El Hazard OVA 3

[Saucer]

Well, I mentioned it before and no one really believed me.   So, I finally managed to get ahold of Lord of Nightmares-sensei. And, here's what she says on the matter:

"Off the top of my head, here's what I can remember reading a few years back. Yeah, there were originally plans to actually complete the OVA continuity, but they didn't make it past the conceptual stages (no character designs, nothing, just some basic outlines and such), due to the fact that The Alternative World pretty much bombed in Japan. In addition to this, Hiroki Hayashi and a few others who weren't involved in the subsequent projects past The Magnificent World condemned what AIC had done to their brainchild, and due to mounting pressure from fans and such, the thing was prematurely canned.
It's kinda sad really, since the premise actually made it appear to be the coolest of the lot. Basically, it was supposed to take place roughly several years after the events in The Magnificent World, when Makoto and co. were slightly older. Due to something happening (I dunno what, mayhaps Jinnai was involved yet again), yet another ancient ruin was unearthed, only this time around, it turned out to be a lab of sorts containing one of the chief scientists from the time of the Holy Wars, in cryogenic sleep. What's more, this was one of the guys who was responsible for the creation of superweapons such as the Eye of God, and naturally, he got resuscitated. Thing is that, he couldn't adjust to life in the present, nor could he accept the fact that both factions in the war had pretty much wiped each other out, including everyone he knew and this caused him to go mental, reactivating practically every single super weapon that lay dormant across El-Hazard, resulting in a mssive apocalypse.
The Phantom Tribe, now lead by Najato and hiding in the shadows, had been waiting for just such an opportunity and took the chance to cause a whole load of general mischief as well (IIRC, they were also the ones who had a hand in causing the scientist dude to go mental). God knows how Makoto and friends managed to sort out this little mess, but by the end of it all, he was supposed to have finally learnt the secret of the Eye of God to time travel (probably cos' of the scientist), and was able to make his way to Earth to be reunited with Ifurita. Oh yeah, and there was another rumor that a new breed of evolved Bugrom was to be introduced in the final season, presumably from the union of Jinnai and Diva."

[Kathy Guinea]

Oh yeah, and there was another rumor that a new breed of evolved Bugrom was to be introduced in the final season, presumably from the union of Jinnai and Diva."

O_o Mental image burned into head forever... AAAAAAGGGHHH!

Oh well not as bad as that REALLY SCARY yaoi fan art I once accidentally ran across with X and the Colonel... ... ... ... ... I think I'm gonna go cry now

[Captain Southbird (EHOL Creator)]

Wow.  O_o  Interstingly, more or less, me and Tim have come up with a very similar plotline for the project which dare not get hit with developement.    Damn you GBA; my last hurrah with you is taking a bit longer than I want!  For the sake of not spoiling ideas or trying to cover up for things we change our mind about, I'm now going into specifics.  I guess me and the creator guys think alike, though.

The Alternative World pretty much bombed in Japan. In addition to this, Hiroki Hayashi and a few others who weren't involved in the subsequent projects past The Magnificent World condemned what AIC had done to their brainchild, and due to mounting pressure from fans and such, the thing was prematurely canned.

You mean Hiroki "I'm done, go ahead, do whatever you want and I'll just sit here" Hayashi actually got involved in his creation?!  O_o  There's actually a limit for that guy?  Holy hell!  Of course, if he had handled this like the BTTF creators ("It's a flaming SUCCESS?!  Quick!  Round up the actors!  We're gonna make us a sequel!"), then none of this would've happened.  I still say those guys are one of the greatest examples of what to do when you make something so successful that the market demands a sequel.  Even if you didn't plan one one, just like the BTTF guys, make up a cheap excuse and go for it.  If the original creators don't do it, then some executive will hire someone who will, and it's almost guarenteed to be hit with quality loss or just outright suck.  (El-Hazard got both; OAV2 was a lesser story, and AW was ridden with horrid plotholes and other issues.)

Well, Hayashi gets no sympathy from me.  He let it go to hell.  I vow if I ever get a hand in creating something successful, I'll be there to back up all further production.



P.S. Saucer, this is a much better something for us to grab ahold of.  Just saying "They planned, they canned" didn't give us enough to be sure it wasn't just skepticism.

