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.
