El Hazard: The Alternative World

Original Title: 異次元の世界エルハザード
Romanized: Ijigen no Sekai Eru Hazaado
Literal: Alternate Dimension World

Plot Synopsis

The El Hazard crew from the OAVs is back for more dimension-hopping fun. Miz has finally managed to tie the knot with Mr. Fujisawa, which means that she'll be retiring, and the new Priestess of Water is on the way. The young priestess-to-be, Qwaoor, is as sweet as could be, but has an extreme dislike of bugs (pity the Bugrom) and after a little mishap, takes a liking to Makoto...

And then a weird old guy in a trans-dimensional orb who claims to be the Master of the Universe has a little chat with Jinnai and the whole crew ends up getting scattered across another alternate world. Oops. Now the Earth folks aren't the only strangers in a strange land. With floating farms, a slightly unhinged emperor and his cold-as-ice general, and the Spring of Life that powers their capital, what a strange land it is.

One group is enjoying peaceful farm life, another is captured by a bunch of bugs, while at the Imperial Palace the Emperor has gotten it into his head that Makoto can fix the dying Spring of Life... or else. Then there's Fatora, Allele, and Allele's dead ringer (and male) cousin Parnase (what is it with lesbians looking like the guys in this series, anyway?), a dangerous team in any world.

Review

Rating: 3.5 / 5
Reviewer: Marc
Review Date: 2006-07-23

El Hazard: The Alternative World picks up where the El Hazard OAVs left off. Yes, that's right: At last, continuity! While a huge relief to fans sick of Pioneer's re-hashes (the first El Hazard TV series and about a half-dozen unrelated Tenchi Muyo remakes) it also means that you'll be pretty lost if you haven't seen at least some other El Hazard--you're doing yourself a disservice if you start here.

That said, my view may be colored by the sweet relief that can only come from proper OAV continuity, but for all the oversights and disappointments in the plot, I found this sequel enjoyable and a worth-while follow-up.

There's an all new Alternative World to explore, and though a very different place from El Hazard--a frozen wasteland dominated by a powerful industrial empire--it doesn't disappoint. It isn't flashy, but it definitely shows imagination and a bit of a sense of wonder. This time the natives of El Hazard are just as out of place as the Earth-folk, a fun change of pace.

The setting is different, but all of the old crew is back for more. As usual, they're a fun lot, have a good dynamic, and plenty of variety. To shake things up just a bit, Miz and Fujisawa are now married (something that's handled well and feels true to the characters), and young Qwaoor is introduced as the replacement Priestess of Water, filling the "just plain sweet" gap in the character lineup.

Predictably, Qwaoor takes a liking to Makoto, which introduces the mild romantic tension between her, Nanami, and Shayla Shayla (for a bit) that produces much of the emotional drama in the series. Though adding another girl seems like overkill given that Makoto is already very "taken," she provides enough serious competition to bring out the more serious side of Nanami's personality and to give Makoto's devotion to Ifurita (who is still in the limbo she was left in prior to the credits of the OAVs) more of a challenge.

This slight change in the emotional tone of the story is appealing to me, since it makes Makoto, who was already an unusually mature boy-hero, feel like he's growing up. Nanami also gets a more dramatic twist. Unlike your generic "Oh, no, too many girls" guy, he continues to be a rather thoughtful young protagonist, and unexpectedly gets some time to quietly pine for Ifurita.

Also on the "more mature than expected" front, Fujisawa and Miz get some screen time in the first half of the series as an amusing married couple, a refreshing change from the teenage lovebirds so common in anime. We also get to see a bit of Rune Venus involved in a budding romance, though that subplot is completely abandoned at the end, a complaint I'll get to later.

On the subject of complaints, in addition to Ifurita being (unsurprisingly) absent, Jinnai--the character who made the OAVs--doesn't have that much to do. Thankfully, he does manage to squeeze in a bit of gloating at the end, so all is not lost.

Getting back on track, the characters are split into four groups for most of the story, only loosely interconnected and not converging until the very end. Although this cuts down on the fun interaction that could have been, it creates interesting group dynamics and helps keep the large number of characters from turning into a jumbled mess. The series is relatively successful at keeping everybody's exploits interesting while having most of the main plot development going on in Makoto's camp. This keeps the story flowing smoothly, but it also means that everyone else doesn't do much of any import, and bypasses the potential for a complex, interwoven story.

Then again, since this incarnation of El Hazard follows the tried and true Pioneer theme of having a plot that we (the viewers) just don't get all that clued in on (barely-explained mystery abounds), keeping the actual plot as focused as possible was probably a good idea.

