YMMV / El-Hazard: The Magnificent World

• Alternative Character Interpretation: Is OVA Alielle a perverted and mischievous character because of Princess Fatora's bad influence and would be a nicer character overall like her Wanderers incarnation without Fatora in the scene or was she always going to be a pervert and trouble-maker one way or another? The lack of Fatora in other incarnations where Alielle is a less troublesome character could point to OVA Alielle having the potential to be a nicer girl overall. But on the other hand, Fatora being Adapted Out in other mediums isn't necessarily a guarantee of OVA Alielle having better behavior because some characters in Wanderers are still significantly different enough from their OVA counterparts, like Makoto (who figured out Jinnai was bad news from the start in Wanderers), Rune (who's younger and loves Makoto unlike her OVA counterpart), and Ifurita (who's a completely different character than OVA Ifurita). And in light of certain character differences from one continuity to another, it could possibly be that OVA Alielle might not have turned out to be a nicer girl, with or without Fatora in the mix.
• Angst? What Angst?: Fatora after being freed from the Phantom Tribe, also, nobody is too worried about family back on Earth thinking they're dead.
• Awesome Music: Both versions of the Wanderers opening, "Illusion".
• Base-Breaking Character: Princess Fatora is both loved and hated due of her bitchy attitude. Some fans find her moments with the other female characters funny, while others find it annoying and highly uncomfortable.
• Ensemble Dark Horse: Though drastically different from her OVA counterpart, TV Ifurita was apparently popular enough to be included in a radio drama taking place in OVA continuity (an alternative sequel to the original OVA), under the name of "Ifurina".
• Franchise Original Sin: Makoto's status as a Chick Magnet and the accompanying harem antics. In the original OVA, they were a sidebar that provided fanservice and didn't hurt anything, but by The Alternative World, Ifurita was temporarily out of the game, the writers had completely run out of ideas, and their attempt to turn the show into a Tenchi-standard romantic comedy was probably the biggest reason that Alternative crashed so hard.
• Jerkass Woobie: TV Jinnai, where we go a little more in depth to what makes him tick. During his childhood, everyone prefered his neighbor Makoto and his sister Nanami and he was often alone. Granted, his Jerkass nature still means he brings it on himself, but in some ways this makes his situation somewhat more understandable.
• Love to Hate: Jinnai. Make no mistake, he's a smug bastard but, if ever there was proof that tropes aren't bad, it's him. You'll be too busy laughing at the things he says and does, and applauding when he out gambits Makoto, all while waiting for him to get his just desserts. It's no wonder he's such a popular villain.
• Nightmare Fuel: Kalia is really creepy◊.
• Once Original, Now Common: By now, there's such an (over) abundance of Isekai anime that you've probably seen it all at this point. Young male protagonist gets transported to another world? Check. Magical, medieval world that the protagonist has to adapt to? Check. Harem of girls who develop feelings for him and get into all sorts of funny situations with him? Check. Assuming you haven't watched El-Hazard first, then by the time you get to either the OVA or the anime TV show, the series will feel like it's not breaking any new ground or providing anything you haven't already seen dozens of times before. However, El-Hazard does hold the lofty position of being one of the very earliest male-targeted example of Trapped in Another World anime during a time in the 90s when the trope was primarily only seen in Shōjo Demographic works outside of Aura Battler Dunbine.. In a way, El-Hazard is the first draft prototype which pioneered a lot of what you see nowadays in most Isekai anime.
• The Scrappy: Qawool is considered annoying by many fans, due to her habit of repeatedly ruining Shayla's and Nanami's attempts to get closer to Makoto. For others, she's a johnny-come-lately love interest, when Makoto already had Ifurita.
• So Okay, It's Average: As the sister series to Tenchi Muyo! and a Trope Codifier to a lot of Isekai Anime, El-Hazard can receive this kind of reaction from a lot of anime fans. It never reached the same heights of popularity as Tenchi did and compared to a lot of modern Isekai anime that have done a much better job of world-building nowadays, El-Hazard can definitely come off as being old hat. However, even with all of that, it's not considered a bad series in its own right and has a lot of good qualities including a lush soundtrack, copious amounts of Scenery Porn, and entertaining villains like Jinnai to make up for the fact that these days, El-Hazard wasn't quite as impactful of a Harem Anime that Tenchi was and may have been surpassed by a lot of modern Isekai works that took the blueprint El-Hazard created and improved upon it both in characterization and world-building.
• Superlative Dubbing: Considered the definite version by the production studios.
• They Wasted a Perfectly Good Character: Nahato didn't appear in the sequels despite the fact that he could make a good Big Bad.

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