(L) El Cazador

[monir]

Production Company: Bee Train

Genre: Action-Heroine who isn't a drama queen!

Expected Release Date: April 2007

Website: http://www.elcazador.tv/

It's a Bee Train production. Some anime fans squirm at the mention of Bee Train and for a good reason too. Their resume read that most of their work are to do "in between animation" which, ironically, also reflects the quality of the series they have produced. Those series are also in between good-&-bad quality wise. Thankfully, I'm also one of those fans who actually likes Bee Train. Madlax happens to be one of my favorite series. Arc the Lad wasn't bad either. Hence, I'm looking forward to this upcoming series by them.

The director for the show is going to be Mashimo Koichi who also directed Madlax and Noir which are also Bee Train production. Music, series composition, and character design will be done by Kajiura Yuki, Kanemaki Kenichi and Kikuchi Yoko in respect. I'm hoping Lunar and Anbu will pick this series up as a joint venture. Their translation/editing job was so wonderful for Madlax that I still have the subs for it.

There is a short synopsis posted in Toua's blog which was apparently translated by Sylf. I'm guessing he is the same Sylf from Froth-Bite.

It’s about a girl named Elis, who finds herself on the run from the so called Hunters of the underground society due to being a suspect of a murder. She meets up with a bounty hunter named Nadi who offers her help and guidance to pursue the truth of her past. For some reason the Hunters are now after her as well.

A 2nd version of the synopsis is translated by Toua in this post:

In the underground world, an enourmous reward was placed on the head of a girl named Ellis who's a suspect of murdering a physicist Heinz Schneider.

Coincidentally, Ellis is saved from other bounty hunters by a bounty hunter named Nadi who finds her in a country town in Mexico. She escapes southwards after learning the truth of the matter. She expects to find a place there called Hometown where she was supposedly born. Ellis is convinced that if she goes there she can figure out her unknown past. Her only leads through her fate are the Inca rose gemstone and a mysterious word Uinyaimarka (ウイニャイマルカ - not sure how to transliterate). Nadi volunteers to become her guide even though she was originally chasing her.

Thus the journey of a girl with a prize on her head and a strange bounty hunter will begin.

Looking forward to it! Btw, the website has nothing on it yet, not even a picture!

edit: stole picture from Sonhex who beat Martanime fair and square by an entire 3-minute margin, and added Yuki-san's name!

edit 2: Added another version of synopsis, mighty thanks to Toua for the effort!

[Copy Ninja Kakashi]

whoo goods news hopefully Yuki will do the music

[Sonhex]

Isn't she confirmed as doing the music? Couple of pics of Nadi (who seems like a hybrid of Madlax and Layla)...

Spoiler for Nadi:

Well I enjoyed Madlax (well up until they killed off my two favourite characters) and Noir is classic. This one seems to be Western themed?

[MartAnimE]

Here are some pics:





edit: lol Sonhex got the pics first! I think Ellis looks like a mix between Kirika and Mireille from Noir and Nadi looks like a mix between Madlax and Margaret from Madlax actually! Oh and if you bring in Avenger to it too, then Ellis has a bit of Nei in it too and Nadi a bit of Layla Ashley!

[Sonhex]

Lol, but you got the full version of the second pic! Hmm...Ellis does look a bit like an older Nei though, minus the disimilar eye colour.

[MrProphet]

The problem with BeeTrain is not with animation, which is usually passable, but with the fact that most of their stories are BORING.

I am somewhat tired of relying on the ever-present Yuki Kajiura for the source of excitement about Koichi Mashimo's shows. Because frankly, there is scant else to be excited about. The short synopsis above sounds like Noir-meets-Madlax, and that's not a good thing.

[NoSanninWa]

I disagree with your assessment of problem with Bee Train. I like Bee Train's animation and their stories. The problem is that it is the same darn story again and again and again! They change the characters and the setting, but the story is always the same.

It is the quest for identity in a video game, or the quest for identity as an assassin, or... you get the idea. And the answer to that quest is always the same even though the querent keeps changing.

It was a good story the first few times, but it is getting really stale by the time they reached Madlax. I really want to see something different from them.

[MrProphet]

OK, that too, but I was not excited by BeeTrain's story from the start. Noir was already repetitive and completely devoid of any plot in its middle and was their start...

I did, though, watch Noir and .hack with some interest when they came out because quite frankly, See-Saw and ALI Project were a novelty in those days, so it was exciting because nothing like "Canta per me" or "The Key of the Twilight" were ever heard before. In addition to that, .hack used to have Yoshiyuki Sadamoto's character designs, which were another plus.

