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Why is everyone being such an ass in ch16 The abbreviated set of ch16 Q&As

Since I finally caught up and reposted chapter 16 on AO3, I was thinking, what bonus material could I share about that chapter? Last time I did at least a rough sketch and before that a little explanatory note related to ch 14... I considered starting a new sketch (and I did in the end, but not for this chapter) or some sort of analysis...

But then I remembered I actually have a pretty substantial material on ch 16! Based on a document/set of questions that was sent to me by a thoughtful online friend/reader a while back. Figured it MAY be interesting to read for someone else, so I’ll make an abbreviated version. I’m just skipping the questions that were simply linguistic or that probably wouldn’t be of interest to anyone else… there's still a lot of stuff! Enough stuff to actually make a private post and just redirect there from here...

SO I'll just DO THAT

If you had some Qs yoursef, just let me know and I'll do my best to A. Same if you had any comments to what was already posted there... WARNING, it's pretty massive, same as the chapter itself. It has quite a few references and made me think about many things that I just did instinctively when I actually wrote the thing... it was a great exercise! Thanks Ninn and everyone else who could be interested to such detail! <3

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But just so that you don't say that we can't have ANYTHING nice here after that last post... today it is exactly 7 years since I posted the first chapter. It's not every year I realize but this time, I did. In celebration, I posted chapter 15 on AO3 that was sitting in my drafts, and, as a small thanks to people who have followed and supported the fic, many of them for a LONG time, here is the rough of the chapter 15 illustration I started about a week ago. Sketch for a sketch because that's my best rn.

BUT, as a reminder, chapter 15 already got wonderful illustrations made by @eireanness, check them out HERE, HERE, and HERE <333333

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@coverteyes

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Why is Van being such an ass in ch14

Pfft is this a start of a new series? Cause I'm sure we could analyze other chapters from the very same angle. Anyway, I think in ch14, the readers' displeasure with Van reached its peak (and that is to say something, with what came next). I recently reposted chapter 14 to AO3, so I guess it came back to me. And because I have great readers who ask questions that I might not have even consciously considered while writing, I synthetized some semi-coherent explanations out of several direct replies, that will summarize here.

As a reminder, this is a chapter where I had Van escape with Hitomi, trying to lure the Zaibach unit away from practically defenseless Fanelia. As a result, they are stuck on their "get-along guymelef" (idc I'll use it as much as I can lol) that forces them physically close and, maybe even more importantly, they are stuck alone together for the first time. Expectations are high but the conversation once again doesn't go as people would have wished for.

I think what the readers saw as the most abusive this chapter was the moment when Van says "he certainly didn't call her back". Which is kind of a brutal statement that sounds like he either wants to hurt her or has no feelings for her. I get that. But it's not a conversation between a sequel type VH.

Please remember that this is not a continuation after ep 26 where we have the relationship established between them in terms that, "I'll be there when you need me". In my fic, they parted way before that, before any realization, any confession and basically with no love on the table there, not yet. Which is why, they still try to act all rational and casual around each other, like this is the question of practical matters, not of heart. Hitomi herself insists there has to be an objective reason why she's back (as if there were no feelings involved) and she herself tells Van, "I certainly did not wish myself back" back in ch 4. They both are doing more or less the same thing. This is in fact continuation of their talk in ch 4.

And in a way, this scene is analogous to the series scene where they fly to meet Folken in Fanelia, with the way Hitomi initiates conversation, with Van shutting her attempts down and his resignation about her and Allen. And it is Van here as well who admits that there could be feelings involved, because there was Allen, too, whom he knows she had feelings for (unlike for him). Another hint that may have been easy to miss, in ch 8, when Van comes to pick Millerna to the garden, he sees that Hitomi had been out there with Allen. So, even if it was about feelings, who would she be more likely to respond to?

But she poses the question not as "Did you call me because you missed me?" but as "Did you call me because you wanted to use me in the war again, even if you know I hated it?" Of course he must refute that part, at least, if he has grown any since the barn scene. It IS some sort of growth, although not one the VH stans would hope for, I get it. The choice of words and tone is very UNFORTUNATE ofc but it's Van we're talking about and moreover, his pride must have been hurt by that question not a bit. He would already be on edge because all that has been happening. And obviously, I'm still very secretive about his other feelings at this point, hah. I hope the explanation (there is one) of why he's like that will make these moments make sense in retrospect.

As said, this isn't even a romantic conversation for Van. But it isn't even for Hitomi at first, when she literally asks him if he called her back, she is being pragmatic, thinking about their next course of action. But this must kinda be a realization moment for her, too, because she is emotionally affected beyond her current understanding. She started a casual enough conversation about very pragmatic things and suddenly she's on the verge of crying because he DENIED summoning her to use her in the war, which she hated in the first place? Still, she's at least brave enough to even start such conversation. I respect that a lot tbh! As she explains herself (soon in the fic), she just "has to speak up" in situations, and yes, it gets her into all sort of trouble, but it also makes her build friendships rather quickly.

I guess that's all wanted to say about it for now, without revealing some plot points. Hope you don't mind another post just related to the old chapters but tbh, as I go through them reposting, I feel like it may be a last chance to give explanations like this before moving on and yeah, eventually revealing the secrets, haha. I'm not posting these in the tag and I think my followers would be used to this kind of content by now. Thinking about these also gets me into writing mood. If there is something I can answer like this now or in the future, just lmk!

