Pinup
Gallery
You
knew this had to be the heart of the shrine *^.^*
Here's where we all get to gawp and drool at
pictures of Allen looking lovely. Most of these
images were collected from other websites, and I've
tried to give credit appropriately. Please do not
waste my bandwidth by direct-linking them into your
own webpages - however, you are welcome to save
them onto your own computer and do whatever you
like with them from there. There are no thumbnails,
just text links, because I enjoy giving a
descriptive comment on each picture and I get bored
making thumbnails anyway.
**Let's
start with a little dream-sequence - Hitomi's early
(and erroneous) vision of Allen sprouting angelic
wings. One
* Two
* Three
* Four
* Five
* Six
* Seven.
Thanks to the
Lunar
Archivist
for the screencaptures!
**In
an abrupt theme shift, here's a special artbook
picture of Allen
in a basketball
game
with Van and Dilandau. I get the impression he's
not playing hugely well (it's called defence,
Allen, look into it), but he looks way cute in a
black tank-top so we'll let it pass.
**From
the same artbook, Allen
in classical fencing
gear,
looking very smoove. I owe thanks for both these
pictures to Planet Gaea, which I'm afraid no
longer exists. They were part of an Olympics
special booklet put out in 1996 by Animedia
magazine.
**Simply
a
big, beautiful portrait of
Allen,
with his hair (and skirty thingy) blowing in the
wind.
**The
only time I can ever remember seeing
Allen
with mucky
gloves
- I believe they're stained with Van's blood. (Soak
them in cold water quick before it
sets.)
**Allen,
with red roses,
on the cover of one of the Escaflowne video
volumes - scanned this one, from my little friend
Kevin's tapes. I love this picture.
**Slicing
and dicing a pink
daisy
in a montage from the opening theme sequence. Some
major Hair Action in the first frame.
**I
love this one because it shows Allen
and Amano back to
back.
It's the cover art from one of the Esca
novelisations, kindly scanned for me by
Webmistress
Lizzard.
**You've
got to love The Hair. In this group picture
it
becomes a major design
element.
**Proving
that he was always cute, here's a
sunset-gold image of Allen as a little
boy
- at the end of the golden weather, in fact, just
to work in a New Zealand drama
reference.
**A
nice picture of Allen
with Natal, his
owl,
which I carved out of a group picture (hence the
bit of Van visible at the bottom).
**This
picture has the filename it does ('ohbehave.jpg')
because really, even Austin Powers would be
embarrassed to
look at a schoolgirl like
that.
(But he would like Allen's clothes.) Another
cropped group-shot.
**Allen
looking
worried
with Gaddes in the background, sort of peering
round The Hair.
**Allen
being helped to stand while
injured
- he's lucky to have two sturdy girls like Millerna
and Hitomi to look after him. (Not to mention
stitch him up.)
**Imaginary
kiss between Allen and
Hitomi,
from the end-credits sequence. What I find
endearingly tender is the way his hand cradles the
back of her neck.
**Allen
looking
resolute,
on a nicely faded background of... Allen looking
resolute. And quite yummy.
**
A picture of Allen
looking nice.
I know, I know, redundant *^.^*
**Allen,
with Hitomi and Van in the background with
Escaflowne - in this one, he
actually looks ready to kick some
ass.
**The
infamous picture of Allen
kissing Hitomi on the
cheek,
where it looks like his pointy nose could poke her
in the eye. Maybe she thinks so too and that's why
she's flinching?
**More
thanks to Planet Gaea for this
scan of a Newtype filmbook
cover.
The way Hitomi's looking at Allen is almost
coquettish.
**I
always think that in this one he
looks like he's up to no
good.
Natal appears unimpressed. I do like how Allen
can look like that, and angelic too. He's
got range.
**Another
novel-cover picture where Allen
shows a gentlemanly concern for
Hitomi,
while Van languishes in the background. No-one
schmoozes like Allen Schezar.
**Van
wants Allen to be helpful. Allen
wants to make snitty
faces.
Oddly, I almost find him cuter like this. It's a
bit like how David Boreanaz as Angel is cuter when
he's playing the Irish galoot than when he's in
angsty hero mode.
**Allen
standing there like a
post
while his lost love Marlene hugs him from behind.
