© 1995 Tanaka Kunihiko - Hobby Japan / Bandai Visual - Nippon Columbia - MOVIC
volume 1
English Subtitled
Released in North America by A.D.V. Films
English Dubbed VHSRE/001D $19.98
English Subtitled VHSRE/001S $29.95
Approx. 60 minutes
Now Available

SLAYERS, anyone? Well, no not quite. With its comic dialog, wild takes, and traditional pairing, comparisons between RUIN EXPLORERS (known as FAM AND IHRIE in Japan) and SLAYERS are unavoidable. Happily, EXPLORERS is different enough to be stand on its own..
There's much that is traditional or standard here, but the nice thing about a series like this is that you can use recognized formulas as long as you do it well. Add some original twists and you've got yourself a good story.
For example, Ihrie and Fam are a sword and sorcery pair searching for a powerful relic while eating everything in sight. Been there. Ihrie is the dominant swordswoman of the two and her personal quest for the "Ultimate Power" steers both their lives. Fam is the inexperienced and hapless elf-type who handles the magic and gets them into trouble. Done that. But Ihrie turns out to be the greater sorcerer of the two and is forced to rely upon her sword in most instances because of an inconvenient curse. And Fam at one point abandons all sidekick protocol by showing some independence and demanding to be treated as an equal. Now this is unheard of!
The character designs by Kaiya Toshihisa are as amusingly versatile as those of the TENCHI series. Watching Ihrie's expressions change over the course of a meal is priceless. The magic and action sequences are well done, but the real reason for watching this show is the comedy. One of the best characters of the show is Gill, Galuff the treacherous merchant's dog. He's wonderfully antisocial and bears a striking resemblance to a dog that used to harass a certain Penelope Pitstop.
RUIN EXPLORERS' background music is appropriate but unremarkable, making minimal use of the talents of the Versaille Chamber Orchestra. And while the opening theme is upbeat and typical of this sort of series, the ending theme is a bit... unusual.
The subtitling for this video is good, except for the spells and formal speeches. The Middle English style translations have been mangled badly in an attempt to use thee, thou, and canst as many times as possible— they're often grammatically misplaced, even by the loose rules of the Renaissance! Anyone who's studied Shakespeare will find this the linguistic equivalent of nails on a chalkboard. On the other hand, it's pretty funny, too...
The SLAYERS series is funnier. There, I said it. But having said that, I must reiterate that this is a show worthy of recommendation on its own merits. Sure, if my house were burning and I only had time to rescue one of the two, it would be SLAYERS. But as long as you have fresh batteries in your smoke detectors, there should be room for RUIN EXPLORERS on your video shelf.