El Cazador de la Bruja

To understand my attitude toward El Cazador de la Bruja you have to know a few things. One, El Cazador is the last instalment of Bee Train's "girls with guns" trilogy. Two, I've watched a previous instalment in this trilogy. Three, I got into El Cazador because I heard it had some f/f in it. Well, if you don't know from those three points already, I had some relatively high expectations of it. I was quite sceptical about this series after I finished watching the first episode because I found the premise ridiculously similar to the prior instalment that I just mentioned.I decided to stick around for a bit, and I'm really glad I did because my first impression was quite off the mark. The story isn't exceptional-- it's neither remarkably good nor remarkably bad-- but I think it serves its purpose well enough. I'll be the first to admit that there are some plot holes, but as you will see, other things make up for it a bit and in the end it doesn't matter as much as it really should. This series isn't very serious most of the time, so I was inclined to be slightly more lenient regarding such things. Those of you who are tired of some of Bee Train's slower stuff need not worry; El Cazador goes at a decent pace as far as things go. I think the animation is pretty good, but then again, I don't appreciate these things from a very technical point of view. And I love the character designs. Now, to sound-- the music part of this assessment is pretty darn easy. What it comes down to is this: Kajiura Yuki composed the music and I love her work. As for the seiyuu, I'm a bit more ambivalent. I like Itou Shizuka (Nadie's seiyuu) quite a bit here and Shimizu Ai (Ellis' seiyuu) managed to sway my opinion a bit in her favour with her performance as Ellis (whereas I usually cringe at her presence). And Hisakawa Aya is always fun, even though I'm not a particularly big fan of hers. I didn't find anything astoundingly memorable, but it was a good, solid performance throughout and many parts were... how shall I put it... rather cute (in the heartwarming sense and not so much as moe). I'd probably rate it an "eight" if I were rating the seiyuu only, but Kajiura's music bumped the sound category up. Now for the best bit-- the interpersonal dynamics between the characters, and namely the sweet (not sugary) subtextual interactions. It's great stuff if you go for the slightly more understated sort of thing (though it's also quite in-your-face at times). I think the most delicious part of all was the character development. Especially with Ellis-- you go into the series thinking of her in a certain way, and only in the end do you realise how much she's changed. There isn't one sudden moment where she just changes on you; it's a subtle process, that, as I've said, is great if you go for that sort of subtlety. I also love how some things were played up in the conclusion. The fanservice is kept to a minimum, for which I am grateful. I could do without it completely, though, since it seemed a bit incongruous to me in El Cazador, what with my experiences with previous series done by Bee Train with no fanservice at all. I think, really, this is one of those fun series where you don't have to think too much. The plot just carries everything along, but what I think ends up mattering most at the end is the characters themselves. The whole "intrigue" of the plot, in my opinion, takes a backseat to the characters' development, most notably in Ellis' case. And of course, you do get your dose of action and adventure to go along with it.

