El-Hazard
El-Hazard | |
神秘の世界エルハザード (Shinpi no Sekai El-Hazard) | |
---|---|
Genre | Isekai[1] |
Original video animation | |
El Hazard: The Magnificent World | |
Directed by | Hiroki Hayashi |
Produced by |
|
Written by | Ryoe Tsukimura |
Music by | Seikou Nagaoka |
Studio | AIC |
Licensed by | Crunchyroll |
Released | May 26, 1995 – January 25, 1996 |
Runtime |
|
Episodes | 7 |
Manga | |
Written by | Hidetomo Tsubura |
Published by | Fujimi Shobo |
Magazine | Monthly Dragon Age |
Demographic | Shōnen |
Original run | 1995 – 1996 |
Volumes | 3 |
Anime television series | |
El-Hazard: The Wanderers | |
Directed by | Katsuhito Akiyama |
Produced by |
|
Written by | Ryoe Tsukimura |
Music by | Seikou Nagaoka |
Studio | AIC |
Licensed by |
|
Original network | TV Tokyo |
Original run | October 6, 1995 – March 29, 1996 |
Episodes | 26 |
Original video animation | |
El Hazard: The Magnificent World 2 | |
Directed by | Yoshiaki Iwasaki |
Produced by |
|
Written by | Kazuhisa Onishi |
Music by | Seikou Nagaoka |
Studio | AIC |
Licensed by | |
Released | March 21, 1997 – October 25, 1997 |
Runtime | 30 minutes each |
Episodes | 4 |
Anime television series | |
El-Hazard: The Alternative World | |
Directed by | Yasuhito Kikuchi |
Produced by |
|
Written by | Mitsuhiro Yamada |
Music by | Seikou Nagaoka |
Studio | AIC |
Licensed by |
|
Original network | TV Tokyo |
Original run | January 8, 1998 – March 25, 1998 |
Episodes | 13 |
Pioneer LDC | |
Released | 1999 |
El-Hazard (Japanese: 神秘の世界エルハザード, Hepburn: Shinpi no Sekai Eru Hazādo, lit. "The Magnificent World of El-Hazard") is a Japanese anime franchise written by Ryoe Tsukimura and directed by Hiroki Hayashi. The series was animated by AIC and produced by Pioneer LDC.
There is also a
Plot
The story focuses on three high school students,
The Magnificent World
The central conflict in El-Hazard: The Magnificent World (神秘の世界エルハザード, Shinpi no Sekai Eru Hazādo, lit. "The Magnificent World of El-Hazard") focuses on Makoto, who along with Nanami, Mr. Fujisawa and human residents of El-Hazard fight against Jinnai who is made leader of the Bugrom armies by Queen Diva, but meanwhile, other, more sinister machinations lie below the surface.
The Wanderers
El-Hazard: The Wanderers, known in Japan as simply El-Hazard (エルハザード, Eru Hazādo), takes place in an alternative timeline from the original OVA. It is a simplified version of the original OVA plot, stretched to twenty-six episodes and eliminates or alters several of the OVA's major characters.
The Magnificent World 2
El-Hazard: The Magnificent World 2 (神秘の世界エルハザード2, Shinpi no Sekai Eru Hazādo Tsū, lit. "The Magnificent World of El-Hazard 2") is a sequel to the original OVA and features Makoto and the others continuing on in their lives in El-Hazard after the war with the Bugrom has ended. When Mr. Fujisawa suddenly runs off, getting cold feet the night before his wedding with Miz Mishtal, Makoto and the others race off to find him.
The Alternative World
El-Hazard: The Alternative World (異次元の世界エルハザード, Ijigen no Sekai Eru Hazādo, lit. "A Parallel World to El-Hazard") follows up after the actual wedding of Mr. Fujisawa and Miz Mishtal, but the cast is then thrust into another world for a second time; the militant world of Creteria.