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@visarcana/@fayrinferno Did this inspire the first VA chapter before she falls into Gaia? @coverteyes thanks for the question! (I made a new post) I'm not sure if it did, at least not consciously, but it DOES have the same feel of course. I was focusing on the ground cracking under her, much like when she falls in the mine. It's good that you remember this btw., the way it happened and the imagery will have significance yet.

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What do we know about... Cesario (Chezario)

For those who keep up with the fic; last we were somewhere around the country of Cesario (otherwise known as Chezario, which is closer to how it’s pronounced in the original). Let’s scour the artbooks and all for info about this Gaean country!

Previously in the WDWK series: Basram, Egzardia

Canon information

1. Cesario is the country that asks Van to lead their decimated vanguard to “boost the troop morale.”

The situation is, Van comes back after retrieving Hitomi (episode 24), and lands at a Cesarian military camp, in an unspecified area close(r) to the Zaibach border. The soldiers say they were humiliated as they were overwhelmed by Zaibach’s military might. The state of the camp is pitiful with many dead and many destroyed melefs. 

By the way, there are Cesario troops and leviships in Palas at the same time, so the defeated camp is definitely not all of the country’s army.

Next time we see Van, the main Alliance army is arrived but he is still with this Cesario force and separate from Allen and the others, so it seems there was a bit of camaraderie present at that point if they stayed together instead of Van joining the Asturians as usual.

The filmbook has a note saying they “value knighthood” and “take it upon themselves to spearhead the attack against Zaibach”. From this, I sort of always had a headcanon that people would know and like Van in Cesario. Like, if they like honor and chivalry, and they appreciate the young boy and his legendary guymelef enough to ask him to lead them, you just sort of know they have a fondness for a story like that and see magic in it.

2. The design of the soldiers/guymelefs

The design of the Cesarian characters looks like medieval European knights, I would even go as far as to say, actual Crusaders (not to be confused with the Crusade crew).

The settei gives us, as usual, an image of an ordinary soldier and of a general, plus the general’s name. This time, it’s Ferme (Ferume) or its variations. Easter egg, Escaflowne Compendium had a mention of “Vermeer” in the code on the subpage about characters (it was something that was not visible on the website itself), I believe it could be one of the many possible transcriptions of this guy’s name from Japanese (I don’t think there is a source for that or any other romanization though and that’s probably the reason why it was hidden from view).

By the way, the names of these generals are pretty solidly confirmed; I have found three artbook sources for them already although they are never used in the series and the whole role of the alliance generals is practically to order their troops to turn on each other. Here is the Ferme guy calling for Cesario to “use the chance to rise to lead Gaea,” please note the color scheme looks a bit different in episode 26 (pale blue instead of dark).

Anyway, back to the design. The chainmail, the cross-quartered overshirt... where does it lead? I think the answer is pretty clear this time...

First of all, it has to be said Crusades are WAY older stuff than what I found before, showing the inspiration for the designs of soldiers of Basram or Egzardia that seems to be the 17th-19th century Europe, which is coincidentally also the level of development of Gaea according to the official materials. Crusades are hundreds of years before that! Plus, there were several of them, spanning centuries.

So, finding a drawing of a Crusader that would be authentic, non-fictional, and from the same period, is way harder. Many of the illustrations from which we form the image of a crusader come from later period, especially around the romantism movement in 19th century. And these representations, especially the most common image of templars, fit our Cesarians quite well. 

With the way their head gear is constructed, I think the reference may have been some encyclopaedia depiction of knights templar. These are some of the closest examples I could find (obviously, the variation is too great and probably also was with the real people).

But just out of curiosity I took a look:at the contemporary art (14th/15th century and older), it seems way harder to detect that typical image of the crusader with that huge cross across his chest, but yeah, you can obviously often see the motif of a cross and the chain mail.

And these two are prominent even in the design of our Cesarians. The same shape is visible even on their guymelefs (title picture), and yep, on their flag.

4. The flag/coat of arms

The cross on Cesarians seems to match the design of their flag, and to me, it looks nothing more like than the sword handle/crossguard. 

This time again, we don’t have the official Sunrise image for ants but we have plenty sources of how it should look in color so I spent 3000 hours in MS Paint and there you go.

Anyway, the sword hilt would obviously match it being such a heroic and militaristic country, although it’s quite simple imagery, I like the decorative detail put in there. Any other ideas?

5. Cesario is a neighboring country to Asturia and possibly to Zaibach

I repeat myself once again, this is because we know Asturia formed an alliance with its neighboring countries (episode 23) and Cesario came to their help. But actually, this is also confirmed in the text of the Roman Artbook. 

It also strongly looks like they may share a border also with Zaibach, although the filmbooks just say they are in the vanguard in the attack against them. That was my idea without looking at the books anyway since they are attacked by them in that camp and once the main force arrives to the same place and then they practically fight to invade Zaibach already! 

There is a bit of a mystery of Zaibach general Adelphos, too, who is impatiently waiting for the orders to attack “the alliance filth” that he believes can be easily defeated. After this scene, we are shown Allen and the alliance main force still in Asturia, so it seems Adelphos could have meant these Cesarians? 

So, from all this, it would seem to me the main forces of Zaibach and the Alliance have gathered on the border between Cesario and Zaibach although it does not say explicitly that in the canon.

