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El-Hazard Online / Lyrical Nanoha and the world of Al Hazard?

« on: May 08, 2009, 09:14:25 pm »

I recently watched the first two seasons of the anime Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha.  It is, in my opinion, an above average magical girl series that distinguishes itself by taking the genre and its associated tropes seriously.  What makes this interesting and pertinent to El-Hazard, however, are a few notable elements of the series that are worth mentioning.  

Minor Spoilers!

First, instead of the typical magical henshin tools the main characters use mechanical "magical" devices.  Secondly, there's an organization called the Time-Space Administration Bureau that patrols the multiverse in dimensional spaceships.  And third, the chief antagonist of the first season is collecting powerful items known as Jewel Seeds in order to break through dimensional barriers and reach the world of Al Hazard, the ancient, legendary capital of their civilization that was lost in a great catastrophe ages ago and where the forbidden, forgotten "spells" that can make any wish come true can still be found.

Now, you have magical devices that act like computers, technology that's so advanced it looks like magic, dimensional travel, and an ancient land where dreams can come true called Al Hazard.  Does any of this sound familiar?  Lamps, Eye of God, the calamity of the Holy Wars, and a land of never-ending adventures known as El-Hazard?  Hm, I wonder...  

Granted, this could and probably is just a coincidence or possibly a small homage, but I've had fun speculating that the Time-Space Administration Bureau and their MidChildan civilization are the descendants of one of the ancient nations of El-Hazard that was transported through time and space in the aftermath of the Holy Wars and managed to retain some of their science.  And one of the most amusing moments of the first season for me was when the head villain announced her plans in a melodramatic speech and powered up her dimensional fortress to reach Al Hazard...or should that be El-Hazard?  

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El-Hazard Online / Question about Ifurita and Rune's headgear

« on: April 30, 2009, 03:42:47 pm »

Hello everyone. It's been quite a while, hasn't it? Apologies for not being around. For some reason I thought the site went down and only recently rediscovered it while doing a google search for Ifurita. I'm glad to see it's still here.

Anyway, I'm working on a fan fic and am trying to figure out what the fabric headgear Ifurita and Rune Venus wear is called. It doesn't seem to be a headscarf and while head/hair covering is a generic enough term for the purpose I was wondering if there's a specific name for it. I'm tempted to call it a veil of some sort but that doesn't seem to fit since it doesn't cover the face. Any help would be appreciated.

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Non-El-Hazard Topical Discussions / The Search for Affordable Web Hosting!

« on: March 24, 2006, 04:21:20 pm »

For many years now, I've belonged to a fanfiction community.  Sadly, it has seen better days and most of its members -- including myself in many ways -- have moved on to other things.  However, a friend is looking to modernize the website and forum, and since I used to be in charge of the forum I figure the least I can do is help him in that regard.  The messageboard's last incarnation used VoyForums, but I want to set up something better and have been drawn to phpBB.  However, it requires web hosting, and that is something I have virtually no experience with.  Consequently, I was wondering, are there any web hosts any of you would highly recommend?  I'm looking for something affordable and, excluding self-advertising, ad-free and shouldn't require a lot of space since I only need to host a messageboard.  El-Hazard Online's web host, for example, looks like it would do the job wonderfully.  A free messageboard service might also work, but I haven't been terribly impressed with the few I've seen lately.  Thanks in advance for any help you offer.

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Non-El-Hazard Topical Discussions / How does one find good anime series?

« on: August 27, 2005, 03:32:21 pm »

Well, due to various circumstances, I am the current president of my college's anime club.  Due to the same circumstances, most of the regulars from last year graduated, and since I'm somewhat inexperienced when it comes to finding good anime that hasn't been licensed in the States yet I'm having difficulty figuring out what to show this semester.  I've heard and seen good things about "Bleach" and "Tsubasa Chronicle", but does anyone have any recommendations in case those two series don't go over well?  Perhaps more useful, does anyone have any tips for finding good anime?  I suspect that looking for series that are popular in bit torrents and then crosschecking them at AnimeNfo is a good place to start.  Am I completely wrong about this?  Any help any of you offer would be appreciated.