By the time of Avenger and Madlax, Kajiura's novelty has worn off and the old story simply did not have any new redeeming elements that were worth sticking around for. And Tsubasa... ugh... let us just say that it was beyond even a distant possibility for me to enjoy it.

El Cazador does seem to have appealing character designs (just basing that off the images above, though), so maybe... maybe. As usual, I will watch one or two episodes to make sure I am not missing something and that will be my watershed.

[aardvark]

As was already pointed out, the problem with Bee-Train is present in almost all their shows. Beyond the constant rehashing of material for their shows, and the dependance on kajiura's music to actually make a scene stand out, we have:

- The absolutely flat, drab, boring, and lifeless color pallette, all their shows look the same. The animation itself is sometimes decent, but really hampered by that problem. Tsubasa Chronicles and .hack//roots were just downright too ugly for me to even watch. Even brightly compositioned scenes look drab and ugly. It's unbelievable.

-Awful pacing. While I don't mind a slowly paced show, the problem with Mashimo's shows is nothing happens, literally and at the same time the pacing doesn't take that into consideration.

The designs are nice as usual, and I usually always want to give a fair chance when watching something, but Koichi Mashimo's track record for the past 6 years makes it nearly impossible for me to even bother with his material anymore (Avenger particularly is one of the worst series I've ever seen, period). I'm sure many will enjoy El Cazador, but I don't think I'll fall for it anymore.

[cyth]

Because many will enjoy it, and many do enjoy Bee Train shows (+ Kajiura Yuki), I don't see the rehashing of material as such a global problem as the last four posts tried to present it as. Bee Train carries on a style of story telling, music, and directing, and there's nothing wrong with that, as I'm sure they know full well that with this they're creating the ever loyal fan and turning some people against them. But because the former outweigh the latter, I'm positive they're going to stick with this formula as long as they possibly can. And the formula isn't bad because the content or execution would be bad, but because it's repetitive. First time watchers will most likely enjoy any Bee Train series you throw at them simply because the formula works. And first time watchers are usually the most unbiased, albeit less informed.

Personally, if I ever become bitter and oversharp my taste in anime, I want to be put out of my misery.

[Nightengale]

Well...BeeTrain has continually shown me that they love utilizing the same patterns over and over for their productions from the pacing (( which honestly, is acceptable at times...but it really drives one's patience nuts depending on the series )) and the tone used in their series. Pretty much the things stated above. To me, BeeTrain is okay in most respective issues, but I always feel that they can't connect a chemistry between the respective story-pace-athmosphere-character. I didn't like Tsubasa for that.

I'm a sucker for spaghetti Western so I'll give it a chance (( Wait...I always give everything a chance )) but we'll see how it works. From the general idea, it doesn't seem to look all generic WWW, so how the setting turns out should indicate the structure of the story.

[monir]

The two series I've seen produced by Bee Train are Arc the Lad and Madlax, which are pretty different shows. I didn't see Noir, but as it was said a few times in the Madlax thread when the series was airing, if one has seen Madlax, then Noir is the reflection. So my problem with Bee Train isn't the repetitiveness since I haven't really experienced it. It's, rather, how both of these series I've watched built up a potential climax along the length of the series, and came short when the moment demanded for a good execution. That's the reason I thought Bee Train is stuck between good and bad quality which equates to an average series. Animation-wise, Bee Train is solid, and so is the music. I was also very fond of the dialogues in Madlax though most of the thanks belong to Anbu-Lunar. Hence, as much as I've liked Madlax, I think I can get myself entertained by another reflection.

P.S. Updated the opening post, thanks to Sonhex and MartAnime for those pictures.

[Kensuke]

Originally Posted by monir

The director for the show is going to be Mashimo Koichi who also directed Madlax and Noir which are also Bee Train production.

I remember an article on newtype USA where he said that he wanted to do a kind of trilogy, Noir and Madlax being the first and second parts, and as a fan of those series I'm delighted that there will be a third series. Plus Yuki Kajiura doing music just adds my exciment.
Too bad that the 2005 posts were lost, I posted some speculations about the third series at the Madlax thread. That two year waiting time is almost over.

[Sonhex]

The website is now online, but no info just pretty art

Full title is El Cazador De La Bruja (Hunter of Witches?).

Originally Posted by MrProphet

...
By the time of Avenger and Madlax, Kajiura's novelty has worn off and the old story simply did not have any new redeeming elements that were worth sticking around for. And Tsubasa... ugh... let us just say that it was beyond even a distant possibility for me to enjoy it...

I thought Madlax was the last decent work Kajiura did before she toddled off to Sunrise to rehash everything she'd done before. A return to form, we hope, is something to be excited about considering the fact she seems to shine when working with Bee Train.