And what did I do with this for the fic? Well, we currently (as of chapter 16) find ourselves in Cesario. For a quick recap, Van escaped Fanelia with Hitomi, and, followed by a Zaibach squad headed out north. They got as far as Cesarian forests, where they were reunited with Crusade who had visited Fanelia shortly after their escape and started searching for them. And here is where they come across the Cesarian elite squad. 

I just sketched those characters vaguely in my head but I wanted to make them, you know, elite knights who are admirable for their strength but also kind of scary, especially to a POV character like Hitomi. Van leaves with them on their leviship that is also a pride of Cesarian army. Anyway, this elite force is also present in the questioning of the prisoners from chapter 16, again, I’m not too explicit due to POVs used, but obviously, when Van arrived to the camp up north with them, they planned their actions together and they will continue to be together for a while. 

We’ll see how much detail I’ll include about these guys in the next few chapters. Regarding Cesario itself, I imagine a pretty big country. Because I imagine Zaibach (including conquested land) as even bigger and if these guys are able to hold the candle to them, they probably aren’t little or weak either. Since we are coming up north, I imagined a lot of forests but also increasingly mountains. I also made them more technologically advanced than the medieval designs suggest; simply because they are close to Zaibach and these things tend to spill over the borders, unless you are a really isolated country. And if you’re waging a war against such an advanced enemy, technological progress becomes a matter of your survival. So yeah, after few years, these guys will not be so easily wiped out as they describe in the episode 25 scene.

The scene showed in the anime shows bare stone landscape that looks similar to what we see of Zaibach, but I decided it is just that particular area. Alliance is trying to make a breach from a different point, and the sceneries will be much different there. Bit of it was already revealed through Hitomi’s eyes when they make a stop in the Cesarian city. Allen rides to send a message to his king (I was not explicit but this is what he did there) and Crusade is refueling a bit. Hitomi makes some observations of the land and the city. 

Another bit is the camp and the mountainous border that we explore from both sides in chapter 16. I imagine pretty bleak (but beautiful) mountains and snow plains. Similar to the background of this blog, actually, one of the reasons I picked it! By the way, we will spend some more time here, so I will use Cesario as a playground some more!

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Future chapter sketches, maybe a little better than this one

Literal trash posting again but I sort of wanted to save this initial version too, it was doodled in my textbook.... it's even more horrible than I remembered BUT it took too long to find so posting anyway haha. Environment sketches, no matter how crappy, are very rare. Also, for those who say they don't have talent for drawing, this is about the extent of mine, without the effort.

ANYWAY, chapter illustrations. I posted another one, for chapter 9. And it's Dryden again, I realized I draw him quite often? It's always fun with him, I just hope I got his vibe correct. And boohoo, why did my blog theme stop doing the cool thing where the picture and the text were side by side?

Should I continue doing the illustrations or am I torturing myself fruitlessly? WHO KNOWS? I had an idea to do them each chapter but I honestly question if my sorry butt is capable of it anymore. I feel like I'm 80 years old sometimes.

However, If there is a VA scene from chapters 10-16 you'd like to see illustrated by my sorry hand, please let me know. Or if you just want to see more of a specific character. It may be the motivation I need to actually do it in a foreseeable future.

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Vis Arcana

Chapter 9

A Tenkuu no Escaflowne fanfiction by Rinjou

“Fine!” Dryden announced jovially, even if he was getting just as angry as his father. Meiden talked to him like he was a foolish child, and he had always, always despised that. He picked up the envelope, sticking it into his robe’s pocket. “I don’t need your heirloom, father. We can have a purely business relationship. I just hope you will let me at least see my siblings from time to time.”

Meiden looked at him as if he didn’t recognize him anymore. That disappointment hurt, no matter what he said. It was just that he would rather disappoint his father than himself.

“Don’t count on it! You are a bad influence,” the older man snarled.

“And proud of that! Farewell, Lord Meiden.” Dryden left him with long, determined strides.

Read on Tumblr

Read on FanFiction.net

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Anyone remembers when I did this the last time? If you don't, here are reminders number one and number two. This time it's Folken, Merle, and my Cyro. Might be the final one, I will just post the sketches one by one or use them for the chapters I guess.

The first of these (I don't know what to call them) was done for the fic's second bday, the second one around the third. And now it's been... six years, exactly few days ago. Wow. Also, while the first two are sort of love triangles, this one does not contain any pairings (just to be clear). The sketches are rougher compared to the previous ones, well, everything seems to be nowadays. You can practically see the difference here between the OC's face (that's of an earlier date) and the other two (that I finalized only recently). I could try harder and give it some more time but I'm just happy and thankful to be drawing again at all. I will need to get a practiced hand again to get a little bit smoother and I would like to finally start something new. As you know, I like these sort of rough sketches best though tbh I'm dying to color something as well.

P.S. Please bear with me with the next chapter a little longer, it is coming as well.

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Kamakura pt. 3 - Hitomi's commute

I was doing some thinking/researching about where Hitomi lives, thanks to a question by @mirimiramiri. Aaand another portion of my useless ramblings came out of it... well, first of all, I still believe the place where Hitomi lives (Kanzaki family house) and the place where Hitomi's mom hosts Amano and Yukari (and shows them photos of Hitomi's grandma) could be two separate places. I already explained the theory in one of the previous posts.

