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17 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Mildly Disappointing Release of an Incredible Series..., August 7, 2001
This review is from: El Hazard - The Magnificent World Boxed Set (DVD)
El-Hazard, next to Tenchi, is the most enduring series AIC has put out and this boxset is the first time that the original OVA (i.e. direct-to-video) series has been available in DVD format in the US. However, also like the Tenchi Muyo phenomenon, none of the sequels, follow-ups, and 'reimaginings' have had the same impact as the original. In a nutshell, El-Hazard is the story of a high school student who, along with two classmates and a teacher, get transported to another world across space, time and possibly dimensions. The prevent one war between two races on the planet they arrive at, cause another and ultimately find themselves intimately involved with a doomsday device from that planet's distant past. This is an incredibly synoptic description of the series, but to get acrosss the full nuances of the series, I could write for pages. Needless to say, though, that the story itself has far more humor, adventure, romance and generally neat storytelling than my description implies. As for the DVD set itself, though, Pioneer has missed a few great opportunities here. While the addition of a 5.1 Dolby track is excellent (the difference is noticeable even on my archaic TV), the other extras leave a bit to be desired. There's an art gallery, creditless openings and endings and an explanation of all the different worlds across which the El-Hazard metaseries takes place. It's all pretty standard stuff. No 'making-of' section, no look at the development process, no original trailers, and no interviews with the creator, producer, etc. - in other words, none of what really makes special DVD editions shine. ... While the packaging is gorgeous, the sound great and the video everything you'd expect from a DVD, I honestly wouldn't recommend picking it up unless you (a) have a system that will do serious justice to the extra quality, (b) don't have the original OAV on tape or laserdisc or (c) for some reason really like El-Hazard 2 - in which case you'd be getting a decent deal. Serious otaku will probably disregard this advice, but serious otaku will have probably already long-since ordered the set before reading this review anyway. So, in short, the series is, as always, wonderful, but Pioneer really could have done a better job with this DVD release. Perhaps someday they'll rerelease it on DVD at a lower price with more bells and whistles...
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
My favorite anime comes to DVD!, August 13, 2002
This review is from: El Hazard - The Magnificent World Boxed Set (DVD)
El Hazard is my favorite anime title? Sailor Moon, Dragonball Z, Evangelion, Escaflowne, FLCL, Ranma, and Tenchi are all wonderful, but pound-for-pound (dollar-for-dollar), you can't beat El Hazard. There is more entertainment in the first 7 OAVs of El Hazard than in most SEASONS of other anime titles. It takes everything I like about anime and does it RIGHT. While it doesn't break any new ground, it is the most sucessful mixture of action, adventure, comedy, drama, and romance that I've ever seen. Unlike Tenchi (which many compare it to), El Hazard has NO plotholes or last minute story changes. Like Tenchi, El Hazard has memorable characters (everyone loves Shayla-Shayla), great artwork and a "just plain fun-to-watch" aspect to it. Also, while I don't usually like English dubs, the English dub of El Hazard is phenominally good! Yes, even better than the original Japanese. The voice-work of Jinnai and Fujisawa are especially brilliant. Boxed sets can be expensive (I know, I own a LOT of them), but the El Hazard boxed set is hands down, the BEST purchase I've ever made on one. I guarentee you'll love it!
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5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Not worth $107, November 11, 2005
This review is from: El Hazard - The Magnificent World Boxed Set (DVD)
I purchased my version of El Hazard from a zShop for 19 bucks and I am SO glad that I did.
That said, the first series is worth watching for two main reasons: overt lesbianism and Jinnai. The former is self-explanatory while the latter (Jinnai) is without a doubt the best character in the series (despite the fact that he is the antagonist). You can't say that any of the characters are very deep or well developed, but throughout the first series Jennai is by far the most satisfyingly fleshed-out character, as well as the most ammusing and true to his nature. This superiority is all the more appearant when he is contrasted with story's main character who is shallowly developed and in no way engaging.
And this is what makes the second series (all four dismal episodes) so tragic: they nerfed Jinnai. He could never have been called a genius in the first series, but he was decidedly intelligent, cool, pragmatic, supremely self-confident and an effective leader (even though he was also manic and delusional). In El Hazard II, as if in response to the world recoiling at the sight of a humorous though competent villain, they have turned Jinnai into a slapstick-idiot persuing his increasingly nebulous ambition with foolish abandon.
I suggest purchasing El Hazard through...alternate means,... watching the first series and discarding the second. Let's face it: even lesbian humor gets old when the writing sucks and the characters are empty.
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