1

Non-El-Hazard Topical Discussions / While we're on the topic of other anime & fiction

« on: April 23, 2005, 08:49:53 am »

I FINALLY managed to watch all of Martian Successor Nadesico, with the exception of the Prince of Darkness movie.  Plan to remedy that situation tonight.

For some reason I don't seem to be able to watch a series through until it's at least four or five years old.  Princess Nine was an exception, though that fine series seems to have an even smaller following than El Hazard does.

Seems I have a penchant for series that leave massive openings for back stories and continuation ficts.  As you all know I've dabbled into that arena myself from time to time with a couple different series.  Doubt I'll be all het up to write anything for Nadesico anytime soon, however, mostly owing to the fact I'm starting a "new job" again!  

(Actually, it's an in-company transfer.  My last day as a signal technician for CN Rail on the Grand Trunk Western in Indiana was yesterday.  Monday I report to Fond du Lac, Wisconsin where I'll assume the role of a CN signal supervisor on the former Wisconsin Central property.  With that, I'll be busy learning new faces and names, new signal equipment, and a new set of work rules [as I leave the craft and enter the management ranks.])

So it's nice to set back, read some of the Nadesico body of work, and let someone else drive for awhile.  

I pulled a couple from both MediaMiner and Fanfiction.net.  One I managed to read last week I really liked called Chasing The Darkness.

http://www.mediaminer.org/fanfic/view_st.php/3327

Verdict is still out on Truth & Consequences:

http://www.fanfiction.net/s/850424/1/

Is anyone aware of a Nadesico forum?  (Like any forum out there can hold a candle to this one...)

MJE

2

Non-El-Hazard Topical Discussions / Manga in US mainstream?

« on: February 01, 2005, 06:55:27 pm »

Looks like that day is rapidly approaching.  (Adcock...special mention of Fruits Basket in the link below.)

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=1548&ncid=1548&e=2&u=/afp/20050131/lf_afp/afplifestyleusjapan_050131160526

Which, I believe, is a good thing.  Of course, I have quite a bit of material in my in-basket.  With all this material I've all but given up on being able to watch all of it during my lifetime.  

For anime, I am looking forward to watching:

Inu-Yasha (just picked up the 1st season box set)

Nadesico (borrowed from a friend)

BGC 2040 (also from a friend...watched original c. 1989 in college on a fourth-generation fansub...)

Escaflowne (watched some back in the day, looking forward to seeing it all now.)


Just finished the Crest of the Stars/Banner of the Stars manga.  Great stuff, highly recommended.  I wish Ono has illustrated the third book like he did the first two, however.  Just my preference.  I liked the way Ono drew Lafiel in a way that could appear hardened or softened as the situation predicated.

Managed to burn through Trigun Maximum's three volumes all in one go this weekend after collecting dust on my bookshelf for nearly six months.

And I'm keeping up on Battle Angel Alita Last Order.

Hey, Adcock...the next Oh My Goddess TP is due out this month, right?

--me

M. J. Engels
Signal Technician
Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen LU 14
CN Rail
Valparaiso, Indiana  USA

3

El-Hazard Online / New EH Fanfict

« on: October 26, 2003, 09:12:13 pm »

From friend and fellow railroader Jeff Morris, who, ironically, Adcock knows from back in the day from the Dr. Who fandom.

Morris' has some really decent work, especially appealing to the Tenchi fans among us.  "Cherry Blossoms" was akin to an epic Roman tragedy and is not to be missed.

--me

Mark Engels


To: el-hazard@yahoogroups.com
From: "Jeff Morris" <jeffreysmorris@aol.com>
Date: Sun, 26 Oct 2003 22:18:26 -0000
Subject: [el-hazard] New El-Hazard fanfic tale
     
Hopefully, given Yahoo Groups' current woes, this will get out...

I just posted a story on my site called "Something Happened". An unexpected incident between two priestesses puts a strain on their friendship.  Warning--adult themes implied.

http://members.aol.com/jeffreysmorris gets you to the main page, and the story link is there. Hope you enjoy.

JSM

4

El-Hazard Online / Shayla shrine!

« on: August 02, 2003, 10:27:19 am »

I know some of the membership here are Shayla devotees.  After looking at the "sprites" section of this site (ref. "Makoto vs. Jinnai" thread) I enjoyed this site.  A must-visit for Shayla fans and certainly worthwhile for everyone in the EH fandom.

http://www.dreamwater.org/synapse/shayla/shayla.html

--me

Mark Engels

5

El-Hazard Online / An Ifurita look-alike?

