...the same thing is happening to me. I'm showing 
the series to a friend of mine who's new to 
anime, and she loves it. Of course, it's amusing, 
because her little siblings watch it with 
us...and trying to explain some of the 
intricacies of Esca to a 10-year old boy who 
keeps asking if they're all gonna die is 
certainly, um, "interesting" (not to mention he 
keeps calling the guymelefs "gundamelefs"...^^;;).

Anywhoo, I thought I'd join this thread simply 
because I seem to be wierd for an Esca fan. I 
love Folken, he's sexy and can destroy enemies 
with the sheer power of angst alone...but he's 
not my favorite. I love Dryden, he's gruff and 
sexy yet cultured at the same time...that man 
just has all the answers. But he, too, is not my 
favorite. I love Allen, despite the fact he can 
lay it all on a little thick sometimes and be a 
bit more than schmucky...he's pretty and has a 
torrid past, and so that's A-OK in my book! Plus, 
I DO have to admit he's honorable to a fault. 
Besides...all..that...HAIR! Again, not my 
favorite. :D I love Van, despite the fact that 
he's always angry at the world, and thusly feels 
the need to scream out the most basic of 
comments...he's also sweetly naive, fiercely 
protective, and at times downright sweet. Nope, 
not even Van is my favorite.

And they're all pretty.

In a show full of pretty men, I happen to choose 
the little boy.

That's right, I'm a Chid fan, through and 
through, but not in a creepy pedophilic way. 
Dilly is at a close second, which of course adds 
to the wierdness, because this means that, in a 
show full of pretty faces, I choose the little 
boy and the girly guy villian with a pencahnt for 
tiaras. And they have the same seiyuu, as well 
(as Lizzard pointed out to me one day).

I dunno why, I guess I just love the thought of 
what Chid may become. I love thinking about how 
he might deal with his past and his true 
heritage, how he might find out what I think he 
almost certainly knows in his heart, but only 
needs verified. I love thinking about the type of 
ruler he might become, the type of people he 
might meet...it's almost like, through Chid, my 
mind creates a totally new Esca saga...they leave 
him such an open book that you can carry him on 
however you like.

Besides, you hafta admit, he's just a cool little 
boy. He's expected to be so much wiser than his 
age, and more often than not delivers. Plus, he 
carries around that adorable teeny tiny sword 
that would better serve as a letter 
opener...::snickers:: That thing cracks me up.

Kamiki - join the club. I've been on the search 
for the perfect Dilly for longer than I can 
remember, and still have yet to find it. I've 
already given up on Chid...

-Misha, who is at this very moment doodling 
little pictures of Chid...he's just so adorable 
=^.^=