I'm not exactly convinced but it can be also be argued, and Japanese wikipedia actually said at one point, that Hitomi lives in Fujisawa, which is the neighboring town of Kamakura. The wiki no longer says so btw. and I can't even find it in history so it's possible that edit was eventually marked as vandalism. One possible explanation of the Fujisawa thing is that when Hitomi goes back from school in ep 24, she wanders around town after dark (we see stairs and pedestrian crossing) but these stairs are actually near the station in Fujisawa, not Kamakura.

So that can make it look like only her school is in Kamakura and she goes home every day to Fujisawa (it's not far at all, actually, the green train that is featured in the anime goes only between Kamakura and Fujisawa as a short, local line). She's also alone, and now that I think of it, Yukari is not seen in the scenes with Hitomi waiting at the station in the anime. So it could mean they normally separate somewhere before that and Yukari may not even need to take the train to school like Hitomi does.

Meanwhile, going by the same logic of existing places again, the place where Hitomi's mom meets Hitomi's friends is certainly in Kamakura, because in that scene, we see another existing station that is in the town, the Kita-Kamakura station.

So yeah, if Hitomi actually lived in Fujisawa, this would furthermore support my two houses theory. But there's another catch: after we see Hitomi walking around Fujisawa after dark, we see her on the train (again? or for the first time that evening?), and the direction she's riding seems to be... back to Kamakura. I realize now that she would even pass the station she seems to be waiting at in ep 26, so if we went by the existing stations, it would seem a deliberate detour into the neighboring town, then back to Kamakura, where she lives (after all).

Still, there's something irrational for me there, but I feel when they set the atmosphere with stills before they show the Kanzaki house and the place where Amano and Yukari meet Hitomi's mom, it feels different. I get the impression the Kanzaki house is closer to the shore but the other place is definitely in the area near the station above, in more traditional part of the town and farther away from the sea. Of course, I could be entirely off and Hitomi in fact takes the train from the imaginary mix of Koukou Mae and Hase stations in the south of the city and exits at the station above, Kita-Kamakura or North Kamakura, which is also where mom meets her friends. BUT WAIT, the Kita-Kamakura station is no longer on the same line and she would actually have to transfer from the green train (Enoden) to the regular, Tokyo-bound train (like you see on the cap on the station), even if it's not such a long trip.

AND it wouldn't even make a lot of sense to do all that either, because Hitomi's school is canonically called Kamakura Kita, or Kamakura North. If she actually lived somewhere near the North Kamakura station, she would not walk all the way south to take a train from there, because the school already IS in the north of the town and should be walking distance from her home. Unless she goes south only to see Yukari off, it would be an illogical detour. But we see do her waiting on the station south on the shore, without Yukari. I think that confirms it's part of her regular commute. So yeah, TL; DR I'm sticking to the two houses theory and I actually will make further use of that later in the story.

Anyway, here's the whole recollection of Hitomi's way back from school, at least on the day she first faints on the track (which is one day before "the fateful" one), using what I know from visiting the place and listing the (real locations):

Hitomi and Yukari walk out of their school (Sasuke Inari Shrine)

The two pass the "hair salon" and the church (Kamakuraoncho Church)

The two go down the stairs (Gokurakujizaka Pass)

The two have their talk in the tunnel (Shiyakusho Doori/Ave.)

Hitomi, already alone, wanders around town (Fujisawa station)

Hitomi is on the train (somewhere between Fujisawa and Kamakura)

Hitomi reaches the Kanzaki residence.

In real Kamakura, this actually stops making sense already by the stairs, at least if we consider the scene order as chronologically linear. Because the tunnel is right after the church on the same street and the referenced stairs are in another place totally and don't even lead to anything relevant.

Not to mention, the station Hitomi is seen waiting at in other scenes is also elsewhere and it makes no sense to go to it by the road they're taking. So you cannot retrace a linear route, they are practically teleporting around the town map.

So, the conclusion is, you probably cannot reference Escaflowne's Kamakura to the real place, they just used the "sceneries" and connected them as they liked without much heed to the directional accuracy or logic. They just made their own, imaginary Kamakura, keeping the atmosphere and sights of the actual place, and using the whole Shonan region, not exclusively Kamakura, as a reference. I shouldn't even be surprised, as this is how they deal with real life inspirations all over the anime, why should this be an exception just because it's on Earth? It's intriguing but also great pain to come to any conclusions about this stuff, obscure and tangled as it is. Yet I greatly enjoy the process for some reason.

Anyway, we can at least sort of piece together the idea of Hitomi's route home from school from episodes 1, 24, and 26 (although it seems she may have even taken a little walk/detour in ep 24):

her school is in the suburbs, next to a Shinto shrine

she walks by foot to the town centre/station, together with Yukari, traversing the long, steep stairs and the tunnel

somewhere on the way or maybe in the town centre she separates from Yukari, who either lives walking distance from school or takes another train (possibly from another station?)

she waits alone at the train station in the wider town center

she takes the train home

Related posts:

The reply about Hitomi's house

Kamakura pt. 1

Kamakura pt. 2: Hitomi's home

Kamakura pt. 3: Hitomi's commute (this one)

The Surprising Discoveries

The First Visit

The Whole Pilgrimage

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...on AO3

Thanks for the encouragement folks! I will try to keep some sort of updating schedule until I catch up.

