El Hazard 2: Awakening of Kalia

El Hazard 2: Awakening of Kalia

Genre: comedy/fantasy

Length: 60 minutes (2 episodes)

Audience Age: 13+

Opinion: A series that may only appear to be a great buy to the fans of the first series.

This is a review of the subtitled VHS version.

© 1998 AIC • Pioneer LDC, Inc. • TV Tokyo

With Roshtaria's war against the Bugrom finished, the heroes from El Hazard are preparing for the wedding of the Great Priestess of Water, Miz, and former history teacher at Shinanome High, Masamichi Fujisawa. That is everyone...except for Fujisawa who leaves to his students the responsibility of telling his fiance that he has gone on one last climbing expedition. After nearly flooding the entire castle with her rage, a determined Miz forms her own search party (basicly the past heroes) to drag her cold-footed fiance to the altar.

Meanwhile, Katzuhiko Jinai is determined to re-establish the Bugrom Empire. While looking for a new location to base the planned headquarters, Jinai finds a shrine similar to the one which imprisoned the destructive force of the Demon God Ifurita. As his luck would have it, he finds another demon god called Kalia who tells him of a weapon that has more power that the Eye of God, a device that nearly erased the existence of El Hazard in the previous series.


So all of the earthlings from the last series paths will cross once again which would make anyone fear for the fate of this "Magnificent World".

El Hazard 2: The Magnificent World is a two VHS, four episode series, so it would immediately seemed that the story will not have the same chance to develop as fully as its seven episode predecessor had. Fortunately, there are only two story angles to combine unlike the three from the premiere series, so the pace is not hurried and the plot runs smoothly. Yet, it does not feel like El Hazard: The Magnificent World because there is only the addition of one new, interesting character, Kalia, but when we (assuming you have all seen the first series) are familiar with the power of a demon god, we do not get a character with any great comic quirks or weird ability that made all the original characters so likable. Besides for a consistently well developed story, the uniqueness of the characters is what I considered to be one of the key draws of the first series. 

Along with lacking one of the best reasons to see the original series, El Hazard 2 feels likes is was done quickly and cheaply. The colors seem to be rather bland compared to the first series and its soundtrack while being good, is not near the high quality of the first OVA (Original Video Animation) series. These accusations are further supported by the fact there are only four episodes. Despite the stereotype that the Japanese are not Walt Disney fans (at least in terms of directors like Hayao Miyazaki of Princess Mononoke and Kiki's Delivery Service), they seem to have adopted the Disney Conglomerate's methods of capitalizing on a series success by creating a cheap sequal.

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Tenchi in Tokyo...and Grounded

Tenchi in Tokyo: A New Start

© 1997 AIC - Pioneer LDC, Inc. - Kadokawa Shoten - Sotsu Agency - TV Tokyo
Licensed by GETS

Genre: comedy (could be considered romantic/sci-fi) Length: 100 minutes (4 episodes) Audience Age: 12+ (this is not the Cartoon Network version)

Opinion: Interesting to see the newer attitudes of the great, established characters from the previous series.

This is a review of the dubbed, out of print VHS version.

This is one of the most popular titles in all of anime spawning multiple spin off series and films.

Anyone who knows anything about anime knows of "Tenchi Muyo!" It is great to know that high quality Japanimation can crossover into the mainstream since it is now part of Cartoon Network's Toonami line up. Great writing, a cool art style, and very neurotic characters put this series above the Japanese standby situation of a normal guy in an unusual scenario with three or more unstable women. 

Unfortunately, American producers feel any show that is imported from another country must make sacrifices to become mainstream. I will not even tell you where the producers can stick this idea. Tenchi just is not Tenchi without the sake jokes, the brief comedic nude scenes, and other jokes that are more or less meant for a PG-13 audience, so if you can afford to, buy at least one of the Tenchi Muyo! videos to see how much better it can be when you have a little more open sense of humor.

Yosho, Tenchi's grandfather, has given his grandson the opportunity to serve under a friend and fellow shrine care keeper in Tokyo. Despite the objections to his leaving and vicious forms of persuasion for him to stay by the girls, Tenchi decides to seize this chance to expand his horizons. This is not a total loss for the girls since Washu has created a dimensional tunnel between the Misaki residence and Tenchi's apartment in Tokyo.

