Hbi2k is certainly an abridging workhouse, and he cements that tireless reputation by following with VEAS so soon after Gantz ended. I'll admit I've never seen Vision of Escaflowne, so this might be a series that will spur me on to enjoy another new anime before getting the full effect—I definitely enjoyed Gantz abridged more after watching the anime, but for the first eleven episodes so far I've been a n00b.
I'll also admit that this was not my favorite hbi episode beginning ever—the first introductiony minute was pretty slow, but Van kicks it up a notch around 1:40. Hitomi's voice-acting also wasn't as strong, I felt, as the performances in Gantz (something about the audio track feels a bit dry, maybe a touch of reverb would help?). I will say this though—excellent use of Zelda town music. In fact, the episode after minute 4 is fantastic—there are some great self-aware anime-deprecating bits. Still, overall, this feels a bit less polished—not a huge fault given the speed at which this guy pumps out above-average stuff. As with Berserk and Gantz, the series grows and improves over time, as future reviews will surely deal with.
Favorite lines:
"Sniggity-slice!"
"Ooh, manservice!"
"Oh, apparently we do"
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
The Vision of EscaFlowne is one of my favorite anime of all time. While it's definitely easy to still be amused without having seen the series, it is, in my opinion soooooo much funnier if you have because you truly get the full extent of the jokes.
ReplyDeleteAn FYI in case you intend to do future reviews of VEAS and/or care, it's "Van" not "Vaughn." =D
Above average?
ReplyDeleteHbi2k sets the bar
Oh man, can't believe I left that old typo in. This was an original review from when VEAS first came out, before hbi himself set me straight and I began wikipediaing character names before writing reviews.
ReplyDeletehbi2k is one of my favorite abridgers (obviously, given who's working with me here), but I think a few episodes in is when VEAS really hits its stride.