Take care,
Rowan Seven -- *worrying about his new responsibilities*

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Non-El-Hazard Topical Discussions / World of Warcraft

« on: May 14, 2005, 12:42:20 pm »

I've been a fan of Blizzard's Warcraft computer game series since playing Warcraft II for the first time and was delighted when the MMORPG "World of Warcraft" was released.  I purchased the game in late November and, over the ensuing months, have been surprised at how many people I know from various messageboards and mailing lists are also playing the game.  I know there are several MMORPG enthusiasts on this site and was wondering if any of you have played the game as well.  If so, on what server and with what character(s)?  I have an orc shaman on the Cenarion Circle server called Gorakinos.

Take care,
Rowan Seven

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El-Hazard Online / Alternative World Alternatives

« on: January 21, 2004, 12:54:10 am »

Hi.  Seeing as how "The Alternative World" is one of the more...negatively critiqued El-Hazard installments, I was wondering what changes people would make to it if they could.  Personally, if I could I think I'd make the main cast more proactive.  In OAV1 they shaped the storyline, and if anything the plot had to keep up with them and their actions.  However, in "The Alternative World" virtually everything is manipulated by Arjah, and the characters seem to be simply waiting to perform a task.  While this isn't necessarily bad in and of itself, the execution (in my opinion) left something to be desired, and I really would've liked to see the main characters do more than essentially wait for their parts in the story to take place.  Take Miz, Fujisawa, Rune, and Afura, for example.  They're on a farm with a Creterian native.  Once the more 'totalitarian' aspects of agricultural life were shown, they could've used those characters and Chabil to provide more background and history for Creteria.  As for Jinnai, Shayla, and Groucho, I think it could've been very entertaining seeing the three of them actually work together and perhaps get involved in the rebellion that was going on.  That would've at least given us the other side of the story and presented Jinnai and Shayla a chance to have a more important role in the series...and hopefully spare us the image of fat Jinnai.

So, if you could change something about "The Alternative World" what would it be?  

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El-Hazard Online / El-Hazard Fanmap

« on: March 17, 2003, 04:59:25 pm »

Well, here's that fanmap I mentioned.  It's pretty much all speculation on my part combining the Wanderers, the OAV series, and the video game (I haven't read the manga), and my reasoning behind placements is posted below.  Any comments, criticisms, and suggestions would be greatly appreciated, and if any of you notice any locations I forgot to include please tell me about them.

P.S.  I would like to thank Rob for providing the link for this image.

P.P.S.  Yes, I know the Stairway to the Sky isn't on this map.  In the OAV series it appears to be right next to Florestica, and it seemed a bit unnecessary to include it.  However, I've begun to have second thoughts about that omission, and I might represent it with a symbol in the final version.




The Alliance:

Roshtaria - I put it in the center since it's the
leader of the Alliance, and there appears to be
something that might be a giant city where I put
Florestica.

Gannan - the first nation to be conquered by Jinnai.
Figured it would make sense for it to border the Holy
River of God, and since Jinnai seemed to be launch his
invasion from a desert I put it parallel to one.  Plus it has a port.

Balta Hill - Ifurita destroyed the capital city (at
least I'm assuming that was the capital city).
Anyway, it looked like it was on a plain region, and
something resembling a crater exists where I placed
the name.

Doros Land - a lot of people seem to place this
country south of Roshtaria, and its waterways imply
that it's close to a body of water.

Laide and Geynos - I'm assuming that Jinnai had his
troops attack Laide from Doros Land and then attacked
Geynos from both Laide, Gannan, and Balta Hill.
Complete speculation on my part, but with the apparent
size of the Bugrom army I think Jinnai would've
employed a surround and conquer strategy rather than
marching from one direction to another.

Ogresio, Baron, El Dolash, Kobisho, and the Disano
Highlands - all from the Wanderers, and I based their
locations on the order that they fell to the Bugrom
march led by Queen Diva.  I put them in the west since
the east was already fairly full.

Volcano Lisabi - Something that resembles a conic
mountain exists where I placed the name.  Might be a
volcano.  Might be a crater.  Looked close enough for
me.

Jungle - a guess, pure and simple.

Desert of Bleached White Bones - That region looks
like it is a desert.  It is also on the Alliance side
of the river.  1+1 hopefully equals 2.

