Hikyou Tanken Fam & Ihrlie

Ruin Explorers are just like the name states: Something you look at in hopes of finding a treasure but you need to first search it in order to see whether you´ll find a treasure or just piles dirt. So what does this 4 episode OVA hide inside ?

Story: 7
The story takes us to a fantasy world where people called Ruin Explorers do their work in order to either stay alive by finding at least something valuable or they search for mythical treasures of immense power. In this world Ihrie and Fam are on a search for the “Ultimate Power” in order to fulfil their wishes. ... Along the way they meet a few other characters with the same idea on mind as them, a prince who wishes to avenge himself for the demise of his kingdom and you can pretty much guess how it all turns out. By now you may already think that there isn´t really much of originality in the story or the settings but the way the story is told and how it all unfolds is a rather refreshing return to the good old days when fantasy anime were still all about magic and monsters rather than fanservice and commerciality. But I would also lie if I said that this show is perfect. It has it´s minor setbacks and not all things are cleared or explained in the end but the ending is nice and satisfactory never the less.

Characters: 7
The number of characters in this show is rather low but who´d need more in a 4 episode OVA, right ? The main duo Ihrie and Fam are done nicely, each having their own distinctive personality which only contributes to the old days of fantasy anime. Ihrie being the headstrong tomboy with mild temper and swords flying around while Fam is the gentle and innocent type that would never hurt a fly and is the main source of “accidents” which put a smile on your face. The rest of the supporting characters are pretty much as you´d expect them to be. You have the rivals, the greedy merchant, the arch-villain and a handsome prince looking for revenge. The downside (more or less) is that none of the characters is actually looked at deeply. Meaning that aside from a glimpse of Ihries´ and the princes´ background there isn´t almost any character development.

Art: 7
The art is the same as the entire anime – old school. The character models, the backgrounds, the depth of the colours or the details. Everything is as it should be considering the age of this anime. It all smells of nostalgia and the good old days of anime like Slayers or Gokudou-kun Manyuuki. Of course, it´s no eye-candy like today's shows but it has it´s own ring to it and if you aren´t an addict to the modern looks of anime this will hardy be a distraction or a negative for you.

Sound: 7
The OP and the ED are nice but you´ll probably skip them after the first time hearing them. They too are in the tone of the old ways but that doesn´t mean they´re bad, just that they aren´t that good either, but how can you judge until you hear it for yourself, no ?

Enjoyment: 8
It was rather nice to once again see a fantasy anime that actually is a fantasy anime. Don´t get me wrong, I have nothing against modern fantasy anime but it´s just that the old ones seem to be a bit more true to the genre than the modern ones. All in all, the show was entertaining despite how short it was so I don´t see a reason why not give it a try.

Overall: 7
Ruin Explorers is a nice yet short anime that isn´t that great and doesn´t really stand out that much yet it still manages to bee good enough to entertain you for the entire run of the 4 episodes. The story is nice (yet maybe not so original), the characters are likeable, the art is nothing to be afraid of and the sound is also nothing horrible. So, what are you still waiting for ? ^^

Re-watchability: 3/5
(5)- Anywhere, anytime, as many times as you like!
(4)-Definitely worth seeing more than 3 times…
(3)-Once for regular viewer, 2 (or even 3) times for a fan.
(2)- Seeing once is more than enough.
(1)- Impossible to even reach the end…

Story:
Stereotypical classic JRPG nonsense. Heroes are on a quest to retrieve a set of magical items that a powerful villain is searching for as well. Beyond that are plot points that become disposed of quickly and by the end of the 2 hour run-time you're comfortable not knowing the ending to a few sub-plots. The narrative doesn't take itself very seriously with a plethora of jokes hackneyed throughout, and at the points it becomes somewhat serious it's still rather basic and doesn't try anything fancy. Straight forward, but not schlock. Thank goodness. All of this comes together to become a check-list of classic fantasy adventure ... tropes that get checked off one by one. That's alright, since I wasn't really asking for much more after 2 episodes in. It satisfied me enough and I found it pretty enjoyable, even if one episode ends with the characters ship-wrecked and the next episode starts with them in the middle of a desert.


Art:
I really enjoy the 90's rough sketch look of this anime but with that comes some other lazy animation decisions. For instance, the action is non-existent. It became very evident that after the first episode I wouldn't be witnessing a shred of combat. I believe there are roughly 3 sequences of actual hack-and-slash while the rest are the heroes surrounding by creatures (a very limited bestiary, by the way) and then the next scene the creatures are defeated. Again, not to bothersome. None of it really questioned my intelligence or made me feel like I missed out on anything. Rather, it's like a check-list similar to the tropes that needed to be knocked off in the story.

The setting is largely barren and uninspired. Deserts are easy to animated. Oceans are easy to animate. Destroyed locations are easy to animate because it's rubble. I would have appreciated some more, I don't know, 'definition' to the setting, but that would require another episode to elaborate on some certain aspects, such as "this swamp has X history and Y lore and so we must be careful." And then it turns into filler. More of a story critique, but how the art is handled can affect the story.


Sound:
The Soundtrack was actually pretty good, but after 4 episodes it's repeat songs that lose their effect. Unfortunate, as the directive approach towards the music was pretty fantastical and had adventure at it's core. Very cool, but wears thin quick.

Sound effects were forgettable and all stock stuff everyone has heard before. One creature repeated the same battle-cry over and over and it became less so intimidating and more-so irritating. I couldn't wait for it to die.


Character:
Sufficient. Ihrie was quite interesting but the narrative shifts its leads haflway in and she gets put on the backburner. A shame, but nothing could be done. The narrative introduces Lyle in the second episode who becomes the backbone of the stories progression, so it couldn't be helped that the original 2 characters get knocked back.

Everyone is stock. There's nothing all that interesting here. It's just basic but in the end gets the job done.


Enjoyment:
Content. It was neat. Had the run time been more than 4 episodes I can guarantee that my interest would have waned.


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Before the review: This show, like many older shows, contains flashing scenes which may trigger seizures in some people, and which many others will find distracting or annoying.

If you're looking for that special something that some 90's anime stories have that you can't find anymore look elsewhere because there is none of it here. With the exception of 2 or 3 quirks you've probably already seen, heard, or read this before. Whether or not it was clever for its time the writing has aged terribly.

The animation was surprisingly satisfying, not just from the innate charm that pre-digital art has, but also because this ... show is better about not using pan / zoom / still filler effects than most other anime of the time, at the very least they're not for very long. Only having 4 episodes and being released over a long period of time probably has something to do with that, even so the animators' efforts deserve recognition for making something that at least isn't jarring to watch nearly 30 years later.

Still not worth suffering through the plot. Not recommended.