[MartAnimE]

Originally Posted by Sonhex

The website Full title is El Cazador De La Bruja (Hunter of Witches?).

"El Cazador De La Bruja" can be translated in english to "The Witch Hunter" (a singular Witch)

[chrno]

Well, I'll say one thing the stylization is a little different from what they normally produce. I guess I've never seen something so chipper in a character before. Which makes it seem mainstream to me. When you compare it with 'Noir' or 'Madlax', there is nothing chipper about either shows even if the characters are. But I'm curious to see what this show comes up with.

Well, at least the site is up. I guess they'll have characters art and details later.

Oh, and 'Avenger's composition was not done by 'Yuki Kajiura' it was 'Ali Project'. While they did most of the vocals, that music has no 'Kajiura' in it what so ever. Anyone could tell her work a mile away.

I have to agree on the 'Avenger' note. I guess most of 'Bee Train's work consists of "rehashings" of other characters. Oh well. I'm not complaining. We all know 'Noir' was one of a kind so, that it. I kind of like their work on their girls with gun. Because the amount of fanservice you get is minimal. They're not out to push that they're out to tell a story to get you in touch with the characters. No matter how well or bad it is. They do care about trying and that's what I respect them for. For what they do come up with I can't say I'd do any better.

[Fellini 8.5]

A friend in Japan translated the Newtype/Animege article for me; you can find it over here.

Originally Posted by Kensuke

Too bad that the 2005 posts were lost, I posted some speculations about the third series at the Madlax thread. That two year waiting time is almost over.

I know what you mean. When I saw the news, my winter blahs turned totally around. I thought with all the other work they've been up to, they wouldn't have time for at least another year. But I guess they've grown a lot. Mashimo's certainly got his hands full.

A bit of Bee Train-y trivia: Spider Riders had most of the same creative team as MADLAX, including Kurode doing the writing (albiet adapting it from the Canadian books). It's rumored that Mashimo and Kurode argued a lot. If you skip the awful dub and watch the Japanese, it's really quite interesting for a kid's show. It's even funny in places, and I don't even understand the language!

For "El Cazador", the rumor is (from my friend in Japan, who talked to someone on the staff at Comiket) that the script was stalled and no progress was being made. Which means Kanemaki and Mashimo are probably butting heads as well. Heh. One way or another, though, I'm going to be clinging to every release like it's going to be the end of the world!


(BTW, Avenger really grew on me after the 2nd viewing. It's really a clever little experimental piece, and very much like an opera in a lot of ways.)

[4Tran]

This is pretty good news. El Cazador will definitely be worth watching if Bee Train can make it into a fitting match for Noir and Madlax.

[chrno]

Originally Posted by Fellini 8.5

A friend in Japan translated the Newtype/Animege article for me; you can find it over here.


I know what you mean. When I saw the news, my winter blahs turned totally around. I thought with all the other work they've been up to, they wouldn't have time for at least another year. But I guess they've grown a lot. Mashimo's certainly got his hands full.

A bit of Bee Train-y trivia: Spider Riders had most of the same creative team as MADLAX, including Kurode doing the writing (albiet adapting it from the Canadian books). It's rumored that Mashimo and Kurode argued a lot. If you skip the awful dub and watch the Japanese, it's really quite interesting for a kid's show. It's even funny in places, and I don't even understand the language!

For "El Cazador", the rumor is (from my friend in Japan, who talked to someone on the staff at Comiket) that the script was stalled and no progress was being made. Which means Kanemaki and Mashimo are probably butting heads as well. Heh. One way or another, though, I'm going to be clinging to every release like it's going to be the end of the world!


(BTW, Avenger really grew on me after the 2nd viewing. It's really a clever little experimental piece, and very much like an opera in a lot of ways.)

Hoo boy, I just hope it will live up to it's name. The best thing folks can do is not to expect it to be too much like 'Noir' or 'Madlax'. Do that and folks can be fine. But again it is hard to do that since you know who the creative team is. Heheh!


Yeah, I'll have to sit and watching 'Avenger' again. I bought the tin after sending it back the first time. Damn those packagers! It's a simple story but it has some establisment problems but again it was an experimental piece so...y'know. Everyone's got to try and make something of something...even if it turns out bad. It allows you to learn from your mistakes. And that is what I like about 'Bee Train'.

Y'know I never thought of 'Avenger' being like an opera. But then again with a title called 'Grand Guignol'? You may have something there.

[Matt Soulblade]

Whoa to see a Spanish title, its actually a little shocking for me . If this gets near to what Madlax is, Ill be watching this.
BTW, the full name of this "El Cazador de la Bruja" is translated to The Hunter of the Witch, but they probably wanted it to mean The Witch Hunter

And I liked the designs too. Lets see lets see.