Here we are on the final review of girls with guns month. Two weeks ago I discussed Noir, a really well done anime from Bee Train. I also briefly mentioned that it has two spiritual successors. The latter one ran in '07. Six years after Noir. This is El Cazador de la Bruja, written by Kanemaki Kenichi. Does it live up to its predecessor? Story: Nadie is a bounty hunter on a mission. She has to find and protect Ellis, a girl with a bounty on her head. With some help from the elderly fortune teller looking after Ellis, Nadie is able to convince herthat they should travel together. Thus they begin their journey to the eternal city, Wiňay Marka. Presumably because it's holding the year's girl on girl tea party and Overwatch tournament. Actually, it's because Wiňay Marka may hold the key to unlocking Ellis' fragmented memory and the truth behind her mysterious power. Like Noir, El Cazador has a really strong set up. It quickly introduces the mysterious elements that will get expounded upon and eventually explained. It does so in a way that captures the attention and keeps you invested. Unlike Noir, however, El Cazador doesn't have any elements where the reveal is kind of weak. Its mysteries all have satisfying, well constructed resolutions. El Cazador may also exemplify what I like about so many of Bee Train's works. This series actively makes fun of two tropes I really hate. The first being the stereotypical gay characters which they poke fun at with a pair of gag villains. They do it pretty subtly too. You might think they were playing the trope straight if our protagonists weren't so blatantly gay for one another. They also poke fun of generic let down endings in a way that's absolutely brilliant but that I won't spoil. I will say, this series has one of the best, most satisfying endings I can recall. It's even better than Noir's and that one was fantastic. This series may also have the best romance I've seen in anything. The relationship betwixt Ellis and Nadie is beyond superb. It starts out being very much all business, transitions into friendship and finally blossoms into something more. Part of what makes it so good and believable is that our heroines fall for one another at different times with Ellis falling in love with Nadie first. Which makes sense since Nadie has to move past thinking of Ellis as someone she needs to protect for a job before she can fall for her. Their relationship also has very natural ups and downs stemming from various events, which may or not may be related to the main plot. Not only that but it has a lot of absolutely adorable moments. Just when you think that nothing can top the cute scene in episode 15, episode 19 happens. Then you think that nothing could possibly top that in terms of being a cute romantic scene but the series does. Characters: The main heroines are absolutely phenomenal. I love Nadie's flippant outlook and the way it occasionally masks the fact that she's actually taking something seriously and the writing is complex enough that you can tell when she's actually flippant versus putting on a façade. I like that Ellis is innocent and naïve in some ways but also clever and knowledgeable about certain things that she's more familiar with. The side characters aren't as strongly developed, but they've enough to them that they have verisimilitude. Even when they go by bizarre code names like “Blue Eyes.” I'm not sure if she's called that because she has pretty, piercing blue eyes or because she wants to have her face put in a children's card game. I actually really like Lirio, the child character, as well. I'm not normally a fan of child characters or children in general, but I really like the way she's handled. I like that we see her take inspiration from the adults around her and grow as a person thanks to their influence and I like the way the change is gradual and subtle, like the character development in general. Then we have our antagonists. Unlike Noir, El Cazador doesn't give us sympathetic main villains. There are still some sympathetic antagonistic characters, just not the big two. They're complex villains with understandable motivations, but they're also right creepy gits who have some small redeeming qualities, but they get heavily over-shadowed by all the ways they're despicable. Chloe was a villain you felt sorry for. L.A. Is a villain you want to see get his comeuppance and you kind of want to see it come from Ellis so he'll stop doing things like stealing her hair while she's sleeping. Art: The artwork and animation are probably the best I've seen from Bee Train. The character designs are distinctive and the way they do the eyes is incredibly expressive. It's like their artists took the old adage about the eyes being windows to the soul and decided to represent that. The action scenes can be strategically slow to build up tension or fast-paced and intense. The backgrounds are nice. About the worst I can say about it is that it does do the usual Bee Train thing of having odd angles because... weird angles are more dramatic according to some high up animator's theory. Sound: The acting is amazing. Itou Shizuka and Shimizu Ai are fabulous in the lead roles. They not only deliver the lines well, but they manage the difficult task of conveying the tension and chemistry between the leads. Which may very well be the result of superb directing. Miyano Mamoru also gives a really good performance as L.A. Hisakawa Aya is splendid as well in her role as Blue Eyes. The cast is just top notch in general. The music is really superlative as well. Savage Genius does a great job with the theme performance Kaida Yuriko did a sterling job of the music composition throughout the series. It really evokes the setting and complements the series as a whole. Ho-yay: In addition to the greatest romance I've ever seen inn media, El Cazador de la Bruja also has the aforementioned gag characters designed around taking the piss out of common stereotypes. There's also some indication that Blue Eyes has a bit of a thing for some of the other ladies. The stuff betwixt our heroines is certainly the most pervasive, important and blatant use of ho-yay in the series, though. Final Thoughts: Dammit Bee Train, stop being good so I can heavily castigate one of your series! In all seriousness, this anime is astonishing. It combines a compelling narrative with an awe-inspiring romance. A road trip full of twists and turns with a fascinating cast of characters met along the way. I have very little that I can say about this series that's negative and that complaint is very minor. I absolutely adored this series and I'll re-watch it periodically. My final rating is going to stand at a 10/10. Well, we ended girls with guns month on a powerful note. Next week I'll look at the notorious Dance in the Vampire Bund.