[MrWhat]

Well, I mentioned it before and no one really believed me.   So, I finally mangaed to get ahold of Lord of Nightmares-sensei. And, here's what she says on the matter:

Thanks, Saucer.  I had heard something of this, but it's been awhile.

The Alternative World pretty much bombed in Japan

Not surprising, but still sad to read.

In addition to this, Hiroki Hayashi and a few others who weren't involved in the subsequent projects past The Magnificent World condemned what AIC had done to their brainchild, and due to mounting pressure from fans and such, the thing was prematurely canned.

Even more sad to read.  If both the artiste and the fans were agin' the continuation, then the El-Hazard franchise may be well and truly dead.

this caused him to go mental, reactivating practically every single super weapon that lay dormant across El-Hazard

Kinda sounds like a certain round robin  

Oh yeah, and there was another rumor that a new breed of evolved Bugrom was to be introduced in the final season, presumably from the union of Jinnai and Diva.

Kinda sounds like a certain fan fiction.

I've slacked off on the Japanese a bit, the last couple weeks, but I'm still working on it.  I like to think that more could be learned about all this in one of those books, or on a Japanese web site somewhere.  Maybe someday...

[Captain Southbird (EHOL Creator)]

I'll probably steal most of this.  Just so you know.  It about equated to my theories and ideas anyway.  ;p  "Evolved Bugrom"... I didn't think of that one.  *yoink*

[Saucer]

P.S. Saucer, this is a much better something for us to grab ahold of.  Just saying "They planned, they canned" didn't give us enough to be sure it wasn't just skepticism.

I couldn't remember the details! This first came up, back when I was moderating the El Hazard section at......... LGJ did we have an El-Hazard section at Basilica of Link? I don't recall now. Anyway, it was one board or another.

I've said before, on several boards, that I am very confident that AIC will take another stab at El-Hazard one of these days. It may not be for another 5 years, but it WILL happen. AIC is always resurrecting both their popular and not so popular series in the form of sequels, remakes and such the like. These occur soemtimes a decade or more after the original. Look at all the AIC series that have gotten the sequel/remake treatment; Tenchi Muyo, Bubblegum Crisis, Dangaio, Sol Bianca, Oh My Goddess, even our very own El Hazard has been done and redone. Who needs Hayashi anyway?

[Captain Southbird (EHOL Creator)]

Who needs Hayashi anyway?

Well, I know I probably wouldn't care.  And to be honest, I guess I really don't.  I'm far too facinated with the characters.  The only thing that made me mad was that Hayashi got all "go ahead, do whatever" and only reacted after they screwed everything up.  It's like, dude, you just told them that you don't care, but now that they messed up, you suddenly do?  You should've done something from the get-go instead of being all macho artist like.

But I dunno.  The only chance we'd have at ressurection is if they believed sincerely that there was money to be made.  Now, I assume the DVD sales were at least remotely positive; at least they rereleased boxsets later suggesting that they're trying to hook all those who put it off meaning there were enough primary buyers of the expensive version.  (People like me.)  OR they had warehouses full and they wanted to get rid of it.  Either way.

Remember, Tenchi Muyo was rediculously popular.  El-Hazard is more of an "in group only" type of title.  It didn't get a lot of merchandise or video games like other popular anime.  In fact, it's one and only VG title was on the quick-death system Sega Saturn, unlike Sailor Moon having like three or five or whatever on the ever popular SNES.

Even so... I suppose the key trick will be some executive seeing a cash cow.  What will make them see it is a good question.

[Saucer]

Well, that goes without saying!   Except for one off projects like Voices From a Distant Star, money makes the anime world go 'round! El Hazard was alot omre popular in Japan then it has been over here in the States. I understand what you mean about videogames, but it's not so easy to judge based solely on that. Sailor Moon has a popularity level that completely transcends comprehension. On the flip side, Evangelion is almost as ridiculously popular as Sailor Moon. Yet, only one Evangelion game comes to mind; Steel Girlfriend. I think there may actually have been another. Although there's actually a sequel to Evangelion coming soon... in the form of a videogame! Another example, Martian Sucessor Nadesico, very popular in Japan. Only had one game on Saturn (too bad the anime flopped over here, it's a good series ).

So it's really hard to tell. It's up to the studio and producers alike, as well as the fans. Sometimes the fans are the ones that spur a comeback. If it weren't for dedicated fans, Dirty Pair would have died out after the TV series flopped. It was a commercial failure, yet fans pressed the studio to finish the movie that they had abandoned before completion. This not only spawned two more movies, but an OVA series and a remake OVA!

