Shinpi no Sekai El-Hazard

After Makoto Mizuhara agrees to testify against the boisterous student council president Katsuhiko Jinnai for bribing school clubs in the recent student council elections, Jinnai chases him down in an attempt to silence his self-proclaimed rival. Suddenly, during the chase, time stops for everyone—except Makoto. Perplexed, he wanders around the campus until he notices a light coming from the school's closed-off basement, where an ancient relic had just been uncovered.

Makoto is walking toward the artifact surrounded by strings of light, when out of it comes an otherworldly woman who claims she has been waiting for ten thousand years to see him. Weakened by the passage of time, she uses her remaining power to transport a confused Makoto to another world, which she refers to as El-Hazard. However, others who are still at school are also caught in the spell, namely: Jinnai; Masamichi Fujisawa, the alcoholic teacher; and Nanami Jinnai, the headstrong sister of president Jinnai.

The fantastical and magnificent world of El-Hazard awaits these four individuals where they will become entangled in the story of its inhabitants and embark on an adventure filled with laughter, danger, and even romance.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Jinnai, Katsuhiko Main

Okiayu, Ryoutarou Japanese

Ifurita Main

Amano, Yuri Japanese

Shayla, Shayla Main

Sakurai, Tomo Japanese

Fujisawa, Masamichi Main

Ishii, Kouji Japanese

Mizuhara, Makoto Main

Iwanaga, Tetsuya Japanese

Jinnai, Nanami Main

Natsuki, Rio Japanese

Relryle, Alielle Supporting

Kozakura, Etsuko Japanese

Venus, Rune Supporting

Inoue, Kikuko Japanese

Venus, Fatora Supporting

Ishimura, Tomoko Japanese

Mann, Afura Supporting

Yoshida, Miho Japanese

Inoue, Hiroaki Producer

Hasegawa, Yasuo Producer

Morijiri, Kazuaki Producer

Hayashi, Hiroki Director, Storyboard

Reviews

Feb 28, 2022

barsoapguy219

Recommended

Nostalgia goggles on! We're hopping into a time machine and heading to the 90s. Isekai, harem, time loop? Check.

El Hazard. What a strange name. I wonder if the writer thought it sounded cool in Japanese. Either way, don't take this one too seriously. It doesn't take itself too seriously.

Story
Our crew gets transported to the new world. There's a conflict between humans and the bug group. Most of the crew ends up with the humans but the annoying guy get matched up with the bugs and fits right in.

The sides are fighting to control the Eye of God, a sort of WMD. Our ... good guys gear up, meet the three goddesses, and do their hero's journey. Our baddies are a little menacing but mostly goofy.

The story is very average but the series is short enough to not drag.

Characters
I had a good time with this bunch.

The MC guy/girl-in-disguise is a dud. It's one of the things I dislike in anime in general: that the main guy has absolutely nothing going on. And for some reason (viewer self-insert) all the women can't get enough of him. For the love of anime, just give the guy an attribute or two. And make him not a complete pushover. That said, the crossdressing is a good gimmick and I almost always find it funny. This is one of those cases.

Then there is my man Fujisawa-sensei. What a dude! He is a teacher by profession and true to his duty, he is there to protect the children. He drinks, smokes, and, most importantly, he's man enough for the ladies. There is a scene in ep 3 where he impresses the water priestess that is just gold. He springs into action, calls out his kick, lands in the hero's pose, deepens his voice, and asks the damsel if she is alright. She was never in danger but calls him her savior and falls in love. Oh yeah, she's desperate for a husband too. The guy is an easy-going drunk and all-around good dude.

Nanami is the plucky girl who got the short end of the stick during the world change, but worked her way out of poverty, and started her own business. She's cute, fiesty, and plays a corner of the love triangle.

Arielle is the flaming lesbian loli. What exactly is she licking? She is a loyal friend who is never above taking the opportunity to cop a feel on one of the ladies. She's annoying but this is a goofball isekai romp so it's all good.