Also a quick reply to @courtingevil

I'm not sure on which website tho? On AO3, the chapter sketches are contained directly in the chapter, as a picture. I just updated the fic, so it should be on top of the AO3 tag and you can see what I mean.

FFN does not allow links at all and kills everything resembling a link on upload, so that would be difficult... I could only do those camouflaged links with "replace ooo with www and asterisks with dots", which is FAR from ideal as far as links go.

But best place to see the sketches in one place is actually this blog, I make a post when I update usually and those posts are the original postings of the chapter sketches in fact. Besides the illustration, they also contain the chapters themselves but by now it's not the most up-to-date version. I fixed the tags so now HERE THEY ARE ALL IN ONE PLACE. (if I misunderstood sth just lmk).

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The Complete Escaflowne Pilgrimage

Why am I posting a random train video? Well, you gotta wait for it... Today, Escaflowne is older than its number of episodes for the first time. Happy anniversary! I thought I’d finally post this thing that is so overdue, you wouldn’t believe. Thanks @coverteyes for proofreading once again, I would likely not get this out anytime soon without her help!

Warning: this is very long and image-heavy under the cut. Preview:

As you may know, I lived in Japan for some time a few years back. Obviously, I had a great time. There are so many things to see, to try... even one year didn’t feel like it was enough! Of course, this sentiment is shared by a gorillion of other people, so yeah, tourism in Japan thrives... unless there’s a pandemic going on. (Man, I really had no idea what would happen… I started writing this after I got back from Japan, right before 2020).

In any case, what has been gaining popularity in recent years are the anime tours, covering the spots featured in popular titles. The anime makers often reference real places in their work, one of the reasons I was surprised to see that real Japan looks very much like anime Japan. Add the sense of detail that they possess, and you get a very faithful rendition of the atmosphere you get in existing places, in Japanese cities and countryside, in trains, in schools etc. Of course, die-hard fans easily spot the places, and something as mundane as a random staircase or a zebra crossing becomes a “monument” worth visiting!I am always behind on new anime, and my thing is fantasy and sci-fi rather than slice of life, so I probably passed some of these places unknowingly. Anyway, it’s no secret that I have a soft spot for my fav anime titles from my teenage years, especially Tenkuu no Escaflowne. It takes place mostly in the alternate world of Gaea, but the main heroine, Kanzaki Hitomi, goes to school (lives?) in a town inspired by Kamakura, Japan. Well duh, her school is even named Kamakura Kita. But there are also differences, more on that later.

Since there are only a few existing places from Escaflowne you can easily find, I decided to get all of them. Starting, of course, from Kamakura. The first two visits to the city were not done for that purpose, but I still managed to capture some familiar views. On the third, I planned to catch everything I still missed. 

What really helped me was the map and the comic published in The Vision of Escaflowne Fanbook back in 1997, only about one year after the series aired. The whole book was put together by Escaflowne fans. The map was created by two fans who went on a quest to search for the spots and then drew a small comic about their adventures. Thank you, Yufuko-san and Izumi-san, you helped me a lot there!

So the tour is done by Senoo Yufuko, who introduced herself as “a part time housewife” and Izumi, the “guide” and “Escamakuramaster”. Funny thing is I googled a person called Senoo Yufuko and found out she's a fantasy novelist. What was more interesting was that her website is called Usagiya…as in, usagi, or rabbit. Like the rabbit in the comic about the Kamakura stroll. From her website I opened her twitter, and then I had a revelation with the first look at her twitter profile pic. HOLY ... it was her! This Japanese fantasy novelist, who is the age of my dad, made a fan pilgrimage to Kamakura in 1997, and she is still active! She did this tour with her one year old in a stroller, who would be... the age of the series itself now! This was somehow very heartwarming for me. Anyway, on with the report!

I didn’t bring the Fanbook itself to Japan but fortunately I had it scanned. So I stopped at the nearest conbini (convenience store) and printed out the pages. Armed with those, the camera, the series screencaps saved on my phone, and some rations, I embarked on a third journey to cover everything I missed the first two times. My theory was, if the scenery was supposed to be based on real Kamakura, in the 90s analog age, they had to use photos as references. And if there were photos used for the scenes, they can be taken again from the same spot! So I tried to capture as many as I could.

How to get there (and around)

I mentioned this elsewhere, Kamakura is an old, coastal town south of Tokyo with many sights and popular beaches. To get there, you hop on the Yokosuka line for Zushi in Tokyo–the trip costs only a few hundred yen (or a few bucks)– and before you know it, you’re there.

First thing you will certainly pass if you take a train is the Kamakura Kita or Kamakura North station (named the same as Hitomi’s school). This station is also referenced in one of Escaflowne episodes, more on that later. Anyway, it is worth getting off the train there for other reasons, too, as there are several pretty temples and gardens in the area.

The following train stop is already the main station of Kamakura itself. You may feel surprised at how many tourists circle the station, but then, it is a really popular getaway from Tokyo. I read somewhere that many foreign fans come to Kamakura because of Slam Dunk, a popular basketball manga. Many more come to Kamakura because of Kamakura. I can guarantee that not many come because of Escaflowne, which seems a bit forgotten and obscure by now; I didn’t see any references to it during my stay, when some other, more popular, 90s titles came up from time to time.

So, in this case, I was an exception, but I also quickly fell in love with the town so I cannot say the anime was my only motivation in returning there.

