The titular explorers are the armor-clad, blue-haired, perpetually frustrated Ihrie and her blond, tanned counterpart Fam, who's a magic-user and member of a race of beast-people known as the Wiggans. As we see in the opening moments of Ruin Explorers, Fam's also a complete ditz, and her earnest ineptitude constantly stymies Ihrie's attempts at treasure-hunting.

Returning from one such failed expedition, our heroines dejectedly trudge to a local inn, where they encounter an unctuous merchant named Galuff and his dog Gil (who's an obvious tribute to Muttley from those old Wacky Races cartoons). Though Galuff exudes deceit from his every pore, he spins an intriguing tale of an ancient ruler who was corrupted by a force strong enough to be a legendary “Ultimate Power.” Of course, Ihrie wants this fabled magic in order to rid herself of a curse that just happens to turn her into a cute little mouse whenever she dares use a spell.

Suspicious of Galuff but desperate enough to buy a map off him, Ihrie grabs Fam and heads to a long-abandoned desert castle. Once there, they again meet up with Galuff as well as two other explorers: a disdainful sorceress named Rasha and a disinterested doofus of a swordsman called Miguel. During an exchange of magic, double crosses, and good ol' cartoon violence, it becomes apparent that the castle holds an idol which, along with two other treasures, will indeed unlock the fabled (and never properly named) Ultimate Power.

The overarching story comes into focus by the second episode, which sees Fam, weary of Ihrie's bullying, wandering off and meeting up with a prince named Lyle. As Ihrie, Rasha, and the rest of the group reunite in a search for the second of the three treasures, it becomes apparent that they're in competition with Rugudorull, an ominous sorcerer responsible for the utter destruction of Lyle's kingdom. Realizing just how fearsome Rugudorull is, the bickering heroes decide to band together, not least of all due to the fact that both Rasha and Fam have overwhelming crushes on the politely oblivious Lyle.

With its archetypal cast and collect-the-items-to-fight-the-bad-guy storyline, Ruin Explorers is firmly entrenched in the much-traveled realm of stock fantasy. Surprisingly, it's also strewn with engaging little details and characters that are likeable despite their lack of originality. Ihrie shares Lina Inverse's tendency to fly into a hissing tirade when her femininity is questioned, but she has a brisk attitude and a wary scrappiness that's far more endearing than Lina's cutesy overconfidence. Fam's childish naiveté is charming without growing stupid, Lyle has an interesting history and good reason to be moody, the prissy Rasha and boisterous Miguel have their own winning quirks, and Galuff is entertaining in his spinelessness and guile. Even Rugudorull gets the chance to step outside of his cackling stereotype during a grim and well-done final episode.

All four episodes of Ruin Explorers are nicely made, in fact. It's the rare series that rushes itself in all the right ways, thanks to a well-paced script and capable direction from Takeshi Mori (Vandread, Gunsmith Cats). One of Gonzo's few competent headliners, he imbues Ruin Explorers with a studied tempo that almost recalls classic Warner Bros. cartoons more than it does Slayers, and he clips the seemingly inevitable scavenger-hunt part of the story just when it threatens to bog everything down. The animation's decent for a mid-budget 1990s OVA, the character designs are crisp, colorful derivations from the original manga by Kunihiko Tanaka (Xenogears, Key: The Metal Idol), and the soundtrack has an uncommonly rich quality, performed by the Versailles Chamber Orchestra and composed by Giant Robo's Masamichi Amano.

While the Japanese version has fair performances, it's overshadowed by some superb work in the dub. Tamara Lo plays Ihrie with a wary, husky tone that fits the character exceptionally well, and Galuff has an appropriately oily patois thanks to Guil Lunde, one of ADV Films' few underused actors. Rasha and Miguel are voiced admirably by ADV dub regulars Kelly Manison and Brett Weaver, respectively, and Tristan MacAvery (Gendo in Evangelion) does his usual aren't-I-evil duty as Rugudorull. The only possible annoyance in the group is Jessica Calvello, whose Fam occasionally squeaks to the point of cracking. Matt Greenfield's dub script takes a few liberties with the original Japanese text, but it's usually for the better. The characters all speak in rhyme when chanting their spells, and there are smirking touches such as Ihrie upbraiding Fam for her “reckless button-pushing” or Miguel muttering “Capitalist!” at Galuff's zealous greed.

Derivative as it is, Ruin Explorers is one of the more pleasant surprises I've found in watching anime. What first appeared to be an unremarkable fantasy retread turned out to be an amusing and spirited fantasy retread, leaving me disappointed that there wasn't any more to come. It may be only a minor victory of trite storytelling, but it's a victory all the same.