Jinnai is the power-hungry, goofball, bad guy. I think of him as Dwight from the Office if he got transported to the fantasy world and was actually somewhat competent. He's got the Kefka-esque evil laugh. It's goofy and menacing at the same time.

And of course, there are the three priestesses, the WMD-waifu, and the princesses.

It's a pretty good cast. The characters have unique personalities that mesh together and create enjoyable and funny situations.

There was a scene where Shayla went to drink with Fujisawa-sensei to figure out the relation between Makoto and Nanami. I love it when two unrelated characters befriend each other.

Sounds
The music is pretty good. I liked the opening theme. It was grand and had the exotic Arabian Nights feel to it. Very fitting and cool stuff. The ending theme was a catchy, bubblegum pop tune. Warning: there is fan service in the ED.

The BGM fit the desert vibe for the most part. I liked it. The battle music was jazzy. Decent but nothing great.

The voices fit and were pro level. I don't understand much Japanese but the emotions and delivery were good.

Art
I like the character designs. The MC is a basic dud. Fujisawa sensei looks like an old dude who doesn't give a shit. Nanami is cute. I like her hairband, short sleeve button-up, tank top, shorts combo. Jinnai has the asshole combover and his school uniform/suit. Arielle is cute. And the priestesses look their part. Miz's costume is hot.

The art looks very decent for the 90s. The colors are supposed to be bright but they don't pop like the modern colors do. It still looks decent. The action is animated well enough. The transformation/attacks are repeated several times. It didn't detract from the experience for me. There were some points where the animation quality fell off. I liked the Arabian themed architecture and art. The backgrounds were nothing special but still nice.

Enjoyment & Overall
El Hazard was probably my first isekai and one of the earliest animes I watched. It was fun, dramatic, and a huge departure from the media I was exposed to at that time. This was one of the animes that blew my teenage boy mind.

I watched it again recently and I still like it. It's all about the characters, the cute girls, and the vibe with enough plot to keep things moving. El Hazard is not going to change your outlook on life. But it is a ton of goofy fun.

Reviewer’s Rating: 9

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Jun 28, 2021

mcgiygas

Recommended

El Hazard is an isekai that goes against some of the standard tropes of the genre. Isekai's are obviously stories based off of existing within another world, but generally, the genre is all about escapism. Sword Art Online, Inuyasha, 12 Kingdoms are inherently stories of people moving into a new world because their skills aren't appreciated or wanted in the current world, or their abilities "level-up" to fit the new world. Either way, you generally have a self insert main character who struggles in the real world, "escapes" and is wanted by the society they are now living in.

El Hazard already goes against the ... grain of other Isekai by not being a story about someone escaping. Makoto is happy, successful, and well appreciated by society, and when he introduced to the world, his only use is being a political puppet because he looks like the Princess. He is forced to crossdress to look like the princess, and take part in political ceremonies that require none of the skills he developed in the previous world.

On the other hand, our villain Katsuhiko, struggles in the real world. He has an obsessive rivalry with Makoto, who despite working harder than, and putting more effort into Japanese high school activites, can never seem to get past his rival. Whether it be academics, sports, or the various other competitions one faces in school, Katsuhiko can never beat his rival. This character, more aligns with the typical isekai character, he's struggling in this world (mostly due to his own douchey attitudes) and is transported to another world where he instantly recognized with power, and instantly given an army. Katushiko being one of the antagonists of this world shows how El Hazard goes against it's Isekai brethren and might be valued less by people looking for purely self inserting.

The background art in this series is amazing, the character animation is classic 90's OVA, incredibly fluid animation with big fight scenes are littered throughout each episode.

When I went into the series I was worried that it wouldn't have a good ending, or even have an ending at all, it wouldnt be the first time a 90s OVA series ended suddenly. El Hazard manages to have an ending that is paced well, and isn't sudden, and manages to do that in 7 episodes. It manages to go against the grain, while giving you a serviceable story, good art, and good music.

