The first impression that this anime leaves is that of the kind of OVA that comes a dime a dozen. That’s the first thing I noticed and soon I realised that it was the wrong thing to notice. Although this series starts like any other comic-fantasy anime with characters wearing stupid costumes and all, it actually manages to create a nice story throughout the 2 hours that the anime lasts. Although the usual clichés are present: big artefacts, big powers to be unleashed, bad guy out to get them, etc the story steers clear of a bad realisation and keeps itself interesting with ZERO dead times. The anime does not follow its title of Ruin Explorers which, by anime standards, would mean a series in which the characters get into trouble throughout several ruins while not following a particular goal. Well, it doesn’t happen here and that’s a very good thing. I have a slight problem with the series’ universe which had potential. A whole lot of potential if the action would’ve been spent on more episodes. The world is standard fantasy lore but it could’ve been very interesting because of the way the existence of magic is portrayed and the legends which are shown. It’s the kind of world in which it’s easy to submerge oneself. As I’ve said: too bad it wasn’t developed into a full-length 26 episode series or even a 13 episode one. All in all, the story and the way it is told is somewhere short of excellent. The chase for the artefacts and the realisation about their activation is extremely sweet. The twists in the story (ex: voyage at sea) are worthwhile watching.
The characters were good. Not excellent but good. I was impressed by the fact that in 2 hours the creators managed to squeeze in some development, off-course, not for all the characters but those that received it, received it well. The main character, like the story, had a lot of potential for a larger series because of her story and her character which reminds me of Lina Inverse from the Slayers franchise (the creation year is the same so I’m not implying anything with this statement). The anime boasts with an entire fantasy party: sorceress, warrior, knight, apprentice, merchant (thief), and wizard. Technically, everything you’d find in a standard fantasy RPG. The cast was enjoyable, I admit and I cannot deny the fact that the moments meant to be fun were indeed fun and the serious ones were serious, a major plus.
The technical part isn’t half-bad: the music is good, voices are fitting, and the animation is extremely good for that period (1995).
All in all, this anime is something that may give a wrong impression at the beginning but it is fun to watch, although it misses a lot of development which would’ve easily been obtained with more episodes. Too bad that it was this short but it was great. I’ll most certainly re-watch it again when I’ll begin my season of reruns in a year or so (when I’ll be finished with all the good anime to watch).
Conclusion: I was VERY impressed with this short OVA! Slayers meets Record of Lodoss War OVA and those are two very good anime.
Anime: Hikyou Tanken Fam & Ihrlie
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Fam and Ihrie are willing to do almost anything to make a buck. So when these debt-driven damsels discover the potential profits to be hand in recovering a particularly dangerous mystical object, it means mortal peril for an entire civilization.
There's no guarantee that they'll live long enough to squander the fabulous wealth they've been promised, and danger lurks around every turn as they cross dark seas in pursuit of legendary evil. Haunted by an unspeakable curse, plagued by doomsday prophecies, plotted against by untrustworthy traveling companions and looked in desperate race to gain the Ultimate Power, Fam and Ihrie are the Ruin Explorers!
There's no guarantee that they'll live long enough to squander the fabulous wealth they've been promised, and danger lurks around every turn as they cross dark seas in pursuit of legendary evil. Haunted by an unspeakable curse, plagued by doomsday prophecies, plotted against by untrustworthy traveling companions and looked in desperate race to gain the Ultimate Power, Fam and Ihrie are the Ruin Explorers!
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Adventures in a fantasy world setting, dysfunctional heroes party, slapstick humor, great Evil, that should be defeated...
TV Series, 1995, 26 eps, ,
Approval: 94.12% (34 votes)
reasons
Same style of light fantasy with many comedy elements, in tone with their Slayers DNA.
TV Series, 1999, 26 eps, ,
Approval: 50.00% (2 votes)
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by themug on 2003-05-05 22:28
Approval:
34.2% (5 votes)
This is a fun little adventure romp, fitting the 4 episode format pretty well. The characters and their antics are pretty enjoyable, the story is standard and overall it is anything but boring.
The comedy is light and not annoying, it is all about good vs. evil, comrades, greedy merchants, all what makes a small little fantasy world go around without being too formulaic.
