The Vision of Escaflowne (Japanese: 天空のエスカフローネ, Hepburn: Tenkū no Esukafurōne, lit. Escaflowne of the Heavens) is a Japanese anime television series created by Shōji Kawamori with Sunrise Studios and directed by Kazuki Akane. It premiered from April to September 1996, on TV Tokyo. Sony's anime satellite channel, Animax also aired the series, both in Japan and on its various worldwide networks, including Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Southeast Asia. It was licensed for Region 1 release by Bandai Entertainment. The series follows a high school girl named Hitomi, who finds herself pulled from Earth to the planet Gaea when a boy named Van appears on the high school track while battling a dragon. In Gaea, she is caught in the middle of a war as the Zaibach Empire attempts to take over Gaea. Van (King of Fanelia), with aid from Allen (an Asturian Knight), commands his mystical mech Escaflowne in the struggle to stop the Zaibach Empire. Hitomi's fortune telling powers blossom in Gaea as she becomes the key to awakening Escaflowne and to stopping Zaibach's plans. While the anime series was in production, two very different manga series retellings were also developed and released: a version of the story entitled The Vision of Escaflowne and a retelling titled Hitomi — The Vision of Escaflowne. In addition, a second manga adaptation called Escaflowne — Energist's Memories was released as a single volume in 1997. The story was novelized in a series of six light novels by Yumiko Tsukamoto. An anime film, entitled simply Escaflowne, was released in June 2000. Four CD soundtracks and a drama CD have also been released in relation to the series.