Sorry for the long delay guys, but at long last here’s a review of the last El-Hazard series. While not the chronologically, in that universe or ours, final addition to the universe I chose to view The Wanderers last because it is completely unconnected to the other OVAs. To put it simply El Hazard: The Wanderers is a retelling of the original OVA. At first the differences seem minor but as the twenty-six episodes (more then all the other El-Hazard OVAs combined) roll along the slight discrepancies widen to drastically change the final half of the storyline. But with that being said The Wanderers is still just another regurgitation of the formula that made the original such a charming success, though it does come much closer to matching its predecessor then the other sequels.The story begins with our hero Makoto building a machine and subsequently being transported to the world of El-Hazard thanks to damage done to it during a fight with his rival Jinnai. Those two along with Jinnai’s sister Nanami and their history teacher Mr. Fujisawa will have an important part to play during a pivotal time in El-Hazard’s history.The differences between The Wanderers and the original OVA are noticeable almost from the beginning. Makoto’s method of dimensional transportation is not the same and upon his arrival he immediately runs into the Princess Rune. The most jarring difference for fans of the original OVA will be the fact that Rune does not in fact have a sister this time around. In the first series Makoto’s striking similarity to the second princess drove a good chunk of the story along but The Wanderers tosses this ideas aside and replaces cross-dressing hijinx with a more conventional journey with an epic feel. The three priestesses are also introduced more gradually and fans may struggle with the slow start when the other OVAs thrust them right into the thick of things immediately. The writing adjusts appropriately for the fact that a four-episode story is being retold with six times the length and oddly enough nothing feels too stretched or forced.The twenty-six episode run is interesting to note because it gives us an opportunity to see the strengths and weaknesses of storytelling in comparison to the original’s shorter run. In many ways The Wanderers is a fantastic example of the traps shows tend to fall into when running twenty-plus episodes but it also flaunts things that would have been impossible to pull off in a four episode run. Character development is dramatically improved in The Wanderers, while the first three OVAs featured a decent bit all things considered they never had the luxury to push and pull the heroes in villains in different directions. Motivations are no longer always clear-cut and many of the heroes are more three-dimensional. On the flip-side at times you feel as though the show should be moving along but it lingers too long, this is especially irritating having seen the original OVA. When you know what’s coming next, however roughly, it can be difficult to listen to a seemingly pointless conversation between characters that won’t even be involved in the plot shortly.The production values in The Wanderers are perhaps the best in the franchise, which is surprising considering this it the longest entry. The score is more similar to the first OVA’s catchy synthesized sound then the epic feel of The Alternative World and it’s nice to hear some of the better tunes be revisited during key moments. The animation is crisp and clean throughout, there are no noticeable peaks or dips in quality giving The Wanderers a visual consistency the original lacked. The original voice cast is back for a fourth time, thankfully, and they once again deliver a quality, believable dub that more then does the job.While El-Hazard the Wanderers is just a lengthy retelling of the original OVA it’s still worth a look especially for fans of the universe. While it doesn’t quite match the charm of its predecessor and can’t be considered superior it’s interesting to see the differences that twenty-six episodes bring. After watching all four entries in the El-Hazard saga consecutively it’s tough to get too excited for yet another entry with the same dimension-hopping-ancient-weapon-peril but there is fun to be had here and The Wanderers is actually nearly as good of an entry point to the universe as the first OVA.Final Score: 8.1Storyline: PassableAnimation: GoodSoundtrack: GoodDub: Passable
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