In the town itself, you can move around by the Enoden (literal translation of the full name is Enoshima electric train). This cute, green antique train is an attraction in itself and connects Kamakura and the neighboring city of Fujisawa. If you make more than two Enoden trips, it is already worth getting a Noriorikun, a one day pass, right away at the station. I also got a souvenir of Enoden from one of the gachapon machines.

There are plenty of things to do in Kamakura: there is the Great Buddha, historic temples and shrines (used to be the seat of the shogun and a capital), the famed Enoshima aquarium (featured in the Kuragehime jdrama, for example), beaches popular for surfing, windsurfing etc. But if you are crazy, you may wanna try to find some anime sights instead.

So let’s finally get to it. The photos are mine, taken mostly with a Fujifilm XT-20 camera.  (Please note that I filtered and adjusted the photos as necessary to get the closest possible result.) 

Starting from the first episode….

Hitomi’s and Yukari’s walk home (EP1)

After Yukari catches Hitomi in a compromising situation with Amano-senpai at the infirmary, they walk home side-by-side. Yukari mock-scolds Hitomi about making a move on him behind her back and teases her into buying her desserts. They descend steep stairs, pass several buildings and then walk into the tunnel where Yukari tells Hitomi about Amano’s imminent departure.

The dessert enumeration happens right in front of this cute little building, now housing a hair salon.

They also pass this small church that is right across the street.

You can get to this area by a short walk from the station along Shiyakushodoori (City Hall Street).

As they pass the hair salon first, then the church, they seem to be coming from the other direction, towards the station. After the church and the stairs they get to the tunnel.

I passed two or three tunnels walking this very road, and more can be found around, because the area is quite hilly. I think there are two potential tunnels that could be the one Yukari and Hitomi walk through: Onari tunnel and Shinsasuke tunnel.

Izumi-san thinks this is the tunnel in question, because it had a fence on top and “nameplate” like the one in the anime (the nameplate was changed to just a fenced opening from the production sketch).

Because of the thriving shrubbery, I could not see any fences nor nameplates, but I believe I got the right one. They really tried to replicate this funny tunnel. It’s funny because the opening has a different shape on both sides. The side which Hitomi and Yukari are coming out of is more or less the correct shape though, which is why I think this is the one. It’s in fact the first tunnel you pass on the way from the station.

On the other hand, during another visit, I got a picture of the perfectly round Shinsasuke tunnel further up the road. This one has a phone booth next to it, like the one in the anime (although the booth is on the wrong side). 

What do you think? Which one is closer? I think it may have been the combination of the two.

Here’s another bonus shot of the inside of the first tunnel:

Sasuke Inari Taisha / Sasuke Inari Shrine (EP1)

Escaflowne TV kicks off at Hitomi’s school called Shiritsu Kamakura Kita Koukou, which is imaginary, sorry. But just across the street from this made-up school, there is a familiar thing... a shrine with red torii gates leading uphill in the woods. The shrine where the dragon follows Hitomi and her friends while Van tries to kill it to obtain its minerals.

In reality, the entrance to the shrine is not across some street, but rather, a small street leads to the entrance. It is pretty hidden in a residential area, and the torii gates feel way smaller than they seem from the anime (you can see a pic with a certain person as a comparison in the previous post).

Anyway, this red torii-lined pathway is a feature of many other inari taisha (fox shrines) across Japan. My second visit to the shrine, I heard the fox barking, even (and I rushed away cause I was alone haha)! The most famous fox shrine in Japan is probably the Fushimi Inari in Kyoto, with literally thousands of red torii of all sizes and numerous shrines lining the way up the hill. But you can find a similar-looking pathway randomly in Japan!

What makes this the referenced shrine was the main building which looks similar, but not the same. The steps to the side shrine (where Hitomi and co. escape after the dragon follows them up to the main shrine), also look a lot different.

Shibuya 109 (EP 8)

This is the only Tokyo landmark to appear in the series. Hitomi has a dream/vision of a date with Allen and they go to a game center in a department store called “Shibiya 1G9″, or something. (The reason behind the mangled name is probably trademark use/advertising reasons.)

Ta da.  Allen and Hitomi have lots of fun, until Millerna arrives and snatches him off with her carriage. Then her dream and the building collapses, in a recurring motif of a falling tower.

It took me one visit to Shibuya 109 to see why the creators would choose it. This is heaven for teenage girls, especially. Don’t know about the 90s, but now it houses covering all kinds of scene brands, Korean cosmetics, and ultra kawaii and hip fast food stalls. I saw many teenagers around, just hanging out. It seemed like a place definitely on their map. It may have been remodelled since the series aired, but it seems to still remain a sacred hip place for teens.

Hitomi is not from Tokyo, but I guess she would be allowed to visit with friends over the weekends and such. It’s only a half-hour train ride. The Allen date is also something very Japanese. I lost count how many times I have seen couples hand-in-hand in and around shopping centers, with the girl holding a huge bagged plush toy the boy likely won for her from one of those machines. So of course she would imagine this as an ideal date!

Kamakura Kita Eki / Kamakura North Station (EP 16)

I mentioned this station earlier in this post. Kamakura Kita Eki on the line to Tokyo is shown in episode 16, when Hitomi’s mother invites Yukari and Amano to show them a picture of Hitomi’s grandma and tell them her story.

