When I saw the first episode of Escaflowne, my reaction was mixed. Sure, it had a good set-up and nice touches of characterization and humor but wasn’t this supposed to be a chick anime? Where were all the bishounen? Van wasn’t doing much for me (still doesn’t) and while that Amano guy was hot, he would be so much hotter if he had better hair. Fortunately, I kept watching.
I enjoyed episode two, thought Balgus got killed way to cheaply and early and proceeded onto episode three. The Moleman showed up and did his thing (which was to make every female in the audience say iccck). Then Allen showed up and did his thing (which was to make every female in the audience say heeey). Now, my mother is a huge owl freak. As a result, I grew up in a house loaded with owl pictures and owl knick-knacks. The only two responses to such a childhood are: hate the damn things with a passion or think they’re pretty cool yourself. I’m of the pretty cool camp, so Natal instantly earned Allen some bonus points. Shinichiro Miki’s soft, deep purr added a few more. Spewing crap about “meeting steel with steel” took a few off. I have a tendency to dislike knightly/chivalric characters. I’m not that big on blondes either, but he did have the length right. So while Allen was nice to look at with a few intriguing bits, it was not love at first sight. Perfect characters are so boring. I need flaws. And just like Amano and the hair, I got exactly what I wished for.
First, he started telling Hitomi about his family. Tragic past? Me like angst. Then came the scene where Hitomi does his tarot card reading. Hates his father? Very secretive about his past? Hello! I think we’ve got something. And then all the fun stuff started piling on - Eries dropping hints about him and Marlene while a clueless Millerna hurled herself at him, the developing love triangles, nearly getting killed and having a vision of Marlene when he first wakes up, etc. By the time Millerna was finished reading Marlene’s diary, I was completely sold. If I hadn’t been, his confession to Hitomi about how he met Balgus (I Was a Suicidal Teenage Bandit!) and his reunion with his father would have definitely pushed me over the edge. As it was, my inner fangirl trilled with glee when I watched those scenes.
That’s why this shrine is called Beautiful ****ed Up Man. Yes, he is beautiful, but that’s not what attracts me to him. That’s the ****ed up part. He’s such a complex character. He’s flawless as can be on the surface with his looks and knightly ways, but loaded with enough issues to make a psychiatrist salivate and tally up the session costs. He’s beyond loyal to Van and Hitomi in his vow to protect them, but everyone close to him either dies, disappears or simply goes away. He’s honorable, but he knows when to ditch that honor and get dirty to do what has to be done.
In short, he’s perfect because he’s not. |
