El-Hazard: The Magnificent World (神秘の世界エルハザード, Shinpi no Sekai Eru Hazādo) is a 1995 original video anime series directed by Hiroki Hayashi with screenplay written by Ryoe Tsukimura, music composed by Seikou Nagaoka. Studio AIC animated the series and was first released in Japan on May 1995, with episodes released monthly or bi-monthly.
This release also includes El-Hazard: The Magnificent World 2 (神秘の世界エルハザード2, Shinpi no Sekai Eru Hazādo 2), a 1997 original video anime series directed by Yoshiaki Iwasaki with screenplay written by Kazuhisa Onishi, music composed by Seikou Nagaoka. Studio AIC animated the series and was first released in Japan on March 1997, with episodes released bi-monthly.
Background:
“Ancient ruins have been discovered beneath Makoto’s high school, but he has bigger things to deal with. He has evidence that the conniving Student Council President, Jinnai, is guilty of election fraud! But before Makoto gets his chance to testify, a strange light from the ruins transports Makoto, Jinnai, Jinnai’s sister Nanami, and their history teacher Fujisawa, to a mysterious land… the Magnificent World of El-Hazard.
There, these four unwitting travellers find a world split by forces of good and evil, where giant insects known as the Bugrom battle against humanity, and beautiful priestesses use magic to harness the power of the elements. Nothing in El-Hazard seems to make sense, but one thing is clear: they’re caught in the middle of a fantastical war with no way home!”
Plot Synopsis via Anime Limited, January 2022
Isekai is a genre that many people are fed up of hearing as it’s been oversaturated over the past decade. But many may not had realised that the genre has been around for a long time! A couple of notable examples include Aura Battler Dunbine, The Twelve Kingdoms and The Vision of Escaflowne, but there’s also another isekai series that is considered to be a classic by hardcore fans – El-Hazard!
The El-Hazard franchise spawned from director Hiroki Hayashi, who at the time had also directed Tenchi Muyo! Ryo-Ohki for the same studio. Released in the 90s, El-Hazard has had a few different instalments with The Magnificent World across two OVA series, and then two TV shows with The Wanderers and The Alternative World. The one that many consider to be the best amongst the list is the first OVA series for The Magnificent World which is what Hiroki Hayashi worked on, as the others had different directors and writers.
Pioneer released El-Hazard: The Magnificent World for North America, while Geneon Entertainment and Nozomi Entertainment both eventually took over the license over the course of the past twenty years. Surprisingly, Pioneer also released The Magnificent World in the UK back in the 90s. The two OVA series were given VHS releases with at least a few episodes per VHS set, but since then the UK didn’t receive a re-release until twenty years later when Anime Limited rescued the rights and provided a Blu-ray release. While the series was already BBFC’d, the distributor re-rated it which had some rating increases from PG to 12 for select episodes.
Collector’s Edition Contents:
Anime Limited collector’s editions continues to be appealing to many fans, and thankfully there was enough artwork to give El-Hazard: The Magnificent World the same treatment.
The package is presented as a rigid box with an Amaray Blu-ray case to house the discs and alongside the case is a 52-page booklet. The booklet features various artwork from both OVA series.
The artwork is free of any information or BBFC content and the info sheet covers the information and specification like previous Anime Limited releases. The collector’s edition Blu-ray set is limited to 1000 units for SRP £59.99.
The series was one of the 11 anime titles made available for pre-order as an Early Bird during Anime Limited’s 12 Days of Christmas 2021 sale. It was on offer for £34.99, but with the Anime (Un)Limited discount lowered the price to £31.50.
Physical Contents:
- Rigid Box with Amaray packaging and clean artwork
- Info sheet for specification and BBFC description
- 52-page booklet
On-Disc Contents:
Distributor: Anime Limited
Released: 24th January 2022
The collector’s edition release for El-Hazard: The Magnificent World contains all 7 OVA episodes across two Blu-ray discs for the first series, and all 4 OVA episodes across a single Blu-ray disc for the second series. The encode & authoring were produced by Nozomi Entertainment & Rightstuf. The audio options available include Japanese with English subtitles and the Pioneer English dub.
The yellow subtitles are unlockable during playback, and the regions are locked to Blu-ray players set to B.
Blu-ray Specs:
| Languages | English, Japanese |
| Audio | El-Hazard: The Magnificent World: English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Japanese DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Japanese DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 El-Hazard: The Magnificent World 2: English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Japanese DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 |
| Video | El-Hazard: The Magnificent World: 1080p High Definition Native format 1.33:1 aspect ratio El-Hazard: The Magnificent World 2: 1080p High Definition Upscale format 1.33:1 aspect ratio |
| Region | B |
| Subtitles | English |
| Locked Subtitles | No |
| Discs | 3 BD-50s |
Blu-ray On-Disc Extra Features:
Disc 2:
- Clean Opening
- Clean Closings “Boys be Free!”
- Art Gallery
Disc 3:
- Clean Opening
- Clean Closing “Nemurenai Yoru ni wa”
- Art Gallery
- Original Easter Eggs
Unboxing Photos:
Final Notes:
El-Hazard: The Magnificent World is available to order across multiple retailers in the United Kingdom. The collector’s edition Blu-ray is available to order over on Amazon.
(Disclaimer: Amazon links are also included when available. They are affiliated so if you decide to order them, I’ll earn a small percentage if they ship which will help me with any hauls or small bills.)
The Normanic Vault 
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