Spring of Arliman - The protagonists appeared to have
done a great deal of traveling through the desert to
get to Arliman so I placed it near the desert's end.

Barrage Market - Since it's a marketplace, I figured
it would be closer to the Alliance nations than
Arliman.  Nanami probably traveled to the Spring
because of the potential business opportunity.

Trigger of Destruction/Oasis - It is surrounded by a
mountainous desert region so I placed it near the
mountain chain but still within the desert.

Lilicoco Mt. - Since it was Fujisawa's original
destination, it is probably safe to assume that it is
close to the Trigger of Destruction and that Fujisawa
merely took a wrong turn somewhere.

Holy Mountains of God - It's reasonable to speculate
that they're the largest mountain chain on the map.

Mt. Muldoon - It looked like a separate mountain, but
since mountains tend to group together I put it near
the Holy Mountains of God.

Seminary - I think it would make sense for the Seminary to be near Mt. Muldoon.

Forest of Mirage - Dr. Schtalubaugh's group seemed to
travel quite a ways to get here, and it is next to a
river.  Since the south was already decently filled, I
put it in the north.

Mt. Fhena - There's a sharp and very noticeable
mountain peak where I put it.  It could be another
mountain, but since this is a fanmap I felt I should
go with the obvious conclusions.

Duchy of Paralia and Beansland - They were briefly
mentioned in the Alternative World as possible
honeymoon locations.  Since the mainland had already
been decently developed and islands tend to be looked
upon as favorable vacation areas, I placed them in
that southern island chain.

Neutral:

Holy River of God - I believe this geographical
feature goes without saying.

Forbidden Island - Pure speculation, but since it
remained undiscovered for so long it's probably closer to the Bugrom Empire than the Human Alliance.

Bugrom Empire:

Ancient Ruins - They were underground in a rocky
region with water.  Since a desert lies to the south I
placed it in the rockier north.

1st Hive - It was located in a dark, flat region.  I
found a dark, flat region.

Kalia's Tomb - It exists in a desert on top of a
canyon.  I put it in the desert.

2nd Hive - It is being built at the bottom of a
canyon.  Since Jinnai did tell Queen Diva to build a
new hive at Kalia's Tomb, I'm assuming that it's in
the same place.  The Bugrom might've put those trees that can be seen in the background there through their terraformation talents for building supplies and nourishment, or those trees might've always been there and were simply not shown in the Magnificent World 2.

Hill of Stones - This is from the video game, and I
placed it near the Holy River of God since I thought
it would make sense for it to be close to Mt. Muldoon
and the Alliance.

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El-Hazard Online / Character Studies/Fanfiction:  Bugrom Triptych

« on: February 11, 2003, 09:41:52 pm »

Title:  I, Bugrom
Author:  Rowan A. Seven
Teaser:  A Groucho introspection piece.
Disclaimer:  El-Hazard belongs to AIC and Pioneer.  This story was written for recreational and entertainment purposes.  I’m not making any money off this fanfiction.
Author’s Notes:  This story takes place in the OAV series shortly after “The Alternative World.”  For the sake of this story, please think of the OAV Bugrom and the Wanderers Bugrom as two similar but different races.  Katsuo, by the way, is Groucho’s name in the Japanese version of El Hazard, but for the purposes of this fanfiction I’ve used it as the designation for his Bugrom type.

======

Lord God Jinnai has entered his sleeping cycle now.  I’m glad.  His body requires lengthier cycles than we Bugrom do, but he often forces himself to remain alert longer than he should so the day’s work can be finished.  I know it’s all for the Hive, but he should take better care of himself.  Without him, where would we be?  Where would I be?

I’m watching him now, standing guard over his bedside.  I know he would prefer I be out doing something more constructive, more useful in the overall scheme of things, and once there was a time when I would have.  Now though, I worry about him and want to make sure he’s safe.  Hence my current vigil.  

Lord God Jinnai is not motionless and silent in his sleep cycle like we are.  He tosses, turns, and mutters the names of people and places.  Some I recognize like Makoto and Nanami, but most are alien to me.  Rarely does his repose look peaceful, and had I not seen what sleep deprivation can do to him on that alternative world I would be sorely tempted to wake him up and face his wrath for doing so.  