There is no excuse for this sort of rigidity unless
you have tetanus, even if it is only a
flashback. But I've developed a theory that this is
Allen's 'if I don't keep absolutely still I'm gonna
cry' posture.
**A
lovely coloured-pencilly picture of
Allen,
in tones of
yellow
(plus Hitomi in tones of red).
**A
group shot with a mystical tarot card background
which I like, again, because Allen's
looking all pouty and
grumpy.
If he were my boyfriend I'd spend a lot of time
deliberately annoying him for fun. Of course, then
I suppose he wouldn't be my boyfriend for
long.
**More
sulky faces - here he's
just too gorgeous for
words.
I think I like this one because he actually looks
quite the little delinquent - shades of
teenage-bandit Allen, perhaps.
**Another
crop from a group picture, in which
Allen
looks very
lovely
and a little smug.
**Dramatic
shady shot of Allen
while Hitomi is reading his tarot
cards
to prove she's not a charlatan.
**Calling
the Knights of Heaven to
attention
at Millerna's wedding, I believe.
**As
I said when I used this picture in my now-defunct
Van Fanel gallery, there are times when you feel
Allen may be a little too aware of how hot
he is, and
this is one of
them.
Damn' fine sword poses, nevertheless.
**Taking
care of a feverish Hitomi, with
his sleeves looking much too
puffy,
even by Allen Standards.
**I
think I had this picture on the cover of my
Nineteenth Century Women Novelists notebook at
university some years ago. Allen
with Millerna and
Hitomi.
Kept me sane even when I had to read
Villette, a novel with whose heroine I think
Princess Eries would identify like mad.
**I
love black and white character design
sketches. Here's a
very spiffy one of Allen with his
owl,
from an insert in an Escaflowne LD case, I
think. Props to Amber
Anime Archive.
Can anyone read all that Japanese writing? I love
how his hair's wafting in the air, and he's
smiling.
**And
here are more sketchies,
showing you Scherazade and a grab-bag of Allens.
These are very helpful if you want to draw him
yourself, I find. Well, I suppose that's what
they're designed for, only to help professional
animators, not doodling fangirls.
**One
more segment of that insert picture (I chopped it
up for you), showing you Allen
and his little sister Serena in
childhood,
plus a nice portrait of his mother, the unfortunate
Encia.
**A
scan from the Memory of Gaea artbook, kindly
provided by my friend Kevin - more of young Allen
and Serena, with
an incredibly cute
hug.
**
Allen
as an adolescent
bandit.
I actually scanned this, and the next two, 'cause
Kevin lent me his book. I like these pictures, not
just because he looks all cute and snotty, but
because in the headshots of him looking angry, I
think I can discern a faint 'family resemblance' to
Dilandau.
**
Sixteen-year-old Allen with
Princess
Marlene.
Now, this is a very interesting picture to
me, because of the expression on Allen's face, so
cocky and proud. I think he was feeling quite the
studmuffin for a while there, before everything
turned to custard.
**
One
of my favourite
pictures
from a mentally-undressing-Allen point of view. No,
I'm not just being disgusting, I am
interested in how his uniform holds together, and
here you can clearly see not only the 'bib
overalls' construction, but also how it undoes down
the front. What a shame he had to get hideously
wounded to give me this view... Included at no
extra cost is Allen in his Freidian pajama-y robe
thingy - not dissimilar to traditional Japanese
men's nightclothes, for that Samurai Jack
look.
**
Another picture showing
details of the
uniform,
this time contributed by the kickass Syrena
Doné of Dilandau's
Lair.
This picture always makes me giggle, because
clearly Allen has taken off his overskirt
thingy, you can see it lying on the ground behind
him. Now, why has he taken it off, and why
is he now standing there looking off into the
distance? I can never help thinking things like
that. It's weird any way you look at it.
The
following pictures were gifts from my good friend
Lizz.
**
I love this picture. Allen's
entrance
into Hitomi's dream-date - 'Did you page me, my
dear?' If he looks a bit pale, that's because the
whole colour palette of this dream sequence was
rather overexposed-looking, and it shows up most in
light colours like Allen's hair and skin
tones.