Have you ever watched a show that drags out its plot through marginally entertaining but ultimately wasted episodic stories? Haven't we all. Well, here is another one for you, El Cazador de la Bruja. It is a fun "Girls with Guns" anime, with a likable duo at its core, but it certainly eats up more time than it is worth. Nadie is a bounty-hunter, and she has just come across her next paycheck. A young girl named Ellis, who is wanted for the murder of her former caretaker, Dr. Heinz Schneider. Ellis is a mystery even to herself, with only vague memories of her past (shedoes not even know if she had killed the doctor or not), and strange powers she does not know how to control. After spending some time with the peculiar girl, Nadie decides to help Ellis find the truth about herself, though she insists she will still turn Ellis in later. Together they travel South toward the unknown destination of Wiñay Marka, a place that supposedly will reveal Ellis' mysterious past. As mentioned earlier this show drags out its plot, stretching material fit for a 13 episode anime to 26. Needless to say, there is a lot of padding, but that is not to say that it is not fun. El Cazador has a Spaghetti Western appeal, it takes place in a Central American setting (it even incorporates some Spanish into its dialogue), and indulges in the joys of the genre. From quirky characters to tense stand-offs, El Cazador has all the makings of a good western, and that is the biggest thing going for this anime. A lot of the fun comes from the show's two leads, Nadie and Ellis. Nadie's years of traveling as a gun-slinging bounty hunter have given her a wry sense of humor, which adds greatly to the shows enjoyment. Nadie always has a smart-mouth comment, even in the most dire (or awkward) of situations, and this really makes her a likable character. Ellis on the other hand is naive, but enigmatic. This odd combination of traits suits her well, giving her a child-like charm which is used to great comedic effect. Together these two distinct personalities make just about every situation they find themselves in enjoyable. Unfortunately, they still feel somewhat underdeveloped, dramatically at least, which makes the more serious bits in the later half of the show feel forced. Unfortunately, the show is at its worst when it takes itself seriously. The plot is nothing special, and honestly, kind of disappointing seeing how long the series drags it out (it is more or less like any other girls-with-guns anime). In between all Nadie and Ellis' Spaghetti Western shenanigans, El Cazador likes to cryptically tease its audience with bits and pieces of the main plot. The problem is that the viewers are given no real reason to care about the plot. The pacing of the show is too lay-back to build any intrigue, and the plot is presented through vague exposition that does little more than interrupt the fun of the leading duo's misadventures. Worse yet, the secondary characters are incredibly dull. This is especially sad because it seemed the writers were trying very hard (maybe too hard) to make them interesting. The obsessive L.A., and cool and calculating Rosenburg are the worst cases; they developed the least despite all their screen time. El Cazador's technical merits are just as unimpressive as its plot. Character designs are generic, the only quirk being the Southern American attire the characters wear. The Central American setting at least provides different landscapes from other anime, but even then they are nothing breath taking. The animation is decent and gets the job done, but do not be expecting eye-popping, the amount of movement and action is typical of a TV anime. The only thing that stands out visually is the strange camera angles the show uses in more dramatic moments. These shots were doubtlessly added in an attempt to spice up the shows visuals, but they really do not do much for the show, simply coming off as strange and sometimes out of place. The music is similarly underwhelming. Most of it is unmemorable, with the exception of strange chanting that usually is heard during the shows dramatic moments. All together, El Cazador de la Bruja is not bad on the technical-side, but it is certainly nothing special. If you like spaghetti westerns, you might want to check out El Cazador de la Bruja. It has a likable duo of leads, and their misadventures are at least entertaining more often then not. The settings and the bits of Spanish in the dialogue add a little more flavor as well. Unfortunately, there is little else that sets this apart from its girls-with-guns brethren. The fact that other anime that have gone the western route (Trigun for example) have faired much better does not help this series much either.

El Cazador de la Bruja or "the witch hunter" has been completed some time ago, yet I noticed there wasn't a review yet. Sorry that it isn’t perfect English. Story: The young (and cute) girl Ellis is on the run because she is suspected of murdering a prominent physicist Heinrich Schneider. She encounters Nadie a female Bounty hunter who is after the price on Ellis head. However Nadie decides to help Ellis and the two embark on a journey south where they hope to find clues about Ellis' past. Soon they found out Nadie wasn’t the only bounty hunter after Ellis. Furthermore its not just bounty huntersthat is after Ellis, because she appears to have "strange powers" The story evolves pretty quick which was the main reason I decided to watch this anime. It’s a light story plot, but the action, the characters and most of all the sounds makes this series worthwhile. Art The story takes place in Mexico which is pretty unique from my point of few. The towns and people are all beautifully designed to the place. Since Nadie and Ellis are travelling trough all of Mexico you get the feeling you’re on little expedition yourself. It made me want to travel ;). Sound To me Sound is very important, well despite El Cazador being an average series the sound is simply superb! Kajiura Yuki was in charge of the sounds and she really did a great job. The sounds are nicely tuned to Mexico style and the parts were Ellis powers come forth is filled with ear comforting music. The intro "Hikari no Yukue" gets you in the mood and the action scenes are also filled with heartbeat rising soundtracks. Character Another strong point of this anime are definitely the characters, I wouldn’t be surprised that there are allot of people who only watched this series to the very end because of Ellis. The funniest thing about her for starters is that she says everything what comes across her mind on an almost unemotional way of speech. If you combine this voice with a song she really seems to like (The taco song) you can’t help but to think Ellis is so adorable! It’s quite different from the standard ~kawai~ anime girls we come across. A second example is when she performs a card trick at the street. After she asks for money everyone laughs and walks away, Nadie however gives her some coins on which Ellis responds “not more?” Nadie the other main character perfectly fits with Ellis. The scene at the very beginning were she is confidently trying to stop a truck with her “charms” and is totally ignored (as a result she’s ofcourse pissed off ^^) gives a clear picture of what kind of person she is. They both make a perfect team. There characterises are definitely good but there are ofcourse also some minor points. There seems to be paid less attention to the rest of the characters, although they each have there own story, at the end it makes you feel it was just meant as a side show. Enjoyment I followed this anime when it was still airing, there were times I really looked forward to the next episode there were also periods I didn’t really care. To me it was nice to see the relationship between Ellis and Nadie slowly gives Ellis is sparkle of light in her grim and dark world, because I like that kind of things the story kept me interested. It’s not a bad anime and if you’re a Kajiura Yuki fan it’s a must have. If you’re someone that is very picky on choosing an anime think twice, because the good rating is because of my personal feelings of this anime. Overall If you’re looking for an anime with a deep storyline and difficult plots, avoid El Cazador. If you like good action, good music, drama and two unique girls then watch it. There is practically no romance in it if that was the case it would have been a 10.

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