Escaflowne - A Girl in Gaia Fun Facts

Think what you will of the following strange factoids — but all are absolutely true. Please note that many items on the list below involve spoilers. If you have not seen the film, you may not want to read any further! The fun facts are not presented in any particular order.

• When the movie was shown at Anime Expo 2000, the audience cheered every time someone was dismembered or beheaded. And we wonder why the rest of the world thinks America is violent?
  
  
• The subway station mentioned when Hitomi and Yukari's train stops is Yoyogi Station. This is a real station in Tokyo, run by the Teito Rapid Transit Authority (TRTA).
  
  
• Among the many obscure movie design sketches archived in the Newtype 100% Collection artbook is a Black Dragon Clan soldier in a ridiculous helmet. This character is hilariously labeled "Some General." Some General actually has a speaking role in the film — he is the gruff old commander who refuses the offer of surrender at the waterfields city.
  
  
• The dragon bones Sora stands on while singing are the same as those seen behind the throne in the flashback of the burning palace. Dune stole them from his father as a trophy of war. The dragon bones seen at the beginning of the film and in the promotional material are slightly different.
  
  
• In the movie, there are no countries called Fanelia, Asturia, Zaibach, Basram, etc. The only country name to carry over from the TV series to the movie is Freid, which is mentioned so briefly that most fans miss the reference entirely.
  
  
• Every single Crusader from the TV series appears in the film as an Abaharaki rebel, though they do not all have speaking roles.
  
  
• The television series and the movie depict the formation of Escaflowne's sword in virtually the same manner, shot for shot. The only significant difference is the film's copious use of blood and bone-cracking sound effects.
  
  
• There are only six movie Dragonslayers, as opposed to the TV series' fifteen. Chesta, Gatti, Dalet, Guimel, and Migel are represented, as well as a new member named Ryuon. Only three Dragonslayers ride away at the end.
  
  
• Gaia has a type of bird known as a meqras, which looks like a cross between a crow and a toucan. Unlike real crows and toucans, however, the meqras has no eyes.
  
  
• Dilandau does not have a scar in the movie, but he strokes his cheek in the same manner as his TV series counterpart. The gesture has undergone one small modification, however — he's stroking the left side of his face instead of the right.
  
  
• The red armor is never actually called the Alseides during the film itself, but all official merchandise refers to it as such.
  
  
• One of the Adon villagers is the wolf man Ruhm. You may remember Ruhm from the second episode of the TV series, in which he brought Hitomi and Van to Fanelia in his cart.
  
  
• The song performed by the cat twins in Dryden's pub should sound very familiar. It's a variation of the ethereal tune Sora sings throughout the film. The Sora version of the song has vocals by Shanti Snyder. The pub version is performed by a different singer, Midori.
  
  
• For added humor, keep an eye on Reeden during the pub scene. He's so drunk that he nearly falls over a balcony railing.
  
  
• In the movie, Dilandau is ambidextrous. He charges the Abaharaki landship with his sword in his right hand, but he slaps, throws spears, and strokes his cheek with his left hand. It is his left hand that Folken mangles during their argument on the airship.
  
  
• Folken's true name is Dune. He adopts the name Folken after founding the Black Dragon Clan.
  
  
• The movie version of Merle, unlike the TV version, wears plain white panties.
  
  
• The English dub of the film contains mild profanity that was not present in the original version. The word "bastard" is said three times, and "son of a" (though the "bitch" is left out) is said once. "Hell" and "damn" are sprinkled liberally throughout the film. Merle is the biggest potty mouth, accounting for approximately a third of the swearing.
  
  
• The English voice actors did not get to see the full movie until the dub was complete. For this reason, some of the actors did not have a clear understanding of what was going on in the film as they were recording. This is especially true since each actor recorded his lines individually, rather than in a group.
  
  
• The sorcerers in the movie have varying numbers of eyes. Some have two, some have three, some have four. One poor fellow is a cyclops.
  
  
• Yukari and Hitomi are the only characters in the film to have last names. Van, Folken, Allen, Dilandau, Millerna and the rest are only given first names. These characters have last names in the TV series, but they did not carry over to the film.
  
  
• Scott McNeil (Jajuka) shares the view of many fans that his character's surprise action at the end of the film was a little bit random.
  
  
• Due to the angle of the shot, viewers can't see the fate of the giant yaks that pull the Abaharaki moving fortress. Are they burned to a crisp when the landship explodes, or were they safely stabled elsewhere in Torushina before the battle? The world may never know. The world also probably doesn't care.
  
  
• Van's parents — called Varie and Gaoh in the TV series — are never referred to by name in the film dialogue, in the film credits, or on the character design sheets.
  
