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| THIS IS AN ANIME ONLY DISCUSSION POST. DO NOT DISCUSS THE MANGA BEYOND THIS EPISODE. ---------------------------------------- The ending was a little dull I think, and Hitomi's return to Earth was unexpected too (after that their love saved a world thing), I don't see the reason why she cut herself off completly from Gaea, but anyway, the anime was realy good in overall. |
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Atomic_Rooster said: I also thought the ending was kind of lame. It's like she was thinking "I love you but I'm going to live my life without you." Maybe it was one of those things where their love somehow transcended their physical separation. Bahhh I thought the ending was 'okay'. To be honost, I thought this was gonna be one of those lame happily ever after endings. |
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| I don't campaign by happy endings (neither bad endings, nonetheless they are so popular especially with animes), what I didn't liked about the ending is that the "back to earth" part wasn't reasonable, at least I think so. |
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| so without a common enemy, all the allied forces turn against each other, that is just human nature i guess. anyways, it was a sad kind of ending i have to agree with, just when you think they might end up being together forever, hitomi leaves and then thats that, whats up with that? |
the only way to stop a gamer from playing is either: beat them, or wait until they get bored (though 2% percent suffer seizures  |
| Too sad they should have ended up together! |
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| try to read the ending of the mangas and watch the ending of the movie...i think you'll start to appreciate this kind of ending...although i myself also thinks that this ending is lame.... |
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| ya i thought this an amazing series....until the end like i was thinking oh this is the happily ever after part. and then Hitomi was suddenly on earth again which kinda really ruined it for me. |
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| I absolutely adored the series up until the ending. What the hell was that? "Oh noes, I had an epiphany - I AM IN LOVE WITH VAN! So I'll just leave now and go back to Earth." And he was okay with that? Wtf. It seemed to me her bonds with everyone on Gaea were stronger than those on Earth, but if she can just go back and forth whenever she wants to (isn't this the second or third time she went back home?) I don't know why she didn't just go home, inform the entire two or three people she missed, and go on back to Gaea to be with Van.. |
| DeviantArt: http://hutchydearest.deviantart.com/ Last.FM: http://www.last.fm/user/jessmo-berry |
| Ok, first I thought I'm alone with this feeling with the ending, but sure I'm not. :) |
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| Great anime, Escaflowne. 9/10. I liked the ending. It wasn't one of those cliché happily ever after endings you see in so many others. But I agree it was very strange that she just returned to Earth, when she could have chosen to stay with Van in Gaea. Well, I guess it's where she really belongs, with her family and friends. |
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| I'd have given this a 10/10 but the ending blew that. I adore Van and how much his character had progressed from the beginning to the end - his development was good yet believable. I DESPISED the ending and I'm not saying it HAD to be "happily ever after" but I say 1. what's necessarily wrong with that? and 2. there could have been a more sensible medium that made more sense, and 3. HELLO?! at least one kiss to cement their affection? Anyhoo - I love the elements of Escaflowne from the organic mecha idea of the Guymelefs, the sword fights, the liquid metal, etc. Fantastical stuffs, I tells ya! |
| I agree, they could at least kiss at the end. And I don't understand why she have to go to earth and never go back to Gaea, since she can travel between them. And in anime they say something like "It' been long time since we have travellers from Mistic Moon", so it looks like there existed portal or something similar before or travels were regular. Personally i think, " I promise i come back" ending would be better. Why they go with that shoujo's tragic heroine ending. It's most cliché thing to avoid cliché happy ending :) |
