Today, there are a lot of isekai* anime. And people complain that they're very same-y. Well, why not take a trip back to 1996, when TVs were 4:3, and none of the tropes had been codified yet? Also, mecha. * transported to another world
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Opens on the opener, a love song with zoom focus on a bunch of characters. Also swordfighting and dragons.
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Hitomi is really wanting to get with her crush Amano, who is captain of the track team. A tarot spread shows the Tower, separation*. Probably because of the rumors that he'll be moving away. Hitomi asks him, if she can beat her record, will he take her first kiss?
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This is when Van of Fanelia suddenly appears. He's wearing light armor and armed with a sword, and also is speaking an unknown language. But Hitomi can understand him. He is followed by a dragon. Hitomi warns him of an upcoming strike, and he is able to defeat it.
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Van retrieves a glowing gem, the Energist, from the heart of the dragon. Then he and Hitomi are whisked away on a beam of light to the world of Gaea, where the Earth (and Moon) can be seen in the sky.
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The people of Gaea call earth the Mystic Moon. And speaking of the people... Van and Hitomi are collected by a group of Wolf People, who take him back to the city of Fanelia. As soon as they reach there, Merle, a cat girl (more catlike than most) comes out to jump on Van.
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Van is the Prince of Fanelia, and slaying a dragon and returning with the drag-energist is part of the ceremony for coronation. His elder brother ran away (?) rather than do it.
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During the coronation, cloaked giants/mecha attack the city. Van uses the energist to bond with the ancient armor Escaflowne and fight them. Hitomi has been having visions, and recognizes the attack from them. She's able to warn Van of where the invisible enemies are.
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Hitomi has a pendant that her grandmother gave her. It's a kind of good luck charm. When all seems hopeless, it activates, and transports Van and Hitomi off in a beam of light. They are temporarily separated. Allen, a Knight who looks a lot like Hitomi's crush Amano rescues her.
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We see Dilandau, a villain, berating his nights for taking damage in the attack on Fanelia. He's working with Folken, Van's older brother. They answer to Emperor Dornkirk, currently via fantasy videoconference.
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The Zaibach Empire attacked Fanelia to capture the Dragon (Escaflowne, I think.) Their Prophecy Engine suggests that it's important to the future of their nation. Also, whatever is causing the beams of light is not accounted for in the prophecy, so they'd better capture it too.
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The mecha are called Guymelef. Anyway, Fanelia has been burned to the ground. Dilandau demands that Allen provide them with supplies and information on the location of Escaflowne. Supplies, sure, but they don't know anything about a missing Guymelef.
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Hitomi has another vision: the empire is going to attack them. Merle rejoins the party. Dilandau attacks, and destroys the castle, but Allen transfers command to his airship, the Crusade, and escapes.
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The enemy Guymelef are flight-equipped, and attack. Van transforms Escaflowne into it's flying dragon form to draw them away. Buy the way, the enemy's stealth cloaks are actual cloaks, at mech scale. Invisibility cloaks, years before Harry Potter.
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Van is captured. He confronts his brother, who reveals his prosthetic arm and angel wings. (Exactly what this means is unclear as yet.) Hitomi is certain she is psychic, and can find Van by pendulum dowsing with her pendant. And she does. The team stage a daring rescue.
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During the escape, Folken returns Van's sword to him, which is also his badge of office. Whose side is this guy on, anyway? They head for Palas, the capital of Asturia, Allen's country. When they arrive, they are greeted by Princess Millerna. Allan goes to speak to the king.
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Folken is there ahead of him. The story is that Fanelia attacked Zaibach, and Van is an aggressor on the run. And we don't want to lose our alliance with Zaibach over one border fort, so the King's gonna (at least pretend to) believe the official story.
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Van confronts Folken. Dilandau breaks rank to try and take out Van, but Hitomi has a psychic vision in just enough time to save him (by a hair's breadth.) The king of Asturia would like to see Van fight in Escaflowne. In honor of the friendship between their two countries.
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Intrigue ensues, which I shall not attempt to summarize. It would take many tweets. Hitomi is kidnapped as a rare specimen, and Van saves her, but outs himself in an undeniable way. Dilandau has official authorization to come after him now, and does.
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Hitomi, Van and Merle escape on Escaflowne. Meanwhile, Zaibach has plans to invade the Duchy of Freid. There's an important power spot there that they will need to control for their plans. The best invasion route is through Asturia. Their alliance grants troop movement.
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Allen goes to interfere with the invasion of Freid. Van, Hitomi and Merle discover a Zaibach mining operation, retrieving energists from a dragon graveyard. They attack to disrupt. During the fight, Hitomi falls, and Van unveils his angel wings while saving her.
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The draconians, the winged people, are the descendants of Atlantis. The destroyers of Atlantis. They are cursed; any who become involved with them are doomed to die. Van's mother made him promise never to reveal his wings, until the time was right.
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All main characters regroup in Freid. Dilandau attacks and Allen is injured. Princess Millerna has theoretical medical training, but no experience. But there's no doctor available, so she scrubs in to do the necessary surgery to save Allen's life.
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Prince Chid, who looks to be around 7 years old, welcomes them to Freid. He is Millerna's nephew; her elder sister married the duke of Freid, but died of illness. The Duke is away right now. They've captured a Zaibach pilot, and questioning him will reveal the truth.
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Freid has a priest who can use hypnosis. He'll make the pilot talk. That's why Folken dispatches a doppelganger to replace him. Then when the pilot is "hypnotised" he tells them that Allen is a rebel who wants to start a war between Asturia and Freid. Everyone goes to jail.
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Hitomi is interrogated by the doppelganger, but he is revealed to her psychic powers, and she also sees his death coming soon. He flees, and reports to Dilandau, who realizes Hitomi is to blame for his loss. And he kills the doppelganger. Prince Chid is actually Allen's son.
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Hitomi is teaching Van to detect the cloaked Guymelef with psychic sight. He might even be starting to pick it up.
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The emperor of Zaibach wants to meet Hitomi, and learn how she gets around his Destiny Prognostication Engine. He calls Earth by its right name, and says he remembers it from long ago. Hitomi is haunted by her psychic visions. She doesn't want to use her powers anymore.
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Zaibach attacks. The Duke and the party retreat, while a last guard sets off a self-destruct sequence in the palace. They will never allow Zaibach to gain the secret treasure of Freid. Locked in a vault beneath a temple lies the treasure: the power that destroyed Atlantis.
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The battle is horrible. Duke Freid falls to despair: If the gods want the ancient power released, so be it. The duke dies, but he explains his parting wish. Chid gives Folken the sword-key that will unlock the power of Atlantis. Van is badly injured in the fight.
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