El Cazador de la Bruja

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El Cazador de la Bruja

Title screen of El Cazador
エル・カザド
(Eru Kazado)
Genre Adventure, Drama, Western[1]
TV anime
Director Kōichi Mashimo
Writer Kenichi Kanemaki
Studio Bee Train
Network TV Tokyo
Original run 2007-04-022007-09-24
Episodes 26
Manga
Author Hirose Shū
Publisher Flag of Japan Akita Shoten
Demographic Shōnen
Magazine Champion RED
Original run 2007-03-19
Volumes 1

El Cazador (エル・カザド Eru Kazado?), subtitled El Cazador de la Bruja (Spanish: The Hunter of the Witch), is an anime television series directed by Kōichi Mashimo and animated by Bee Train studio.[2] It is a spiritual successor of Noir and Madlax and the final installment of Bee Train's "girls-with-guns" trilogy.[3] The series has been airing on TV Tokyo since April 2, 2007. A manga adaptation began serializing in the Champion RED Magazine in March 2007, and is releasing chapters monthly.

Contents

[edit] Plot

A fateful encounter between Ellis, a fugitive girl with amnesia, a troubled past, and supernatural powers, and Nadie, a feisty bounty hunter, leads to the two of them traveling south together in search of the key to unlocking Ellis' past. The only clues they have are a mysterious stone given to Ellis by a fortune teller she was staying with, and Ellis' notion that she has to go south.

[edit] Characters

Ellis (エリス Erisu?). Voiced by: Ai Shimizu
Ellis
Ellis
A girl wanted as a suspect for Dr. Heinz Schneider's murder. She heads south in order to seek the truth of the incident, as well as to find her birthplace; based on the vague memories she holds and an old fortune teller's advice. Ellis has "Witch DNA", but her abilities are accidental and incomplete. These include superhuman strength, temporary levitation, and heating as well as freezing of physical objects. She cannot control her abilities at will, usually becoming active only in times of need.
Nadie (ナディ Nadi?). Voiced by: Shizuka Itō
Nadie
Nadie
A maverick female bounty hunter and a top marksman, she carries an old Colt Government Model .45 pistol as her weapon of choice. She holds an optimistic attitude but in actuality, Nadie was the sole survivor of an attack on her hometown. Working for Hayward, Nadie accompanies Ellis on her journey. Before killing her opponents, Nadie has a habit of saying, "If you have any last words, say them now".
Jody Hayward (ジョディ・ヘイワード Jodi Heiwādo?) alias "Blue-Eyes" (ブルーアイズ Burūaizu?). Voiced by: Aya Hisakawa
Jody
Jody
First appearing to be a member of the section in Central Intelligence Agency's accounting department, Jody is actually a mole for another mysterious group. For the first part of the series she is tasked with watching Rosenberg and uncovering information on Project LEVIATHAN. After uncovering the true nature of the project she breaks her cover and is assigned to work more directly to disrupt Rosenberg's plans. From this point on she is only referred to by her code name "Blue-Eyes". It is never made clear whether Jody Hayward is her true name or only part of her cover. It was Blue-Eyes who hired Nadie to protect Ellis.
Douglas Rosenberg (ダグラス・ローゼンバーグ Dagurasu Rōzenbāgu?).Voiced by: Kenta Miyake
Rosenberg
Rosenberg
A director in the Central Intelligence Agency and a shrewd agent, Rosenberg serves as the main antagonist of the story. He appears to have a great number of connections, using them at least once to attack Nadie and Ellis with military forces. He hired Ricardo to observe Ellis and Nadie and to subdue L.A. when he got out of control. While his true intentions and motivations never truly become clear, he always seems to be one step ahead of everyone else.
Dr. Heinrich "Heinz" Schneider (ハインリク "ハインツ" シュナイダ Hainriku "Haintsu" Shunaida?). Voiced by: Shinichiro Miki
A doctor of physics, he is a German immigrant who has no family and thrives on his study. He is a key player in developing and researching "Project LEVIATHAN" and was in charge of caring for and studying Ellis during her childhood. In flashbacks, he appears to have been generally kind to Ellis.
L.A. (エル・エー Eru Ē?). Voiced by: Mamoru Miyano
L.A.
L.A.
A mysterious young man who harbors a deep obsession for Ellis. He and Ellis are the last survivors out of the five whom were artificially engineered with witch DNA. Though he doesn't have witch-like powers himself, he does possess superhuman agility and strength. L.A uses metal threads as a weapon.
Ricardo (リカルド Rikarudo?). Voiced by: Fumihiko Tachiki
Ricardo
Ricardo
A taciturn bounty hunter who was hired by Douglas Rosenberg. He is a retired mercenary. In the later Episodes Ricardo and Nadie find themselves working together in order to thwart Rosenberg's plans to capture Ellis. It is possible that he either lived or worked in Australia as he is teaching Lirio to use a boomerang in the last episode.
Lirio (リリオ Ririo?). Voiced by: Marina Inoue
Lirio
Lirio
A young girl who is being raised by Ricardo. Lirio seems to be very attached to both Nadie and Ellis. She is not very talkative, only speaking in one episode.