Hutchy said: I absolutely adored the series up until the ending. What the hell was that? "Oh noes, I had an epiphany - I AM IN LOVE WITH VAN! So I'll just leave now and go back to Earth." And he was okay with that? Wtf. It seemed to me her bonds with everyone on Gaea were stronger than those on Earth, but if she can just go back and forth whenever she wants to (isn't this the second or third time she went back home?) I don't know why she didn't just go home, inform the entire two or three people she missed, and go on back to Gaea to be with Van.. Her life and family are still on earth, so it's only natural that she would go back. I also don't think the love they have for each other is a typical romance. It's gotta be at least partially platonic. She's never swooned for Van, which she's done for Allen like 30 times, and for Amano just by remembering him. It's much more stable than the constant neediness of a truly romantic relationship. Allen said something about keeping her in a cage, half jokingly. The fact that their bond exists through separation i think indicates their feelings for each other are not only deeper, but different also. This also explains why they hug for so long and have so much affection for each other, but they never kiss. I don't get the whole transporting thing. On one hand, they seemed to be able to will themselves to see each other that one time Hitomi went back. On the other hand, Hitomi, and her grandmother for that matter, could never control their teleportation fully. Maybe they decided to say their goodbyes because they weren't sure if they could pull something like that off again? Or perhaps it's because she's decided not to use that power again. I think somewhere she says she'd stopped doing readings. |
ace52387 said: Her life and family are still on earth, so it's only natural that she would go back. Well, considering they devoted an entire episode (ep 24) to taking her back to Earth and revising the course of events of her day of departure to acknowledge the romantic feelings between Yukari and Amano-sempai, it's obvious that Hitomi would feel like there's something less waiting for her on Earth than she thought there was through most of the series. Yukari, her mom, and high school are what's left to bring Hitomi back to Earth. What surprised me the most was that she gave Van the pendant when she left. It was her only tangible link to the world of Gaea! While her words are saying "I'll never forget you" her actions are saying "This doesn't mean anything to me." It would be cliche, but I totally expected her to stay in Gaea. Or to visit occasionally until graduation. Or, if they hadn't started rebuilding Fanelia in the last episode, Van might have tried moving to Earth with her where hijinks would inevitably ensue... |
case649Nov 29, 2009 3:40 PM
| Thank god it's over! The animation was great and the soundtrack was pretty good. The first episode left me with a strong impression, but the plot was to messy and the "fate machine" is one of the stupidest ideas I've ever heard. ☺ 3-4/10 Below average. |
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| ONe word "wow" what an unexpected ending I could have sworn that for the half of the episode Hitomi was going to stay with Van and something like marry each other, but i guess that was too good to be true. Not bad for an outdated show I'll give it a 7/10 |
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| The series was ok. |
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| WTF?! NO KISS?! Ridiculous! -_- I would've given this a 10 if they would've put that in and changed the ending up a little. |
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| I don't mind that it wasn't a "happily ever after" ending, but I agree that it was kind of odd that she chose to go back to earth while also intending to love Van until she dies. It's like... Nothing's *forcing* you apart, so you're actively choosing to have some sort of psychic LDR until you die? Why is this, now? |
| Meh. Dilandau was my favorite character, and he got an awesome end, so I'm set. :D |
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| I like cliche happily ever after endings. thats what i wanted. all other endings are frustrating. in my book, I will just ignore it. blah blah, she still can travel back and forth, cause it makes no sense to leave the person you love for no apparent reason. overall a great show. ha, funny how 2 minutes of an ending can mess things up. |
| To begin, because I finished Inuyasha before finishing this series, I feel like I am more prepared to accept this kind of ending. Hey, there's a lot of life left to live for both of them. I honestly think that Van and Hitomi will not only be able to see each other again, but they will meet again. in fact, they'll probably get together later in life. after all, they're both only 14, and that would have quite bogus if hitomi just disappeared from Earth forever without so much as goodbye to her friends and family, right? Man, if only there was a post Escaflowne special or something of the sort! |
WingZero1223 said: To begin, because I finished Inuyasha before finishing this series, I feel like I am more prepared to accept this kind of ending. Hey, there's a lot of life left to live for both of them. Seconded. In every other aspect the series is also great. Although it receives much misunderstanding, judging from other comments. I think, if viewer could see it from characters' point of view and also with their respective eyes (not through viewers's own (dis)abilities and stereotypes), there would be more sense to get of the whole picture. |
Hell is empty and all the devils are here. |
