Dilandau Albatou
Dilandau Albatou is an anime and manga character who features in The Vision of Escaflowne.
Contents |
Biography
Celena Schezar (Japanese: セレナ・シェザール, Hepburn: Selena Schezar) was a female human born as an Gaea as the daughter of King Leon Schezar and Queen Encia Schezar of the kingdom of Asturia with her being the younger sister of Allen Schezar. When she was 5 years old, she was noted to had been captured by the kingdom of Zaibach where she was placed under the care of the beastman Jajuka. He came to be her emotional anchor whilst she was forced to take part in fate-altering experiments that resulted in her transformation into a boy. Following her transformation, she came to be known by the name of Dilandau Albatou (ディランドゥ・アルバタウ Dirandu Arubatau) who was noted for their mental instability and was ever reliant on Jajuka. Over time, Dilandau proved to be a capable if brutal warrior who rose up in the ranks of the Zaibach empire's military forces and became a skilled Guymelef pilot who led the elite Dragonslayers.
When Van slaughtered the Dragonslayers, Dilandau slipped into an almost catatonic state with only the motivation of killing Van keeping him alive.
Eventually, as Dornkirk's Fate Machine alterations begin to break down, he alternates between male and female form, reflecting an increasing mental instability and a dichotomous split personality/identity. As Celena, s/he seems to be locked in a naive, childlike state, shown rather disturbingly in a garden scene where s/he almost eats a live snail and a later event at the grave of his/her and Allen's mother. Ultimately, Jajuka is killed during the climactic battle of the series after he takes a blow intended for Dilandau, and begs Dilandau to change back into Celena. Dilandau reverts to his "real" form and Celena and Allen are reunited in the series finale.
Overview
Personality and attributes
In appearance, Dilandau appeared to be around 15 years old, 175 cm (~5'8") tall and weighs 61 kg (~135 lbs), giving him a very slender androgynous look. He is pale, with silver-white hair and "garnet" eyes, and is visibly paler than many of the people around him. He is prone to a wide variety of unsettling facial expressions, including his trademark sadistic smirk. During Episode 5, he sustains a sword scar on his right cheek, during close combat with Van Fanel, king of Fanelia. This both infuriates and unhinges Dilandau, marring his "beautiful face" and triggering further emotional psychosis.
While Dilandau's intelligence and absolute ruthlessness make him a formidable warrior, he is so impulsive, capricious, and moody that he often sabotages his own plans for conquest. As the leader of Zaibach's Ryuugekitai (Dragon Slayers), Dilandau frequently abuses his subordinates and defies his superiors. He almost completely lacks self-control, compassion, and conscience. His greatest pleasures come from fighting and destruction, and the joy he takes in burning things suggests pyromania. Yet, his sadism and megalomania belie a troubled past and a more complex character, depicted in flashbacks and psychological breakdowns.
As the time progresses, Dilandau grows gradually less stable. While clearly disturbed in his early appearance, his insanity grows after he receives a cut on the face during a fight with Van Fanel. Though he treats them very harshly, often slapping or hitting them for little or no reason, Dilandau is gradually revealed to be emotionally dependent on the Ryuugekitai. After all of his men are killed, he loses whatever tenuous hold on sanity he had and becomes completely unstable, spending his time in an apathetic daze and only coming to life on the battlefield as he gleefully maims and kills. For their part, despite his harsh treatment, the Dragon Slayers are fanatically loyal to him, up to and beyond death. The degree of his abandonment issues become clear in a dramatic psychotic meltdown -- a result of his kidnapping at an early age and the identity "tampering" he has endured.
For unknown reasons, he has a special hatred for doppelgangers such as Zongi. This increases dramatically when one of Zongi's victims turns out to be Miguel Lavariel, one of the Dragon Slayers, whom he killed as a part of his plan to infiltrate the Freid duchy. After Zongi gives Dilandau his report, Dilandau grabs him with his guymelef's hand and crushes him to death, claiming it's his revenge for Miguel's death.
Powers and abilities
Dilandau Albatou came to a high ranking military officer within the Zaibach empire. This saw him being trained as a swordsmen, soldier and pilot where he was a capable commander.
He is the commander of an elite military unit of Guymelef soldiers known as the Ryuugekitai (Dragon Slayers) of the Zaibach Red Copper Army. He is nominally affiliated with the Zaibach Empire, but more likely owes true allegiance only to himself and peripherally, the Ryuugekitai. Dilandau is consistently insubordinate to his superiors, with the exception of the Emperor Dornkirk, to whom he shows great respect. Sometimes his defiance is somewhat technical: for example; when ordered not to leave the flying fortress to go after Van, he instead fires a long-range crima claw at his target from the fortress hangar; obeying the letter of the order rather than the spirit. Other times, he blatantly defies his orders, such when he was commanded not to involve the citizens of Asturia in the hunt for Escaflowne, but proceeded to burn a large portion of the town. Curiously, Dilandau is never directly seen being disciplined for his actions, aside from an occasional chastisement from Folken. (The movie differs in this respect: where Folken is shown using telekinetic abilities to break Dilandau's fingers as punishment for insubordination. Afterwards, Dilandau does not seem to favor the hand in any way, suggesting he heals rapidly or else has a high tolerance for pain.)
His red Guymelef is an Alseides model (with flight capability, stealth cloak, flame-thrower and liquid-metal Crima Claw), and later in the series an Oreades model (can also fly while in stealth mode).
Notes
- Dilandau Albatou was created by Sunrise and Shoji Kawamori where he featured in the setting of The Vision of Escaflowne universe.
In other media
Television
- In The Vision of Escaflowne, Dilandau Albatou made his first appearance in the setting of the anime television series where he was voiced by Japanese actress Minami Takayama and English actor Andrew Francis in the dub.
Films
- In Escaflowne, Dilandau Albatou appeared in the setting of the 2000 anime film where he was voiced by Japanese actress Minami Takayama and English actor Andrew Francis voiced him in the Ocean Group dub whilst Englisha actor Joel McDonald voice him in the Funanimation dub. In contrast to the series, Dilandau was a Draconian half-breed with the same psychic abilities as Van and Folken. Though little information is given about his background, Folken mentions that he found Dilandau living with feral dogs. He was given the ancient armor Alseides, though it was defeated (fairly quickly) and destroyed by Escaflowne. At the end of the movie, Dilandau and his few surviving Ryuugekitai depart to parts unknown, seeking new battles. Movie Dilandau seems to handle his defeat at Van's hands quite well compared to similar events in the series, though otherwise the two versions of the character seem to have similar mental instabilities.
Appearances
- The Vision of Escaflowne:
External Links
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