Forum - View topicREVIEW: El Hazard - The Magnificent World
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Roguespider
Posts: 45 |
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At some point, I'm gonna start throwing in responses to reviews I do agree with but for now it seems I keep mentioning how I disagree with each review I read (so people don't take things the wrong way, I'm stating my opinion not saying the reviewer is wrong).
Unlike the reviewer, I am unable to reach back to the days of VHS copies of El Hazard. I've been a fan for more than 6 years, though I hadn't seen El Hazard until about 2-3 years ago. Like Mr. Martin said, I can't totally praise the artwork as incredible but I think it did come as a nice change from all the newer or futuristic looks of a lot of the animes I'd seen. As I think back on it, I am disappointed when I compare this to artwork of OVAs at the time, such as Tenchi Muyo. It doesn't compare which is surprising due to the fact that the creators had actually worked on some of the Tenchi series. The story itself doesn't seem as interesting as it starts but as it goes on I got more drawn in. I also hold El Hazard to have one of my most favorite endings of all anime. The dub does start off a little shaky but I think it does offer a good performances. The script has some slang and changes in it but nothing that's going to make someone (other than ultra-purists) hate it. The actors did a good job (though Makoto's voice as a girl does make me cringe). Tiffany James, who voiced Ifurita, did a wonderful job in my opinion. Her voice when she shows up halfway through the series is monotone but this seems more due to the fact that she's a android who must follow commands, which combined with the animation of her being pale and cold fits for her character. It is the performance she gives at the very beginning and the very end that really shine and I believe is the best of the entire series. Its quite emotional and not monotone showing how different she is. spoiler[ This is mainly due to the fact that Makoto removes her command circuit. She is able to make her own choices and act human.] It is her performance at the end that makes me love this ending. Bob Marx voice for Jinnai (and his crazy laugh), did seem to irk me at first but I totally agree with Mr. Martin in that it does set the bar for future nutjob leaders and their laughs. I do want to add that Jinnai actually names the Bugrom after all 5 Marx brothers (Harpo, Chico, Gummo, Zeppo, Groucho), and Margaret (named after Margaret Dumont who was in a few films with them). And the Bugrom seem to speak broken, garbled French. The funny thing about the dub is that supposedly (cause I've never found anything to fully substantiate this) the Japanese director actually felt the English dub was better than the Japanese one. In the end El Hazard isn't going to be the best anime you'll ever see (unless its the only one) but I don't think it will be one most people would regret seeing. I am also disappointed to hear that Geneon had done nothing to update the DVDs (maybe ADV will do that for them now  ). I bought the nice 3 disc (which includes OVA 2) set a few months back, it looks so much better.
The final advice I can give to anyone is to avoid OVA2 and Alternative World. They did nothing more than ruin the ending OVA 1 set up and just came in to cash in on the name (if you liked Rurouni Kenshin: Reflection, then you might like this). Wanderers is okay though tries to rip off the original ending. Well that's all. -Rogue Ohh, don't be shocked when you see the Deathstar in the anime. Couldn't leave without making that joke. |
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maxxjulie
Posts: 192 |
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This was the second anime I ever bought. First was Ranma 1/2 season 1 box set. I thought it was awesome at the time, but haven't rewatched it since. I kinda feel this review is underrating it a little bit. i remember it being very entertaining and only got me even more into anime. I don't know anyone who didn't like Rurouni Kenshin: Reflection either. Some anime fans are such snobs. Everything has to be intellectual and weird like Paranoia Agent and Lain to be considered good. I like the simpler stuff like El Hazard. I just want to be entertained, not mentally exercised when I'm watching a cartoon.