At any rate, I'm confident it will happen someday.  

[Kathy Guinea]

 It's like, dude, you just told them that you don't care, but now that they messed up, you suddenly do?  You should've done something from the get-go instead of being all macho artist like.

Heh you said "dude," have you been AIMing Karrie? ^_^

Err anyhow... you see Bob, if he didn't do that, he couldn't join EAI -- Eccentric Artists International.

One of the requirements of joining the EAI is you need to get all pissy about shit when it doesn't go your way-- even if it's your own damned fault! See you gotta blame someone else, cos IT'S NEVER YOUR FAULT! It's all written out in the "Prima Donna Clause" in the EAI handbook.

If you say you're an artist but you're not eccentric, then you're just a poser.

[Captain Southbird (EHOL Creator)]

Heh you said "dude," have you been AIMing Karrie? ^_^

I notice that had a distinct Karrie-ness to it.  But no, I haven't talked to her through any means in a very long time.

Err anyhow... you see Bob, if he didn't do that, he couldn't join EAI -- Eccentric Artists International. ... If you say you're an artist but you're not eccentric, then you're just a poser.

Ah, I see, I see.  


Oh, and Saucer, I wasn't directly guaging success by video game releases... I just know that VGs are a BIG market.  To produce them based on a show suggests that the execs are positive they can wring you out for more money by going into alternate markets.  It's more of a status, though not a direct correlation to success.

[Neil Lafrenais]

I still think Hayashi is a genius director, and that it's right he didn't want to do any sequels. Nothing will ever beat the first OAV, and this fact alone proves my point.

[Saucer]

Oh, and Saucer, I wasn't directly guaging success by video game releases... I just know that VGs are a BIG market.  To produce them based on a show suggests that the execs are positive they can wring you out for more money by going into alternate markets.  It's more of a status, though not a direct correlation to success.

I dig ya man, I dig ya. But you're right that videogames are a partial litmus test of the sucess of a franchise (any franchise in fact). Other things spawned off of an anime are a good test as well. Like when a manga is created that is based off of the anime (instead of the reverse which is more often the case). We see this with El-Hazard, as well as anime like Big O and Cowboy Bebop.

[MrWhat]

A few related thoughts.  I think I've said most of this before-- but, as they say, life is the same damn thing over and over.

I think the El-Hazard franchise is dead.  But I would love to be proven wrong.

And I think the best shot at a revival now would be a theatrical movie.

How would I like to see El-Hazard continued?

My first preference is a theatrical movie that is mostly, but not not religiously, canonical, and more dramatic/less wacky than the original series.  I'm thinking of the Ah! My Goddess movie as an example.  And no more "tweener" stories-- I want a movie that takes place entirely after Ifurita's return.

My second preference is a spin-off series (TV or OVA) featuring Afura, Shayla and Kauru.  This, of course, can and should be incredibly wacky.

An OVA3 like the one described earlier is only my third preference  

And I mostly agree about what has been said about sequels-- but there are a few exceptions.  There are a few creative works that simply should not have sequels, planned or unplanned, end of story.  First example that come to mind is the first The Crow movie.

[rowan_a._seven]

There are a few creative works that simply should not have sequels, planned or unplanned, end of story.  First example that come to mind is the first The Crow movie.  

Well, to be fair, the third Crow movie is quite good, in my opinion.

As for a El-Hazard continuation, I agree that a movie would be a good place to start, although I wouldn't insist upon it taking place after Ifurita's return.  One could easily do an entire film about Makoto's devotion to Ifurita as he works to be reunited with her, I'd imagine, or even one of those introspective dream stories (i.e. Makoto wakes up in a hospital in Japan where he's told he has been in a coma for over a year.  Was El-Hazard merely a dream?  Granted, the entire audience will quickly conclude that El-Hazard isn't a fantasy, but using this plot frame to showcase Makoto's love/obsession with Ifurita and the lengths he'll go to be reunited with her could be very engaging, and it would be amusing to see how the El-Hazard natives appear as cameos.).

[Saucer]

MrWhat, that's a good idea about the movie. I often wondered why AIC never attempted a movie? Of course, the spin-off series with the priestesses is a good idea as well. Sort of like Tenchi Muyo GXP.