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

Morijiri, Kazuaki Producer

Hasegawa, Yasuo Producer

Hayashi, Hiroki Director, Storyboard

Reviews

Jan 9, 2008

Gaidai

Recommended

The Magnificent World of El-Hazard, truly a classic for the ages! And I mean that, too. In comparison to more 'modern' shows, it's my opinion that El-Hazard still measures up to this day, and whether you've loved anime since the days of Astroboy (though I'm not sure how much other anime there was in the 60's, heh), or you've just recently started into the hobby, I'd still strongly recommend the first series of El-Hazard. Be ready for some high-fantasy with a few Final-Fantasy-esque technological advancements. If you're the mecha only type or just aren't a big fan of such things, I'd ... still recommend you give this one a shot, as it tends to suprise with a little something for everybody--great laughs, sweet romance, courtly intrigue, lots of action, and a tearful ending.

El-Hazard has all the hallmarks of an excellent series. The story is deep and engrossing, and told well despite the short length. You won't feel as though you've been gypped out of closure due to the lack of episodes. At the same time, nothing is really 'glossed-over'--though the plot is involved, most everything is well explained.

The characters are memorable and dynamic. While it's true that most of them have their stereotypes, the series manages to take a little time, sometimes if only a scene or two, to paint most of them in another light--just to let you know there's more to them. There are two disctinct camps of villains as well, each with their own agenda. If you like dashing, cunning baddies with a web of secrecy, El-Hazard has that. if you prefer your enemies maniacal, biosterous, sometimes silly, and slightly insane, El-Hazard has you covered. The same goes for the protagonists. El-Hazard has your 'knight in shining armor' types; your well-meaning perverts; your innocent, 'didn't ask to be here' types; and even your 'You're such a $&(*$@, why do you have to be a good guy?' types.

The artwork won't disappoint. It's probably not the best you've ever seen, but it's certainly not the worst. What's most important is that it's an enduring enough style that it's hard to see it as 'dated'. The sound is exceptional too. The background music really helps to get you into the 'feel' of the world you're experiencing, and the opening score is powerful and memorable. The ending themes are enjoyable, too. 'Boys Be Free' ('Back in Love' in English) is performed by Alielle, is catchy, fun, and bemusedly suggestive, while 'Little Flower' (which takes over as the ending theme after a few episodes) is mellow and somber, in keeping with how it wants to make you feel by that point in the storyline.

One of the most impressive qualities of El-Hazard in my opinion is the exceptional ability of the English dub actors. Yes, we all have our own opinions, but I personally don't care for dubs, and I can count on one hand the anime I've ever seen that I could stand in anything other than the original Japanese. This is one of them. The dub actors get the inflection right and deliver some great one-liners that probably aren't what the original characters were saying, but are close enough to make the experience that much better for the non-Japanese speaker.

I'll also give El-Hazard an impressive rewatch value. This is the show I tend to use to get curious newcomers to anime started, and it never gets old after many re-watches.

To be fair since this is a review, if I were to knock anything about El-Hazard, I would have to go with some of the faster animation sequences. The art is great, sure, but whenever there's a scene where lots of people are moving really quickly all at once (IE, a fight, a bunch of people running, or some acrobatics), they tend to shift about rather strangely, making it look as though some corners were cut on the drawing board. Que sera.

All in all, El-Hazard isn't long and it's worth your time to add it in to your anime watching experience. Maybe you'll even enjoy it enough to catch some of the other series, though keep in mind that 'The Wanderers of El-Hazard' is a TV version (so it's the original story told differently). 'El-Hazard 2: The Magnificent World' is the sequel, if that's what you're looking for.

So what are you waiting for!? Check out El-Hazard, and trust me, give the English dub a try this time! ^.^

Reviewer’s Rating: 10

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Jun 4, 2019

SeekingWaylander

Recommended

El Hazard stands out as a magnificent masterpiece.

I've rewatched it and it hasn't lost its fragrance.

The art is top notch. Starting from background art to characters, everything is well-defined and has its place in the story.

The story itself may look meh, but, it really isn't. It is a well thought story. The characters may get sloppy from time to time, but they are well defined and fluid. The plot itself is great and it has its share of everything. Its catchy and it stays catchy. Its funny. Its dumb. Its wonderful. Its original.

The music and the sound is impressive.

Reviewer’s Rating: 10

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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
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