We are not shown the actual house from a distance, just a bamboo fence and a shot of the patio. I found bamboo fences, but not in the right shape of the street… but this kind of looks similar, if you use your imagination and see a bamboo fence instead (as this probably was many years ago). Really, this is just for effect, you can catch similar scenes anywhere in Japan, and probably even a closer match than this. But the atmosphere of the place was similar, as it seems a more traditional area of the town altogether.

Hitomi’s walk back (EP 24) 

Have you noticed that Hitomi’s walk back home has a few extra scenes in Episode 24? There is one with Yukari on the steps that give an aerial view of the bay for example. I could not see any stairs after passing the hair salon, but the anime makes it feel like they should be in the area, so I explored a bit. Found some stairs, but they seemed to be leading to a private property, so I did not try climbing them. Instead, I turned to the Fanbook again.

Izumi-san and Yufuko-san think the stairs are located in another area, and they lead to the Gokurakuji Pass (apparently, it used to lead to the Gokurakuji temple but does not anymore). It was in an area that I was passing through on my way to Fujisawa in the evening, so guess what, I got off the train and I went to look for them even though it was dark already. What do you think?

You probably can’t see anything. But I think it’s possible a view like you see in the anime would open somewhere further up those steps and that path.

However, there was a closed gate so I could not climb them higher. I don't know if it was permanent or if it was closed because it was so late. But you know what, I take it as a sign to return next time and explore that area. It was the same with Mt. Fuji, we planned a trip but the weather prevented us from seeing the summit. So I still have the dream to climb Mt. Fuji one day!

Instead of the view we got from the stairs in the anime, I present to you another high view of Kamakura, this one from my Hasedera Temple visit. The actual photo I took is in the previous post, I used a sepia filter for this.

The final stop of my day trip was Fujisawa, from where I caught a direct train back to Tokyo. Izumi-san and Yufuko-san said that the area in front of the Fujisawa station looked like the one Hitomi wandered around when she got back from Gaea shortly in ep 24. These scenes are not present in ep 1, so it makes me wonder if she walked around the city that night after her tunnel talk to Yukari in ep 1, too, or if it was induced by the new discoveries about Yukari, Amano, and herself. But she seems to be home around the same time (“Hitomi, bath is ready!”) so could be the first option.

By the way, Hitomi’s house, as seen in the anime, fits the architecture of the area. I saw some similar houses but did not want to take photos of private property.

Back to Fujisawa, here are the stairs that looked a bit familiar, with a box advert in the back. (Unfortunately, there was some construction work going on though.) What do you think?

Streetview actually offers some better shots than I could make at the time (for the purpose of identification at least) and I think it actually confirms that this indeed is the model place when you look at the buildings.

The only other shot from this part was a crosswalk that could be anywhere, so I did not bother with it.

Kamakura Koukou Mae Eki / Kamakura High School Station (EP 26)

On my way to Fujisawa, I also shortly got off at Koukou Mae again (the station from the final scene of the anime, to be handled next) to capture the night Enoden in a similar way as when Hitomi rides it on the way home in episode 24. Mission failed. 

But what I noticed is that the whole station seems to be flipped around for this scene of the anime! I was wondering why Hitomi was riding the Enoden to Fujisawa in the opposite direction than the actual train does, but that explained it. It was all flipped! 

Anyway, back to Koukou Mae Eki. It is allegedly one of the most beautiful stations in Japan and a famous spot for the Slam Dunk fans as well. The Enoden line station itself is rather small, basically just a shelter, which was left unchanged. Also unchanged is the view of Enoshima island from that station, even though you would notice that the proportions are a bit off. 

What is missing are the concrete tetrapods, even though they are nothing special on other stations on the line. Of course, they could have also been moved or removed over the years.

But even Yufuko-san and Izumi-san recommended going to the Koshigoe station to see the tetrapods, so I believe they were not here even in the 90s. I followed their recommendations and saw some behind a structure there. So they combined the view of the island and the tetrapods from the surrounding areas into one.

Also, what needs to be said is that the anime station building is not exactly the same as Koukou Mae Eki. The Fanbook says the design of the station was similar to the next Enoden station on the line called Hase on the photo below. Please compare and contrast.

As we see in ep 26, the back of the station is open, with some empty area behind the Koukou Mae station. This is not the case in the actual place. The back of the station is covered (though this could have been changed more recently to force people through the ticket turnstile) and right behind the station is a slope with a cemetery on it. That was a really strange discovery.

So that’s it, that’s all I managed to find! I had a mind to create a detailed map or something but you know what, if you ever get to Kamakura, probably it’s more fun discovering the stuff yourself. Maybe you can even catch something that I missed? I had more plans there, but with my luck I hurt my foot soon into my last trip. That, of course, slowed me down considerably. Well, see you next time then, Kamakura, and as you see, I have my eyes set on Enoshima already!

P. S. I may make a part 2 to this post, translating the map and the comic from the Fanbook, so keep an eye on that if this is of interest to you or would like to visit yourself!

[visarcana]

Another thing I wondered about: should I bother continuing to reupload the fic to AO3? It would require some edits because I started it as a slightly different version than the FFN one (more weeb version to be exact) but the work may actually help me get back into it. Why do I always make it more work than it has to be? OTL Guess I should have just reposted it as it was. Anyway, maybe I should get the translations out of the way first and then just focus 100% on the fic? But yeah, posting it on AO3 would not be such a chore and finishing with that may actually help me feel like I'm pushing less of a burden in front of me. I will probably just do that. I will have to post the chapters without the sketches which is something I'm sad about giving up on but it is what it is. Once I have the space, maybe I'll start to draw a bit again, I mean the chapter illustrations were no masterpieces but still it feels like a tall hurdle to overcome at this point to draw them for each chapter.