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Randall Miyashiro
 Posts: 2451 Location: A block away from Golden Gate Park |
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It's been close to 15 years since I last saw this series, so I decided to rewatch it tonight. The first thing that struck me is that the DVD is encoded in DD 5.1 which is rare for anime series from it's era. Although it isn't really immersive the rear channels do kick in when the Eye of God is whirling in gear. The second thing that struck me is how poor the subtitles timings are. It didn't bother me when it first came out, but I suppose I've been spoiled with subtitles from the DVD era being spot on. The third thing that struck me is how much better the original series is compared to the sequels. The seven part OVA is nicely structured and has a nice ending that doesn't require a retelling or sequel. In this regards it is also like the Tenchi franchise whose strongest series (in my opinion) is the original OVA series.
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zrdb
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This is why I dislike the reviews on this site-they are always so 180' out of sync with reality. El Hazard is one of the best "90's genre" series out there. The animation is very well done-granted-it has a few glitches here and there. The story is well realized, the characters are classics. The dub is one of the best out there-maybe one of the actors doesn't sound like she gave it her best-but Ifirita is a relatively emotionless character until she is "set free" by Mokoto.. It captures the other worldly essence that is intended perfectly.
Last edited by zrdb on Tue Sep 18, 2007 7:00 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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CCSYueh
 Posts: 2707 Location: San Diego, CA |
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Wanderers was one of my earlier anime purchases in the early part of this decade after seeing the series on International & I picked up Alternative world a couple yrs later, This OVA has always been one of Geneon's obscenely priced sets (like the $200 per season Fushigi Yugi) so I jumped at the change to finally get this one on dvd..
I completely forgot how beautiful this one looked, I was very, very impressed when I popped this one in the player at the array of colors. I didn't have any real issues wiht the dub, but if you did, you could pop over to Japanese & listen to Ryotaro Okiayu as Jinnai, Tetsuya Iwanaga as Makoto & Koji Ishii as Mr. Fujisawa. I didn't recognize the Japanese names of the Bugrom, but considering in English they're the 5 Marx Brothers & Groucho's often abused foil Margaret Dumont (If you don't know the Marx Brother, do yourself a favor & watch one of their early titles. Duck Soup is a incredible), I just assumed the Japanese names were Japanese comedians. This is a great title that I enjoy far more than Escaflowne (Though I did get the set with the mech figure way back when) & saw the movie in a theater. |
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Key
Moderator
 Posts: 18209 Location: Indianapolis, IN (formerly Mimiho Valley) |
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I don't think I'm the one "out of sync with reality" on this one. El Hazard is certainly one of the more entertaining OVA series of the '90s, but you are really stretching it to place it among the best, especially with how crappy its first episode looked. (Unless you're one of those people who believes that quality and entertainment value are one and the same, in which case I guess this is a pointless argument.) And I cannot believe that two people have already actually defended the dub performance of Ifurita. Even as a well-known English dub lover I still rate that not only a gratingly inadequate performance, but an outright terrible one. That Tiffany James has supporters on this just baffles me. |
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Redbeard 101
Oscar the Grouch
Forums Superstar  Posts: 16935 |
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Then don't read the reviews. There, problem solved. 
I often agree on certain parts but disagree on others in terms of Theron's reviews. I usually come out of a review in the middle so to speak. This time though I'm in complete agreement. I had forgotten about this title actually until this. I have the old dvd releases of magnificent and alternative world myself. I found the show to be nice but really nothing great. I mean there were other fantasy shows at it's time that were better. The dub certainly didn't set any standards as a whoe, good or bad. It simply was a decent show worth watching but not that memorable really. I agree it looked nice and was a decent show all around but it's nothing to write home about. The music at least carried the show enough to keep me in my seat. The animation wasn't great per se but this was the 90's so animation quality by itself has come a ways since then. This was one of those good B type series. You have your A list material then you're B list. This falls into the latter and that actually is it's score here too I might add. I'd recommend renting through netflix but save the money and purchase something else. |
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CCSYueh
Posts: 2707 Location: San Diego, CA |
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Yeah, Ifurita in English was jarring at first, but I quickly figured they were going for "she's a robot", so it became less iritating then--more just a bad call in my opinion on the portrayal. I very much prefer Christopher in the English dub of Chrono Crusade because the Japanese actress didn't even try to sound like a boy. It's the director's call (Like the interview on Gokudo how the director picked the voice he wanted the actor to use for the lead). It's the actor who performs, but particularly on anime, the director has a huge say on the manner the the actor does it. I don't have a problem with how Mathewson does Makoto either & he's great on Kyo Kara Maoh.