**
Later on the date, Allen
makes a ferocious
effort
to win a UFO catcher doll for Hitomi. I love the
fact that even he has difficulty with these
machines.
**
'Allen! Don't call Marty McFly a chicken! He'll
crash his car or something.' Okay - actually this
is the point in the dream where Princess
Millerna shows up and wrecks
everything,
and Allen snatches his hands off Hitomi's shoulders
and runs to her - but it does kind of look
as though he's making wings of his arms. Maybe he
just feels like chicken tonight.
**
Allen hugging Hitomi and making
his 'I've got issues'
face.
Yes, you do, but you're cute anyway.
**
An impressive large
shot of
Scherazade.
At its feet, Allen and Gaddes confer. All together
now, fans of The Castle:
'Could
you move the Corolla? I need to get the Torana out
so I can get to the Scherazade.'
'Well I'll have to get the keys to the Cortina if
I'm going to move that Corolla.'
'Yeah, watch the boat mate.'
The
scary part is, after a while Australian car names
can start to sound like guymelefs. But I'm glad to
report it is impossible to imagine Allen with an
Australian accent. Weirdly, Balgus is another
matter.
**
Here's another dream-date-sequence shot, kindly
contributed by Elise
- it's the one I love, where Allen
is trying on the baseball
cap!
Shame Hitomi's hogging the mirror in a pair of
sunglasses that don't really suit her. This is
so cute.
**
Plus, 'come
to my arms,
Hitomi!'
It looks as if they're both flying. How lovely!
(Okay, I want her to be with Van, but I
fully understand the crush on
Allen.)
**A
misty watercolour memory of Allen
and Celena,
the way they were. Like the next few pictures
(you'll see the watermark) this was found at
AnimeArt.com.
**Allen
looking around to
see that all is in
order
at the fort. Gaddes has just turned his horse round
to go back inside, leading me to wonder whose job
it is to braid feathers into the horses' tails, and
why the heck they bother. Maybe somebody's
mother threw out his treasured My Little Pony
collection when he left home and he's
compensating.
**Next
shot in sequence, or whatever. Still
looking around, avec owl
epaulette.
**Allen
with Natal
about to take
off
from his shoulder. But no dent in the sleeve! I
expect Natal is too well-trained ever to do a poo
down Allen's back.
**Allen
looking adorable - looking
over his
shoulder
when one of his men makes a joke. One of Hitomi's
earliest views of him - no wonder she fell so hard!
What's interesting is that in this first sequence,
Allen is very relaxed and cheerful. Whole rest of
the series, he's angst man, with that easy-going
good cheer never really resurfacing. Basically,
The Vision of Escaflowne harshed his
mellow.
**Allen
frowning,
possibly in pain, possibly in deep thought,
possibly smelling a fart.
**A
doujinshi mini-comic, kindly contributed by the
mistress of Shangri-La.
Cheer up, Allen - the only thing worse than
being
talked about
is not being talked about.
**Part
Two! I
have no idea what's going on
here,
except that Zongi is up to tricks. One visitor told
me that in the panel where Gaddes, Millerna, Merle,
Hitomi and Van are arguing, they're all saying 'But
Allen told me he loves me!' Tee-hee! I like
the last panel, not because Allen looks like
dehydrated fruit (that's awful), but because of Kio
with that wild boar on his shoulder. He looks like
Obelix *^.^* All together now: 'These Zaibachers
are crazy!'
**I
got busy scanning from my treasured Newtype
filmbook - here's a sequence of Allen's
wounds being dressed by
Millerna,
while Mr Mole listens suspiciously outside, in case
he tries to jump her or something. I love how the
sunset light is making Allen's hair look
red.
**First
meeting of Allen and
Balgus.
Some people will take against you if you try to mug
them, but scarface is bigger than that. Well, he's
bigger than pretty much everything.
**Allen
regains consciousness in Freid, to
see 'Hitomi...
Millerna-hime...'
I can read little bits of Japanese! Glee!
Very little bits.
**Van
foolishly challenges Allen in the
swamp.
Of course, at this stage for all he knows,
Allen could be some swamp-dwelling pervert or
robber or vampire. Allen would make a very dishy
vampire. I've been watching too much Angel
and NightWalker.