| Wow... I hate this ending so badly... and there is only one solution for me which is to think up an alternative ending and try to believe it's the real one... the only problem being that I fail at writing it down but otherwise it won't work. So lets see, after the war ended and the fate machine was destroyed Hitomi stays in Gaea for another one and a half month. Together with Van they search for the old citizens of Fanelia and start the process of rebuilding it. A statue for Folken & Balgus is build and we see Hitomi sitting with Van on a rooftop near the statue looking at earth. Slowly Van turns towards Hitomi and asks her "Will you take me there sometimes?". Hitomi thinks for awhile and then firmly nods. Both of them lie down flat on the roof and Van grabs Hitomi's hand, as the camera moves away from them lights starts to swirl around them creating a pillar of light. From the side of the house Merle rushes after them followed by another catman/child, yet by the time they arrive at the pillar Van and Hitomi are long gone and she cries out towards the earth "See you!" and waves energetically. Having returned to earth Van & Hitomi find themselves in the darkness looking at themselves fighting an earth dragon. Not knowing what's happening they look as their other selves disappear. First in shock, but after awhile fearing for Hitomi, Yukari and Amano cry out for her. Together with Van she stumbles out of the bushes and Yukari asks her "What in the world happened?". At a loss of words she looks at Van and together they suddenly know without doubt that it's not yet the right time to reveal the secrets of Gaea and atlantis. To achieve this Himoni walks up to Yukari and whispers something into her ear, Yukari eyes become bigger and she blushes feverly. Next she pulls off Amano-sensei and we see Himoni and Van walking down the hill without saying a single word. [subtiles here :P] In the last shot we see lots of people gathered, yet they are too small to figure out whether we are on Earth or on Gaea, as the crowd quietens down, we hear in the background "Van Fanel, king of Fanelia, and Hitomi Kanzaki, daughter of the Mystic Moon, will you take each other as husband and wi..." as slowly the audio fades out entirely. Silence. Then suddenly everybody starts cheering and the camera finally moves up showing us a kissing couple. Yep, absolutely cliche, but that's the way it actually happened :) and btw, for those who even consider the ending in the series to be the real one, realize how badly Hitomi wanted to be with Van, do you truly think that after all that she would be so fine with leaving him again? And of course she wanted to go back to earth, but what Allen's father only realized by the time he died, Hitomi and Van realized when they had split up last time. |
GreatSJun 17, 2011 9:41 AM
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| So much potential...7/10 |
| Even when I was in crowd, I was always alone |
| I know the ending made it seem like they'll never see each other again, but... thats not really true, is it? I mean they can still see each other with their minds... and I'm pretty sure Van can use that drag-engerist, along with his thoughts and feelings to open a new portal, right? The anime never said anything about that not being possible any more. Still, I guess they wanted the anime to leave you with sad, remorseful feelings. I don't know why... but that's the feeling I got from it. 9/10 |
Ericonator said: By definition, everything is retro since by the time you realize something has happened it's already in the past.  |
| ...no kiss between Van and Hitomi? Realising her love for Van only to return to Earth when she would've gained more from staying at Gaea? Conclusion wasn't the best, and I found the fate altering machine a bit silly... but I'd still recommend it despite some of its flaws. I give it an 8 out of 10 for now. |
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| i will talk about parts of the ending OTHER then the final scene cause this needs to be heard. I liked they way they handled the whole magical a-bomb aftermath. Japan tends to think of itself as victim for getting nuked as the war was "Essentially" won by america, and overlook the fact that they initiated a war of aggression, committed NUMEROUS war crimes, and were planning to resit the coming invasion down to the last CHILD. Heck they are taught in school that the war crimes never even HAPPENED> Part of the Bushido "never go back" thing i dunno. This tends to show up in anime a lot where only bad guys use nukes and nuke equivalents. However here it is shown the good guys using it out of desperation against the bad guys, while still acknowledging why zaibach/Japan would think it is overkill and not deny ing it at all. Other thoughts on why the Zone Of Absolute Fortune or ZOAF made things worse. After World War II america and the Soviet Union, reluctant allies that they were, PROBABLY wanted to go at it. But at the same time knew that after all that war it made MUCH more sense to just stop fighting and rebuild. IN other words they PUT ASIDE THEIR WISHES. HOWEVER, the ZOAF MADE THIER WISHES TO FIGHT INTO REALITY. So instead of having peace war continued. |
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| i actually really, really enjoyed the ending. there were some loose (but not particularly important) threads still hanging around just waiting to be resolved, but overall i think this ended the series on a surprisingly high note. very beautifully directed, wonderfully scored (as usual) + some sort of resolution for each of the characters. that's all i was really looking for tbh. |