This concern, though, worries me.  A lot of my thoughts worry me now.  I have…changed since Lord God Jinnai arrived, and I’m not sure if this change is for the better.  Once, before the last war, I was one of many, no different or better than any other of the Katsuo caste.  The queen was my sole master and wielded absolute authority.  Her orders were to be obeyed, and no questions were ever asked.  I didn’t even bother to ever think about them.  I merely followed.  I was a component of the Hive, I knew my place, and it was as another cog in the machine, easily replaceable with no emotions or feelings at all.  I lived to serve the Hive and that was all.  

Now though, my mind has…evolved.  Being around Lord God Jinnai has introduced me to new concepts and ideas.  He has taught me much.  I understand tactics and ambushes, deceptions and strategies, and can even plan ahead.  Before I lived only in the present, but now I can imagine and look forward to the future.  I can take the initiative and perform unnecessary actions without orders.  This…frightens me.  What if I make a wrong decision?  What if I betray the Bugrom Empire with my actions?  I can question orders now, but should I?

And yet…this newfound sense of self tempts me as well.  There is satisfaction to be found in comprehending Lord God Jinnai’s plans, in knowing that I’ve done a job well, in understanding the world around me and making a difference in it.  I want to do more for the Hive and Lord God Jinnai, and to accomplish this I must continue to learn.   But the more I learn the more dangerous I could become.  I doubt myself.  

Still, my evolved mental state does have potential advantages that might outweigh the risks.  Come the next invasion, Lord God Jinnai will be able to accomplish much more in less time if he and I can coordinate attacks.  Indeed, even the reconstruction of the Bugrom Empire could be hastened if he and I oversaw different parts of the process instead of the sole directorship Lord God Jinnai currently fills.  Do I not have an obligation as a loyal servant of the Hive to do everything I can for the Queen and Hive mind?  Am I not indebted to help Lord God Jinnai to the best of my ability?

I owe him…much.  Lord God Jinnai is the cause of my mental evolution.  Uncertain as I am about its merits and what it means, I still feel grateful to him for this.  Gift or curse, it has given me the chance-no, the choice to be a more effective and useful bugrom.  Therefore, come what may, I will continue to follow him no matter where the path leads.  He is my lord.  More than that, he is my…friend.

Friendship.  For some reason, I am pleased by this.  Before Lord God Jinnai, there were only orders, obedience, and coworkers.  Now, there is him, and though he is disparaging and insulting at times, there are also moments when Lord God Jinnai is kind and praising, where we truly seem to have a warm connection.  Through him, I become more than I used to be…more than any bugrom before me, with the exception of the Queen, has ever been.  

I am Groucho of the Katsuo Caste, loyal servant of Queen Diva and aide to the Messenger of God, Lord God Jinnai, no longer because I should be but rather because I want to be.  I am an individual.  I am bugrom.

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El-Hazard Online / Geography and chronology questions

« on: January 10, 2003, 12:33:04 am »

*nervously stands up and waves* Hi everyone.  My name is Rowan A. Seven, and this is my first post here.  Let me begin by saying that this is probably the best El-Hazard fansite I've come across, and I would like to express my sincere thanks to the site owners for the hard work they've put into this.  If I ever obtain something El-Hazard related to contribute, I'll do so.

Anyway, being a halfway decent fanfiction writer (in my obviously biased opinion, at any rate) and a big fan of the El-Hazard series, a story idea has begun to solidify in my mind, and I'd like to attempt to compose it.  However, there are two questions I have in regard to the world of El-Hazard before I attempt this.  The first is whether or not any decent maps of El-Hazard exist so I can avoid making geographical errors.  The other is just how long ago the Ancient wars ended.  For some reason the numbers 1,000 and 10,000 years keep popping up in my head, but I can't recall if the exact date was ever specified.

Thank you in advance to those who respond.

Best wishes,
Rowan A. Seven

P.S.  Rob, thanks for the suggestion to buy the El-Hazard Roleplaying Resource Book.  Being the big Bugrom and Phantom Tribe fan that I am, that book was full of neat facts and ideas and really helped to add depth to El-Hazard.