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| 3. Tempy
I haven't been this disappointed with an anime show since Serial
Experiments Lain. The El Hazard universe is a popular AIC franchise,
and the first OVA series sports the typical AIC excellence in character and costume
design (I really like their costume design). The girls all look attractive, and
the art and animation is well done, though not spectacularly so. Unfortunately
this series fails on most other fronts. The characters are developed rather poorly,
and while Makoto is supposed to be the hero of the show, AIC doesn't focus on
him clearly enough, therefore reducing any impact of things happening to the protagonist.
There are no grand battles, no serious emotional conflicts, no memorable villains
(Jinnai's laugh is memorable only because it's so annoying), no belly-shaking
laughs, nothing that gives El Hazard OVA 1 classic status in my eyes. There
are some nice romantic moments, which stick out in a barren sea of nothingness.
I did think Miz' affection for Fujisawa was rather cute though. While watching
the show my mind kept wandering to Escaflowne. Though the story similarities
are minimal, Escaflowne does have great designs, battles, drama, romance,
villains and music, and succeeds much better at being a fantasy adventure. |
| 2. weasl
 
Comprised of seven OVA episodes, El Hazard starts out
a bit slow, but quickly picks up steam and turns into unique and very memorable
experience. The story starts off with Makoto meeting a girl in the recently unearthed
ruins underneath is school. After telling him that she has been waiting to meet
him for 10,000 years, she sends him to El Hazard, a bizarre and colorful
fantasy world where the people are in need of his help. The story is well paced,
and it's actually quiet easy to simply sit down and watch the whole show in one
sitting. What really shines about El Hazard though is it's excellent and
diverse cast of characters. Sadly it's only big flaw involves the characters as
well. With the amount of time devoted to the story, a great deal of the characters
aren't given enough time to develop, and the romantic rivalry between Nanami and
Shayla-Shayla ends up being seriously under developed. Past the slightly disappointing
lack of development some of the characters got, El Hazard is a great deal
of fun with it's mix of fantasy, strange technology, cute girls, and bizarre sci-fi
machines. |
| 1. Konoha
El-Hazard is an AIC production, which means many beautiful
girls! But El-Hazard also has a grand sweeping storyline, similar to some
older fantasy works. Makoto, an ordinary student, is sent into a magical world
by a beautiful girl who says she has been waiting for him for 10,000 years! Others
come along for the ride, and what a ride it is! Royalty, war, well-developed characters,
magic, and true love - this is not to be missed. And unlike Tenchi, this
has an ending - and a wonderful one!! Highly, highly recommended. |
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