Characters
El-Hazard's causal loop
El-Hazard's plot is made up of a causal loop, an example of the
Over the course of the series, Makoto manages to free Ifurita from her enslavement to Jinnai (the "master" of the Power Key Staff, and therefore her master). In response, Ifurita comes to love Makoto, but events involving the Eye of God (see below) force her to drift through time and space for ten thousand years until she is eventually entombed under what would later become the site of Shinonome High School. The series then returns to the beginning, this time from Ifurita's perspective. After warmly greeting Makoto, she sends him to El-Hazard in order to trigger all of the events that, from Makoto's perspective, had yet to take place. In the final episode, Ifurita is reunited with an older Makoto who has transported back to her with her key, enabling them both to return to El-Hazard together. An ending montage shows various El Hazard characters apparently now living on Earth.
The Eye of God
The Eye of God plays a prominent role in both the OVA and The Wanderers. In both continuities, it is the ultimate superweapon, created by an ancient civilization. Its basic design is that of a giant metallic orb that floats in a geosynchronous orbit within the world's atmosphere.
The Eye of God is a dimensional weapon that sends all it destroys into a
In the OVA continuity, the Eye of God first needed to be unsealed by the
In The Wanderers, the Eye is controlled from within rather than from the Stairway to the Sky, and the character Ifurita acts as a key to controlling the weapon. Jinnai attempts to use Ifurita to control the Eye, but once connected, Ifurita's true purpose as the Demon God is revealed, and she attempts to destroy El-Hazard. Makoto stops the Eye from going out of control and is temporarily lost, but finds his way back to El-Hazard at the end of the series.
In The Alternative World, another Eye of God appears, but this one is a shattered version of the original and does not seem to need a princess and three priestesses to unseal it. Its origin is not explained.
Media
The series began as a seven episode
A second four-episode OVA series, El-Hazard: The Magnificent World 2, followed. El-Hazard: The Alternative World is a thirteen-episode TV series with a follow-up special later released on
El Hazard: The Magnificent World 2, and El Hazard: The Alternative World are continuations of the original OVA (El-Hazard: The Magnificent World) whereas the TV series El Hazard: The Wanderers is a standalone series.
There is also a Sega Saturn visual novel video game inspired from the TV series, with several possible endings.
On August 13, 2018, AIC announced that they are planning to crowdfund a short five minute pilot for a new El Hazard series titled The Dual World.[3] The campaign launched on September 6 of that year but was not successful, raising ¥841,000 out of its ¥5,000,000 goal before closing on October 30.[4]
List of The Magnificent World and The Magnificent World 2 episodes
# | Title | Japanese release date | English release date |
---|---|---|---|
1 | "Battlefield of Confusion" Transliteration: "Konsen no Sekai Eruhazādo" (Japanese: 混戦の世界エルハザード) | May 26, 1995 | July 25, 1995 |
2 | "The World of Beautiful Girls" Transliteration: "Bijo no Sekai Eruhazādo" (Japanese: 美女の世界エルハザード) | June 25, 1995 | October 24, 1995 |
3 | "The World of Hot Springs" Transliteration: "Onsen no Sekai Eruhazādo" (Japanese: 温泉の世界エルハザード) | July 25, 1995 | October 24, 1995 |
4 | "The World of the Demon God" Transliteration: "Kishin no Sekai Eruhazādo" (Japanese: 鬼神の世界エルハザード) | August 25, 1995 | December 19, 1995 |
