El Hazard is divided in two, a good side and a bad side; turns out Makotos friends (who happened to be on the school grounds when he was transported) are transported along with him to the good side and somehow gain special powers in the process. Oh and of course Makotos arch nemesis (although Makoto doesn't understand why he is) is transported to the bad side and promptly installed as the leader of the invasion of the good side.
The animation is ok, nothing special but cute girls and stuff. Sound is average.
The story might have potential but is ruined by all the complete trash thrown into it, maybe I'm weird and don't understand it but frankly, I don't like an anime because the girls throw themselves at the main character, because there are lesbian girls all trying to get to the nonlesbian girls and because the men are indecisive to a fault. ;) This seems to be how El Hazard tries to sell itself but it comes through as poor taste and simply annoying to me. Sure, it CAN be good but then you need to keep it within limits.
The second part of El Hazard: Magnificent World is better than the first, while shorter the story is more engaging, the characters better and the obsession with lesbian relations a bit less apparent. If you saw the original El Hazard you probably want to see this one too, especially if you liked it.