Lost continents and found narratives: Atlantis, The Vision of Escaflowne, and the reimagination of myth in anime and manga

Finnigan, Rob

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/132444 Copy

Description

Title

Lost continents and found narratives: Atlantis, The Vision of Escaflowne, and the reimagination of myth in anime and manga

Author(s)

Finnigan, Rob

Issue Date

2025-12-16

Keyword(s)

• Atlantis
• Myth
• The Vision Of Escaflowne

Abstract

This study examines the adaptation of the Atlantis myth within anime and manga, focusing on The Vision of Escaflowne (1996) and its engagement with themes of lost civilizations, technological mysticism and imperial hubris. The series reinterprets Atlantis not as a mere submerged past but as a spectral force shaping the geopolitical and metaphysical structures of Gaea. Central to this portrayal is the Fate Alteration Engine, an Atlantean artifact that embodies both the allure and the dangers of rewriting history. As the characters navigate the remnants of this advanced civilization, Escaflowne constructs Atlantis as a paradox, simultaneously a utopian ideal and a cautionary ruin of unchecked ambition. By situating Escaflowne alongside Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water (1990) and Laputa: Castle in the Sky (1986), this study explores how these narratives reimagine Atlantis as a site of competing ideologies, reflecting anxieties surrounding modernity, empire and technological progress. Unlike many Western adaptations of the myth, which depict Atlantis as an extraterrestrial or speculative technological utopia, Japanese media often frame it as a failed imperial past whose legacies remain unresolved. Employing New Historicism, media archaeology and transcultural historiography, this article interrogates how Japanese anime and manga transform the Atlantean myth to articulate cultural anxieties about history, colonialism and scientific progress. Ultimately, this study argues that Escaflowne exemplifies how anime engages with global mythologies, offering a uniquely Japanese vision of history and the uncertain promise of civilization’s advancement.

Series/Report Name or Number

The Journal of Anime and Manga Studies, volume 6 issue 2

Type of Resource

text

Genre of Resource

Articles

Language

eng

DOI

https://doi.org/10.21900/j.jams.v6.1856

Copyright and License Information

• Copyright 2025 Rob Finnigan
• This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0).

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