5 | "The World of Thunder" Transliteration: "Raimei no Sekai Eruhazādo" (Japanese: 雷鳴の世界エルハザード) | October 21, 1995 | December 19, 1995 |
6 | "The World of Gleaming Light" Transliteration: "Senkō no Sekai Eruhazādo" (Japanese: 閃光の世界エルハザード) | November 25, 1995 | May 28, 1996 |
7 | "The World of Endless Adventures" Transliteration: "Eien no Sekai Eruhazādo" (Japanese: 永遠の世界エルハザード) | January 25, 1996 | May 28, 1996 |
8 | "The Bride of Roshtaria" Transliteration: "Roshutaria no Hanayome" (Japanese: ロシュタリアの花嫁) | March 21, 1997 | July 14, 1998 |
9 | "The Awakening of Kalia" Transliteration: "Kaaria Kakusei" (Japanese: カーリア覚醒) | May 25, 1997 | July 14, 1998 |
10 | "Ifurita, Farewell to Destiny" Transliteration: "Ifuriita: Unmei no Wakare" (Japanese: イフリータ・運命の別れ) | August 24, 1997 | August 25, 1998 |
11 | "Promise for Reunion" Transliteration: "Saikai Heno Chikai" (Japanese: 再会への誓い) | October 25, 1997 | August 25, 1998 |
Reception
Anime reviews
Theron Martin argued that the series doesn't "come close to representing the cream of the crop of '90s anime," and neither did it "establish any new trends or have a marked influence on the course of anime.[5] He also criticized Alielle Relryle for being presented as a "midget flaming lesbian" who sees Princess Fatora Venus as her the "only object" of her affection. Chris Beveridge further said, in Mania that he still finds himself "grinning stupidly at many parts of this series."[6] Raphael See said that the series is "remarkable when it counts," referring to the scenery and backgrounds.[7]
Soundtrack reviews
"As nice as the opening piece and Ifurita's theme may be, the rest of the album doesn't quite succeed at reaching out and grabbing your attention." – Keith Rhee, about "Best of El Hazard" in EX: The Online World of Anime & Manga.[8]
References
- ^ Loveridge, Lynzee (August 19, 2017). "8 Anime That Were Isekai Before It Was Cool". Anime News Network. Retrieved February 11, 2024.
- ^ Sherman, Jennifer (July 6, 2019). "Right Stuf, Nozomi Ent. Add Sayonara, Zetsubou-Sensei, A.D. Police, El-Hazard Anime". Retrieved July 6, 2019.
- ^ "AIC Plans Crowdfunding for El Hazard Sequel Project". Anime News Network. Retrieved January 22, 2019.
- ^ "【AICリブートアニメ企画第4弾!】 幻双の世界エルハザード(仮題)" [[AIC Reboot Animation Project 4th! ] Genso no Sekai El Hazard (tentative title)]. Campfire (in Japanese). October 30, 2018 [2018-09-06]. Retrieved April 28, 2022.
- ^ Martin, Theron (September 6, 2007). "El Hazard - The Magnificent World DVDs 1 and 2 [review]". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on March 7, 2019. Retrieved June 29, 2020.
- ^ Beveridge, Chris (August 7, 2001). "El-Hazard, The Magnificent World Box Set". Mania.com. Archived from the original on October 16, 2012. Retrieved January 1, 2016.
- ^ See, Raphael. "El Hazard - The Magnificent World [Review]". THEM Anime Reviews. Archived from the original on January 28, 2021. Retrieved February 17, 2021.
- ^ "Best Of El Hazard". EX: The Online World of Anime & Manga. Vol. 2, no. 5. p. 34. Archived from the original on March 21, 2013.
Further reading
- Høgset, Stig (April 19, 2004). "El Hazard: The Magnificent World 2". T.H.E.M. Anime Reviews.
- Johnston, Chris (June 2007). "El-Hazard: The Magnificent World". Newtype USA. Vol. 6, no. 6. p. 149. ISSN 1541-4817.
- Morton, Bryan (April 19, 2005). "El-Hazard: the Magnificent World OVA Collection". Mania.com. Archived from the original on October 16, 2012.
External links
- EL-HAZARD: The Wanderers – Nozomi Entertainment's Official Website Archived June 25, 2022, at the Wayback Machine
- Official AIC El Hazard Website (in Japanese)
- El Hazard – The Magnificent World (anime) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia
- El Hazard: The Magnificent World at IMDb