El Cazador de la Bruja, Volume 1
Description
All they have is each other.Ellis is an amnesiac with a bounty on her head, and Nadie’s trigger finger is the only thing keeping her friend from falling into the wrong hands. They’re looking for pieces of Ellis’s past, and every mile of open highway brings the girls closer together – but their special bond is bound to be tested. At the dusty border crossroads where ancient spirits and modern science meet, a storm of conspiracy is brewing low in the desert sky. Someo… More >>
El Cazador de la Bruja, Volume 1
July 30th, 2010 at 8:15 pm
This product is sooo boring that I quit it at the end of the first volume and just put it away ,leaving another thing for my hiers to dispose of. There is really nothing new,different,exciting…anything that would recommend one waste a moment watching it. The character designs are about average at best and even if they ran around bare bean and buck naked (there is zero fan service)there would have to be SOMETHING else catch and hold one’s attention. There simply is nothing to recommend this product to those not semicomatose and tied to a chair with their eyes glued open.
Rating: 2 / 5
July 30th, 2010 at 10:58 pm
Nothing against Funimation… or the developers of this anime… but it is pretty boring. I’m already 6 episodes on on this and I’ve already lost interest. The story moves at an excruciatingly slow pace So slow that you kind of just don’t really care so much for what is happening. Maybe it’s because I’ve seen this same story concept in so many other anime shows and this one just isn’t sticking out. This is like a mix of Kiddy Grade,Black Cat, and Burst Angel.
(Sorry short rant I have to get off my chest here)
There’s nothing new to be seen here… and what makes it worse is that Funimation recycles the same voice actors over and over and over and over and over and over again for all of their anime films and shows. I mean common are you going to tell me that there are only 6 voice actors in North America that dub animes? After a while the shows get so boring because it’s the same voice different character but similar anime. It just gets so tiresome and with their new takeover on Geneon and other anime film houses that made dubs with different voice actors… now its just going to be more animes with the same Funimation voice actors. I have nothing against dubs but I do have something against anime companies that recycle the same tired people to no end. There’s lots of voice talent out there… discover it Funimation.
(Ok back to this anime)
This anime is so so. It’s not bad… it’s not good… it’s just not anything exciting or new. The over the top gunslinger girl (Burst Angel) and her calm side kick with super human powers has been done to death(Kiddy Grade). Not to mention that this time the female side kick is an experimental test subject (Black Cat). They so happen to be on the run trying to avoid other bounty hunters(Vash the Stampede)…and the show has this weird habit of playing thematic music during all the action scenes(Cowboy Bebop…no wait! this is set out in some kind of western them with Vash the Stampede music I take that back…it steals more from Vash The Stampede/TriGun …. but at least Cowboy Bebop was a futuristic western). This series is a mishmash of everything else you’ve probably already seen. I don’t hate the show but I think they could have done a lot more to it than this predictable mess.
Rating: 2 / 5
July 31st, 2010 at 1:57 am
After seeing this on sale and seeing two episodes online I decided to give this series a shot especially since the same people made the incredible series Noir and the less than great spin off of that series storyline Madlax, sadly this series was even more lackluster than Madlax neither very entertaining or truly noteworthy to give it much praise. The series follows the genre of the Noir series having two female main characters on a quest to discover the mystery surrounding one of them while fighting off various groups trying to kill or capture the duo, the two females characters are Ellis a young amnesic girl with psychic abilities whose being hunted by bounty hunters and others and the supposed reason is she is responsible for killing someone. The other Nadie is a young female bounty hunter who at first is after the bounty on Ellis but after making a promise to Ellis guardian at the time becomes Ellis’s bodyguard instead. Sadly the storyline and even the enemies in the series are pretty moronic, unlike the Noir series and even Madlax to a certain point both of which had pretty decent stories that made you watch until the end of the series this one pretty much makes you just fast forward to the final episode. The music though is pretty good for the series and the animation is pretty decent too, the voice cast for the Japanese crew did superbly but sadly the two main character voices for the dubbed were poorly picked neither of them doing a real good job for their roles. So if you’re still interested in the series all I can say is wait like I did for the price to be a more reasonable deal before you buy this so-so set for your anime library…
Rating: 2 / 5
July 31st, 2010 at 3:09 am
In 2007, the 26-episode TV anime series “El Cazador de la Bruja” was featured on TV Tokyo. Animated by Bee Train (”Tsubasa Chronicle”, “.hack” series, “Noir”, “Madlax”, etc.), the series would be the final installment of Bee Train’s girls with guns trilogy which followed “Noir” and “Madlax”.
The series was directed by Koichi Mashimo (director of the various “.Hack” series, “Tsubasa: RESERVoir CHRoNiCLE”, “Dirty Pair: Project Eden”, “Noir”, “Madlax”) and series composition by Kenichi Kanemaki (”Glaxy Angel”, “Ai Yori Aoishi”, “Hell Girl”, “Negima!?”). Character designs are by Yoko Kikuchi (Noir”, “Macross Plus”, “Tsubasa RESERVoir CHRoNiCLE”) and music by Yuki Kajiura (”Tsubasa RESERVoir CHRoNiCLE”, “Mobil Suit Gundam Seed”, “.Hack” series, “Baccano!, etc.)
