TV-Series
Description
Dilandau Albatou is a central antagonist from the anime series The Vision of Escaflowne, serving as the commander of the Zaibach Empire's elite Guymelef unit known as the Dragon Slayers. Making his first appearance in the third episode, he becomes a persistent and formidable nemesis to the protagonists Van Fanel and Allen Schezar. Physically, Dilandau is approximately fifteen years old and possesses a slender, androgynous appearance. He stands 175 centimeters tall, weighs around 61 kilograms, and has pale skin, silver-white hair, and garnet-red eyes. Early in the series, during a sword fight with Van Fanel, he receives a scar on his right cheek, an injury that deeply infuriates him and marks a turning point in his mental state as he becomes obsessed with avenging the damage to his beautiful face. As the series progresses, his psychological instability grows significantly.
The core of Dilandau's personality is defined by his extreme impulsiveness, capriciousness, and moodiness. He is highly intelligent and a ruthlessly effective warrior, yet his lack of self-control often sabotages his own objectives. He finds his greatest pleasures in battle, destruction, and particularly fire, which he gleefully uses against towns and enemies. Dilandau is profoundly narcissistic, arrogant, and sadistic, frequently abusing his subordinates both physically and emotionally. Despite this harsh treatment, the Dragon Slayers remain fanatically loyal to him. Paradoxically, Dilandau is revealed to be emotionally dependent on his men, and when most of them are killed by Van, his tenuous grip on sanity shatters. He slips into an apathetic daze, only coming to life on the battlefield where he can continue to kill. His hatred for Van is all-consuming after the scarring, driving much of his actions, and he also harbors a long-standing loathing for Allen Schezar, which is later revealed to be a subconscious reaction to his true identity.
The character's background is integral to understanding his motivations. It is eventually revealed that Dilandau is not a natural-born boy but the altered form of a girl named Celena Schezar, the younger sister of Allen Schezar. As a child of five, Celena was kidnapped by the Zaibach Empire. The Emperor's sorcerers subjected her to cruel fate-altering experiments that transformed her into a boy and erased her memories, creating the persona of Dilandau Albatou. A beastman named Jajuka was her caretaker during this time and became her sole emotional anchor, serving as the only person Dilandau seems to trust on any level. His primary motivation initially is to capture the legendary Guymelef Escaflowne for Emperor Dornkirk, but this goal is quickly superseded by his personal vendetta to kill Van and erase the insult of his facial scar. As his mental state degrades following the loss of his Dragon Slayers, the artificial identity begins to break down. He starts to alternate between his Dilandau persona and that of Celena, who is trapped in a naive, childlike mental state.
Dilandau's role in the story is that of a persistent and unpredictable threat. He is nominally a military asset of the Zaibach Empire and shows deference to Emperor Dornkirk, but he is consistently insubordinate to his direct superior, Folken, often bending or outright defying orders to pursue his own desires for combat and revenge. His key relationships are defined by conflict and dependency. His obsessive rivalry with Van Fanel is the central driver of his actions, while his treatment of the Dragon Slayers vacillates between casual cruelty and a desperate need for their presence. The most significant relationship is with Jajuka, who protects him and ultimately sacrifices his life for Dilandau at the climax of the series. In his final moments, Jajuka urges Dilandau to return to his original self, which triggers a permanent reversion to Celena, allowing the true personality to resurface and reunite with her brother Allen.
Throughout the series, Dilandau demonstrates notable abilities as a warrior and a Guymelef pilot. He is a highly skilled swordsman and a brilliant, if reckless, commander. In battle, he pilots a distinctive red Guymelef; initially, he uses an Alseides model equipped with flight capabilities, a stealth cloak, a flame-thrower, and a liquid-metal weapon called a Crima Claw. Later in the series, he upgrades to an Oreades model, which maintains these capabilities with improved stealth. In the alternate movie retelling of the story, Dilandau's background is different. He is depicted as a half-Draconian with psychic abilities similar to Van and Folken, found by Folken living with feral dogs. While his personality retains similar mental instabilities, this version handles defeat more stoically and ultimately departs with his few surviving men to seek new battles elsewhere.
The core of Dilandau's personality is defined by his extreme impulsiveness, capriciousness, and moodiness. He is highly intelligent and a ruthlessly effective warrior, yet his lack of self-control often sabotages his own objectives. He finds his greatest pleasures in battle, destruction, and particularly fire, which he gleefully uses against towns and enemies. Dilandau is profoundly narcissistic, arrogant, and sadistic, frequently abusing his subordinates both physically and emotionally. Despite this harsh treatment, the Dragon Slayers remain fanatically loyal to him. Paradoxically, Dilandau is revealed to be emotionally dependent on his men, and when most of them are killed by Van, his tenuous grip on sanity shatters. He slips into an apathetic daze, only coming to life on the battlefield where he can continue to kill. His hatred for Van is all-consuming after the scarring, driving much of his actions, and he also harbors a long-standing loathing for Allen Schezar, which is later revealed to be a subconscious reaction to his true identity.
The character's background is integral to understanding his motivations. It is eventually revealed that Dilandau is not a natural-born boy but the altered form of a girl named Celena Schezar, the younger sister of Allen Schezar. As a child of five, Celena was kidnapped by the Zaibach Empire. The Emperor's sorcerers subjected her to cruel fate-altering experiments that transformed her into a boy and erased her memories, creating the persona of Dilandau Albatou. A beastman named Jajuka was her caretaker during this time and became her sole emotional anchor, serving as the only person Dilandau seems to trust on any level. His primary motivation initially is to capture the legendary Guymelef Escaflowne for Emperor Dornkirk, but this goal is quickly superseded by his personal vendetta to kill Van and erase the insult of his facial scar. As his mental state degrades following the loss of his Dragon Slayers, the artificial identity begins to break down. He starts to alternate between his Dilandau persona and that of Celena, who is trapped in a naive, childlike mental state.
Dilandau's role in the story is that of a persistent and unpredictable threat. He is nominally a military asset of the Zaibach Empire and shows deference to Emperor Dornkirk, but he is consistently insubordinate to his direct superior, Folken, often bending or outright defying orders to pursue his own desires for combat and revenge. His key relationships are defined by conflict and dependency. His obsessive rivalry with Van Fanel is the central driver of his actions, while his treatment of the Dragon Slayers vacillates between casual cruelty and a desperate need for their presence. The most significant relationship is with Jajuka, who protects him and ultimately sacrifices his life for Dilandau at the climax of the series. In his final moments, Jajuka urges Dilandau to return to his original self, which triggers a permanent reversion to Celena, allowing the true personality to resurface and reunite with her brother Allen.
Throughout the series, Dilandau demonstrates notable abilities as a warrior and a Guymelef pilot. He is a highly skilled swordsman and a brilliant, if reckless, commander. In battle, he pilots a distinctive red Guymelef; initially, he uses an Alseides model equipped with flight capabilities, a stealth cloak, a flame-thrower, and a liquid-metal weapon called a Crima Claw. Later in the series, he upgrades to an Oreades model, which maintains these capabilities with improved stealth. In the alternate movie retelling of the story, Dilandau's background is different. He is depicted as a half-Draconian with psychic abilities similar to Van and Folken, found by Folken living with feral dogs. While his personality retains similar mental instabilities, this version handles defeat more stoically and ultimately departs with his few surviving men to seek new battles elsewhere.