Elf Princess Rane DVD

Go Takarada is a high school student with a singular passion: treasure hunting. Not metaphorical treasure. Actual treasure — ancient ruins, legendary artifacts, forbidden temples. He has twenty-something sisters who all look identical, a best friend named Mari who has long since given up trying to apply common sense to his life, and an unshakeable conviction that glory and riches are just one more expedition away. Things escalate significantly when he finds Rane — a tiny elf princess from another world who speaks no human language whatsoever and has arrived seeking the Four Treasures of Heart on behalf of her people. Go, incapable of communicating with her and fully aware of this, immediately decides she is the key to finding Salamander, his legendary quarry, and takes her along as a guide and advisor. She says things that sound vaguely like "cigar store" and other baffling utterances. Go interprets all of this as encouragement. Together they face a militarized fire department, a chronically forgetful elf witch, twenty identical sisters who have formed a rock band, and the sinister Yumenokata Foundation — which has a secret interest in Go's hometown that may or may not involve a giant phoenix made of public baths.

Elf Princess Rane is a two-episode OVA from 1995–1996 directed by Akitaro Daichi — the same director behind Now and Then, Here and There, Jubei-chan, and Fruits Basket — and it represents the complete opposite end of his tonal range. The series is a breathless, machine-gun-paced comedy that shares DNA with Dragon Half and early Excel Saga: gags arrive faster than the brain can fully process them, the plot is entirely an excuse vehicle for escalating absurdity, and the dialogue is so dense with non-sequiturs, anime in-jokes, and deliberately untranslatable elf gibberish that subtitlers essentially had to improvise. 

The North American DVD release by Media Blasters includes a "evil preview" for a third episode that was never produced.

Notable Staff & Voice Talent

Director: Akitaro Daichi (Now and Then Here and There, Fruits Basket, Jubei-chan)
Studio: KSS / Dangun Pictures

Cast:
- Koichi Yamadera as Go Takarada (Cowboy Bebop, Evangelion, Slayers)
- Miki Takahashi as Rane
- Aya Hisakawa as Leen (Cardcaptor Sakura, Battle Athletes Victory, Sailor Moon)
- Satomi Koorogi as Mari (Knights of Ramune, Ranma ½)
- Ryo Horikawa as Takuma

DVD Features

- "Evil Preview" — Unproduced Episode 3 Teaser
- Art Gallery
- Media Blasters / Anime Works Previews

Spoken Languages: English & Japanese Audio, English Subtitles

Edition Details

Japanese Title: 妖精姫レーン (Yōsei Hime Rēn)
Runtime: ~60 Minutes (Complete OVA, 2 Episodes)
Director: Akitaro Daichi
DVD Release Year: 1999 (U.S. Release)
Original Release Date (Japan): February 21, 1995 – March 25, 1996
Publisher: Media Blasters (Anime Works)
Rating: 13+
Region: Region 1 (U.S. / Canada)
Genre: Comedy, Fantasy, Adventure
Themes: Rapid-Fire Gags, Treasure Hunting, Elf Princess, Budget Ran Out, Unfinished Series

Media assumed VG+ unless otherwise noted.