« on: July 27, 2003, 09:07:03 pm »

Yes they are the four gods of the four directions in chinese mythology and Feng Shui. However, those are their Japanese names. Suzaku; Crimson Phoenix of the South. Seiryu; Azure Dragon of the East. Genbu; Black Tortoise of the North. Byako;  White Tiger of the West. And yes, I am getting all this from Fushigi Yuugi (See anime and manga really do teach you new things and even change your life sometimes!). ^_^; I believe there's also sometimes a fifth one, a Gripphon. At least according to the "Boogie Woogie Feng Shui" episode of Cowboy Bebop. Heh heh

This thread over on the Non list got me thinking about when my wife and I recently finished watching Fushigi Yugi.  (It's an enjoyable series and highly recommended by yours truly.)

One of Byako's servants was actually an old woman when Miyaka and the Suzaku Seven first meet her.  But later she and her husband (who turned out to be Tamahome's sensei) took on the visage of their younger days--and she was a spittin' image of Ifurita! (Well, the FY character's hair was more white than it was blue-grey but even so the resemblance was uncanny, veil and all!)

The Ifurita look-alike only had a few minutes of screen time total toward the end of the series, which was moving too fast and frantically for me to catch her name.  Anyone know who our mystery warrior is?  And can anyone find a pict of her to share?

--me

Mark Engels

6

El-Hazard Online / EL-Hazard: The Travelers (A new PBE RPG)

« on: May 18, 2003, 08:44:51 pm »

Hello again friends.

Another posting from the El Hazard Fan Club Yahoo! group I thought you might be interested in.  Looks like an EH RPG is starting up there in Neil's neck of the woods.  Given a number of you are gamers I thought you might want to check them out.

--me

Mark Engels

To: el-hazard@yahoogroups.com
From:  "Nik" <zerotoleranceex@yahoo.com>
Date: Sat, 17 May 2003 22:32:54 -0000
Subject: [el-hazard] EL-Hazard: The Travelers (A new PBE RPG)
     
---------------------------------------------------------------------

ElHazard: The Travellers...
a statless, diceless freeform PBeM slightly based
on "ElHazard"(though you do not need to know it), in general
following the lines of the "dimensional exile" type of plot.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Imagine...

The world, as you know it, does not interest you anymore, you do not
want it anymore. Maybe you are running away from reality, maybe you
are wrongly accused for a crime you never did. Maybe you are a
lawyer, who lost everything when the stock market crashed, maybe you
are a slave, forced to work in the field. Life, the way it is, is
bad, you know that, and your wish becomes to get away, change it.

And then, your wish is granted. After coming into contact with an
antiquity, an old item in a shop, or a thing that has been in your
family since generations or one just exvacated from earth. Light
fills your vision, and then...

After your eyes had opened again, you are confronted with a totally
different scenery. Animals you have not seen before roam the forest,
the trees are unfamiliar, and even the birds come in shapes and
colors you have not known. The air smells fresh, free from the smells
the place you had been before had had. And as you leave the forest,
in a state of disbelief, you lay your gaze on a city you have never
seen before. As if taken from a picture from Arabian Nights,
piccoresque towers raise into the sky. This palace. looming over the
beautiful city below, is covered with green, flowers and even trees
growing on the several platforms. And the city itself, it definitely
deserves a closer look, big, bustling with people minding their
business.
There no sign of anguish anywhere, it looks as if it had been cut out
of a movie or dream.
There are things in the air, looking like small ships, flying slowly
to the port close to the palace, carrying people from afar to this
city. Although appearing rather medieval in labor, there are signs of
technology, these ships, the -skimmers- being one of them. They live
in harmony with themselves, and nature. There is even a thing like
magic, used by the priestesses of Muldoon, strong willed individuals,
widely respected, the few signs of a religion.

But then a shadow falls over the city. A huge, hulking thing slowly
creeps over the sky, a huge structure, resembling a sphere made of
steel,
menacing in its size. Even in this place, not only that thing, the -
Eye of God-, but more shadows lurk over the land. Humanity lives in
permanent danger from the bugrom, an insectoid race living on another
continent, that is at war with humans longer than history remembers.
Led by a humanoid Queen, this race is a constant danger, causing the
human nations to remain allied in a fragile alliance. But there is
more, a third group is hiding in a veil of shadows, beings of fairy
tales
called the shadows or phantoms, humans with blue skin, shapeshifters,
scheming for their own reasons, with goals contradicting the ones
both of the bugrom and the humans...

