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Monday, October 23, 2017

Seikou Nagaoka -- Main Theme to "Shinpi no Sekai El-Hazard"(神秘の世界エルハザード)

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Some months ago, my friend showed me an OVA from over 20 years ago called "Shinpi no Sekai El-Hazard" (The Magnificent World of El-Hazard). With a world named El-Hazard, it's pretty much a foregone conclusion that there will be plenty of adventure, desired or not.


I was informed that the first OVA from October 1995 was the only good part of the franchise with the subsequent full programs not living up to the original. Well, I'm not sure if the very first "El-Hazard" has been considered an obscure classic but it was a fun trip. What more can you ask for in an old-fashioned anime adventure in an ancient land? Thrills, romance, laughs, crossdressing, yuri, giant bugs and a maniacal villain in the form of a jerkass high school senior. If there had been a live-action version done in Hollywood, I would have cast a young Jim Carrey as the high school senior.

Plus, there was the orchestral opening theme by Seikou Nagaoka(長岡成貢). Simply called "Main Theme", it just has that feeling of epicness in ancient Egypt. The music is just asking listeners and viewers to come along through the deserts and oases while fighting any hordes of villains. One could have even thrust the theme into a few scenes of "Raiders of the Lost Ark" while John Williams was not looking. There were the sung ending themes but it's been Nagaoka's main theme that has stuck in my head all these months. The theme can be found in the soundtrack for the OVA "Shinpi no Sekai El-Hazard Ongakuhen"(「神秘の世界エルハザード」 音楽篇).


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