  
• The tree Hitomi circles in the vision looks exactly like the one a traumatized Van sits under in episode 15 of the TV series. The seaside cliff in this scene is borrowed from the TV series' opening credits.
  
  
• One of the great mysteries of A Girl in Gaia is the true identity of the Tsubasa no Kami. Many fans are convinced that the real Wing Goddess is Sora. Try watching the movie with this theory in mind — you'll be surprised by how much evidence there is for this interpretation.
  
  
• During Anime Expo 2000, the director of the Escaflowne movie was asked why he chose to leave Dilandau alive at the end of the film. He explained with some embarrassment that he just liked him too much to kill him.
  
  
• A Girl in Gaia and the game Chrono Cross — separated at birth? Perhaps. Van looks a great deal like Chrono Cross' main character, Serge. Serge's grave rests on a seaside cliff much like the one where Van retreats when Escaflowne is blackened. The young Hitomi appears to have a backpack based on the Chrono Cross character Poshul. And the Chrono Cross world has two moons, just like Gaia! The similarities should come as no surprise, since Nobuteru Yuuki was the character designer on both projects.
  
  
• At a Vancover Cinemark theatrical showing, one fan screamed "Van farted!" when Dilandau's horse exploded. Anime humor at its best.
  
  
• Director Kazuki Akane estimates that 80% of the fans of the Escaflowne TV series are female. One of the reasons the movie was made so dark and violent is that he wanted to try to give the story more appeal to males.
  
  
• The characters' heights, in order from tallest to shortest, are as follows: Jajuka, Kio, Folken, Oruto, Gaddes, Allen, Teo, Katz, Reeden, Dilandau, Pyle, Millerna, Van, Hitomi, Merle, and Mole Man. The heights of Dryden, Yukari, and the Dragonslayers in relation to the other characters are unclear.
  
  
• The goat-like creatures on Gaia are officially known as makusy, though they are never referred to as such in the film.
  
  
• English dub actors Paul Dobson (Folken), Michael Dobson (Dryden), and Brian Dobson (Nukushi) are brothers.
  
  
• Jajuka's name is mispronounced in the English version of the film. Jajuka should be pronounced JAH-juh-kuh, not Jah-JOO-kuh. Jajuka does not rhyme with bazooka. Please note that this error is much too severe to be accounted for by mere differences in accents.
  
  
• The original Japanese soundtrack booklet includes a small disclaimer about the use of the phrase "all man" in the lyrics of the song You're Not Alone. This disclaimer reads: *notice: "all man" is NOT used under the purpose of discriminating women.
  
  
• The labeling of the train station flashback figure in the North American limited edition DVD's character sketch gallery is incorrect. The DVD labels the mysterious figure as Van — despite the fact that "Folken" is clearly written on the sketch in the character designer's own handwriting. Ken Iyadomi, Vice President of Bandai Entertainment, has confirmed that the DVD label is in error.
  
  
• When roles were first being allocated for the Escaflowne television series dub, Brian Drummond (Allen) had expected to be given the role of Dilandau. After all, he specializes in playing bad guys. He was pleased to discover that he was to be cast as Allen, however. He says that in addition to making a nice change of pace, it allowed him to use his own natural voice. Once cast as Allen in the TV series, naturally he kept that role for the movie.
  
  
• Balgus and Dornkirk may appear in the movie universe. On the Escaflowne Prologue 1: Earth CD, the character of Orm is voiced by none other than Masato Yamauchi, the same man who played the role of Dornkirk in the original Escaflowne television series. Some would say that this means Orm is the movie version of Dornkirk. Similarly, the film version of Van's father is voiced by Tesshou Genda, who played Balgus in the TV series. Many viewers have noted that Van's beheaded father also looks an awful lot like Balgus. Hmm. Was Gaoh replaced by Balgus? The credits and character designs are of little help — the figure is labeled "Van's Father" on the design sheets and "Dragon King" in the movie credits. Draw your own conclusions.
  
  
• Van's Father is credited as Satoaki Kuroda on the North American DVD cast list. Satoaki Kuroda is an alternate transliteration of the kanji in Tesshou Genda's name.
  
  
• When the Escaflowne movie was released in Canada, the dub cast arranged to go see it in the theater together. Kirby Morrow, the English actor for Van Fanel, and Scott McNeil, the English actor for Jajuka and other assorted characters, made comments to each other about the film. Eventually a child in the row in front of them turned around and told them to shut up. "Are you going to talk through the whole damn movie?" he asked. They glanced at the screen, listened to their own voices coming out of the speakers for a moment, and then replied with deadpan tone. "Well, yes, now that you mention it." The kid never had a clue.

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