39. EL CAZADOR DE LA BRUJA (Anime)

Raw image by Kenichi Kanemaki, BEE TRAIN, no infringement intended.

Summary:
Hehe.. you know I won't pass up a Spanish title when I see it! El Cazador de la Bruja? That's obviously the Sorceress Hunter! I didn't even watch a preview of this show, but I watched it anyway. And to save you some time, here's a brief rating: GOOD SHOW. The reasons of which I will explain in the following article --- a mix of a review, a first impression, and a prediction --- so listen up.

Nadi, surprised, no infringement intended.

This show is about the outlawed bruja, Elis (or something like that), and her friend, Nadi. In the first episode, Nadi finds Elis, who now lives in a run down western/latino town, performing card tricks for money. Some men start to watch them, and this other creepy guy prints a large "Project Leviathan" on his computer screen (I don't know why villains do that), and smirks. The men trap Nadi and Elis in an alleyway, and point guns at them, but Elis wasn't afraid at all. She spins around, shooting at two men, disarming them of their pistols, and lead Elis to run away. Elis, who now shows her superhuman ability to jump higher than her height, surprises Nadi with her fence-jumping. Some flashbacks are played, so the viewers know that Elis, before running away, was an innocent looking young lady (she still does, even in her denim shirt). Elis had witnessed the death of a butler-like person in her home. There was a bullet mark, so she became the suspect. So Nadi and Elis had both gone to this old native woman for advice and some divination seperately, but the next time when they come together, they find the house in ruins and the bad men with guns now threatening them. Elis quickly K.O.s one man, but cannot prevent another from shooting at Elis. At this time, Elis reveals her hidden psychic powers, and turns the gun into a piece of molten substance. The man howls in pain and the gun drops to the ground, releasing a bullet that goes through that man. (haha!) The "Project Leviathan" guy peeps from the side and takes a digital record of the incident, while smirking (hate those characters..). Nadi and Elis go into the house, finding the old native woman in near-death condition. Old woman gives Elis a jewel (magical?) to keep, and wishes them well. Nadi and Elis feel they must leave the town, and they drive off to a setting sun. Episode one end.

Elis in psychic mode, Nadi with gun, no infringement intended.

First off the theme of the show is very well-planned. Unlike Venus Versus Virus, the two girls with guns are NOT the only people in their society that have guns (EVERY FREAKING PERSON seems to own a gun in the show). Again, the monster killing just doesn't provide enough passion as the term "outlaw" does. While VVV is goth-ish, El Cazador is cool and suave, with better colors and characters that do not have their bodies stretched. (It is also in HD).

The animation is one great example of what a high-production-budget is. No hentai crap, this ANIME is an ANIME, and it is what an ANIME should be like. The cute factor, for example, is fulfilled with both of the female leads looking so good (one with blue eyes, the other with light violet). The motion is almost never staggered, so the gun fights aren't corny. The colors, as I briefly mentioned above, are just fantastic. The whole colors theme is earthy (no neon, blue hair, popping up everywhere), but even when there are shadows and mud buildings in the background, the characters faces aren't blackened much. The main chars also don't wear short skirts, which gives the anime a lot of class. :)

Now, comes my favorite part about the first episode --- the music. I'm not talking about the opening and the ending songs, because they aren't all that great. The music played during the show is. This anime show, if viewed mute, would only be a quarter as good as if it were viewed with full surround sound. The full, rich background music is present everywhere in this show. In the beginning, the syncing of the low drum and the falling/splashing of a drop of dew is also priceless. I also liked how in the establishment shots, the music reminded me of .Hack//Roots (you know, the wooooooaaaaaaaawhoooaaa~ feel). The other music in the show fit with a latino feel this show carries. Although this show will turn a bit mecha/military later in the season, right now the theme that is created is very nice.

Nadi with creepy masked man, no infringement intended.

Now, the fact that when this review is written, the entire plot hasn't been involved can also be troubling.. WHO in the world is that masked guy in the ending animation? And why is Nadi/another hot girl locked with handcuffs? That's really weird. Hmm..

Nadi, in shackles?!, surprised, no infringement intended.

So, to wrap it all up, this was another surprise show for me this spring, it has a wonderful production quality (which is a prerequisite for all my shows), good overall theme, and some good plot leads. I am too tired to suggest you to go watch it, because I don't have the right to. It airs every monday. So, um, I'll watch it myself instead! :) (Unless you want to, in which case, go ahead)

El Cazador de la Bruja Review Ratings
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Popularity:

-Male: [60%]
-Female: [40%]
-Japan: [90%]
-RoW: [10%]

Availability:

-Spoiler Info: [1/7 (Blogs)]
-Thorough Reviews: [0/4 (Blogs)]
-Manga: [N/A]
-Raw Japanese: [1/1 (100%)]
-Possible Community Size: [4,000,000]
Jap: [2,200,000]
RoW: [800,000]
-Possible Fansub Speed: [Less than 3days]
-Possible Seeder Number: [500-1500]

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Total Ratings:

Appearance & Aesthetics

-Anime Theme/Colors: [9.3/10]
-Anime Aesthetic Direction: [9.0/10]
-Anime Script: [8.7/10]
-Watchability: [9.6/10]
-Attractiveness: [9.1/10]

-SS Ratings: [91.4%~]
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Review by SilentMic, research with help from Saiyaman.info and Baka-Updates. No directly copied text whatsoever. Copyright 2007.