The Vision of Escaflowne
Three alternate retellings of "The Vision of Escaflowne" have been released in manga form, with first two manga series developed at the same time as the anime. Due to the radical changes in the anime series during production, these two manga series are very different from the original anime series and each other. The first series, also titled "The Vision of Escaflowne" was one of the first manga series to appear in the then new "Shōnen Ace" magazine from Kadokawa Shoten. Despite the anime series itself being on hold, Sunrise gave artist Katsu Aki the existing production and character designs, resulting in the first manga series having the heavy "shōnen" feel and curvaceous Hitomi that was originally planned for the anime series. Given free rein to change the story however he wanted, Aki's version is a violent saga focused primarily on fighting and has Hitomi transforming into a "curvaceous nymph" that is the power source of the mecha Escaflowne. The series premiered in "Shōnen Ace"'s first issue on October 24, 1994 and ran until November 26, 1997. The thirty-eight chapters were collected and published by Kadokawa across eight "tankōbon" volumes. It was licensed for released in North America by Tokyopop with the first volume released on July 10, 2003. The Tokyopop English editions were also imported for distribution in Australia by Madman Entertainment.