The Vision of Escaflowne

The Vision of Escaflowne (天空のエスカフローネ) is a 26-episode[?] anime television series by Sunrise studio[?], originally aired in Japan between April 2 and September 24 of 1996.

It has elements of shoujo and mecha sub-genres. The story is a very good mix of literature and anime genres, getting even into mankind's history. The music, composed by Yoko Kanno and Hajime Mizoguchi[?], is of a decidedly Middle Eastern flavor, though incorporating such disparate elements as western choir and electro-pop. Bandai[?]'s now-defunct Anime Village label condensed the entire 26-episode story arc into three subtitled VHS tapes in 1998, marketed as the Vision of Escaflowne Best Collection. This version was briefly aired on the Fox Kids[?] network in another edited form between August and October of 2000, but was canceled while still in early plot development, probably due to the complex themes presented in the later episodes. It was rehashed for the final time in a 2001 theatrical release.

The unedited 26-part series has since been released on US and UK DVD sets offering a choice of dubbed and subtitled versions.