Escaflowne seems to hold a huge place in the English fandom's hearts & many despised the movie, but I saw the movie first & preferred it to the series which seemed to meander a bit to me. Of the El Hazard titles, I find Wanderers the weakest, but this OVA has been blowing me away since I've pretty much forgotten it this particular one because I have the other 2 & have watched them more. This one's tighter. So yeah, call it a B title. I never really saw the charm of Tenchi & I'll watch El Hazard over Tenchi or Escaflowne. Sometimes B titles are far superior to A titles because no one expects anything of them. |
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zrdb
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All I can tell you is my opinion-I LOVE El Hazard the Magnificent World. The Alternative World and The Wanderes are ok-but not up in the same league with the 1st series. It's definetly an "A" title-not B grade. The 1st episode has a few rought spots-but one really has to be looking hard to find em'. Point is-a lot of the titles you like I'd probally consider trash-and vice versa. Every series or ova has some or a lot of weak parts-but the idea is-do you enjoy them as a whole?
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Key
Moderator
Posts: 18209 Location: Indianapolis, IN (formerly Mimiho Valley) |
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Um, no you don't. The badness of the first 10 minutes or so (i.e. until they get over into El Hazard) is so apparent that my first thought when I first saw that episode was, "gods, this looks bad."
And you're either ignoring or not seeing my point: that the grades I gave are qualitative and not just based on entertainment value. If you want to feel that it should be an "A" series because it enormously entertained you, fine. But set the entertainment value aside for a moment and compare its artistry, music, story development, plotting, dialog, and voice acting to other titles generally regarded as A-list titles and you may see that El Hazard doesn't impress so much when compared to other examples of quality anime. Last edited by Key on Wed Sep 19, 2007 11:24 am; edited 1 time in total |
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CCSYueh
Posts: 2707 Location: San Diego, CA |
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I'm one of those who doesn't feel you can apply 21st century mortality to prior centuries & damn our ancestors for holding beliefs we now realize are wrong. I also don't believe in comparing older titles to newer titles. As I pointed out, Hollywood has some a long way so Buck Rogers shorts are hilarious, but interesting for their day (I still remember a film they showed us in school predicting we'd all have personal jetpacks for travel by 2000). El Hazard comapred to Trigun, Slayers, etc, doesn't look so horrid to my eyes. The dub is probably a bit better than Elf Princess Ran (although that one was fun), alot of the CPM dubs (ShadowSkill?) & maybe even Shinesman(I enjoy the title overall so I've never really payed attention to the dub. Plus I often watch the Japanese dub). So it's unrealistic to apply 2007 dub & animation standards to a 10 yr old title.