For our hero's sake, hopefully he is not using the chance to train at another shrine as an excuse to gain some peace and quiet from the girls, because as long as he does not make his bed every morning, the aliens can visit him at any time. It also appears that Tenchi has not put much thought into how he can start up meaningful relationships with other girls, like his new classmate Sakuya, when Ayeka and Ryoko are set on winning his heart. This will definitely be an interesting time in this Juraian Prince's life that seems like it will be worth documenting on eight video tapes.

"Tenchi in Tokyo" seems to be aimed at an older audience despite the fact that the humor is rather tame. The series also seems to lack the flare and color of the first two series (Tenchi Muyo! and "Tenchi Universe"). Animation wise, it just seems to be pretty bland. 

Even though the animation may not be up to par, the writing makes this series viewable by at least open-minded Tenchi fans. Despite the fact that this series starts the Tenchi story line over again, the characters have all seemed to have matured. If anything, this is the only element that allows this series to be unique enough to tear up the continuity of the previous Tenchi stories.

The only flaw with the writing of this series is that our heroes always end up facing some one shot, minor villain. These villains are cleverly made, but seem to only be an attempt to make the series marketable to kids. This flaw can almost be overlooked by the opportunities for the character to interact with the new, almost normal character, Sakuya, and that you get to see all of the neurotic traits of the characters rise up whenever they are in extremely stressful scenarios. 

Tenchi's adventures in the "Neon Metropolis" are interesting for the newer attitudes of the great, established characters from the previous series, but it is not as laugh-out-loud funny as its predecessors. This is probably because of the tame humor. You have to want to enjoy a series based on character interaction to enjoy Tenchi in Tokyo. I guess the latest Tenchi series is an oxymoron of anime since the plots of each episode are almost identical to those featured in "Sailor Moon".

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Serial Experiments Lain: The Ideal Siri

Serial Experiments Lain: Navi

Genre: Sci-Fi (Dramatic) 

Length: 100 minutes (4 OVAs)

Audience: 16 Up

Opinion: No one can deny this series' beauty on virtually all levels.

This is a review of the subtitlede VHS release.

©1998 Triangle/Pioneer LDC, Inc.

There are a lot of junior high kids that are suffering from a disturbing experience. A girl who recently committed suicide is sending them e-mails. Lain, an extremely introverted girl, was included on this mailing list. Unlike her classmates who consider these letters to be a cruel trick, she is intrigued by the message that death is only leaving your body since the soul can now be transferred on the Wired network.

Lain's technology crazed father decides to buy her the most state of the art Navi computer, so she can investigate this new world. This becomes an exciting and addicting experience for our main character as the world of the Wired seems to already know her. Not to say that Lain had a great sense of reality, but her deity like status in this network can only further blur her perceptions.

It did not take much to inspire me to pick up this title. I was looking for something a little more mature than the series I was collecting at the time ("Martian Successor Nadesico" and "Bubble Gum Crisis Tokyo 2040"), but I did not know what to base the decision on besides the at least "16 Up" rating. What it came down to was box art, and still to this point there is no better cover art for anime than "Serial Experiments Lain".

Once I got back into the car after making this purchase, I read the plot synopsis and was amazed at how intriguing it was. Seeming irresistible, at least from my perspective, or that of anyone who can get into films like Cameron Crowe's "Vanilla Sky", this is an extremely promising title.

Lain is an anime that must be purchased since to catch everything about it requires many viewing. You cannot afford to blink or you will miss many little details in the story and the animation. Patience is also required because a premise is not really established for this series until after the end of the final episode of the video.

If you are impatient, it will be difficult to enjoy the story or the slowly gradual changes in the character of Lain. Being able to understand this character is crucial to enjoying the series because all of the other characters are nothing more than background drawing with the added dimension of movement.

I consider the series' artwork to be beautiful. It gives the feeling of being extremely realistic while maintaining the feel of reading a manga. The computer images used in this series are not too complex, but are placed properly to give the viewer the same sense of "aahhhh" and worry that Lain is experiencing.

The series soundtrack further adds to the show's overall beauty. With the exception of the closing credits' song. The eerie techno beats are perfect for this series. There is only one artist that I can compare this to and that is Trent Reznor, but due to the lack of violence or aggression, a Nine Inch Nails score would not be appropriate. Because of this, Lain's beauty is going to be difficult to match.

Serial Experiments Lain may only be enjoyed be minority cliques like Goths and Geeks, but no one can deny this series' beauty on virtually all levels. It is an expensive purchase ($24.99 dubbed, $29.99 subtitled), but it a necessity for any anime fan who does not have ADD collection.

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