The Vision of Escaflowne is a 26-episode Japanese anime television series created by Sunrise Studios and directed by Kazuki Akane. It premiered on TV Tokyo on April2,1996, with the final episode showing on September24, 1996. Animax, Sony's anime satellite station, also showed the series, both in Japan and on its many worldwide networks, including Hong Kong, Taiwan, Southeast Asia, and South Asia. Bandai Entertainment has licensed the series for release in Region 1. The series follows Hitomi, an adolescent high school student who is drawn from Earth to the planet Gaea when a boy named Van appears on the high school track while fighting a dragon. In Gaea, she is caught in the thick of a conflict as the Zaibach Empire strives to take over the country. Van, with the help of Allen, commands his mystical mech Escaflowne in the fight to stop the Zaibach Empire. Hitomi's fortune-telling abilities bloom in Gaea as she becomes the key to awakening Escaflowne and thwarting Zaibach's goals. While the anime series was in production, two completely different manga retellings were written and released: a shnen version of the narrative titled The Vision of Escaflowne and a shjo retelling titled Hitomi—The Vision of Escaflowne. In addition, a second shjo adaptation, Escaflowne—Memories, Energist's was published as a single book in 1997. Yumiko Tsukamoto, Hajime Yatate, and Shoji Kawamori wrote a series of six light novels based on the story. Escaflowne: The Movie, a film adaptation, was released on June24,2000, but it shows only a passing similarity to the original series. In addition to the series, four CD soundtracks and a drama CD were issued.