Go watch it and have yourself a little fun and distraction.
The comedy is light and not annoying, it is all about good vs. evil, comrades, greedy merchants, all what makes a small little fantasy world go around without being too formulaic.
Go watch it and have yourself a little fun and distraction.
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female, , adolescentAn adolescent (teenager) is 13 to 19 years old., animal ears -- TO BE SPLIT AND DELETEDThis tag is set to be removed. Please retag the characters to whether the ears are real (a part of the character`s body) or an accessory and according to the animal they are drawn from. Examples of existing tags that should be applied include: "real cat ears", "real dog ears", and "cat ears accessory". Once the character is retagged, please remove this tag from them. Thank you., blue eyesThis character has blue-colored eyes., clumsyA clumsy person is one lacking in coordination, and as such prone to often having accidents such as tripping, bumping into objects, or dropping things. In female characters, this is often thought of as endearing., feline pupilsPupils that appear to be stretched vertically.
These style of eyes are commonly seen with fantasy characters or animals like felines, foxes, lizards, and snakes., magicMagic is the art of purportedly manipulating aspects of reality either by supernatural means or through knowledge of unknown occult laws., tailThe tail is the section at the rear end of an animal`s body; in general, the term refers to a distinct, flexible appendage to the torso. It is the part of the body that corresponds roughly to the sacrum and coccyx in mammals, reptiles, and birds. Please see the full tag description for usage instructions for this tag., yellow hairThe character has yellow hair. This does not map precisely to real-life blond hair.
voiced by:
Shiina Hekiru
female, , adolescentAn adolescent (teenager) is 13 to 19 years old., blue eyesThis character has blue-colored eyes., blue hairThe character has blue hair., energeticAn energetic character, often also called a genki character, shows great, often excessive levels of activity or vitality, and seems to always be doing everything extra fast. Genki characters are often slightly, or sometimes very, eccentric, and are filled with confidence and determination, regardless of whether they are competent or not; in fact, they often have little to no actual competence at whatever they generally do., magicMagic is the art of purportedly manipulating aspects of reality either by supernatural means or through knowledge of unknown occult laws., scarsA scar is an area of fibrous tissue that replaces normal skin after an injury. Scars are result of the biological process of wound repair in the skin and scarring is a natural part of the healing process., short-temperedThis character has a short temper, meaning he or she can get angry quickly., swordA sword is a long, edged piece of metal, used as a cutting, thrusting, and clubbing weapon in many civilizations throughout the world. It fundamentally consists of a blade and a hilt, typically with one or two edges for striking and cutting, and a point for thrusting.
voiced by:
Neya Michiko
secondary cast
male, brown eyesThe character has brown eyes., brown hairThe character has brown hair., cowardlyCowardice is a trait wherein excessive fear prevents an individual from taking a risk or facing danger. It is the opposite of courage. As a label, "cowardice" indicates a failure of character in the face of a challenge. One who succumbs to cowardice is known as a coward., hatA hat is a headgear that typically has a shaped crown and a brim; the shape and size of the brim changes with the type of hat. Hats may be peaked. Hats are worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory., manipulativeEnjoy controlling people without them knowing, usually tricking people into doing stuff for them, middle agedSomeone is generally considered middle aged if they are between 40 to 65 years old., mischievousThe character enjoys causing small irritations, pranks, and misfortune for others.
voiced by:
Ootsuka Chikao
male, dogThe dog is carnivorous mammal and a subspecies of the gray wolf. Dogs were the first domesticated animal and have been the most widely kept working, hunting, and pet animal in human history. Their value to early human hunter-gatherers quickly made them ubiquitous. They perform many roles for people, and their impact on human society nicknamed them "man`s best friend" in the Western world. Most dog breeds have been developed through selective breeding for particular morphologies and behaviours., mischievousThe character enjoys causing small irritations, pranks, and misfortune for others., selfishSelfishness is the condition of holding one`s own self-interest as the chief or sole influence and standard in decision-making and lacking concern for the well-being of others. Those characterized by selfishness are said to be selfish.
voiced by:
Ogata Ken`ichi
male, broodingA brooding person tends to dwell upon matters moodily and at length, mainly alone., orange hairThe character has orange hair., princeThe son of a monarch or a close male relative of a monarch, esp. a son`s son.
