Dilandau

Dilandau Albatou is a minor villain from the anime Vision of Escaflowne.

Etymology

Pronounced: Di-ra-n-du, last name Albatou (A-r(u)-ba-ta-u)

'L' does not really exist in Japanese, so the 'r' sound is used for 'L' in foreign words (like Gaean) A Japanese 'r' sounds rather like an 'L' spoken not quite at the tip of the tongue (as in 'Dilandau'), or a slightly rolled 'R'. The official (if not terribly accurate) romanized spelling is Dilandau Albatou, the katakana gives a clue as to the rest of the pronunciation. The (u) in 'ru' is basically silent here.

Statistics

Basic

Age: The equivalent of 15 Earth years. This appears to be considered adult on Gaea. (15-year-old Millerna, Episode 9: "I'm an adult now!") It is also the age at which Fanelian kings are traditionally old enough to be crowned, and it's apparently an age of marital consent.

Birthdate: Red, 8th Moon (Equivalent of August 8)

Birthplace: Unspecified location on the world of Gaea

Family: Unspecified

Height: 175 cm (~5'8") – taller than most (if not all) of his subordinates (the easier to glare down at them, perhaps?)

Weight: 61 kg (~135 lbs)

Hair: Silver-white. Reputed to be soft and silky.

Eyes: Magenta ('garnet').

Build/looks: Moderately tall, slender, androgynous, and a seriously bishounen (pretty-boy). Prone to a wide variety of wild and crazy facial expressions, including his trademark sadistic smirk.

Distinguishing features: Sword-cut scar on his right cheek, courtesy of one Van Fanel (king of Fanelia), taking place in Episode 5. (This infuriates Dilandau, possibly more because someone dared do it than because it mars his "beautiful face".)

In-depth

Attitude Characteristics: Charismatic, arrogant, vain, smug, egocentric, maniacal, ruthless, violent, cocky, insubordinate, obsessive, impulsive, capricious, moody, prone to megalomania. He appears deficient in self-control, compassion, and having a basic sense of conscience.

"Does not handle frustration well" is an understatement. He's a petty tyrant, and rather sadistic. As a leader, Dilandau frequently punches or slaps his subordinates.

Occupation: Cool villain. Leader of an elite military unit of Guymelef (mecha) soldiers known as the Ryuugekitai (DragonSlayers) of the Zaibach Red Copper Army. (Based on something Dilandau says in Episode 4, it appears that the Ryuugekitai have a prior history of hunting actual dragons, which may be where they got the name. I doubt they were created just to hunt down Escaflowne.)

Affiliation: Nominally the Zaibach Empire, but more likely himself (and the Ryuugekitai.) Dilandau is consistently insubordinate to his superiors, with the exception of the emperor Dornkirk, to whom he shows some respect.

Guymelefs: Alseides model (with flight capability, stealth cloak, flame-thrower and liquid-metal Crima Claw), and later the Oreades model (can also fly while in stealth mode). Dilandau prefers his personal Guymelef painted a distinctive red. (Either Zaibach has some really busy techs, or Dilandau must go through quite a few Guymelefs, considering how he trashes them...)

Dilandau likes: Battle, destruction (to an excess), fire (at least in battle – he definitely has pyromantic tendacies), Asturian Vino (wine). For a 15-year-old, he sure seems to drink a lot.

Character Analysis

The more the series progresses, the more glimpses one gets into Dilandau's manic-depressive personality. He is a seriously unhappy person, and seems to thrive on adrenaline rushes in battle as a substitute for anti-depressants.

Dilandau is emotionally dependent on the Ryuugekitai, for as often as he appears to treat them harshly. There's obviously more going on, because they are fanatically loyal to him, and care about his well-being; even functioning at times almost like surrogate family. They seem to know how much he needs them and that he really does care about them, although he probably would not admit it (Dilandau definitely has trouble expressing his feelings). Dilandau supposedly handpicked the DragonSlayers himself, often rescuing them from really lousy circumstances.

So is he technically insane? Dilandau is often described by his fans as being so, aside from the manic-depression he displays.

Debut/Appearances

Dilandau debuted in Episode 3 of the series. His other appearances include Episodes 4–7, 9–16, and 23–26 .

Voice Actor/Actress

Minami Takayama voices Dilandau. It is not unusual for a younger or seriously bishounen male character in animé to be voiced by a woman, ie: Himura Kenshin of "Rurouni Kenshin". This does create some confusion when Dilandau's voice is first heard.