Copyright © 1998 AIC / Pioneer LDC, Inc. / TV TOKYO

When it first arrived, EL HAZARD was quickly viewed as a TENCHI MUYO clone, especially considering the studio, character designs and basic plot situations. However, a few years later and after two separate OVA series and two TV runs, you may see why some consider EL HAZARD to be a foundation of modern anime.
Unlike the first EL HAZARD TV series "The Wanderers," "The Alternative World" is meant to be a continuation of the original OVA plot instead of a parallel story. Much like LAIN, this is a 13 episode series that originally aired on late night TV.
The story starts off with the recently married Miz anxiously awaiting the arrival of her successor in order to start her honeymoon with Fujisawa. The Priestess of Water is to be Qawoor Towles, a new main character who is a young but very talented girl (and far too cute to boot). Makoto is still working on devices in order to find some way of bringing Ifurita back, while Shayla-Shayla and Nanami both fight for Makoto's attention. Meanwhile, Jinnai is still working on rebuilding the Bugrom Empire from its pitiful state.
During the first two episodes, we are introduced to Qawoor who is racing to the capital only to be haphazardly intercepted by a few Bugrom remnants. A device Makoto is fiddling with is strangely activated, and Makoto follows it to Qawoor and rescues her. We learn a bit more of Qawoor's strange powers and her resonating with artifacts, plus we catch up on current affairs in the kingdom. The minor sexual innuendo is still here as well, with Fatora and friends still up to their old tricks, and I do not want to think about what actually happened between Jinnai and Diva.
The latter episodes are where the alternative world comes into play. Suffice to say that a combination of the Priestess of Water rite of succession, Shayla-Shayla's pining for Makoto, Makoto's artifacts (with the demon-like man inside), and the meddling of Jinnai, another "accident" occurs and a large group of our main characters finds themselves separated in a strange land with no obvious way home.
The character designs and artwork are a hybrid of the first and second OVA series, with production values better than your average TV series. I actually found I preferred these character designs over the others, although I will admit the characters look noticeably younger.
There are some problems with this first volume, though. Qawoor seems a bit too naive for the position she is to inherit, but does come through with some good qualities. Some scenes seemed too drawn out, such as Shayla-Shayla and Jinnai's adventure with a strange tribe of bugs, especially considering how many characters' adventures they could follow instead. Some of the art designs for Creteria are rather unoriginal, and I was expecting more fantasy creativity rather than a bleak industrial revolution feel. Plus I felt the Emperor of Creteria turns too quickly into a ditsy womanizing archetype.
I will say, however, that I did enjoy the introduction to this new world. I believe the writers wanted to recreate that feeling of discovery, which is why they thrust our protagonists (and antagonists) into a new stage much like Makoto, Nanami, Fujisawa and Jinnai did when they left Earth for El Hazard. Seeing the stark, cold, mechanized city with its armored soldiers and steel cage elevators was a starling change. It also is nice to see the developed characters from the series get flushed out a little deeper. Makoto, for instance, shows more self-confidence than Tenchi ever did.
Personally, I enjoyed this disc even with its flaws. Looking back on the original OVA series, I had felt it started out rather poorly and cliched, and then built up steam in its later stages. "The Alternative World" tries to continue this momentum, and for the most part comes across a bit more serious than its counterpart.
In regards specifically to the DVD version, this is a standard mainstay Pioneer disk, with a good quality compression (though I felt LAIN was a better master), nicely timed DVD subtitles, both English and Japanese dub tracks, and minor bonuses of no-credit intro and ending themes.
Of note to newcomers of EL HAZARD, Rumor has it that Pioneer may release an ultimate edition of EL HAZARD on DVD soon (with the original OVA series— much like they did for the TENCHI MUYO series), so if you have for some reason missed out on this "classic" of anime, this might be your best shot.
Overall, if you liked the original EL HAZARD OVA series and want to see more, you should check out this continuation. I would not suggest this as an introduction to the world of EL HAZARD, as this series assumes too much previous knowledge.

Released in North America by Pioneer Entertainment
DVD, Approx. 100 min.
DVD PIDA-1588V $29.98
Available now in the USA
Where to buy