El-Hazard
Encyclopedia
is a Japanese anime
franchise written by Ryoe Tsukimura and directed by Hiroki Hayashi
. The series was produced and animated by AIC.
There is also a manga
adaptation, which is published in English
by VIZ Media
. The series was formerly distributed in the U.S. by Pioneer LDC
, now known as Geneon
. While Enoki Films
held the rights over The Wanderers spin-off television series, Geneon opted out of using more "Americanized" names.
The distribution rights to the three El Hazard series (Magnificent World, Alternative World and Wanderers) were acquired from Geneon by Right Stuf entertainment, announced during a Right Stuf press release on May 18, 2010. The series will be distributed by Right Stuf's publishing label Nozomi Entertainment.
, are continuations of the original OVA (El-Hazard: The Magnificent World) time-line.
There is also a Sega Saturn
visual novel
videogame inspired from the TV series, with several possible endings.
. The first OVA begins with Makoto meeting Ifurita for the first time on Earth. After giving him a warm greeting, revealing that she somehow knows him, she sends him to El-Hazard. Later on in the series, Makoto discovers Ifurita entombed in a labyrinth, where she had been kept since ancient times. Upon this second meeting with Ifurita, Makoto is puzzled by the fact that she does not recognize him, nor does she treat him with the same demeanor she evoked in their first encounter.
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. Soon after, 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.
of Star Wars
fame.
The Eye of God is a dimensional weapon that sends all it destroys into a vortex
leading to an unknown destination. In the first OVA series, its use in ancient times is responsible for pulling the Phantom Tribe from their own world into El-Hazard.
In the OVA continuity, the Eye of God first needed to be unsealed by the Muldoon priestesses before it could be operated via the Stairway to the Sky, a tall metal tower that almost reaches the height of the Eye's orbit. Two female members of the royal house were required in order to activate the weapon, but the Phantom Tribe attempted to get around this barrier by creating a machine that would require the use of only one. The Phantom Tribe also sabotage the Eye, causing it to go out of control when the Princesses Rune Venus and Fatora use it to destroy the Bugrom. It's stopped by Ifurita, who synchronizes with the device and is ultimately lost in time and space for ten thousand years as a result.
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.
released a role-playing game
based on the first OVA series in 2001 and with rules based on the company's Tri-Stat system. The gameplay is reminiscent of the company's more generalized anime-inspired game Big Eyes Small Mouth, but features some modified mechanics and additional skills to better fit the El-Hazard universe. For example, it is possible to create "Relic characters" that are similar in nature to Ifurita, and earthling characters have access to the attribute "Unknown Superhuman Power" which allows the Game Master to pick special attributes or powers that the player must discern over the course of gameplay.
A note contained in the book suggested that the game would receive a supplement in 2002 based on characters and events from El-Hazard: The Magnificent World 2, but no such supplement was released.
.
"Years after its original release on laserdisc in the US, I still find myself grinning stupidly at many parts of this series." — Chris Beveridge, Mania.
"Fortunately, El Hazard is remarkable when it counts, and the backgrounds and scenery will make you all but forget the average bits." — Raphael See, T.H.E.M. Anime Reviews.
Anime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
franchise written by Ryoe Tsukimura and directed by Hiroki Hayashi
Hiroki Hayashi
' is a Japanese animation director.- Direct-to-video animation :* 1988 Revenge Road * 1989 Explorer Woman Ray* 1990 Sol Bianca * 1992 Tenchi Muyo! Ryo-Ohki* 1995 El-Hazard...
. The series was produced and animated by AIC.
There is also a manga
Manga
Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...
adaptation, which is published in English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
by VIZ Media
VIZ Media
VIZ Media, LLC, headquartered in San Francisco, is an anime, manga, and Japanese entertainment company. It was founded in 1986 as VIZ LLC. In 2005, VIZ LLC and ShoPro Entertainment merged to form the current VIZ Media LLC, which is jointly owned by Japanese publishers Shogakukan and Shueisha, and...
