The Vision of Escaflowne ~lovers only

THE VISION OF ESCAFLOWNE ~LOVERS ONLY
Victor Entertainment
VICL-841
¥3000

— by Egan Loo

1. Yakusoku wa Iranai [Promises Not Necessary] (TV Edit) 2:11

2. The Vision of Escaflowne (Take 2) 4:08

3. Memory of Fanelia 3:09

4. Dance of Curse 4:06

5. Zaibach 2:12

6. Flying Dragon 2:37

7. Cradle Song 1:28

8. Tomodachi [Friends] 3:40

9. Bird Cage 2:40

10. Chain 4:04

11. Epistle 3:24

12. Perfect World 4:39

13. Blaze (Take 2) 3:32

14. Hitomi Theme 4:27

15. Angel 2:18

16. Neko no Kimochi [Cat's Feelings] 3:48

17. Arcadia 5:14

18. Kaze ga Fuku Hi [The Days the Wind Blows] 5:52

19. Mystic Eyes (TV Edit) 1:10

20. The Story of Escaflowne ~ End Title 4:52

Music: Kanno Youko [1-8, 10-11, 13, 15-19], Mizoguchi Hajime [9, 12, 14]

Vocals: Sakamoto Maaya [1, 8, 18], Furukawa Masayoshi [12], Ohtani Ikue [16],Wada Hiroki [19]

Often when it comes to anime soundtracks, the companies release "best albums" in a seemingly contradictory, self-defeating marketing strategy. The very audience dedicated enough to buy a compilation album months or even years after a series' ending is the very one which has probably bought all the previous albums already. The producers may entice the fans with new variations and image songs recorded just for the compilation, but rarely can the fans themselves request and receive the tracks they desire.

THE VISION OF ESCAFLOWNE ~LOVERS ONLY is unique in this regard. According to Victor, an overwhelming number of requests came for the finale piece, which was heard only during the last episode's closing scenes and not heard on any of the previous soundtracks. (The last soundtrack to be released before this best album came out literally days after the final episode's airing.)

Is "The Story of Escaflowne ~ End Title" reason alone to buy this soundtrack? Quite frankly, someone who has not seen the ending of ESCAFLOWNE may not find this piece remarkable. However, those who remember fondly the final scenes with Van and Hitomi will cherish this gentle, understated piece. Invoking emotional sentiment but not overwrought sentimentality, this piece stands in beautifully subtle contrast to the intense (admittedly sometimes bombastic) pieces that characterize ESCAFLOWNE.

The rest of the album that leads to this final track is a compelling mix of both the familiar and the surprising. Although Kanno Youko composed and arranged most of the tracks, her collaborator Mizoguchi Hajime, contributed three songs. (The ending theme "Mystic Eyes" was penned by its singer Wada Hiroki.)

All told, there are seven previously recorded instrumental and choral background music tracks, although the disc offers two slightly different versions of the "Vision of Escaflowne" (first heard on the Original Soundtrack 2) and "Blaze" (OST 3). More intriguing are the five never-before-released background music from the series. "Memory of Fanelia" is essentially a richer, more enveloping orchestral version of "Fanelia" (OST 2) while the motif of "Zaibach" carries the same (albeit barely perceptible) melody of the throbbing synthesized "Mecha Soldier" (OST 2) with classical instruments instead. "Bird Cage" conjures up somber, yet not ponderous, images as it did frequently during the course of the anime series. For unabashedly intense sturm and drang, few pieces in any series' soundtrack can compare with the bass-heavy orchestral and chanting "Chain," the favorite new BGM of this reviewer after "The Story of Escaflowne ~ End Title."

Compared to the BGM, the non-choral vocal songs are of a decidedly lighter tone. Two of the songs have been heard on previous releases, although "Tomodachi" ("Friends," sung here by Hitomi's character voice Sakamoto Maaya) was released only on the "Yakusoku wa Iranai" ("Promises Not Neccessary") single and not on the earlier versions of the opening and ending credit themes. Although we have already heard the short version of "Yakusoku wa Iranai" on the ORIGINAL DRAMA ALBUM: THOUGHT OF THE JETURE, the LOVERS ONLY version adds the delightful surprise of Sakamoto singing the chorus while accompanied only by a lone piano. Likewise, Merle's character voice Ohtani Ikue sang "Neko no Kimochi" (A Cat's Feelings) on Thought of the Jeture, but this quaintly charming song was woven into the ongoing dialogue and not placed on its own track as it is on the LOVERS ONLY album. By far the best vocal treat on this soundtrack is Sakamoto's "Kaze ga Fuku Hi" (The Days the Wind Blows), a surreal piece with strains of classical jazz which describes someone wandering through nature while lost in thought.

Music aside, the liner notes offers a short testimonial with director Akane Kazuki reminiscing on the music's creators and their involvement with ESCAFLOWNE. Despite having no extra supplements such as an illustration booklet or postcards, the album comes in an elegantly illustrated slipcase for the compact disc case.

For the fans who have enjoyed the Escaflowne anime but cannot simply afford all the Escaflowne albums, this one compact disc represents the best investment. To those who have faithfully bought every single Escaflowne album to date, the final closing piece combined with the other previously unreleased music provide just enough impetus to complete the collection of Kanno and Mizoguchi's inspirational music.

CD INFORMATION
THE VISION OF ESCAFLOWNE ~LOVERS ONLY
Victor Entertainment
VICL-841