**Van
and Allen's first
fight.
Bear in mind that as these pictures come from a
Japanese book, you should 'read' them from right to
left. Allen is so cool that Van can't even wound
his hair.
**Allen
talking to Hitomi while she lies in his bed with a
fever. He's
going to have a flashback, people
*^.^*
**Allen's
flashback of his family in happier times.
Weren't
they all
pretty!
Back then, of course, he had no idea he would
become a knight - no! He wanted to be a
florist!
**I
think, though, that flowers may have become
inextricably associated with graveyards in Allen's
mind. This
is him before Encia's
grave.
In Romance, it always rains at funerals.
**A
sequence beloved of Allen fans and reviled by
Moleman fans - the
knockout punch!
**I
wonder if Hitomi is more startled by Allen or by
his owl? A nice image of Allen's
casual grace when
relaxed.
As noted above, you do notget to see much of
this. The stick goes up his butt fairly early in
the series.
**Hitomi
tries to warn Allen there's a bad moon on the rise,
and
he patronises
her.
Sigh. Sometimes he reminds me of the well-meaning
husband in 'The Yellow Wallpaper' by Charlotte
Perkins Gilman (a 19th-century ghost story about
post-natal depression), and he drove his
poor wife mad. Well, him and the horrible
wallpaper.
**Don't
you wish
you woke up to this every
morning?
I know I'd rise and shine.
**Sorry
about the bit of Van sticking into this picture - I
didn't want to crop it any further. I love this
shot of Dilandau
and Allen squaring up to each
other.
They make such a lovely contrast in colour and
form. Men in skirts never looked so
good.
**It's
Allen
the Welcome
Wagon.
He's just found Hitomi in the swamp.
**Allen
surprised by Hitomi glomping
him.
Oh, c'mon, Allen, you must get that all the time!
Admittedly at this stage she's sufficiently
confused to think he's Amano.
**See?
Allen - Amano! Allen
- Amano!
Switcheroo.
**Allen
sniping at Van on his verandah. More
nice casual
slouchiness
in the top frame - I think he's wishing the skinny
boy-king would bug off so he could continue with
his flirting. Actually, now I think about it this
is a balcony, not a verandah. Silly me!
These
lovely images were screencaptured by
Nariya,
because she rocks. (Even if she doesn't really
fancy Allen. I can forgive her liking Folken and
Dryden better. Sometimes I like 'em better
too.)
**A
beautiful Allen-with-sunset-red-hair
picture. My poor sad sweet baboo!
**Young
Allen in
misty-Marlene's-diary-flashback
mode,
with his cute Team Rocket haircut.
**15yo
Allen again, with cool
windblown hair
and goooooooorgeous eyes.
**Allen's
reflection gazes
back moodily
at him from a cup of wine.
**Hitomi
and Allen's hug
in the rain.
I love how his hair goes into wriggly
tendrils when it's wet.
**The
Kiss of Doom.
Have you ever noticed that there is not a single
sincere, uncomplicated kiss in the whole of
Tenkuu no Escaflowne? Think of the kisses we
see. Millerna and Dryden on their wedding day - she
doesn't love him and as soon as they kiss
Pandemonium breaks loose. Millerna and Allen on the
rooftop - she moves in for the smooch partly
because she knows Hitomi's watching and wants to
make her step off. Allen and Millerna in the
carriage - he's just kissing her to shut her up.
(Judging by her breathless reaction, there was some
serious tongue action.) Allen and Hitomi on
the bridge - it doesn't even represent Allen's real
feelings as he's manipulated into it by Folken's
spell, Van sees it and gets all upset, Hitomi feels
rotten because her loyalty's divided. Folken and
Eriya casting the aforementioned spell - she really
loves him, he doesn't understand how she feels,
it's all just a role-play in an attempt to control
other people's lives.
Maybe
the reason we don't get to see Hitomi and Van kiss
in the series (a major complaint of fans) is that,
by that stage of the story, everyone involved in
writing it had gone right off kisses. Never once is
it simply a gesture of mutual love. Every kiss in
Escaflowne is about emotional manipulation,
people doing things they don't really want to,
people misunderstanding other people's feelings.
Gawd, that's depressing!
**Home
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