[visarcana]

In celebration of the miserable realization that I haven't updated in more than a year

I was thinking of how this happened and if I REALLY have done so little on the fic. A lot is going on but that shouldn't be my excuse; I had difficult years before. So what was I doing for the past year?

I published the Folken oneshot here and here (phew, there's at least something).

I do have SOME version of ch 17 ready that I have continually worked on, it's just that it doesn't feel up to my standards. What is worse, I cannot figure out what comes after. I have the CONCEPT and major scenes but the plotholes could sink the whole thing if I'm not careful. I hoped to have this figured out before publishing the next chapter, I usually had, in similar situations before. I wonder if I should just risk it and just go ahead.

I have some scenes that do not exactly fit into the fic at this point BUT I WANT to have them. What do? Force them in there somehow (I did that in the past already)? Create a separate "fic" for them? I feel like such an inexperienced writer when things like this and the previous one slow me down while others can produce chapter after chapter much more regularly.

I did A LOT of translation last year, and it was the hard kind, the novel translation. You kinda have to employ your skills there as a writer, too, besides dedicating buttload of time and patience. Maybe I tired myself out and hit the limits of my creative energy? It certainly feels like it at times. This is something that took me by surprise, in the past, the translation fueled rather than impeded my writing.

I did have some very engaging fic talks with a few of the readers and friends, I'm really thankful for that. They were obviously about the stuff I had already posted but I guess it doesn't hurt to think on the past things again, quite often, an inspiration hits from that. Not to mention motivation, it's incredibly motivational to have someone care about your story, I don't think I even need to say that. I even was lucky to lay my eyes on some fanart for the fic and although I can't say I contributed there such a treat ALWAYS deserves gratitude and mention <3

The questions also helped me understand where my writing is unclear or where it may get confusing. Besides the answers, I had to even look up some photo references and even did some pencil sketches. Although they are not great, it's the only thing that I've drawn in long months.

So, in case someone else wondered about the same things, and since I have some of these answers typed out already (with some of them quite elaborate as usual), I will post the "questions" below.

If there is any interest in any of the answers, I will publish them here. I wouldn't want to spam you otherwise, I mean, I get that it's the new chapter people would want to read, if anything. I can't make any other promises but I'll keep working on that as well. Anyway, an update of this blog was long overdue, so I did at least that.

-- CHAPTER 16

What are “sliders”, “lum”, “Telandir” etc.? Basically, worldbuilding Q/A.

What does Van mean exactly when he says “There are four of you, and you will come down with me peacefully. Or there will be less… if you think you can outrun me.”

Is it “Cyro” or “Cyrien”? How old is he? How does he feel when Hitomi intercepts on him on the way to the command tent and what does his apologetic shrug at the end mean?

What is Hitomi wearing and why does no one pay much attention to her until she speaks up at the war council? Why do the soldiers call her “Private Sweetling”?

How does Van feel about the whole situation with the captives? Are Hitomi’s concerns substantial?

What really happened and what are the physical actions (and reactions) of the characters during the argument taking place in Van’s tent?

What is the meaning of Van and Folken’s conversation about Hitomi, when Folken says his brother “disappoints” him?

What is the meaning of Folken’s “what if I told you I’m done being useful”? What does Van’s reaction to that mean?

Why does Allen see younger himself in Van and what are his regrets?

What does Hitomi mean when she says “everything is shattered”? -- PREVIOUS CHAPTERS

Why does Hitomi so easily accept that Gaea was real after all, when she had been thinking it was a dream for several years?

Why is Hitomi so formal with Millerna at the start? Why is she starting from zero with some of the relationships like Millerna and Van?

Why do people call Hitomi “seeress” in VA?

Are Hitomi’s abilities gone? Why can Van dowse and can anyone do it?

Why does Dornkirk want to separate Van and Hitomi? What is the connection between Lenz’s tasks and the ch15 forest scenes?

Why was there not a scene revealing the reactions of the characters back on Earth to Hitomi’s disappearance?

[visarcana]

You did a great job, @eireanness , especially for being new to all of it. I really love how you expressed almost every little thing from the scene. Their faces are perfection <3

I chose a pretty played out scenario for that scene but I’m overjoyed it inspired someone to do this! Thank you so much.

Here is, again, more of my fanart inspired by Vis Arcana by @visarcana Trying out color this time. I'm still very new to trying out comic style as well as digital art <3

[visarcana]

WIP More from Vis Arcana <3 <3

[visarcana]

Indeed, seeing this was the highlight of the week~ 

They are so JUST SO CUTE *heart eyes* 

@eireanness thank you for bringing this little self-indulgent scene to life! Their expressions are spot-on (heh heh, the awkwardness). Great job on Escaflowne, too! Drawing manga is something I never managed to do, so I’m in awe at people who can. Welcome to tumblr posting, hope you’ll do a lot more of it! 

A little project I have been working on! I was inspired by Rinjou's amazing fic @visarcana!!!! <3 <3 < 3 Also had their help with dialogue here ~ !✺◟( ⑅❛ั ᴗ ❛ั ⑅)◞ Also, my first post on here!