The Vision of Escaflowne Orignal Drama Album:Thought of the Jeture

THE VISION OF ESCAFLOWNE ORIGINAL DRAMA ALBUM:
THOUGHT OF THE JETURE
Victor Entertainment
VICL-830
Dec 16, 1996
¥3000
© Sunrise/TV Tokyo

— by Egan Loo

1. Yakusoku wa Iranani [Promises Not Necessary] (Short Version)

2. Scene 1

3. Scene 2

4. Scene 3

5. Scene 4

6. Scene 5

7. Scene 6

8. Scene 7

9. Scene 8

10. Scene 9

11. Scene 10

12. Scene 11

13. Hikaru no Naka e [Into the Light]

As co-creator Kawamori Shouji originally conceived it, The VISION OF ESCAFLOWNE would have been an eclectic fantasy of mecha and divination spanning 39 episodes. This would have been longer than Kawamori's first MACROSS television series, although shorter than most of the television works by Sunrise, the studio behind ESCAFLOWNE. In the end, budget and production constraints prevailed, and ESCAFLOWNE's story was compressed into two-thirds of the planned number of episodes before its broadcast debut last April.

While this made for an intense drama with revelations and plot twists tightly written into almost every episode, many nuances of the background story were inevitably left out. The original drama album Thought of the Jeture seeks to fill in some of those gaps, as well as offer Esca enthusiasts one more return to the world of Gaea.

The drama begins with the majestic opening theme Yakusoku wa Iranai and the now-familiar monologue by Hitomi before leading into a flashback of pivotal finale scenes from television episodes two, three, and five. The majority of the drama however, takes place between episodes six (The Capital of Intrigue) and seven (Unexpected Parting), during Hitomi's party all-too-brief stay at Pallas, the capital of Asturia (Asutoria). Through flashbacks, dreams, and recounted tales, the listener is led through events from Gaea's ancient history and myths to the traumatic recent memories that some Escaflowne characters have repressed.

Just as a white dragon appeared in the skies over the kingdom of Fanelia and became its legendary god of protection, a guardian deity also watches over Asturia. Millerna recounts to Hitomi a fable passed onto her from the Gaea's legendary age, a time when Asturia was not even a fledgling country but a cluster of warring tribes and towns. The young warrior Ariia encountered a sea dragon named Jeture who can realize thoughts and dreams, and sought his aid in repelling an enemy threatening his town of Parunachian and his maiden Meifia. Jeture responds favorably only to those pure of heart and intent, and although Ariia saved the town and the couple reunited, the fable does not end there as Ariia eventually turned against the dragon. The legend envelopes reality as the Jeture, the creature that lives in people's thoughts and dreams as much as it lives in Pallas's waters, encounters various characters of ESCAFLOWNE.

Overall, the story is a montage of scenes woven together (if not cohesively, at least loosely) by the threads of Jeture's legend and the plot of the television series. This is not to say that the story direction felt haphazard, but that the story does not stand alone without the support of the television series. That seems to be the intent of drama's story creator Akane Kazuki, who is also the director of the ESCAFLOWNE television series. Interestingly but not surprisingly, certain scenes in the audio drama were also portrayed in the animation series, but now have rewritten dialogue with changes significant to the audio drama's plot.

As it is almost obligatory for audio drama adaptations of anime, the main guest characters are voiced by some of the fan-favorite seiyuu of the moment such Kasahara Hiroko (Meifia). As further fan service, a scene (seemingly spliced into the rest of the story) offers Merle's Ohtani Ikue a chance to sing a charming rendition of A Cat's Feelings (Neko no Kimochi). Services aside, the production values are above usual audio drama's, although Akane's directing style will make many long for an animated version simply to have images to bridge the awkward dialogue-less cuts.

Those hoping for a self-contained side-story which further details the exploits of Hitomi, Van, and others may come away disappointed. However, those of us who look forward to hearing more of the background story of Escaflowne or simply want to revisit Gaea will enjoy this drama album.

TENKUU NO ESUKAFURO-NE
[THE VISION OF ESCAFLOWNE]
Original Drama Album
Jechia no Omoi [Thought of the Jeture]
Original Story Concept/Direction: Akane Kazuki
Writer: Kitajima Hiroaki
Music: Kanno Youko