Ifurita easily thrashes the high priestesses and the Roshtarian army, but when confronted by Makoto, she mysteriously cannot complete her assignment to destroy Roshtaria, and so flies away. The Phantom Tribe seizes control of the Stairway to the Gods and finally fire the Eye of God. But they cannot control it and so they too fail to destroy Roshtaria. Jinnai launches an all-out Bugrom invasion and overruns the countryside, but inexplicably he also doesn't destroy Roshtaria. Meanwhile in Roshtaria, Makoto and his companions continue to flirt and fight amongst themselves.

Then for a nice change of pace, after Ifurita thrashes the Phantom Tribe and kidnaps Princess Fatora- without whom they cannot use the Eye of God - Makoto, Sensei and the priestesses go to rescue her (again) and (stop me if this sounds familiar) Ifurita is ordered to kill Makoto but cannot. Jinnai launches an all out Bugrom assault on Roshtaria, which fails (again). And the Phantom Tribe takes control of the Eye of God again (would you believe-again).

Just when the Phantom Tribe seems on the verge of destroying El Hazard (say it with me-again), Ifurita counterattacks (what rhymes with Menachem Begin?-again) and kills Lord Galus. Jinnai orders her to kill Makoto (again!?), and finally, Makoto uses his superhuman control of El Hazard technology to disarm the Eye of God. Some people just don't learn.

Before it deactivates, the Eye, a deathstar with control over dimensions, sends Ifurita through time and space to Earth where she lies buried until Makoto wakes her at the beginning of the first episode. Having come full circle, the series concludes with Makoto returning himself to Earth and running across a meadow to embrace his beloved legendary demon goddess who has been waiting for him on Earth for ten thousand years.

Like prom dates who forget to turn their pagers off, "The World of Gleaming Light" and "The World of Endless Adventure" suffer from a serious case of climax interruptus. By the time Makoto and Ifurita enjoy their fourth Vulcan mind-meld in which he announces the magical deactivation of her obedience circuit, everyone has figured out whose superhuman ability will carry the day. Nonetheless, the first five minutes of "The World of Gleaming Light," and the final climax of "The World of Endless Adventure," are surprisingly involving, thanks to the most precise and dramatic use of art and music anywhere in the series.

Throughout the series, a bouncy, synthesized, pop theme song springs up each time the high priestesses enter into combat, and appropriately cartoonish, upbeat fights follow. However, when they attack Ifurita at the start of "The World of Gleaming Light," only a muffled synthesizer and an atonal drum machine accompany the combat. Coldly and calmly Ifurita not only defeats each priestess, but leaves them apparently mangled on the floor. The next day two of the priestesses lie abed bandaged and recuperating, marking the first instance when a fight scene is designed to appear brutal rather than comical

Instead of the pastel greens, blues and yellows that dominated earlier episodes, darker, high contrast hues define nights six and seven. Crimson fires with black smoke, rich purple and navy blue starry night skies, and russet colored brickwork abound. Even the lighter hues are more saturated than before. Later scenes use an even more diverse musical palate, including agitated bursts of cello and synthesized choral airs to convey heightened tension and danger. Though used inconsistently, for short stretches, these stylistic touches produce the most viscerally dramatic scenes in the series.

Although delayed and foreshadowed so excessively as to murder suspense, the dénouement of the series, in which Ifurita returns to the beginning, resolves a major plot loophole and elegantly completes Ifurita's personal journey from killing machine to woman in love. Director Hiroki Hayashi portrays Ifurita more consistently than any other character, giving her clear motivations, strength and directness, even when momentarily anguished. By contrast Makoto and his companions, portrayed as immature and temperamental during attempts at comedy, reduce members of the Roshtarian court to tears with their nobility and courage when one by one they step forward to risk their lives to rescue princess Fatora. The cast of "Friends" enacting the "Charge of the Light Brigade" would be less jarring.

The earlier praised stylistic touches are similarly inconsistent. The music and colors that produce the best scenes are mixed with scenes set to a synthesized zither. Ifurita's delicate features contrast sharply with images of Shayla Shayla or Jinnai who are drawn with the refinement of South Park's portraiture. Much as it interferes with the tone and style of Ifurita's scenes, Hayashi's relentless inanity actually produces a few hits amongst the misses. For instance, thanks to Jinnai's training, the Bugrom soldiers learn to meld into one megaBugrom. Little do they know that Fujisawa Sensei has run out of cigarettes and that without nicotine or sake in his system he becomes hyper-super-kung-fu-Fujisawa, and can now defeat even a megaBugrom. Sure they lack the sparkling repartee of Mothra- to whom they are no doubt an artistic homage- but megaBugrom and HyperFujisawa are better than yet another Shayla Shayla slugfest. Along with the reunion of Princess Fatora and her trampy, perky lover Alielle that's as good as the schtick gets. None of it rises to the level of unadulterated shallowness attained in "The World of Hot Springs," but it's worth a few chuckles.

"El Hazard" improved the moment Ifurita became a central character; and she is undeniably the star of these episodes, which focus primarily on her relationship with Makoto. Any story that wraps around to its own beginning risks predictability. However, resolving the entire saga with Ifurita and Makoto embracing in a moment of unabashed sentimentality provides a clear and simple closure to a series that was too often ragged and cluttered. "The World of Gleaming Light" and "The World of Endless Adventure" succeed on that basis, if on few others.