The writing in this series is on par with the OAVs--not brilliant, but generally solid, with a good blend of mystery, drama, and comedy. Things start out on a light note, but as the story progresses the humorous moments thin out and the level of drama increases. I missed some of the funnier bits (the emperor's rather odd personality quirks in particular come to mind) but the transition is smooth enough that it's not jarring, and it does get some good momentum going.

But there's one big problem with the whole thing: The series is over before its over. As the main plot nears its climax, the rest of the many subplots are glossed over or completely dropped to make room (Shayla Shayla's bugs and Rune Venus' boyfriend just disappear, for example), and even the main story ends abruptly. The series desperately needed at least another episode or two, and there is enough potential material for an entire second season. More frustrating still, the pace is quite leisurely at times, and although this isn't a bad thing, a livelier pace with a more satisfying wrap up would have been much better.

For those wondering what happened to all the cross-dressing fun and lesbian shenanigans, there is one small upside to the bungled endgame and lack of levity: There's a bonus "to hot for TV" episode tacked on at the end. This obligatory trip for that famed "purification ritual" has more than enough wacky hijinks to make up for the rest of the series. Between Fujisawa's bad habits and Fatora and Allele's convoluted scheming, hilarious romps just doesn't get much better than this. If you'll pardon my saying so, that's good stuff. It has zip to do with anything else, but at least the series finishes on a lively note.

Moving on, the visuals are about par for a good AIC TV series of its era: Vividly colored, sharply drawn, and with imaginative backgrounds. The character designs are true to the earlier series--relatively varied and attractive--although the eyes now share the unusual look of the Tenchi in Tokyo series. The animation isn't high budget (more a lack of anything particularly good than anything specifically looking bad), but the character animation is all very well done, and the art more than makes up for any flaws elsewhere. The handful of action scenes are nice.

The background music in the series isn't particularly noteworthy, but gets the job done. The opening theme is quite nice, but I do have a bit of a problem with one of the two end themes; the singing, while only amateur-quality, is pretty, but the visuals look like illustrations from a wedding album of Shayla Shayla, which makes no sense and has nothing do to with the rest of the series, directly or in spirit.

The Japanese acting, on the other hand, is as good as you'd hope. Everybody from the original cast is back and in business. The additions are also quite good, if not terribly noteworthy. Qwaoor's voice is a bit plain, but adequate and plenty sweet. The Emperor, on the other hand, is amusingly memorable, and General Gilda is impressive--her voice is every bit as cold and harsh as her exterior, and the more emotional scenes at the very end come across equally well. I can't speak for the English version.

Summing up, El Hazard: The Alternative World is a decent but flawed continuation of the storyline of the El Hazard OAVs. Though a bit more serious, it is at least as good as the OAVs in plot, visuals, and production. It is sadly marred by a few rough spots, a Jinnai shortage, and a horribly abrupt, painfully unsatisfying end. On the bright side, there's a hilarious little bonus episode romp tacked on after the finale to make up for the lack of fun elsewhere. It's not quite the sequel fans of the OAVs might wish for, but by and large established fans should enjoy this addition to the series.

Related Recommendations

Of course if you liked the previous El Hazard incarnations, you should check out this, and vice versa. In terms of serious-ness, the 2nd OAV series is probably the most similar, but it is otherwise a little different in overall flavor to all of them.

US DVD Review

A fine, if not fancy series of DVDs. Each disc includes a chapter index, English and Japanese stereo audio tracks, an English subtitle track, and a very sharp video transfer. Special features are minimal, though.

There's also a box set of the whole series.

Content Guide

With the exception of occasional lesbian hijinks, there is a minimum of serious violence and occasional adult theme or bit of undetailed nudity. Pioneer appropriately rated it 13-up. Note, though, that the bonus episode at the end has a lot more mature humor (and undetailed nudity) than the rest of the series, and would be 16-up on its own.

Violence: 2 - Violent on occasion, but mostly cartoony and no real body count.

Nudity: 2 - Undetailed and minimal nudity. The bonus episode, however, ranks a 3 for undetailed but plentiful skin.

Sex/Mature Themes: 1 - An off color joke here and there. The bonus episode has its share of very raunchy humor, ranking a 3.

Language: 2 - Nothing of note.

Notes and Trivia

Although this is a TV series, it follows the storyline of the two OAV series. It does not relate to the first TV series, which is out on its own, re-using the same characters in for an entirely unconnected plot. The final episode was not included when the series originally aired on TV Tokyo; it was included as a "too hot for TV" bonus with the video release.

Availability

Available in the US from Geneon on four hybrid DVDs, as well as a box set of the whole series. Was originally (back when Geneon was Pioneer) also available on four subtitled or dubbed VHS tapes released alongside the DVD volumes, now out of print.

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