Welcome to ElHazard, the magnificent world!
Stranded in a new world, an endless road of possibilities has opened
up before you, a new chance to start again. Will you take it, will
you try to influence the fate of this world for its or your benefit?
Or will you just try to get back somehow, or are you merely curious
about the world, wanting to discover its secrets? What about the
secret of your own, the power a person like you is rumored to gain
upon their arrival?
One has increased strength, another has
gained an aura inspiring emotions, and there are many other...

--------------------------------------------------------

ElHazard is a PBEM Roleplay focusing almost exclusively on
interaction. While there will be some combat, the game by all means
does not center around it, so characters do not need to be strong in
this terms. While the GMs will start plots, this game is very open to
your input and ideas. The world is shaped every player, and so you
can make your own native NPCs for your sub-plots, when you feel need,
or interact with the other players. The world as such is defined, but
only vaguely, to keep enough freedom for the individual authors
participating

This is not a game for people who just want to powergame or play a
Mary Sue, as while we would allow stronger characters(with
weaknesses!), we do definitely emphasize roleplaying, not roll-
playing. This is a game for people who like to interact with and form
relationships to other characters, players who are more serious about
acting out the character than just wanting to hack and slay.

By all means, that does not mean that you have to be a professional
to join, we - five players that already have assembled - are glad to
hand a helping hand or two.

Play a traveller from another world - even a world different than
earth - or a native of the world and join the adventure in ElHazard...

If you want to know more, like guidelines of character creation, or
more on the world, feel free to take a visit on
http://hometown.aol.co.uk/NikBritton/EHT/Index2.html

We are happy to meet new players, so we can start the game with a
cast of interesting characters, with their own strenths and
weaknesses... =)

Posting would be atleast once a week, or around that, and definately
not too
short. A few pragraphs or so, maybe more.

7

El-Hazard Online / Two New Box Sets for El hazard fanss

« on: May 18, 2003, 08:39:50 pm »

From the El Hazard Fan Club Yahoo! group, friends.  FYI.

--me

Mark Engels

To: el-hazard@yahoogroups.com
From:  "ty perry" <yrrepat@yahoo.com>
Date: Sat, 17 May 2003 21:53:04 -0000
Subject: [el-hazard] Two New Box Set for El hazard fans!!!!!!
     
New Box Set will be coming out.


 El Hazard: The Alternative World Box Set

325 min.

$79.98

07/01/2003


 El Hazard: The Wanderers Box Set

650 min.

$79.99

07/01/2003  

find out more go to

http://www.animeondvd.com/releases/

8

El-Hazard Online / Some EH embarrasing moments

« on: May 09, 2003, 01:40:59 pm »

For those of you new to this topic, it started out over in my thread on Anime Central.  I was relating a story in which Ken Wolfe and I got together in Fargo, ND one time simply because it was about halfway between Winnipeg and Minneapolis.  

I became a little uncomfortable with some of the glances being turned our way as I was reading through one of the EH art books he brought.  Then I realized the back cover had that rather...er..."revealing" picture of Rune on it with Ifurita.  We found a table large enough to lay the thing out flat to take care of that problem.

Sorry, but that is pretty funny
I'm not quite sure who's sick idea that was.  I mean, granted I usually miss the point in Japanese symbolism, but that one is just out there.

Of course, I'm assuming this is the bugger:

Ah yes.  That is the one.

As I heard, my sister jumped in disgust upon discovering that little tidbit when she found that Viz had released volume 3 of the manga series.

What makes it so dirty even is this page which depicts Rune and Ifurita making amends between themselves.  And then "friends" is taken to a whole new level.  But now I'm falling way off topic...

You are demented, sir!  

Actually that same pict appeared on the front cover of one of the original Japanese manga Ken had brought with him for me to look at.  Viz had just started releasing the translation so I didn't look too closely inside lest it spoil the story.  But when I saw the third volume I proclaimed "Viz will NEVER put this on the cover of a graphic novel or a loose comic."  Much to my suprise then the third volume of the loose comic started coming out and there it was (on Vol 3. nr. 4 if memory serves.  They're all in boxes right now in the basement.)  And there it was on the manga shelf about the right height for eight-year old eyes to see.  I'm suprised there wasn't an angry mob surrounding the comic store afterward!

Ken got a bit of a laugh out of that, as did the entire EHFC over on Yahoo groups.  And as if to press the point the same pict came out on the cover of the third EH GN as you point out below.

Given some of Kathy's earlier posts I can understand why she blew a gasket upon seeing it.  Hey, *I* felt uncomfortable just buying the thing!  Thankfully all the folks in the comic shop knew me by first name when I bought them.  

However, I did make DAMN sure there were no mothers around buying Pokemon cards for their kids when I walked up to the counter with the thing.  Believe it or not an engineering manager with one of the companies I contracted to was in the store at the time buying cards for her own kids at the time.  Needless to say I was sweating bullets.