| The fight between Van and Allen was really unexpected, I loved it! With the amazing battle theme song we herd a couple of time in the beginning of the serie, my heart stopped! Besides that, I gotta agree with pretty much everyone. I wished for a better ending... I give it a 8/10 Beautiful animation, Amazing soundtrack, Awesome characters, Interesting story. <3 |
| Overall enjoyed the anime and kind of felt that the ending would turn out this way. The way it was written just seemed as if she would ultimately choose to go home in the end. ah well, 8/10, was a very good watch. |
thrill4thisApr 25, 2016 3:59 AM
| Lol. Anyway I like the ending, rewatching this series surely brought back nostalgia. |
Please learn about cel animation and its technical process. Learn how special effects and backlighting were done without computers. |
| I really liked this series, though after all of the emphasis on the strength of their love, I admit I fall into the "ending bummed me out a little" group. In hindsight, it does make sense for Hitomi to return to her home where her friends and family are, since she is still young and her original uprooting was unexpected. We saw how worried her friends were (though her mother not so much). It would have been unfair for her to leave them to suffer like that, not knowing what happened to her and if she was okay. I just wish her "good-bye" didn't sound so final, with the whole "I will never forget about you." I do feel like she and Van have the teleportation thing figured out better than past parties, especially with their bond being so strong, so I'd like to think Hitomi will go back to be with Van one day. |
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| I don't know what's up with the people in this thread and where their priorities are or why the fuck it matters if there was a kiss or not but I don't know how it's possible to see this ending and not find it memorable. Guess it's just the age of some people |
| When I first watched this I was 13. I didn't like how Hitomi left either. I'm now 24 and this series is still my favorite. I also appreciate the ending a lot more than I did. It was only recently I realized how the ending mirrored the beginning of the series. In the first episode, she is upset because her crush is moving to another country. The last episode, she figures out that she LOVES Van but accepts that he will be apart from her because they both have their duties and ties to their home. It shows how she matured throughout the whole series. For her to stay, it destroys that character. If she stayed, do you think Van would be happy to let her give up her family? Especially her little brother? Van hated Folken and did not give him a chance..and then he died. I'm sure Van regrets that with all his heart..to have Hitomi sacrifice her family is very out of character, since he no longer has family (Only Merle now, and no longer has Balgus) As for no kiss..Miyazaki has never shown the leading lovers kiss, for example. I think it adds to the purity of their relationship and being based more on emotions than physical. It would have been nice if they kissed but I also appreciate that they didn't. Hitomi is a very real person..she constantly said how she missed her family (Mom in particular) and her friends. So why wouldn't she go back? She had a great time on Gaea (and also some pretty bad times) but her home is Earth. Also, someone said she seemed closer with the people on Gaea than on Earth..that's only because we the audience have only seen one episode of her life on Earth. Try to imagine leaving everyone you love behind, never to talk to again. Also, if you think about it..by her staying on Gaea, she is sacrificing her lifespan if she were to ever return to Earth. Its kind of freaky. |
hitomi-kanzakiJul 28, 2013 4:49 PM
| Wow that sucked, thank god its over though. It started out so good and it just got worse and worse, towards the end i didn't even care what was happening anymore. Hitomi has to be one of the worst and annoying characters ever. Waste of potential, time, talent and money. I usually love these kind of setting and stories but this was so bad. 4.5/10 = 5/10 Hopefully the movie won't be so disappointing. |
| Pretty darn good series, but I felt the best part was the beginning. I understand why it ended that way, and I understand that Hitomi was just a teenage girl trying to figure out who she is and whatnot, but I still can't help but feel a bit annoyed at her character... It's just that every sentence that comes out of her mouth through the entire 26 episodes is either about love, doubting her friends, or making a naive mistake. And after 26 episodes of her obsessing over trying to find love for her desperate little heart (going through 3 different guys I might add), what does she do when she finds it? She leaves... Again I understand that it's more realistic for her to be the way she is, and it makes sense to go home. But that doesn't mean I'm not allowed to be annoyed by it either way. I think perhaps it was just a bit overkill with the 'Hitomi feels'. But hell I, still give this an 8/10 overall. It was imaginative, great action, atmosphere and adventure. Plus I just happen to like mecha. |