[edit] Reception

Erica Friedman, the president of Yuricon and ALC Publishing, in her "End of Season Review" described El Cazador as "much goofier than any of the previous Bee Train series", "almost [...] a parody of itself" and commented that this was probably "exactly what [Bee Train] were going for". Friedman spoke highly of the romance between the show's female leads, Ellis and Nadie, and complimented their respective seiyū for great performance. Overall, she rated the individual character development higher than the "larger plot", which had "huge holes" in her opinion. When comparing the show to Noir and Madlax, she stated that "[they] were three different takes on a theme - girls with guns on the run" and that El Cazador is "not Noir with it's[sic] intense film Noir-ness [and] not Madlax with it's[sic] alternate existences and war-torn world. In the end, it is simply El Cazador, with Nadie and Ellis on the road." She, however, refused to name "any of them better than any of the others".[4]

[edit] Media

[edit] Anime

The music is handled by Yuki Kajiura. The opening theme "Hikari no Yukue" is performed by savage genius, while the ending theme "romanesque" is performed by FictionJunction YUUKA.

[edit] Episodes

# Title Original air date
01 "Running Woman"
"Nigeru Onna" (逃げる女) 
April 2, 2007
In an unnamed locale resembling Mexico, Ellis, a young amnesiac girl with mysterious abilities, is being pursued by Nadie, a female bounty hunter. Due to various circumstances, they end up traveling south together on the promise that Ellis will come along with Nadie after she finds what she is looking for. 
02 "Waiting Woman"
"Matsu Onna" (待つ女) 
April 9, 2007
The two heroines end up temporarily working at a café run by a retired female bounty hunter. Ellis gets kidnapped, but is rescued by Frieda. 
03 "Raining Woman"
"Furareru Onna" (降られる女) 
April 16, 2007
Ellis and Nadie take refuge from the rain in an abandoned house near the river, accompanied by the skeletal corpse of the previous owner. Shortly after, L.A. makes his entrance and informs Ellis that he has been watching her. 
04 "Targeted Woman"
"Nerau Onna" (狙う女) 
April 23, 2007
While being pursued by two bounty hunters, Ellis and Nadie take refuge in a convent. The sisters there are eager to offer them protection, with zealous disregard for their own safety. 
05 "Clothed Woman"
"Kiru Onna" (着る女) 
April 30, 2007
The girls' jeep gets sabotaged, forcing them to stop in a nearby village for the night. There, Ellis gets kidnapped by a bounty hunter assisted by a local girl who dreams of going to the city, prompting Nadie to mount a rescue. 
06 "Man in Love"
"Koisuru Otoko" (恋する男) 
May 7, 2007
As the girls stop by another town on their journey south, they run into Miguel, Nadie's old acquaintance. However, she is not overjoyed to him, as he had deceived her in the past. 
07 "Working Man"
"Hataraku Otoko" (働く男) 
May 14, 2007
The girls arrive at a fairly luxurious hotel in hope that they can get some decent sleep without interruptions. There they run into Lirio, who is waiting for Ricardo. In the mean time, Ricardo is instructed by Rosenberg to teach L.A. a lesson about controlling his obsession with Ellis. 
08 "Lying Woman"
"Usotsuku Onna" (嘘つく女) 
May 21, 2007
Nadie receives a gun shot wound when going out buying food. In desperation, Ellis uses her power to remove the bullet from Nadie's body. This event is witnessed by the son of a powerful mafia boss, who proceeds to take her in, hoping to talk her into healing his father's sickness. Eventually Ellis finds out that the best thing she can do for the old man is to tell him a white lie. 
09 "Digging Woman"
"Horu Onna" (掘る女) 
May 28, 2007
An attempt to evade bounty hunters have the heroines trapped inside an abandoned silver mine. There they meet a woman who is digging to find a silver cross, something that everyone in her family wants except for her. 
10 "Man Who Lives With An Angel"
"Tenshi to Kurasu Otoko" (天使と暮らす男) 
Jun 04, 2007
The heroines intervene when a man who runs a local franchise tacos restaurant is about to get assaulted. The man offers them to stay for the night and eventually recalls the interesting circumstance as to how he met his wife. 
11 "Cursed Woman"
"Majinau Onna" (呪う女) 
Jun 11, 2007
Nadie and Ellis encounter a village where denizens worship a fake witch. With danger of being discovered as a fake, th woman tries to befriend Ellis in order to strengthen her own position. When townspeople discovers the truth, they come to her mansion, demanding the money she has swindled out of them. 
12 "Shot Man"
"Utsu Otoko" (撃つ男) 
Jun 18, 2007
The heroines encounter Ortega, a man who collect guns and has himself holed up inside an armoured van due to his anti-government sentiment. Before long, they are attacked and forced to escape in Ortega's van. The assailants are assassins sent to eliminate Ellis by rogue elements within the organization Hayward works for. Hayward, unable to do anything else to stop the attack, gives the heroines one instruction: "The attack would stop at sunrise". 
13 "Hiding Woman"
"Kakusu Onna" (隠す女) 
Jun 25, 2007
The heroines end up in a town that is supposedly abandoned due to a disease outbreak. Nadie, however, suspects otherwise; which is confirmed when they discover a biological research facility nearby and are ambushed by gunmen wearing protective suits. Separated from Ellis, Nadie enters the research facility to find her but instead finds a shocking revelation about the other girl's past. 
14 "Maple Leaf"
"Meipuru Riifu" (メイプルリーフ) 
July 3, 2007
The episode goes over the events that led to the murder Dr. Heinrich Schneider. It shows the burgeoning affection between Schneider and Ellis, as well as Rosenberg engineering things behind Schneider's back. 
15 "Opposing Woman"
"Sakarau Onna" (逆らう女) 
July 10, 2007
The heroines meet Ricardo and Lirio in an abandoned hot spring hotel. There they learn that Ricardo is now out of a job, as Rosenberg is forced into early retirement in order to eliminate any link between Project Leviathan and the Agency. Following these events, the organization that Hayward works for decides that instead of having Ellis assassinated, they would bring her in. Nadie, however, has other ideas. 
16 "Angry Woman"
"Ikaru Onna" (怒る女) 
July 17, 2007
In response to Nadie's desertion, Hayward has her bank account frozen. This forces Nadie and Ellis to seek temporary employment in a tacos shop along the way. After seeing Ellis being harassed by customers, Nadie tells her that she should not be suppressing her displeasure when she feels that way. When L.A. appears before Ellis and tries to provoke her, this advice comes in handy. 
17 "Cornered Woman"
"Oitsumeru Onna" (追い詰める女) 
July 24, 2007
Not having alleviated her financial crisis, Nadie is forced to find work as a bounty hunter again. What she does not know is that Ricardo, in a similar situation due to Rosenberg's downfall, is going after the same target as she is. 
18 "Disagreeing Woman"
"Isakau Onna" (諍う女) 
July 31, 2007
Nadie accidentally breaks Ellis' amulet, causing her to get angry, refusing to talk to Nadie anymore. They encounter a roadhouse where an old man offers them a place to stay. It is soon discovered that old man is not what he appears to be. 
19 "Man Who Protects"
"Mamoro Otoku" (守る男) 
August 06, 2007
Ricardo's car breaks down, so Nadie picks him up to the nearest town where he could fix his it. A mechanic mistakens Nadie and Ricardo for a couple and offers them free tickets to a restaurant. However, it turns out to be plot to kidnap Ellis. 
20 "Captured Woman"
"Torawareta Onna" (囚われた女) 
August 13, 2007
L.A threatens the local police force and gets Nadie arrested. Ellis resolves to save her, with Ricardo's assistance. 
21 "Flapping Woman"
"Habataku Onna" (羽ばたく女) 
August 20, 2007
Due to Hayward's inability to capture Ellis, she receives a new order - eliminate Nadie with one condition - she must carry out order herself. In the end, Blue Eyes (Ms. Hayward) could not bring herself to eliminate Nadie. Instead, she shoots her cell phone, cutting the ties with the people that ordered her. 
22 "Awoken Woman"
"Mezameru Onna" (目覚める女) 
August 27, 2007
 