Ah, the things we do for the fandom.  

--me

Mark Engels

9

El-Hazard Online / Anime Central in Chicago

« on: May 07, 2003, 07:23:59 pm »

is happening May 16-18.  I live in northwestern Indiana so may well head over there for the day.

http://www.acen.org/main.html

Might I see any other EHOL listers there?

*cough*Adcock*cough*  All work and no play, you know...

Of late when I go to anime cons its usually to hang out with other fictwriters and make some new friends.  Maybe it's just me--dealer's tables don't hold much interest for me anymore (save for that rare EH or Eva trinket I might pick up.  These days I'm into hat badges, pins, and patches.  Does anyone know if one was ever made of the Roshtarian double-sun crest?)

Fictwriting panels are sometimes interesting to sit in upon, especially (as was the case the last time I was at Anime Iowa) when the panelists are not fictwriters themselves.  The best part was I didn't even have to open my mouth before someone recognised several of my wider known fictwriter bretheren; pretty soon the panel revolved more around them than the original panel.  

--me

Mark Engels

10

El-Hazard Online / NEW EH fan fiction "Rough Justice" by Wolfe & Enge

« on: April 29, 2003, 09:31:51 pm »

Fellow El Hazard fans:

At the culmination of over eighteen months worth of work, my co-author Ken Wolfe and I are pleased to offer our newest El Hazard fan fiction "Rough Justice" for your reading enjoyment.

http://www.mts.net/~kenwolfe/my_fanfic/Rough.txt

For those of you familiar with Ken's earlier work including "Earth", "Reunited" and "Prime Candidate", this story takes place in between one of the vignettes that composes "Forever", the last segment of the Earth saga.  We have, however, crafted Rough Justice as a stand alone story, so we hope readers unfamiliar with the aforementioned works will still read and enjoy it.

Ken's other El Hazard stories may be found, along with Rough Justice, at:

http://www.mts.net/~kenwolfe/fanfic.html

Comments are welcomed and appreciated.  Our email addresses appear in the text of the story.

And thank you to all of you for keeping the El Hazard fan community alive and growing.

--me

Mark Engels

11

El-Hazard Online / EH Cosplay Pics

« on: February 28, 2003, 10:35:32 am »

First of all, kudos to Kathy for the very well done Ifurita costume.  Thank you for posting the pict.  And thank you to Rob for digging that Wanderers one up out of Neil's archives.  Yes, Miz did look quite convincing.  But the Fujisawa looked charmingly hung over and the Alielle looked very convincing too.

No doubt there are more than these drifting around out there.  These will get us started though.

For the OVA Ifurita fans...

http://www.fansview.com/person/0415pers.htm

And for the Nanami worshipers...

http://www.fansview.com/person/0625pers.htm

Notice that this Nanami is also wearing glasses in costume, which I think makes the costume look even better.  

If you look around on A Fan's View Personality of the Week home page, you'll also find intereviews of a goodly number of voice actors, including Nanami's Lia Sargent.

http://www.fansview.com/person.htm

And a number of you who enjoy fanfict will no doubt recognize some of the several dozen fictwriters interviewed there too.

--me

Mark Engels

12

El-Hazard Online / EH Music Videos available online...

« on: February 12, 2003, 10:19:18 pm »

Went trolling around on the EH Yahoo! group and got this response back from my man in Hawaii.

In addition to the one by Sarah Brightman, there is also one set to the Beatles' Magical Mystery Tour (which ironically I think I actually have on vinyl...)

The EVA one set to Europe's Final Countdown was the very first AMV I ever saw at Anime Central '98.  It just blew me away, though I begrudgingly admit I was a senior in high school when that song first came out.  

Enjoy friends.

--me

Mark Engels



To: el-hazard@yahoogroups.com
From: "Hawaiian Online <stagupa@hawaii.rr.com>" <stagupa@hawaii.rr.com> | This is Spam | Add to Address Book
Date: Thu, 13 Feb 2003 02:58:21 -0000
Subject: [el-hazard] Re: Where to find "Once in a Lifetime"?
     



Here's another place to d/l it.

http://www.cyberdojo.com/PixieDust/anime/Movies/MusicVid/index.html

--- In el-hazard@yahoogroups.com, Mark Engels <mark_engels@r...>
wrote:
> Does anyone here know where one can find the "Once in a
> Lifetime" video (music by Sarah Brightman, produced by
> Michael Ko) online?  It's been a few years since it came
> out but recently there was a discussion of it on
> http://el-hazardonline.net.
>
> --me
>
> Mark Engels
>