Ijigen no Sekai El-Hazard

The recent review of this series by hauptg lacks all specifics but is not a bad overall judgment of El Hazard series 3. The music and art in The Alternative World are a disappointment across the board compared to The Magnificent World.

The new opening theme is a completely forgettable Jpop ballad completely out of line with the exotic Mideastern feel of El Hazard as a whole, and the closing credits are downright scary, with hideously painted images of women's faces in flowers and linked hands circled by glowing halos, having nothing to do with the plot or story of the anime and looking like spooky ... illustrations out of some evangelical Sunday School picture book.

The Alternative World introduces several new major characters, but with such a huge cast and so few episodes to work with, the only one that comes off seeming like they might be a real person is Qawoor. Qawoor seems to have some mysterious past connection to Makoto, but like so many other things in this series, that revelation ends up being brushed aside and forgotten.

As if all that isn't enough bad news, most of the events in The Alternative World do not actually take place in El Hazard, but in a new world whose history, geography, and politics are never explained in any detail. The climax of the series is one of those infamous "dream endings", and the final episode is the most boring onsen episode I've ever seen. (Oh god, all the nipple-less breasts! Make it stop!)

In short, El Hazard: The Alternative World is a disappointment from the word go. Only recommended for completionists. At least it's short.

I usually like these type of anime. It just fails at so many levels. The plot is messed up by the horrible comedy. The overall story could have worked, if more thought had been made on giving a purpose for the characters. Instead it is left to a near random and uninteresting chain of events.

Compared to the first El Hazard OVA, this anime was trash.

Story: I finished this anime and couldn't really describe the plot to my friend. There were a ton of plot holes, which made the story confusing and hard to follow. When I wasn't confused, I was bored out of my mind.

Art: The animation seemed to go downhill with every spinoff/sequel, and Alternative World had the worst art by far.

Characters: The characters had no development whatsoever. They were all flanderized to the point where they were just shells of who they were in the first OVA. Qawoor was the worst. She was so pointless and annoying. ... Jinnai's stupidity and stubborness were just nauseating. Makoto was so confused the entire time, but he's still wholeheartedly admired by the other characters for being a cute nice guy. I really don't blame Jinnai for disliking him. Makoto was such a simp for Qawoor, and Nanami was such a simp for Makoto.

Enjoyment: This anime failed miserably at its attempt to be comedic. It's main source of comedy was slapstick humor, which did not get a single laugh out of me whatsoever.

The ending was also very disturbing. Diva basically r*p*s Jinnai. He was clearly NOT giving consent, but it's implied that she forced him into int*rc*urse to repopulate the Bugrom race. I feel like it was just played off for laughs since it was a woman forcing a man, which is just gross and sad.

Bottom Line: DON'T WATCH THIS ANIME! It's cringey, unfunny, lazy, and disturbing.