Ranked #1633

El Cazador de la Bruja

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 (she does 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, the 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.
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El Cazador is a good action adventure that follows the trials and tribulations of two unlikely partners. Starting off as a normal snatch and grab job quickly takes a turn for the surreal as Nadie starts uncovering the truth. The truth of what? Only time will tell...




Story (Very Good)
Although it follows the same plot formula as the creators previous two anime series (Madlax and Noir), this show feels really refreshing and different from the norm. First off you will notice that it's set in Mexico, not a typical setting for ANY Japanese anime. But it is definitely a needed change of pace from the norm. As I stated before it follows the same plot formula as Madlax and Noir: Sexy gunslinger + mysterious girl + mysterious past + path to truth = success. You've seen it before but what will have you keep on wanting to watch the next episode are the characters and the story development, which runs at a perfect pace in my opinion. Theres enough episodes to promote story progression and background history but also theres a nice amount (about 3-4 episodes) to have some fan service. Unlike Madlax, the story is actually pretty interesting all thanks to the setting and characters that make up "the Hunter of the Witch" universe.

Art (Good)
One thing about Bee Train, is that they're not the best when it comes to art and animation. Overall the art is pretty good in terms of level of detail and amount of action there is in every episode. But at the same time you can tell they could have done better or you will notice that there IS better out there. But for what its worth it works just fine for the show and for the most part, I had no problems with the art. One that that should be noted would have to be that the characters generally wear the same outfits every episode. Kinda makes you wonder why they take a bath so often yet they wear the same dirty clothes every time ^_^. Its not good or bad but rather a funny observation. Aside from the quality, the setting for each episode is very unique and usually a new setting almost every time. So at least the settings are vast and different from each other for the most part.

Sound (Fair)
Another thing robbed from the "Madlax house of wrong" is the sound quality. Granted, the show is great with wonderful unique music and a top notch seiyu's but there is one BIG problem: the action music is TOO LOUD. It sometimes gets so loud that you cant even hear the characters talk to each other. Now I would say its an issue with the anime encoding but I experienced the same thing with Madlax and I've seen that on the Anime Network (cable tv). At least about 80% of the background music is unique and fit the situations perfectly fine but if it wasn't so loud and intrusive, I would have given an extra 3 points its that bothersome. All the characters sound perfect for their role, even Lirio. I don't care who you are you can't hate Lirio. The seiyus were so good, they were even able to pull off the limited amount of comedy in the show. "Yes sir"


Characters (Great)
Right away this turned out to be my favorite part of the show. The bad guys played their part as the believable bad guys, the good guys (oxymoron?) play well as good guys, and the neutral/mysterious characters were just enough to make the viewer think who was at the right and who was at the wrong. The cast of characters isn't too much but it isn't a small cast either. You're bound to find a favorite character somewhere in this anime. The character designs are also really good. The guys all look their part (tough, feminine, smart, etc) and the main girls all look cute or beautiful. The only way you can tell the girls apart pretty much are by their appearance (hair style and clothes). I really liked Nadie's character my only problem with her is her hairstyle, it's like she has three different styles going on at once which doesn't really work for an anime character in my opinion. But that doesn't really matter after you see Nadie and her partner work together. It's so cute, funny, and effective, its almost like ...It's best to see for yourself.

Overall, it's better than Noir and its way better than Madlax. If you like your anime with women gunslingers, this is most definitely one of the better ones in that group. Even if you're not a fan of woman gunslingers, give this a try since there is a good amount of action in every episode and you're bound to have fun watching this series as opposed to watching the other two I mentioned. I should also mention that i did manage to Marathon this series in two days and I would like to say this is one of the few shows that I actually stayed up with intent on looking forward to the next show.

A very good action anime with a great characters... verdict 8.0 read more