El Cazador de la Bruja

I've been a fan of BeeTrain ever since .hack/sign (yes, I even like Avenger, though I choose to block out Mein Leib), so when I heard they were putting out their third girls with guns series, I was tickled to death. And El Cazador delivered in every way possible. Much more light hearted than Noir or Madlax, it's also a lot more straight forward in it's story telling and character relationships. Not that their isn't the typical mysterious organization that's never fully explained, complete with loose threads and plot holes the size of Texas. But if you've seen any other BeeTrain series, you know to expect this and just move on and enjoy it for what it is. And that's very easy to do here, since this show is primarily character driven with a heavy dose of action to keep things bouncing. There's a touch of angst, but never so much that it weighs you down, and the mysterious organizations and plot elements aren't so mysterious that they turn your brain to mush trying to figure them out. The series has great pacing and never seems to drag, the side trips providing true character development rather than feeling like pure filler. Everything actually had a purpose, even that little trinket Ellis randomly acquired in random early episode.

For yuri fans, there's true payoff. So much so that I remember non-yuri fans complaining about halfway through the series when it became obvious where Nadie and Ellis stood. For Aya Hisakawa fans... well, let's just say I was very pleased. I don't usually get to hear her voicing these types of characters, and the fangirl in me was doing cartwheels. For once, she got to play the adult instead of the odd little girl or random side character. I am completely in love with Jody "Blue Eyes" Hayward. And I like her posse, too, though I still can't figure out if the one girl was just wearing that eye patch for fun... Also, Jody seems to have a particular fetish with being tied up, though I may have just missed something there, too.

As has become almost standard with BeeTrain, Yuki Kajiura is composing. The soundtrack is very similar to those from Noir and Madlax, but to me that's not a bad thing. I'm as much a Kajiura fan as I am a BeeTrain and Aya fangirl. I've been humming various pieces all week, and it's the main reason I'd like to see Bandai bring this over. With them, we're more likely to get the soundtrack and possibly the drama CDs. With ADV we'll get beat over the head with song subs and no chance at the soundtrack. I'll take it from which ever releases it, but I have a clear preference.

Tacos. You'll just have to watch it and you'll understand. :)

Overall, this was an enjoyable series that I'd highly recommend, even to those that didn't like Noir and Madlax. While similar to it's sisters, it's not as heavy on the drama and provides a fun 26 episodes for yuri fans with payoff at the end.