Jun 28, 2021
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
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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 is being a political puppet because he looks like the Princess. He is forced to crossdress to look like the princess, and take part in political ceremonies that require none of the skills he developed in the previous world.
On the other hand, our villain Katsuhiko, struggles in the real world. He has an obsessive rivalry with Makoto, who despite working harder than, and putting more effort into Japanese high school activites, can never seem to get past his rival. Whether it be academics, sports, or the various other competitions one faces in school, Katsuhiko can never beat his rival. This character, more aligns with the typical isekai character, he's struggling in this world (mostly due to his own douchey attitudes) and is transported to another world where he instantly recognized with power, and instantly given an army. Katushiko being one of the antagonists of this world shows how El Hazard goes against it's Isekai brethren and might be valued less by people looking for purely self inserting.
The background art in this series is amazing, the character animation is classic 90's OVA, incredibly fluid animation with big fight scenes are littered throughout each episode.
When I went into the series I was worried that it wouldn't have a good ending, or even have an ending at all, it wouldnt be the first time a 90s OVA series ended suddenly. El Hazard manages to have an ending that is paced well, and isn't sudden, and manages to do that in 7 episodes. It manages to go against the grain, while giving you a serviceable story, good art, and good music.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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