Reviewer’s Rating: 9

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Sep 20, 2017

Silyon

Mixed Feelings

El Hazard The Magnificent World is a seven episode OVA series released from mid-1995 to early-1996. It is also one of the first anime in the now exceedingly popular isekai genre. For the uninitiated the term isekai refers to a sub-genre of fantasy anime in which the protagonist or protagonists are originally from present day Earth, but get pulled into another world that is generally better than ours. It is one of the premier escapist fantasies that dominate today's anime landscape and as such they tend to put a spotlight on all the ways the new world is better than ours and don't focus too ... much on the main character, leaving him a blank canvas onto which the viewer can project.
And with that opening paragraph I've explained El Hazard The Magnificent World pretty well. The anime doesn't break any new ground today because of how very basic it is for an isekai. Now it wouldn't be quite fair to be hard on the anime because of this, after all, back when it was new the market wasn't flooded with all sorts of other anime, manga and light novels like it. So keeping in mind the time period in which it was released does the anime hold up today, and is it still worth watching? Well, the archivist in me says yes because this anime has undoubtedly influenced many that came after, but that is not a satisfying answer since many might not care about remembering the past. Here's the long answer:

To start off, the plot of El Hazard is, as mentioned before, extremely basic. A group of students and a teacher get sent into another world called El-Hazard by a sexy anime lady that looks a bit like Griffith from Berserk. There our protagonists get mixed up in a fight between the friendly alliance and the menacing human sized bugs called the Bugrom. To help them in their fight every one of the earthlings gets some sort of superpower.
Immediately I noticed that the anime was intent on flip-flopping between almost stone-faced seriousness into goofy comedy. This mix can be made to work if done right, but El Hazard sadly does not do it right at all. Each time a comedy segment interrupts a more serious bit and vice-versa you get some whiplash from the sudden and sometimes downright weird change in tone. Luckily the middle part of the anime is mostly comedy-centered so there's not a lot of flip-flopping there. There is, however, a certain charm to this inneptitude to properly keep the tone, it's mostly a harmless blunder that makes it feel distinctly like a 90s OVA that was made on a budget. Speaking of feeling like a 90s anime, the studio behind El Hazard is the same studio behind Tenchi Muyo Ryououki and it definitely feels like it. Besides the fake harem that builds up around the main character, the character designs are extremely reminiscent of Tenchi Muyo.
Now, why did I say fake harem? Because, you see, this anime not only predates isekai but it also predates most harem shows and the tropes that formed around them in the early 2000s. The girls around our main character Makoto are not all interested in him they're there because of happenstance and don't all instantly want a piece of him.

I suppose this is as good a time as any to talk about the characters in our story for a bit. As mentioned above you have the main character Makoto who is your average slightly wimpy high school kid that we're supposed to project ourselves onto. A problem with the characters in this show, I feel, is that they don't show any form of progression as the show goes on. And it is most evident perhaps with Makoto who despite all he's been through in the end is basically the same.
Along with Makoto a few of his classmates and a teacher were transported into El Hazard. His school crush Nanami and his teacher Fujisawa are ever present in his adventures through El Hazard, but despite them being useful in the plot they don't feel like real characters. Their superpowers are always used as a 'Get Out of Jail Free' card. They feel more like caricatures that exist to either serve the plot or more often than not deliver some comedic moment. Even the main villain of the series, Makoto's self-declared rival from high school, Jinnai feels like he's just a few evil laughs away from growing a moustache for the sole purpose of twirling it while pulling off some relatively well thought out plan only to be foiled by the heroes again and again.
Though to give credit where credit is due, the anime does manage to humanise the Bugrom through the various interactions Jinnai has with them. Towards the end of the series you may even remember some of their names, even though they looks mostly the same, and you get a small sense that each one of them is an individual. Whether this surprising humanisation of what would be in most other anime just a faceless and nameless monster army was fully intentional or not, I don't know but I do know that I enjoyed it.