23 "Puzzled Woman"
"Madou Onna" (惑う女) 
September 03, 2007
 
24 "Dead Man"
"Yuku Otoku" (逝く男) 
September 10, 2007
 
25 "Saintly Woman"
"Seinaru Onna" (聖なる女) 
September 17, 2007
Ellis and Nadie arrive at Wiñay Marka (in which they've been seeking) and meet up with Rosenberg. Nadie gets seriously injured after Ellis loses control of her will and uses her powers against Nadie. In the end of the episode, Nadie and Ellis both confront Rosenberg. In the struggle, Ellis repeats Nadies favorite line, "If you have any last words, say them now", before shooting Rosenberg and ending project Leviathan forever. 
26 "Shining Woman"
"Kagayaku Onna" (輝く女) 
September 24, 2007
After Ellis and Nadie killed Rosenberg, they take refuge in a restaurant/house with a couple who are unaware of the fact that Nadie is a bounty hunter and that Ellis is a former bounty head. 

[edit] Manga

A manga titled El Cazador de la Bruja by Hirose Shū started serialization in the shōnen manga magazine Champion RED on March 19, 2007. The manga finished serialization, with only one bound volume being released on September 20, 2007.[5]

[edit] References

  1. ^ Interview with Kōichi Mashimo (February 2007). Animage: 49. 
  2. ^ El Cazador (Japanese). Bee Train. Retrieved on 2007-06-24.
  3. ^ News. Anime News Service (2007-01-06). Retrieved on 2007-01-19. “Following Noir and Madlax, this [El Cazador] will be the thrid[sic] installment in a series of what Director Koichi Mashimo has referred to as his girls-with-guns genre trilogy.
  4. ^ Friedman, Erica (2007-10-24). Yuri Anime: El Cazador, End of Season Review. Okazu. Retrieved on 2008-03-04.
  5. ^ El Cazador de la Bruja manga listing at Amazon.co.jp (Japanese). Amazon.co.jp. Retrieved on 2008-03-08.

[edit] External links