Let's make one thing clear right now: I absolutely ADORE the "Escaflowne" anime. I rated it a 10/10. This will influence my review. Not that it matters anyway; as a stand-alone this manga is boring and useless, and in the context of the original TV series, it's even worse. It's a monstrosity. It's not even the same story anymore. It's some generic crap with "Escaflowne" slapped on the cover. It's a bad joke.

That being said, what the HELL IS THIS?

I was excited when I heard that the "Escaflowne" manga was going to be brought to the United States. Hey, the anime was good, and I had read some awesome manga that came post-anime ("Evangelion" comes to mind), and you can't have too much of a good thing, right?

That's a moot question anyway. This manga isn't a good thing. It just... sucks.

In the first place, the characters lost their... character. They've gone from beautifully-nuanced individuals to walking stereotypes of shounen-genre robot anime. And the character designs themselves have gone to hell. They're bad. They're boring. They're stereotypical. The story is now some stock lost-prince-reclaims-his-throne garbage, and Escaflowne is just another Most Powerful Mecha(R). The manga does not play up stereotypes for fun and parody as some series do. The manga just has them... and kills them. That's it.

If you enjoyed the "Escaflowne" manga, stay the hell away from this. It will just make your blood boil. If you enjoy robot manga, read something else instead. If you enjoy fantasy manga, read something else instead. If you enjoy shounen manga... you get the point. This isn't worth your time.