Introduction
After Makoto Mizuhara agrees to testify against the boisterous student council president Katsuhiko Jinnai for bribing school clubs in the recent student council elections, Jinnai chases him down in an attempt to silence his self-proclaimed rival. Suddenly, during the chase, time stops for everyone—except Makoto. Perplexed, he wanders around the campus until he notices a light coming from the school's closed-off basement, where an ancient relic had just been uncovered.
Makoto is walking toward the artifact surrounded by strings of light, when out of it comes an otherworldly woman who claims she has been waiting for ten thousand years to see him. Weakened by the passage of time, she uses her remaining power to transport a confused Makoto to another world, which she refers to as El-Hazard. However, others who are still at school are also caught in the spell, namely: Jinnai; Masamichi Fujisawa, the alcoholic teacher; and Nanami Jinnai, the headstrong sister of president Jinnai.
The fantastical and magnificent world of El-Hazard awaits these four individuals where they will become entangled in the story of its inhabitants and embark on an adventure filled with laughter, danger, and even romance.
[Written by MAL Rewrite]
Audience reviews
10 · Sample from the first available page, separate from the total number of ratings.
rallyntando
This 7-part OVA looks fantastic. The backgrounds specifically are extremely good. The music is also above average, as are the character designs. The animation quality is high: ambitious and well-crafted. The worldbuilding is way better than I expected it to be. The alternate world of El-Hazard (terrible name as many have already mentioned) is intriguing and 'believable' with inspired creative design elements throughout. (The one exception being the kind-of gross cat armor which really looks bad and is quite distracting on screen.) I really enjoyed getting to see the world unfold more and more each episode. Ancient buried technology is almost always a winning ingredient, as are massive looming doomsday devices.
The plot and the characters are the stumbling blocks for my enjoyment. Some of…
Read at the sourcebarsoapguy219
Nostalgia goggles on! We're hopping into a time machine and heading to the 90s. Isekai, harem, time loop? Check.
El Hazard. What a strange name. I wonder if the writer thought it sounded cool in Japanese. Either way, don't take this one too seriously. It doesn't take itself too seriously.
Story
Our crew gets transported to the new world. There's a conflict between humans and the bug group. Most of the crew ends up with the humans but the annoying guy get matched up with the bugs and fits right in.
The sides are fighting to control the Eye of God, a sort of WMD. Our good guys gear up, meet the three goddesses, and do their hero's journey. Our baddies are a little menacing but mostly goofy.
The story is very average but the series is short enough to not drag.
Characters
I had a goo…
Read at the sourcemcgiygas
El Hazard is an isekai that goes against some of the standard tropes of the genre. Isekai's are obviously stories based off of existing within another world, but generally, the genre is all about escapism. Sword Art Online, Inuyasha, 12 Kingdoms are inherently stories of people moving into a new world because their skills aren't appreciated or wanted in the current world, or their abilities "level-up" to fit the new world. Either way, you generally have a self insert main character who struggles in the real world, "escapes" and is wanted by the society they are now living in.
El Hazard already goes against the grain of other Isekai by not being a story about someone escaping. Makoto is happy, successful, and well appreciated by society, and when he introduced to the world, his only use i…
Read at the sourceIshitani
A nostalgic favorite--and a strong isekai work from before the genre got overstuffed with titles. Its strongest point is its gorgeous girls. Makoto, the male lead, is unusually brave and capable--much more so than the Ordinary High School Boy (TM) we so frequently see in anime. His friend Nanami is also a refreshingly strong character. Some of the battles, especially Shayla-Shayla versus Ifurita in Episode 4, are amazing to watch. This show has one of the most satisfying endings in all of anime. The English dub is quite good and is my preferred way to watch this. The humor is appreciated but provokes only smiles, not laughing out loud. The animation is beginning to look dated.
Read at the sourceSeekingWaylander
El Hazard stands out as a magnificent masterpiece.
I've rewatched it and it hasn't lost its fragrance.
The art is top notch. Starting from background art to characters, everything is well-defined and has its place in the story.
The story itself may look meh, but, it really isn't. It is a well thought story. The characters may get sloppy from time to time, but they are well defined and fluid. The plot itself is great and it has its share of everything. Its catchy and it stays catchy. Its funny. Its dumb. Its wonderful. Its original.
The music and the sound is impressive.
Read at the sourceMKSTEEL
A superb fantasy anime that has some interesting and original characters and a fresh 'fish out of water' plot that might have more in common with 'The Neverending Story' than most Anime cliches. When a small group of students and one of their teachers get thrown into a fantasy realm filled with monsters and magic as well as ancient weaponry of apocalyptic design. With a fresh Arabian Nights inspired realm threatened by a swarm of malevolent bug-men and a shadowy faction of mysterious operators behind the scenes playing both sides, as well as a mysterious living doll of destruction caught up in the struggle as a tool to settle the conflict. With high stakes and effective plotting this OVA grabs you and doesn't let go until the heartwarming epilogue leaves you smiling.
Read at the sourceSilyon
El Hazard The Magnificent World is a seven episode OVA series released from mid-1995 to early-1996. It is also one of the first anime in the now exceedingly popular isekai genre. For the uninitiated the term isekai refers to a sub-genre of fantasy anime in which the protagonist or protagonists are originally from present day Earth, but get pulled into another world that is generally better than ours. It is one of the premier escapist fantasies that dominate today's anime landscape and as such they tend to put a spotlight on all the ways the new world is better than ours and don't focus too much on the main character, leaving him a blank canvas onto which the viewer can project.
And with that opening paragraph I've explained El Hazard The Magnificent World pretty well. The anime doesn't bre…
Read at the sourcektulu007
El Hazard is an anime franchise from the mid 90s. It was written by Tsukimura Ryoe with production by AIC. You may remember them from their work on OreImo, Solty Rei, Blue Gender, Sasameki Koto and several others I've reviewed. The first entry in the El Hazard franchise was Magnificent World, a seven episode OVA which gained enough popularity to spawn two tv anime series, and more OVAs. So, was this OVA actually good enough to warrant that? Let's take a look at El Hazard The Magnificent World and find out.
Story:
We begin our story with high school politics. Because don't all great fantasy tales begin with high school politics? Any way, student council President, Jinnai Katsuhiko is accused of using underhanded tactics, like promising clubs more funding, to attain his position. Around he…
Read at the sourceandalib13
Watched it on anime marathon at AXN back in 2002. Started watching, and could not move from in front of my TV until it reached the end. Art, sound quality is not as good as today's anime, but storyline is amazing and its enjoyable. The entire story is linked and it is revealed at the last episode. If someone thinks it is made of misplaced events, then I should say he did not understand it properly. Its very precise, never gets boring, and best part is it has a nice flow that will keep you attached. I've rewatched it so many times, never felt boring.
Read at the sourceGaidai
The Magnificent World of El-Hazard, truly a classic for the ages! And I mean that, too. In comparison to more 'modern' shows, it's my opinion that El-Hazard still measures up to this day, and whether you've loved anime since the days of Astroboy (though I'm not sure how much other anime there was in the 60's, heh), or you've just recently started into the hobby, I'd still strongly recommend the first series of El-Hazard. Be ready for some high-fantasy with a few Final-Fantasy-esque technological advancements. If you're the mecha only type or just aren't a big fan of such things, I'd still recommend you give this one a shot, as it tends to suprise with a little something for everybody--great laughs, sweet romance, courtly intrigue, lots of action, and a tearful ending.
El-Hazard has all th…
Read at the source