The series revolves around a bounty hunter named Nadie who works for Jody Hayward (who is an agent working for the Central Intelligence Agency’s accounting department who is keeping close watch on the antagonist Duglas Rosenberg, a director of the CIA). Nadie is hired by Hayward to protect a fugitive named Ellis who is suffering from amnesia. It appears that Ellis is a person with supernatural powers and has “Witch DNA” that gives her powers to have supernatural strength, levitation and the power to freeze or heat objects. But it can only be activated when she is feeling desperate and she and Nadie are in harms way.
Ellis is a suspect in the killing of Dr. Heinz Schneider’s murder and as other bounty hunters are after her, including a young man named “L.A.” who is supposed to kill her but somehow has become obsessively in love with her. It is not known what kind of bond he has with Ellis.
Meanwhile, Nadie and Ellis head towards the south (in an area that is like Mexico) in searching for the truth of what happened to Dr. Schneider, a man who was in charge of developing and researching Project LEVIATHAN and caring for Ellis and each village/household they stop at, trouble is looming nearby.
“El Cazador De La Bruja” features the first 13 episodes on two DVD’s. Here is a spoiler free summary of each episode:
VIDEO & AUDIO:
“El Cazador De La Bruja: Part 1 is an anime TV series that puts a lot of emphasis in character designs and the action sequence. The fact that you have the director Koichi Mashimo who was involved with “Noir” and “Madlax” in this series, you can expect a good amount of emphasis on the action sequences. Character designs by Yoko Kikuchi are pretty solid and artistic backgrounds feature plenty of old-style homes and buildings with good detail and shading. The series features a good amount of color, vibrant during the daytime, scenes that feature a lot of earthtones and blue hues.
As for the audio, audio is presented in English 5.1 Dolby Digital and Japanese stereo. Voice acting on both sides are well-done, with my preference being the Japanese dialogue as I do enjoy Ai Shimizu, Shizuka Itou and Aya Hisakawa’s voice work but Maxey Whitehead, Trina Nishimura and Clarine Harp do a good for the English dub. Dialogue is clear and understandable with special effects utilizing the front and surround channels. My preference for the series for both audio versions is to have audio set on home theater with stereo on all channels for a more immersive soundscape (esp. if you have a 7.2 or higher setup).
Subtitles are featured in English.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
“El Cazador De La Bruja: Part 1″ comes with:
Disc 1:
* Audio Commentary for Episode 2 “A Woman on the Run” – The following audio commentary features Christopher Bevins (Director and voice actor for Hans Schneider), Trina Nishimura (voice of Nadie), Maxey Whitehead (voice of Ellis). The three talk about hair color, the episode and casting the voice actors for the series.
Disc 2:
* Textless Opening and Closing Songs
* FUNimation Trailers
JUDGMENT CALL:
“El Cazador De La Bruja: Part 1 is an intriguing anime series much different from “Noir” and “Madlax”. Where the protagonists tend to be more of the characters that do the attacking or hunting, for this series, our two heroines are the ones being hunted. Where Nadie is the character known for her feisty-ness, ability to fight and most importantly her ability to use a gun, the first part of the series introduces a supernatural element with Ellis.
So far the series has been entertaining. Each episode is obviously building up to something that I expect to be quite intense for the second half of the series. The first half is just more or less establishing the characters and we see how Nadie and Ellis, who are very different from each other, becoming closer as friends during their trip to the South. Meanwhile, you get a sense that the character L.A. who is obsessed with Ellis, definitely is going to be a twisted character in the second half of the series.
For those who are expecting a much darker series like “Noir”, “El Cazador De La Bruja” appears to be a lighthearted series thus far but definitely has the potential to get darker. So, it’s going to be interesting to see how the second half wraps up the series.
Overall, “El Cazador De La Bruja” has been an entertaining series featuring a good amount of action and humor. I do feel that the first half are episodes focusing more on character development and that the series will obviously get much deeper in the second half. If you are a fan of the Studio Bee anime series such as “Noir” and “Madlax”, definitely give “El Cazador De La Bruja” a try!
Rating: 3 / 5
July 31st, 2010 at 5:43 am
I’m biased — I love El Cazador. It’s said to be ‘girls on the run with guns’ and compared (unfavorably) to Noir and Madlax. I liked neither of those; found something completely different in El Cazador. The guns, the violence, serve an entirely different purpose; even the plot is secondary.
To me, the series is about a group of people, all in danger, who grow, understand each other, care for each other, protect each other and become willing to lay down their lives for each other. It’s a slow process, and an episode may have no apparent purpose, other than to reveal an aspect of personality. It’s subtle, the characters playing off each other; it’s goofy, with standing jokes; the main characters are a wise-ass young bounty hunter and her equally wise-ass naive charge.
Low on action; low on ‘plot’; high on characterization. Unique, complex, touching. There’s nothing like it.
Rating: 5 / 5