. The series was formerly distributed in the U.S. by Pioneer LDC
Geneon
is a Japanese music, anime and home entertainment production and distribution enterprise headquartered in Akasaka, Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Geneon has been involved in the production and distribution of several anime in Japan...
, now known as Geneon
Geneon
is a Japanese music, anime and home entertainment production and distribution enterprise headquartered in Akasaka, Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Geneon has been involved in the production and distribution of several anime in Japan...
. While Enoki Films
Enoki Films
Enoki Films Co., Ltd. is a producer of anime based in Tokyo.Enoki Films also has a North American division, established in 1986, headquartered in the Encino area of Los Angeles, California, United States called Enoki Films USA, Inc.. Enoki Films USA acts as a middle-man between Japanese companies...
held the rights over The Wanderers spin-off television series, Geneon opted out of using more "Americanized" names.
The distribution rights to the three El Hazard series (Magnificent World, Alternative World and Wanderers) were acquired from Geneon by Right Stuf entertainment, announced during a Right Stuf press release on May 18, 2010. The series will be distributed by Right Stuf's publishing label Nozomi Entertainment.
Series
The series began as a seven episode OVA entitled, El-Hazard: The Magnificent World. It was popular enough to be remade into a twenty-six episode TV series, The Wanderers, set in an alternate time-line. 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 laserdiscLaserdisc
LaserDisc was a home video format and the first commercial optical disc storage medium. Initially licensed, sold, and marketed as MCA DiscoVision in North America in 1978, the technology was previously referred to interally as Optical Videodisc System, Reflective Optical Videodisc, Laser Optical...
, are continuations of the original OVA (El-Hazard: The Magnificent World) time-line.
There is also a Sega Saturn
Sega Saturn
The is a 32-bit fifth-generation video game console that was first released by Sega on November 22, 1994 in Japan, May 11, 1995 in North America, and July 8, 1995 in Europe...
visual novel
Visual novel
A is an interactive fiction game featuring mostly static graphics, usually with anime-style art, or occasionally live-action stills or video footage...
videogame inspired from the TV series, with several possible endings.
Plot
The story focuses on four people from Earth. Three high school students Makoto Mizuhara, Katsuhiko Jinnai and Nanami Jinnai, and the History teacher Masamichi Fujisawa are mysteriously transported to the fantastical world of El-Hazard. El-Hazard is threatened by a possible war between the human nations and the insectoid Bugrom tribe.El Hazard: The Magnificent World
The central conflict in El-Hazard: The Magnificent World focuses on Makoto, who along with Nanami, Mr. Fujisawa and human residents of El-Hazard fight against Jinnai's conquest, but other, more sinister machinations lie below the surface.El Hazard: The Wanderers
The Wanderers is a simplified version of the original OVA storyline, stretched to twenty-six episodes and eliminates or alters several of the OVA's major characters.El-Hazard: The Magnificent World 2
El-Hazard: The Magnificent World 2 features Makoto and the others continuing on in their lives in El-Hazard. 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.El-Hazard: The Alternative World
El-Hazard: The Alternative World 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.El-Hazards causal loop
At the crux of the El-Hazard plot line is a causal loop, or an example of the predestination paradoxPredestination paradox
A predestination paradox is a paradox of time travel that is often used as a convention in science fiction. It exists when a time traveller is caught in a loop of events that "predestines" or "predates" them to travel back in time...
. The first OVA begins with Makoto meeting Ifurita for the first time on Earth. After giving him a warm greeting, revealing that she somehow knows him, she sends him to El-Hazard. Later on in the series, Makoto discovers Ifurita entombed in a labyrinth, where she had been kept since ancient times. Upon this second meeting with Ifurita, Makoto is puzzled by the fact that she does not recognize him, nor does she treat him with the same demeanor she evoked in their first encounter.
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
God
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
(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. Soon after, 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.