I've mentioned above that the party winds up in the titular world El Hazard and I think that the world the anime builds is it's strong suit. Through gorgeous background art and beautifully designed environments El Hazard is made out to be a sort-of paradise world that, unlike many more generic looking isekai world, I genuinely would like to visit. Everything in the world has this middle-eastern vibe while also incorporating copious amounts of green into the designs. Most of the buildings in the world seem to be built by man with a lot of aid from nature. From fountains and indoor ponds that add beautiful splashes of blue in buildings made mostly from yellow and cream colours in conjunction with vibrant greens, to the bright blue sky and the enourmous plants and vines that some outdoor areas have the world looks stunning all around. Then there's places like the Bugrom HQ which has a distinctly insect-like precise design that could only be achieved through by a race with perfect cooperation. Here you don't see anything natural inside or outside the buildings, everything being replaced by precise angles, hexagonal designs and dark colours. It's a great contrast to the 'good' side of the world and an equal delight to witness. I think that the main reason anyone would want to watch the show is because of the world that is being built. Oh and if what I've said so far has not impressed you, El Hazard is no slouch when it comes to exciting fauna either because this world has LIVING ARMOUR CATS. Yes you heard me, the world has cats which can become living armour for someone. And they also talk. LIVING ARMOUR CATS. I still can't get over it, if you haven't noticed.

I can't quite give the same praise to the story of El Hazard The Magnificent World as I did to the world. As mentioned before, the story is quite tone deaf and doesn't know when to jest and when to be serious. Furthermore, there are some slight pacing issues here and there, which I think would be mostly due to the seven episode format since they needed to cram as much in there as possible, nevermind the fact that both the first and final episodes are double length. The characters occasionally go from location to location based on very loose reasoning just to move the plot forward. There also is never any sense of danger towards any of the main cast, all throught the story you know that none of them are going to come to any serious harm. The plot armour here is quite obvious and the anime makes no effort to hide it. But maybe I can give it some slack considering the genre and the fact that the entire anime is basically a power fantasy and as a power fantasy the anime is decent.
There is a small romantic subplot in the latter part of the anime, but it doesn't really mean much in the end. It affects nothing and the 'winner' is spoiled by the very beginning of the anime anyway. The only reason I could think of why it's even there is because having multiple girls fighting over you is one of the things that every high school boy dreams of. Oh and there's also an even less inefectual lesbian romance subplot in the anime that goes nowhere at all and just brings into the anime a character which many might find irritating based on voice alone, to speak nothing of personality.

All in all, I somewhat liked El Hazard. I didn't have the greatest expectations going in and came out relatively pleased. The anime didn't ever really bore me, but neither did it do anything too grand.
So back to my original question: 'Does the anime still hold up today and is it worth watching?'
When compared to some of the isekai anime that are released today it seems very basic, but it has something that those anime don't: a certain charm and a feeling that it was made for more than to just be another isekai anime that will hopefully sell. Maybe I am giving the studio too much credit, but I do feel like they liked working on this project and tried making it the best it could be. Now, that 'best' isn't really all that fascinating but that isn't such a big issue. I would say you should watch this anime if you're in the mood for a different kind of fantasy world, or just want to go back in time to one of the original isekai that started it all or if you like Tenchi Muyo Ryououki then you'll probably like this too. I personally enjoyed my short time with El Hazard and am glad I gave it a chance and I'm looking forward to eventually taking a look at the sequel OVA.

Reviewer’s Rating: 6

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	Poll: El Hazard: The Magnificent World Episode 7 Discussion Rei_III - Oct 1, 2016	10 replies	by BlaizeV »» Aug 11, 2:41 PM
	Poll: El Hazard: The Magnificent World Episode 3 Discussion mozgow - Jan 6, 2017	2 replies	by YokaiVapor »» Aug 1, 2023 10:29 AM
	What did you think about this anime? doubleO8 - Nov 15, 2007	12 replies	by GakutoDeathGlare »» May 12, 2023 8:04 PM
	Poll: El Hazard: The Magnificent World Episode 1 Discussion Rei_III - Sep 28, 2016	4 replies	by IsekaiNekko »» Jul 12, 2021 5:52 AM
	Poll: El Hazard: The Magnificent World Episode 6 Discussion mozgow - Jan 6, 2017	1 replies	by tuwacroi »» Feb 17, 2021 10:58 AM