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. Someone out there can explain the hazy mysteries of Ellis’s past. If she and Nadie just keep moving south, the Hunter and the Witch will get their answers soon enough.In the fantasy-adventure El Cazador de la Bruja (“The Witch Hunter,” 2007), the heroines–Ellis, a blonde waif with erratic supernatural powers, and Nadie, a bounty hunter who’s sworn to protect her–ramble through a landscape reminiscent of the Mexican desert in search of the “eternal city” of Winay Marka. Ellis is an artificially created witch, the product of the sinister Project Leviathan. A lot of people are after her: Leviathan boss Douglas Rosenberg, the effete L.A., a council of hooded figures, armed soldiers, numerous bounty hunters, and a corps of blue demons. As they wander from town to town, it becomes increasingly evident that Ellis and Nadie are anime clichés. A naive dimwit unaware of her powers, Ellis recalls the title character in Key the Metal Idol; Nadie continues a long line of big-mouthed heroines in fan service costumes. Director Koichi Mashimo has an unfortunate predilection for weird camera angles, including upside-down shots, and little sense of story. In episode 4, a landslide across a road forces Nadie and Ellis to take refuge in an old cabin inhabited by the skeleton of its former owner. Two transvestite bounty hunters cut the rope bridge that links the cabin to the outside world. But at the end of the episode, Ellis and Nadie tool down the highway, having somehow gotten past the missing bridge and the landslide. (Rated: TV MA, suitable for ages 16 and older: violence, violence against women, grotesque imagery, profanity, risqué humor, nudity, alcohol and tobacco use; potentially offense religious imagery, ethnic and sexual stereotypes) –Charles Solomon
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March 30, 2010
#1
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.
March 30, 2010
#2
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…
March 30, 2010
#3
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!
March 30, 2010
#4
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.
March 30, 2010
#5
If you were to glance at El Cazador De La Bruja, you might find yourself wondering how in the world the wide-open desert, a couple gun slinging babes, slight supernatural themes, and a lot of behind-kicking have in common, you might just have to continue wondering at the conclusion of this collection.
Coming in at a total runtime of 325 minutes, El Cazador De La Bruja Part One consists of the first thirteen episodes of the show spread across two discs (housed in a pair of thin packs within a cardboard outer sleeve). The show wears an appropriate TV MA rating due to animated violence, some suggestive material and a bit of light adult-oriented dialog.
Language options are standard sub and dub fair, which means the viewer has the option of running the original Japanese dialog vocal track (stereo) or an English dub (Dolby 5.1 Surround) and the choice of displaying English subtitles under either track.
Extras in this collection and include textless songs, a commentary track with the English production crew over Epsiode 01 (A Woman On The Run) and a crop of FUNimation trailers on the second disc.
The story goes something like this: Ellis, a young girl suspected of murdering famous physicist Heinrich Schneider, is on the run from prosecution when she is tracked down by a female bounty hunter (Nadie) in a small South American town. Instead of turning her in to collect her reward, Nadie impulsively decides to accompany the confused girl on a journey south where they hope to uncover clues about Ellis’ amnesia-riddled past.
While in no danger of being mistaken for a modern day masterpiece of a plot, the journey of the bounty hunter and the amnesiac criminal are about all viewers have to cling to for the better part of the first 13 episodes. Clues that will (hopefully) eventually unravel the mystery surrounding Ellis are fairly few and far between initially. All the pair know is that they are heading south and that there are no shortage of criminals, bounty hunters, and other unsavory characters along the way looking to either kill Ellis themselves, or capture her for the bounty on her head. Nadie plays the role of protector/ guardian from the get-go and manages to thwart the evildoers’ efforts with near supernatural efficiency.
Though the main prose is simple enough in both structure and execution, viewers are given ongoing hints toward a second story thread development called Project Leviathan. While this thread is never solidified by the first collection’s conclusion, the ongoing presence of the mystery certainly hints to a heavier undertone driving the quest of the lead characters.
Additionally, and perhaps most importantly, the fact that Ellis is being monitored by several factions all the while provides an interesting sense of not only Ellis’ importance but also suggests that we will eventually learn how she does what she’s able to do.
The audio presentation is appropriately modest throughout with just enough inflection to place tension where appropriate. This is one of those instances where the original Japanese dialog track gets the nod as being the superior of the two options presented. Not to discount the stellar vocal work of FUNimation’s ever-impressive roster (in fact the native Texan drawl of many of its actors works fantastically in the southern setting), this is one of those occasions where the Japanese inflection adds to the mysteriousness of our gun-toting gals.
In all El Cazador De La Bruja (which translates to “The Hunt for the Witch” or “The Witch Hunt” by the way) is a solid, if not unspectacular, mystery laced romp that is sure to delight fans of shows like Noir and Madlax. The settings are rich and the atmosphere is good and moody. I’m just hoping the second volume (episodes 14-26) does an adequate job of solving some of the mysteries the first volume goes to great lengths to establish and hence makes the latter portion of the journey a bit more exciting.