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, and thus is often compared to the Death StarDeath Star
The Death Star is a fictional moon-sized space station and superweapon appearing in the Star Wars movies and expanded universe. It is capable of destroying a planet with a single destructive super charged energy beam.-Origin and design:...
of Star Wars
Star Wars
Star Wars is an American epic space opera film series created by George Lucas. The first film in the series was originally released on May 25, 1977, under the title Star Wars, by 20th Century Fox, and became a worldwide pop culture phenomenon, followed by two sequels, released at three-year...
fame.
The Eye of God is a dimensional weapon that sends all it destroys into a vortex
Vortex
A vortex is a spinning, often turbulent,flow of fluid. Any spiral motion with closed streamlines is vortex flow. The motion of the fluid swirling rapidly around a center is called a vortex...
leading to an unknown destination. In the first OVA series, its use in ancient times is responsible for pulling the Phantom Tribe from their own world into El-Hazard.
In the OVA continuity, the Eye of God first needed to be unsealed by the Muldoon priestesses before it could be operated via the Stairway to the Sky, a tall metal tower that almost reaches the height of the Eye's orbit. Two female members of the royal house were required in order to activate the weapon, but the Phantom Tribe attempted to get around this barrier by creating a machine that would require the use of only one. The Phantom Tribe also sabotage the Eye, causing it to go out of control when the Princesses Rune Venus and Fatora use it to destroy the Bugrom. It's stopped by Ifurita, who synchronizes with the device and is ultimately lost in time and space for ten thousand years as a result.
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.
Role-playing game
Guardians of OrderGuardians of Order
Guardians of Order was a Canadian company founded in 1996 by Mark C. MacKinnon in Guelph, Ontario. The company's business output consisted of role-playing games . Their first game is the anime inspired Big Eyes, Small Mouth. In 2006 Guardians of Order ceased operations due to overwhelming...
released a role-playing game
Role-playing game
A role-playing game is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, either through literal acting, or through a process of structured decision-making or character development...
based on the first OVA series in 2001 and with rules based on the company's Tri-Stat system. The gameplay is reminiscent of the company's more generalized anime-inspired game Big Eyes Small Mouth, but features some modified mechanics and additional skills to better fit the El-Hazard universe. For example, it is possible to create "Relic characters" that are similar in nature to Ifurita, and earthling characters have access to the attribute "Unknown Superhuman Power" which allows the Game Master to pick special attributes or powers that the player must discern over the course of gameplay.
A note contained in the book suggested that the game would receive a supplement in 2002 based on characters and events from El-Hazard: The Magnificent World 2, but no such supplement was released.
Anime reviews
"El Hazard does not even come close to representing the cream of the crop of '90s anime, nor did it establish any new trends or have a marked influence on the course of anime." — Theron Martin, Anime News NetworkAnime News Network
Anime News Network is an anime industry news website that reports on the status of anime, manga, Japanese popular music and other otaku-related culture within North America, Australia and Japan. Additionally, it sometimes features similar happenings throughout the Anglosphere and elsewhere in the...
.
"Years after its original release on laserdisc in the US, I still find myself grinning stupidly at many parts of this series." — Chris Beveridge, Mania.
"Fortunately, El Hazard is remarkable when it counts, and the backgrounds and scenery will make you all but forget the average bits." — Raphael See, T.H.E.M. Anime Reviews.
Music 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.Further reading
- Morton, Bryan. "El-Hazard: the Magnificent World OVA Collection". Mania. April 19, 2005.
- Johnston, Chris. "El-Hazard: The Magnificent World". Newtype USA. 6 (6) p. 149. June 2007. .
- Høgset, Stig. "El Hazard: The Magnificent World 2". T.H.E.M. Anime Reviews.
External links
- EL-HAZARD: The Wanderers - Nozomi Entertainment's Official Website
- Official AIC El Hazard Website
- Episode descriptions at the Anime NetworkAnime NetworkThe Anime Network , a former subsidiary of A.D. Vision, Inc. , is a cable and satellite digital broadcast service in North America dedicated to anime.-History:...
. (Viewable online until April 15, 2011.)