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| They could had extented the ending more, to give it closure, which it lacks a bit... I already knew the anime had a bad ending before even starting to watch, I knew that the main cast wouldnt be together by rthe end, so I was already expecting that, otherwise I would had been pretty pissed at it! Like Fate/Stay night BS ending... and there were some plotholes, but the thing that I most hated was the machine destiny plot, and folken fanel death, it was stupidly done! Overal great series. |
PlaycoolFeb 10, 2014 5:38 PM
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eien_kiseki said: Wow so many people don't understand how beautiful this ending is. She is only 15 she has her entire life ahead of her, same for Van. Of course the two of them isn't going to settle down and get married and be in a happily ever after ending. This isn't even close to the end of their story, she wants to go to college get a career. He has to rebuild his country from scratch and Gaea is a mess at the moment, it would be highly improbable for them to be happily ever after. There will be some way in the future for them to be reunited I believe! Women in Japan can get married at the age of 16 years of age; and in the 90's it was still a well practiced thing. You can see this common theme in a lot of romance manga and anime coming from that time. But yes, from a Western point of view you are correct. She's 15 and she has her entire life ahead of her. From a Japanese culture point of view -- if she loved him, she would have stayed and started her life and family then and there. I mean, at 16 you can legally get married and drop out of high school to become a house wife! As far as colleges and careers are concerned in Japan, most women may go to college but they don't really pick a career to stick with the rest of their lives. It's still common that a woman will quit her job and become a house wife after getting married -- and unfortunately there are still gender role jobs here in Japan. Women work in the office ("OL" or, "Office Lady"), kindergarten teacher, or some part time job and men have more many jobs like being a doctor, engineer. It wasn't until about 2.5 years ago that my town started allowing women to drive trains and buses. Women can be cops, but they're mostly stuck at the police station doing office work and taking care of walk-in problems. All I am saying is from a Japanese culture standpoint, taking into consideration how life was in the 90's, it was a very strange ending. But perhaps they were trying to empower women a little more with a message like, "See, you don't need a man to be happy." When her friends were remarking about how Yukari and Amano were together and how they made the perfect couple, you could see Hitomi react slightly, but then she saw Van in her memories and smiled because she had experienced love and she was happy with at least having experienced it -- and she was happy with herself. I think for a good portion of the show she wasn't happy with herself, nor did she really even understand or accept herself. It wasn't until she allowed herself to trust others' and trust her own emotions, instead of seeking out answers in something (or as I saw it, making up answers and reasons). Gaea is a place that makes dreams and peoples' will come true -- especially with the outside influence of Hitomi. It's not that her card readings were correct -- it's that the fact she did them and made up reasons/answers about what they meant -- that brought them about. Her anxieties and fears fueled things in either positive or negative ways. It seems like Hitomi has a special connection to Gaea, but the anime only seemed to touch a little on the subject. |
| "I go to seek a great perhaps." |
| hmmm that was a weak ending. There are some profound points but this ending, like the entire show doesn't reach its potential. This show could use a re-make. still I'll probably give it an 8. The music for the entire series as well as the ending was just phenomenal, and so was the animation. |
DaydreamHeroJul 12, 2014 2:53 AM
| Love and Peace!!! |
| Can I just say this so I can stop reading about how 'Van is in her memories' and junk like that. In the very last scene, what she is seeing truly is Van, they can telepathically see each others soul if they both desire it. [I am so assuming that she sees him all the time based on her chill reaction.] Also, come on u guys, he has her necklace, he can probably go and get her if they both ever to decide to get hitched. Lets be real. [btw this totally happens someday, I strongly believe that. Fated lovers don't marry other people in this show, no way.] When I first saw this the ending gave me extreme heartache, I cried for like a week, but it's been a couple of years and I've rewatched the series. The ending isn't so sad as you think, the dialogue is sad, but what they actually show and imply by the end of it all isn't so depressing if you pay attention. :] |
Ericonator said: By definition, everything is retro since by the time you realize something has happened it's already in the past. |
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