Actual Information 'Allen is the perfect screen lover. He's quick with a sword and attractive to women. No matter how you look at him, he seems to have no faults, but he has psychological problems lurking, and when they come to light, he's weak enough to crumble to bits.' - Escaflowne series director Kazuki Akane, Manga Max issue 13 (January 2000). I knew there was a reason I liked that boy... I love a loser. Basic Stats (from the Vision of Escaflowne Compendium) Age The equivalent of 21 Earth years Gender Male Birthday Blue, 3rd Moon (Equivalent of November 3) Birthplace Asturia, Gaea Height 185 cm Weight 71 kg Affiliation Asturia Debut Episode 3 Voice Shinichiroh Miki I'm tending to assume a certain familiarity with the character of Allen on the part of my visitors - certainly, the parody aspects of the shrine won't make much sense to people who aren't familiar with him. However, there's no point being wilfully obscure, so here's a little bit about him. I've tried to get my tongue out of my cheek for a while. Allen is one of the Knights of Heaven, an elite order of swordsmen in Asturia. He's chivalrous, handsome, brave, gentle, just, merciful, kind, loyal, an apparent bonanza of virtues. Yet for some reason he has been posted out to the swamps on the borders with Fanelia, with a raffish crew who look like the dregs of the Asturian army. This is where Escaflowne's heroine Hitomi Kanzaki meets him in episode 3, 'The Gorgeous Swordsman.' The first jarring note in the rhapsody that is Allen (Asturian Rhapsody *^.^*) comes from a remark made by Dilandau Albatou, when Allen excuses Hitomi's puzzling presence in his fort by pretending she's his new little paramour. 'You're just like the rumours say,' Dilandau sneers. Allen apparently has something of a reputation as a lady-killer - although he seems like a perfect gentleman. Hitomi is certainly inclined to trust him, as he seems to offer considerably more security and kindness than her difficult and snarky companion Van. He certainly possesses more confidence and maturity, and a better wardrobe. If we looked at Allen in the context of his relationships with others and their responses to him, we would get quite a splintered view. Princess Millerna and Hitomi both have breathless crushes on him, although Hitomi's attraction is much less confidently expressed and in the end she falls out of love. The person who probably knows him best, his second-in-command Gaddes, obviously trusts and esteems him without reservation. But Allen isn't someone who easily opens up to others (with the exception, to his own surprise, of Hitomi) and it's possible that Gaddes only knows him superficially. Dryden Fassa makes fun of him, partly because Allen is his competition for Millerna's affection, but also because Dryden's eye for the absurd sees a lot in this puffy-sleeved golden boy. Dilandau Albatou hates him as he hates all hero types who have the nerve to not let him win, and his snide remark also suggests that he considers Allen pretty sleazy. And Van Fanel... well, the fact that you can see their guymelefs Scherazade and Escaflowne locked in battle in the opening titles sequence should tell you a lot. His father, Leon Schezar, was a quixotic adventurer somewhat in the Indiana Jones mould, long gone from Allen's life. Allen has never quite forgiven him for abandoning his longsuffering wife Encia and his two young children to pursue the dream of his ideal love. The other child was Allen's younger sister Celena, who disappeared ten years before the present, in the ill-starred Year of Crystal Northeast. Allen's mother died not long after that, and, bereft and emotionally homeless, he fell into a life of banditry before he was 'discovered' by the legendary swordsman Balgus, who also trained Van and Folken, and their father Goau. (By 'discovered' I mean Allen tried to mug him in the woods and Balgus kicked his ass, but seeing his potential offered him a new future.) He has never given up hope that he may someday find his little sister and rebuild some semblance of a happy life. That's a brief overview of some pertinent facts about Allen, without major spoilers. I warn you that the rest of the shrine may contain spoilers at any point. Enjoy! **Home