El Hazard: The Wanderers could be considered a new spin on an old idea. It presents itself as a replay of the OVA, but a few things are different this time around. These changes prove to be both a hinderance and a help in terms of entertainment value. Part of this review is a comparison to the OVA, which we have a review of here. The reason for the comparison is that both series are very similar in plot and purpose.

First, a little background is an order. El Hazard is a mysterious fantasy-like world, different from Earth in many ways yet very alike in others. The two major powers in this world are the humans, led by Princess Rune Venus of the kingdom of Roshtaria, and the Bugrom (human-sized insects), ruled by Diva. The two groups are constantly fighting, as is the case when this story begins. Other characters of interest are the Muldoon Priestesses of water (Miz Mishtal), wind (Afura Mann), and fire (Shayla Shayla), who at the moment seem to be neutral in the conflicts. They do, however, have a good relationship with the Roshtaria kingdom.

The story begins on Earth, at Shinonome High School, where Makoto Mizuhara (a student) is busy setting up a science experiment. Meanwhile, Katsuhiko Jinnai (the class president) is under pressure by other student government members, stemming from allegations of corrupt election dealings and misappropriation of funds. Through a wild chain of events to follow, Jinnai decides that Makoto is his rival, and seeks to stop him from always being more successful. His chosen method of action is to tamper with Makoto's experiment, which through some strange phenomenon sends four people to El Hazard: Makoto, Jinnai, Masamichi Fujisawa (a teacher), and Nanami Jinnai (Katsuhiko's sister).

Princess Rune's appearance is drastically different from her original design.	Every story needs a hero! Enter Makoto Mizuhara, stage left.

This series begins very differently from the OVA. In The Wanderers, the group gets sent to El Hazard as a result of an unusual side-effect caused by one of Makoto's science experiments. If we refer back to what happened in the OVA, it's a mysterious woman appearing in an ancient ruin beneath the school who sends the group to El Hazard. The result of this change is that the beginning of the story is cheapened slightly. This proves to be a minor setback though, as the rest of this first volume is rather enjoyable. A word of advice is to not let the first episode determine your opinion of the series.

The second major change to note is that Princess Rune's appearance has changed drastically. In fact, I mistook her for an entirely new character at first sight. Her design is less elegant, but still visually pleasing and rather unique. There are noticeable differences in her disposition as well. We get to see a more vulnerable side to her in this series. As a result, she still is an interesting and likeable character, but on the other hand she seems like a different woman. The odd thing about this change is that all the other characters presented in the first volume are nearly identical to their original designs.

A couple of things that work very well for The Wanderers are the pacing of the story, and its maturity. Many AIC works (like Tenchi Muyo!) are known for having very silly humor, almost of a slapstick quality. The Tenchi-like humor is toned down greatly in this series, however, which will probably please some viewers. I don't think it'll turn Tenchi lovers away, since Jinnai is around dishing out plenty of comic relief. The Wanderers is paced more slowly than its predecessor. It spans a whole season, so there's obviously more time to better develop each character. I found the pacing to be just right in this first volume.

The music for The Wanderers is actually a step above that of the OVA. It's much more personal, as opposed to the over-dramatic and superficial nature of the OVA's music. The song "Sentiment" is relaxing, and a perfect compliment for the interactions between Makoto and Princess Rune. The opening and ending theme songs also fit the series well. The majority of the background music isn't anything spectacular, but it doesn't make the listener cringe in horror either. Overall, the music is a good compliment to the series so far.

The picture quality of this first volume leaves some to be desired, but it's by no means bad. Aural quality is up to par, but not exceptionally clear and clean. As with its predecessor, the animation quality is excellent, both technically and artistically. There are some problems with the subtitling, with several grammatical errors being apparent throughout the first few episodes. Overall, the transfer seemed like a rush job. This is not a cause for concern though, as nothing was bad enough to warrant skipping over this title.

In summary, I have high hopes for this series. They've managed to create a new and interesting feel to El Hazard, while keeping the charm and mystery that the original series had.

Distributor: Pioneer Animation
Creator: AIC
Released: 1995

Video Quality: B+
Audio Quality: A-
Presentation: B-
Content: A
Overall: A-