It'd also be fun if they would copy what they're doing with Tenchi Muyo!. They could do another full TV series, set in the OVA El-Hazard world, with new lead characters and cameos of the old leads. Or they could do a full TV series just on Shayla, Afura, and Kauru. And then, a third OVA to wrap up some loose ends in the "main" story, and hopefully, to give Makoto's Ifurita a little more screen-time.
The gang shouldn't go to Earth, at least, not for an extended adventure. There's still so much of El-Hazard that hasn't been explored. And Creteria didn't work very well, so why would Earth be any better? Ken Wolfe's continuation is a masterpiece, but I think it's the exception that proves the rule.
It'd also be fun if they would copy what they're doing with Tenchi Muyo!.
Except make it actually be good.
Well, this is interesting, especially given the AIC interview/article in the latest Newtype mentions that Hayashi is working on a new series having to do with an alternate dimension. Now, that could mean a great deal of things, but admittedly the first thing that came to mind was "El-Hazard".
*Nods sagely.* *Quietly stabs Noike and Seina.*
I get the distinct impression that the anime producers have no idea what El-Hazard fans really want. It's not the cute, bouncing girls or cool powers (though they're hardly unwelcome). It's the setting, the plot, the adventure, the romance - the CONTINUITY. Then I speculate that, chances are, the anime producers are DEAD ON in what El-Hazard fans want. WE'RE the ones who are deluding ourselves: we hard-cores are such a tiny minority compared to the larger group of people who are solely interested in bouncing girls and cool powers. Why waste time developing "old news" characters like Afura, Shayla, and Miz, when we can throw in a cutesy new girl for the fans to ooh and aah over?
Meh. Just watch. They'll come up with a dazzling new storyline that fulfills the dream of every hard-core fan, AND add a cute new girl to the plotline who is actually interesting and enjoyable, just to spite my cynicism. I probably wouldn't complain much if they did.
I still think the El-Hazard franchise is dead. From what I've gathered, it pretty much went down in flames with Alt World, and it doesn't seem to have the popularity of other franchises that are enjoying revivals (i.e., Tenchi Muyo! and Oh My Goddess!). But I would love to be proven wrong. And it's certainly encouraging to hear that a revival is even being spoken of.
I also wouldn't say no to a TV series with another new continuity. But I'm one of roughly six people on the entire planet who enjoyed Tenchi In Tokyo, so that might not go over very well.
I thoroughly enjoyed Shin Tenchi Muyo. I thought it was hilarious. I think the main problem is that people simply don't take the series for what it's worth. But, rather see it as a bad rehashing. How can you not crack up at the Space Police Policeman running gag (of course, i was having a bad couple of years when I first started watching it, so maybe I just needed all the laughs I could get)? It's not like the writing was even that bad (certainly better than Alternative World). I seriously find it difficult to extract from people exactly why both Shin TM and TMiL2 were so "bad?"