[Anime Classics]

Release Info

Released in 2000. Produced by Ajiado, Animate, Bandai Visual, MOVIC, and Nippon Columbia. Animation by Ashi Productions (eps 3-4), MI (ep 1), Madhouse (eps 3-4), Suzuki Animation Planning (eps 1-2), and Wuxi Maliang Animation (ep 2).

Series Plot Summary

Ihrie and Fam are two explorers trying to make a living by salvaging old relics hidden in the old temples of a long-lost era when magic ruled the world. Although Ihrie is a powerful sorceress, she has been cursed and every time she casts a spell she turns into a fluffy little rodent. In order to remove the curse, she is looking for the Ultimate Power that is sealed by three relics they must find. However, Ihrie soon finds out they are not the only ones who desire this power and while some of the competitors may be friendly, others seek this power to spread evil across the land.

My Thoughts on the Series

I love Explorers. I'm a fan of any anime based on high fantasy. As a comedy/adventure, Explorers has a great deal of similarities to Slayers (a popular fantasy anime from the 90s). The English localization even uses several of the same voice actors from Slayers. So if you're a fan of Slayers, Explorers is right up your alley! The characters are adorable. The comedy is cute. It makes me feel so nostalgic for 90s comedy/adventure anime.

Buy From Amazon

You can buy this series from Amazon. It goes for around $40-60 (US).

Download

Ruin Explorers can be watched or downloaded from Archive.org (Internet Archive), or downloaded via torrents from Nyaa. These sites are the best, safest, and most dependable resources to get anime for free.

Notes

• To cast the videos to your TV using AirPlay or Chromecast, press the button. This button becomes available when you start playing the video.
• The playable video is English dubbed. If you want the subtitled version, click “SHOW ALL” to find the “MKV” video file for download - as shown here. Then, with VLC Media Player you can select the Japanese language and English subtitles.
• Archive.org tends to be slow. Downloading Ruin Explorers from Nyaa is better. Additionally, Nyaa most likley offers a higher quality video, or even a Blu-ray quality video.

Notes

• If you don't know what torrents are, YouTube has tutorials. Be mindful that torrent downloads aren't instant. Depending on your Internet speed and number of seeds, it could take up to 24 hours for an anime to download.
• If you need a torrent client, these are the best (they're all free).
• The majority of video downloads from Nyaa are in “MKV” format, and less commonly in “AVI”. If you need a good video player to play these formats, VLC Media Player is the best (and it's free). It's available on every OS, including iOS and Android.

Is the MKV too big?

If you download a large Blu-ray quality MKV from Nyaa, it is possible that your computer or phone/tablet isn't fast enough to play it at full speed. In this case, you can use HandBrake. It's a free video converter; use it to shrink down the video. If you need help using HandBrake, YouTube has tutorials. Another option is to use Plex (mentioned below) because it automatically downsamples large videos when it streams them to your TV.

Playing on your TV

The easiest way to play MKV and AVI videos on your TV is with Plex. It streams movies from your computer to your TV through your Wi-Fi. It's a free app. Install it on your Windows or Mac, then install it on your set-top box (Apple TV, Roku, Fire sticks, etc.). Just note that Plex will only detect these movies in an Other Videos library because the “Movies” library doesn't detect rare/obscure anime classics. If you need help, YouTube has tutorials.