released 14 dec 02 / last mod 01 jun 07 / greg goebel / public domain
* The EL HAZARD original anime video (OAV) opens by focusing on the hero of the series, Makoto Mizuhara, a charming, bright, talented Japanese high school student. Things come easily to Makoto, which makes him thoroughly hated by his schoolmate Katsuhiko Jinnai, an aspiring junior fascist with big plans (TODAY SCHOOL PRESIDENT -- TOMORROW THE WORLD!)
Makoto doesn't mean to cause Jinnai any trouble, but he always shows up Jinnai without trying, and so Jinnai concludes that Makoto is his lifetime rival. As if Makoto wasn't enough trouble, Jinnai's cute, mercenary sister Nanami is also making trouble for him. All this is more or less observed by one of the teachers, Mr. Fujisawa, a likeable fellow who is a lush and chain smoker but oddly prudish.
Then, one night, Jinnai plots a scheme to deal with his "rival" Makoto, which misfires and ends up dropping Makoto into a mysterious cavern under the school grounds. There Makoto encounters the statue of a beautiful icy woman who looks like a demigoddess. Much to his surprise, the "statue" awakens ... and then the adventure begins, transporting Makoto, Jinnai, Nanami-chan, and Fujisawa-sensei across time and space to El Hazard, The Magnificent World.
El Hazard resembles a science-fiction take on the Arabian Nights, where the humans are at war with the insectlike Bugrom, and the Phantom Tribe, a humanlike race with powers of illusion, is playing both sides off against each other. The women, who mostly run things in El Hazard, are uniformly beautiful: Princess Rune Venus; Fire Priestess Shayla-Shayla; cute little Alielle, an adolescent lesbian handmaiden with a roving eye; Diva, the queen of the Bugrom; and the Demon Goddess Ifurita. Makoto and the others quickly become involved with the people of El Hazard and the war.
That's about as much as I can say about El Hazard without giving things away, and I would hate to do that because this OAV of seven episodes has a very entertaining script. It neatly blends together comedy, adventure, and romance, fortunately avoiding most of the aimless plot excursions that plague anime series. To be sure, the artwork / production values are competent but not particularly impressive, and I wouldn't be sure somebody who wasn't an anime fan would be much impressed, though I'd say it was worth a shot. I also have to warn that this OAV has a few mildly racy scenes that make it inappropriate for kids, though it seems generally acceptable for adolescents.
Not perfect, maybe not world-class, but definitely worthwhile, and even memorable in spots. The closing credits for the last episode have to be one of the most appealingly romantic things I've ever seen in my life -- and I'm not particularly a romantic!
* The DVD set includes a short sequel series, which turned out to be indifferently produced and written, amounting to little more than a tiresome waste of time. VIZ Comix also did a three-volume paperback set on El-Hazard, which was amusing but not up to the same grade as the anime. If you've read the manga and are wondering if you'd like the anime, please be aware that while the story elements are generally the same, the plots are generally not -- they're basically different stories set against the same background and using the same characters.
In addition, there's an EL-HAZARD TV series titled THE WANDERERS, which I haven't seen. It has a reputation for being one of the worst anime series ever made, and since the fans generally tend to overpraise anime, I have to believe that something they all hate must be really, really bad. I took the hint.