A male royal ruler of a small state, actually, nominally, or originally subject to a king or emperor. (In France, Germany and other European countries) A nobleman, usually ranking next below a duke., purple eyesThis character`s eyes are colored somewhere between red and blue., swordA sword is a long, edged piece of metal, used as a cutting, thrusting, and clubbing weapon in many civilizations throughout the world. It fundamentally consists of a blade and a hilt, typically with one or two edges for striking and cutting, and a point for thrusting., young adultSomeone is generally considered a young adult if they are between 20 to 40 years old.
voiced by:
Midorikawa Hikaru
male, arrogantHaving or revealing an exaggerated sense of one`s own importance or abilities., blue eyesThis character has blue-colored eyes., brown hairThe character has brown hair., swordA sword is a long, edged piece of metal, used as a cutting, thrusting, and clubbing weapon in many civilizations throughout the world. It fundamentally consists of a blade and a hilt, typically with one or two edges for striking and cutting, and a point for thrusting., swordsmanno description set, young adultSomeone is generally considered a young adult if they are between 20 to 40 years old.
voiced by:
Yamadera Kouichi
female, magicMagic is the art of purportedly manipulating aspects of reality either by supernatural means or through knowledge of unknown occult laws., mischievousThe character enjoys causing small irritations, pranks, and misfortune for others., purple eyesThis character`s eyes are colored somewhere between red and blue., short-temperedThis character has a short temper, meaning he or she can get angry quickly., very long hairVery long hair is hair from (and including) waist-length hair or longer., yellow hairThe character has yellow hair. This does not map precisely to real-life blond hair., young adultSomeone is generally considered a young adult if they are between 20 to 40 years old.
voiced by:
Matsumoto Rika
male, armourno description set, arrogantHaving or revealing an exaggerated sense of one`s own importance or abilities., beardA beard is the collection of hair that grows on the chin, upper lip, cheeks, and neck of human beings., brown eyesThe character has brown eyes., idealistThis is a character who represents things as they might be or should be rather than as they are., long hairLong hair is hair from (but not including) shoulder-length, up to (but not including) waist length hair. Sidelocks do NOT count as long hair., middle agedSomeone is generally considered middle aged if they are between 40 to 65 years old., psychopathPsychopaths are individuals who have an extremely strong disregard for both the rights of others and the rules of society. They are without empathy and remorse, and have very shallow emotions. They are generally regarded as callous, selfish, insensitive, dishonest, arrogant, aggressive, impulsive, irresponsible, and hedonistic.
voiced by:
Kayumi Iemasa
Group status
| Last Update | Name | State | N | Episodes | HE | SP | Languages | Source | Rating | Cmts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 28.03.2024 | AB-RMX | complete | 4 | 0 | ja en en | DVD | N/A (0) | 0 | ||
| 19.12.2017 | mottoj | complete | 4 | 3 | ja en en | DVD | N/A (1) | 0 | ||
| 30.01.2016 | MiniTheatre | complete | N | 4 | 0 | ja en en | DVD | N/A (0) | 0 | |
| 08.12.2013 | Sora-no Shiro [SNS] | complete | 4 | 3 | ja en | DVD | N/A (5) | 3 | ||
| 21.07.2013 | E-D | complete | 4 | 0 | ja en en | DVD | N/A (0) | 0 | ||
| 06.05.2013 | Freebooter-Anime [FA] | complete | 4 | 0 | ja de | DTV, DVD | N/A (2) | 0 | ||
| 22.10.2012 | CoA | complete | 4 | 0 | ja pt | DVD | N/A (1) | 0 | ||
| 15.08.2012 | SSP-Corp | complete | 4 | 0 | ja en en | DVD | N/A (1) | 1 | ||
| 23.03.2012 | AnimeXPlosion [AXP] | complete | 4 | 0 | ja en en | DVD | 6.48 (12) | 2 | ||
| 11.07.2011 | Armandex | complete | 4 | 0 | ja pt-BR | DVD | N/A (0) | 0 | ||
| no group |
Explanation by drasta on Tuesday, 24.01.2012 14:44