Bakuretsu Hunters

Bakuretsu Hunters holds a special place in my heart as one of the few and better shows 2 decades ago.

While more episodic than I prefer for a 26 episode show, it does have somewhat of an overarching main plot that culminates in the last few episodes. The story isn't quite there, but the fun part is watching the lovable main cast deal with the good and bad sorcerers in the world.

And best of all? The uber epic opening and ending themes, "What's up guys" and "Mask." Watching either sequence still gives me the chills.

I went back to watch the ending sequence of the final episode ... where they played the full Mask song. Soooo campy, yet so good because of the sheer epicness of this song.

I really do love this show. The comedy is very tongue and cheek but yet it has a lot of interesting characters. It also has an underlineing meaning behind most of the episodes about family ties.

We meet the characters a bit forcefully with some being rather pushy and perverted and others being rather expository. They imply that they have been traveling around a great deal already and so some things have to be worded out a bit oddly so we could understand them. I do have to wonder why the girls end up changing personalities when they take off their clothing. I’m also not sold ... on their names being the names of pastries. It makes me think they should be French or something.

I wish Big Mama would actually explain a bit more about what the flash backs are about and who the male is that she thinks about it. I also wish they would say her real name a bit more then calling her Big Mama. No offense but when they call her that, I can’t help thinking about a large black women being called that instead of her. From what I know of, she isn’t even a mother to them so why call her big Mama?

The animation is rather nice, having that old vintage charm. Sometimes the characters look stiff, and other times it’s like they have runny egg symptoms. Carrot is the most out of control on the runny eggs images where his body doesn’t seem to want to keep his shape. He frails his arms around like crazy and at times looks like he’s actually broken or made from rags. The other characters don’t really have times like this (Well, the girls mostly do but not as badly as Carrot) so why change it.

The English voices are alright in a bit, though Terra and Chocolate are actually really annoying. They are high pitched and rather whinny. I don’t have much wrong for the males because they don’t hurt my ears. I fell in love with Marron’s voice, the younger of the brother. The scripts are pretty forced and end up having to explain a lot sadly, taking away the charm. Other then that, the rest of it is pretty tongue and cheek with the comedy. Sometimes, how they talk is actually way too hard to figure out. They end up mumbling or screaming into the mic which makes things hard to understand.

Bakuretsu Hunters is a fantasy story that largely stars five characters - the idiotic and perverted Carrot, the muscular Gateau, the pretty Marin, the spectacled Tira, and the red-haired Chocolate. Together they are the Sorceror Hunters, hired by a mysterious woman called only Big Mama to police the Spooner Continent.

By and large, the bulk of the series are stand alone episodes. The Hunters recieve a job from Big Mama, they go to some new town, find a new evil sorceror, kick his ass, and then move on to the next episode. These things are light and really empty. They aren't bad, they just aren't ... that good either. Since each episode features a different bad guy - as well as different side characters - there is very little chance for anything to feel like a threat or for the audience to get attached to the side characters.
As the series moves on, it does develop a larger, VERY epic-in-it's-scope, story, but even that feels hollow. The show's main villain is totally one-note, his motivations are lacking, and the conflict between him and the Hunters is almost never touched upon.

The characters themselves are really just empty and that's what bothered me most about the show. The basic idea of the cast is nice - there's a love triangle going on between Carrot/Chocolate/Tira, but with the caveat that Carrot isn't interested in either of the girls. They grew up together and so he thinks of them as sisters, but this isn't stated until the show is practically over. Given that Carrot spends 90% of the show chasing after women, it's hard to understand why he doesn't just give these ladies what they want when no one tells you WHY he won't.
Gateau and Marin have a sub-plot in that it seems like they're an item - or at least that Gateau has feelings for Marin - but again, this is never touched upon or developed. Perfectly good drama, wasted!

When it's all said and done, I'm really torn on this show. If this was something I had seen when I first got into anime - if this ever aired on Toonami - I'm sure I'd be a fan. The comedy is there, there's a touch of ecchiness, there's action, and the animation in most episodes is clean. There are the usual animation shortcuts - namely repetative transformation sequences - but that's standard for anime. The twists at the ending were interesting as well. But I feel like I've seen all of this before and seen it done better.

If you have nothing better to watch, then I'd be fine suggesting this. Otherwise, pass this up.