(Particularly after watching Kyo Kara Maoh Season 2 dvd 6 just prior. It really looked as though they they were cheaping out on the anime (Sort of the syndrome my teen noticed on YuGiOh where one ep looked really good while the next looked horrid-like they were using 2 animation teams & the 2nd really sucked) Yeah, you can argue you're reviewing for a modern audience, but all you need to say is it's 10 yrs old. If they're too stupid to realize technology has grown leaps & bounds in that thime, they deserve to be disappointed it doesn't look as good as Hellsing Ultimate (There you go. I loved Hellsing so much back when & I'd run into people who complained it art sucked so they hated it. One gal complained the eyes were disproportional in eyeglasses in the closing as an excuse to hate the title.) Of course, I'm usually watching for things to LIKE about a dvd I've paid good money for, not pick it apart so I feel I wasted my money. If I can put it in the player & forget the hassles of the day, I'm happy. If it makes me smile, or even better laugh, it's great. I'm looking to escape after a hard day at work. A lot of critics seem to look for things to hate. Unless it's an on-going title or one I have prior experience with (manga, prior season/title), I start in the middle & move up or down from there. Critics seem to start at 0 & reluctantly move up or start at 100 & subtract heavily (I suspect the 0 is more common). I want to drool over bishies in Princess Princess or Gakuen Heaven. I want cool from Hellsing. I want to enter a different world in 12 Kingdoms. |
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Key
Moderator
Posts: 18209 Location: Indianapolis, IN (formerly Mimiho Valley) |
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I see that "but compared to other titles of its time. . ." argument a lot when dealing with older titles but I don't buy that. Yeah, production values that may have been A-grade for the mid-90s might only be B-grade by 2007 standards, but unfortunately we don't have "for its time" classifications available on grading so it has to be compared to the overall body of anime available.
But the real reason I don't like that argument is that quality work endures and transcends its time period, especially when it comes to storytelling. Wings of Honneamise, the title I am working on right now, was made in the late '80s but will always stand as one of the all-time-great anime movies because it tells such a beautifully-crafted story that is greatly entertaining and backs it up with quality visuals; I will almost certainly be giving it A-range grades. The same could be said for both Grave of the Fireflies and Akira, other prominent late-'80s anime movies. Is El Hazard, a newer title than any of them by several years, in the same league? Or if you want to limit the comparison to contemporary OVA series, ask if El Hazard's production values are on the same level as Gunsmith Cats ('95), Doomed Megalopolis ('91), the Tenchi Muyo! OVA ('92), or even the original Oh! My Goddess OVA ('93), for that matter. I would consider all of those to be, at worst, on the same level as El Hazard.
A critic's job is to evaluate a title as much as possible on its qualitative aspects and entertainment value, not rave about personal like or dislike for it or gut reaction to it, nor is it our job to promote a title (although we often do for stuff that really impresses us). When I do reviews casually, I do them much differently, and to different standards; for instance, I love the series Claymore and might rave about it in its Anime forum thread, but if I had to evaluate that one professionally I probably couldn't give it more than a B+ overall because it's not a top-tier title base on qualitative evaluation. And based on personal experience, I think most critics have either an exemplar or set of standards in mind for each letter grade (or star grade) and compare what they're watching to that exemplar/those standards. I know that's what I do, anyway. Gah. Spending too much time writing this. Need to get back to work. |
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zrdb
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I guess that I didn't make myself clear-so I'll just politely say that I definetly don't agree with your stated opinions in your review. Nuff said. Domo
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Redbeard 101
Oscar the Grouch
Forums Superstar Posts: 16935 |
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Why is it A- grade and not B? What are the rough spots you're talking about in the first episodes and how are they not prevalent in the rest of the series? If you wanna disagree with the reviewer you might want to elaborate on your own opinions which you don't do at all. Plus, just because you enjoy the show in no way means it's a good show technical wise. It simply means you enjoyed it. On technical aspects the show could be complete crap or vice versa. Plus not every series has weak spots, little or a lot. Some can be pretty much blemish free. These are the true benchmark titles. Plus how do you you'd think most of the series he likes are trash when you don't even know anything about him or the shows he likes? |
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CCSYueh
Posts: 2707 Location: San Diego, CA |
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I rented Akira way back in 2001 & hated it. I haven't watched it since. I'm also not in the Eva Camp. Never bothered with 2001 Space Odessey or Chariots of Fire or other films people rave about. I DID go see Driving Miss Daisy & never saw all the praise it got (I was pulling for Glory to win the Oscar myself)
Grave of the Fireflies has a good story, but I don't remember being wow'd by the animation so in that respect, it doesn't stand the test of time. The story itself is sad & timeless & would work as an anime or as a live-action movie(actually maybe better live). |
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