Ranivus

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

Imperturbable

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.