision of Escaflowne DVD 8: Forever and Ever
3. Vision of Escaflowne DVD 2: Betrayal and Trust