Ruin Explorers (秘境探検ファム&イーリー), also known as Ruin Explorers Fam & Ihrie, is a four episode 1995 OVA by ANIMATE and Asia-Do. It is set in a fantasy environment and stars Fam and Ihrie, two female treasure hunters working to find the "Ultimate Power".
Plot
The story is set in a fantasy world built atop the remnants of a long-fallen magical civilization, whose advanced powers were lost after a devastating war. In the present day, most people regard that era as legend, but adventurers known as Ruin Explorers continue to scour ancient ruins in search of surviving relics. Among them are Fam and Ihrie, two debt-ridden treasure hunters willing to take on dangerous jobs for the promise of profit. Their latest quest draws them into the hunt for the so-called "Ultimate Power," a legendary artifact said to grant any wish to its possessor.
As Fam and Ihrie pursue this object, they become entangled with other explorers and factions, each driven by their own motives, including revenge, ambition, and the desire to save entire nations. Their journey takes them across perilous seas and cursed ruins, where ancient magic, monsters, and political conspiracies threaten not only their lives, but the stability of the world itself.
Characters
- Ihrie (イーリー)
- A sorceress and swordfighter who acts a bit like a tomboy. She was once cursed as a child, when she was the apprentice to a cruel magician, which causes her to transform into a mouse any time she uses magic. As such, her prime motives for acquiring the Ultimate Power are 1) to lift her curse, 2) to get revenge on her old master, and 3) to conquer the world.
- Fam (ファム)
- An immature, air-headed and optimistic girl with pointy elf-like ears, fangs, and a cat-like tail, making her resemble a catgirl. She is a Wiccan sorceress who calls on the spirits of nature to perform magic. Fam is unwilling to use her magic for destructive means because the spirits disapprove of such uses and as such might not “talk” to her any longer. This would result in her losing her magic abilities.
- Lyle (ラエル)
- The prince of a lost kingdom, set out for revenge against Ruguduroll.
- Rasha (ラーシャ)
- Another female treasure hunter, coupled with Miguel and rivaling Fam and Ihrie. She is a sorceress, but does not share the weaknesses of a curse nor fear of animosity with the spirits. However, she does have a strong fear of mice, which can be especially crippling after Ihrie has been transformed by her curse.
- Miguel (ミゲル)
- A powerful swordsman and treasure hunter, accompanying Rasha. He is vain and boastful, claiming that nobody has ever cut him, and that he has defeated fifty cavalry men at once.
- Galuff (ガルフ)
- A selfish merchant who constantly deceives the other characters in order to obtain treasure or money, always followed by his dog, Gil. He is also a coward, and only comes with the rest of the group because he either sees something in it for him, or does not want to be left alone in dangerous areas. However, he is highly knowledgeable and thus rather valued by the explorers as a source of information.
- Ruguduroll (ルグドゥル)
- The main antagonist, a powerful magician that ruined Lyle's kingdom and is out to obtain the Ultimate Power.
Episodes
The opening theme is "Magical Beat!" by Rica Matsumoto. For Episodes 1–3, the ending theme is "Dear Myself - A Time Capsule to Myself" (Dear Myself〜私だけのタイムカプセル) by Kumi Konno. For Episode 4, the ending theme is "Magical Beat!" by Rica Matsumoto.