Quest of Laizen



"This is a story that takes place in the Land of Laizen. In this Land, people are ruled by a government of Four people, known as the Evil Rulers. Being forced to live under the guidelines and rules of these Evil Rulers, the people are apparently oppressed, and cannot live an easygoing lifestyle. However, one town has decided to rise up, and stop this oppression..."

- Plot summary from the official website

Quest of Laizen (or "Quest") is a YouTube-hosted Fanime series by Anthony W.H., started in the fall of 2011. Chosen by fate, Nero, Raine, and her brother, Nero's best friend Abel set out to defeat the Evil Rulers and save Laizen from apparent oppression.

It was uploaded to Youtube and Nico Nico, where it was met with mixed reactions of horror and amusement. To quote the author "The quality itself is not striving to be good or enticing, but is relying on its cheap production values to create a feel of 'this is so terrible, it's actually pretty entertaining!'"

The creator claims it will be a 13 episode series. Current episodes you can watch on the series channel, the official website, or on English Nico Nico for commenting enjoyment.


 * AcCENT Upon the Wrong SylLABle: leading to some of this show's hilarious dialogue. "Quick guys! Let us form a strat-uh-GEE"
 * And Now for Something Completely Different: Episode 6, which centers on the Evil Rulers.
 * Anime Theme Song: The intro being from Denpa Onna.
 * Art Shift: In episode two, with the *ahem* improved character portraits.
 * BFS: the Ancient Sword taken "from the history museum"
 * Captain Ersatz: Nero's physical appearance is basically Emil Castagnier.
 * Cassandra Truth: Nero tries to tell his friends how he went to fight the Evil Ruler of Fire, and his encounter with MGML, but they basically just brush him off.
 * Catch Phrase: Count the number of times Nero refers to Abel as his "best friend".
 * Cerebus Syndrome:
 * Chekhov's Gun:
 * The Chosen One: Nero, through an arbitrary lottery which Raine entered him in behind his back.
 * Cliff Hanger: Episode 5 ends on one
 * Color Coded for Your Convenience: The Evil Rulers' eye colors match their elemental alignment.
 * Dark and Troubled Past: The reason that Nero does not want to go on the quest. Though how tragic it really is? Not so much.
 * Department of Redundancy Department: Often, especially this gem from the first ep: "This is the land of Laizen. Here in this land an evil group of rulers known as the Dark Rulers rule over the land."
 * Dull Surprise: None of the characters ever seem all that interested in anything that's happening.
 * Endless Corridor: Found under the cabin on Laizen Mountain.
 * Enemy Mine: Nero and Evil Ruler of Water get separated from the others, leading Nero to say "Our temporary truce is enacted".
 * Evil All Along:
 * Eyepatch of Power: Abel.
 * The Faceless: All of the Evil Rulers.
 * Fauxlosophic Narration: Episode 8 had a good minute of this from some of the Evil Rulers.
 * Freudian Excuse: Evil Ruler of Water.
 * Gainaxing: Notable for being one of the few instances of actual animation
 * Gratuitous Japanese: "Get out of here you Baka-Idiot!"
 * Hannibal Lecture: Evil Ruler of Water gives one to Nero in Ep. 4. How much of it was true remains to be seen. They are called "Evil Rulers" after all.
 * Heterosexual Life Partners: Abel and Nero. They are BEST FRIENDS after all.
 * Hot Springs Episode: Episode 4.
 * Killed Off for Real:
 * Mind Screw: Much of episode 8 is this. Also the end of Episode 10.
 * Mood Whiplash: The show is often too funny/bad to be anything approaching serious, but in episode 6 there is a moment at the end that is particularly dramatic, and well as almost the entirety of episode 8.
 * Mysterious Protector: Magical Girl Masked Lightning.
 * Off-Model: Constantly.
 * Petting Zoo People: Legendary Horse Master Sensei (though really it's only his stock photo head that counts).
 * The Reveal:
 * Smitten Teenage Girl: Raine, towards Nero.
 * Stylistic Suck
 * Training Montage: Horse Master's training sequence.
 * Trap Door: One that amusingly comes out of nowhere, taking even the Evil Ruler of Water by surprise.
 * You Gotta Have Blue Hair: Abel.
 * Smitten Teenage Girl: Raine, towards Nero.
 * Stylistic Suck
 * Training Montage: Horse Master's training sequence.
 * Trap Door: One that amusingly comes out of nowhere, taking even the Evil Ruler of Water by surprise.
 * You Gotta Have Blue Hair: Abel.
 * You Gotta Have Blue Hair: Abel.