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Vol 2 Issue 6
[ANIME REVIEWS]

El Hazard 2
Vol. 1-2
— by Keith Rhee

Vivid imagery, neat character designs, and a decent story — though not as popular as TENCHI MUYO!, EL HAZARD proves to be a highly amusing and enjoyable OVA series in its own right, offering the proper mix of comedy with a touch of drama.
   While the ending brings closure to a good story, it also leaves plenty of room for other stories within the EL HAZARD universe.  So what do you do with a successful story that has plenty of room left to explore?  You make a sequel, that's what.  Picking up where the first series left off, EL HAZARD 2 brings back the original cast for another wacky adventure, with the addition of a few new good guys and adversaries.

The Eye of God conflict is over, and the palace is in a festive mood: Fujisawa-sensei is to be married to the water priestess Miz Mizhtal!  But as the big day arrives, the groom is nowhere to be found.  Hmm, who's that scruffy looking guy trying to sneak out of town?
   Shocked by Fujisawa's departure, the otherwise mild-mannered Miz throws a hysterical fit (and destroys the palace in the process).  Vowing to confront Fujisawa, Miz then sets off to find the hapless teacher — with the entire gang in tow, of course.

   Meanwhile, Jinnai and his Bugrom buddies stumble across a young female android, like Ifurita but much younger in appearance.  Awakened from stasis by Jinnai, the innocent looking girl introduces herself as Karlia and joins Jinnai's band.
   In the second volume, Makoto's group reaches a mysterious mountain which acts as a barrier into a hidden world.  And surprise!  The place is guarded by Ifurita!  An overjoyed Makoto tries to approach Ifurita, only to get shot at for his trouble.  The keeper of the world intervenes, and the group soon learns that this is a second Ifurita model, not the Ifurita that vanished in the Eye of God conflict.
   Soon everyone converges onto the same location.  Fujisawa stumbles into the hidden dimension and straight into the arms of his fiancee.  Led by Karlia to "a weapon of great power," Jinnai's band of Bugrom arrive at the mountain as well.  Jinnai, seeing Makoto and his friends, begins to apologize profusely for his past misdeeds.  The keeper of the world lets in Jinnai and Karlia at Makoto and Fujisawa's behest (who are convinced), despite the protests of the others (who are not).  Once inside, the seemingly innocent and childish Karlia suddently reveals her true menacing nature.

   The sequel maintains the high animation quality of its predecessor, and fans will be delighted to know that the cast returns with redesigned outfits that look sharp.  The story maintains the same comedic tone of the previous series as well, and the addition of Fatora as one of the main cast adds a nice twist to the show. Portrayed as a damsel in distress for most of the first series, Fatora soon turns out to be a conniving, scheming character and a lot of trouble for our heroes.  See, Fatora is actually a lesbian.  Her lookalike Makoto is surrounded by females, and the scheming Fatora attempts to use this to her advantage.
   Whereas the latter episodes of the TENCHI MUYO! OVA series fails to live up to to the original series, the first few episodes of EL HAZARD 2 already show a great deal of promise, developing a solid story instead of settling for a mere rehash.  If you're a fan of the first series, head to your nearest anime store and pick up the LDs.  One note of caution:  it is not known when EL HAZARD 2 will be released domestically, so for now your only option is the import laserdiscs.

  EL HAZARD 2
Copyright © 1997 AIC / Pioneer LDC
Volume 1, 30 min HiFi Stereo, CAV LD: PILA-1421, VHS: PIVS-1541, 21 March 1997
Volume 2, 30 min HiFi Stereo, CAV LD: PILA-1422, VHS: PIVS-1542, 25 May 1997
¥5800 (each)


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