El Cazador

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El Cazador de la Bruja
Japanese エル・カザド (Eru Kazado)
Anime details
Genre(s) girls-with-guns, adventure, drama, mystery
No. of episodes 26
First run /
Release 		2 April 2007
(TV Tokyo)
Staff
Director Mashimo Kōichi
Producer Kitayama Shigeru [1]
Script Kanemaki Kenichi
Character design Kikuchi Yoko
Music details
Composer Kajiura Yuki
Opening(s) Hikari no Yukue
Ending(s) romanesque

El Cazador (Jap. エル・カザド Eru Kazado) is the long-anticipated final installment of the Bee Train's girls-with-guns trilogy and, thus, a spiritual successor to Noir and Madlax. It first aired on April 2 on TV Tokyo. The official site went live on 9 January 2007. The series' full title, El Cazador de la Bruja, means "Witch Hunter" (specifically, a male one) in Spanish.

Contents

Plot synopsis

The story predictably centers on two female characters: Ellis and Nadie. In the premise, Ellis is a murder suspect and finds herself on the run from bounty hunters (possibly, the reason for the series' title) hired by the underground society. At some point, she meets a bounty hunter Nadie who is initially after the bounty on her head but eventually decides to help her pursue the truth about her past. Although by doing so, Nadie calls the colleagues' wrath upon herself, as well, she accompanies Ellis south, where the latter hopes to find clues about her past. In an interview, Mashimo has revealed that Ellis is in fact a "witch" and her DNA has been modified by the Project Leviathan (Jap. プロジェクト・リヴァイアサン purojiekuto rivaiasan), confirming his previous cryptic comments on the series.[1] In another publication, he also revealed that the El Cazador will have "a lighter, more positive feel" than the previous installments of the trilogy.[1]

Judging by the earliest available artworks and the title, fans speculated that the series would feature a distinctive Western setting, in stark contrast to the previous installments of the trilogy, set mostly in Europe and Asia. The speculation has been partly confirmed by Mashimo: the series will feature Western elements (reminiscent of Sergio Leone's spaghetti westerns and Desperado) but will be set either in Mexico or Latin America.[1] The plot synopsis on the official website reveals that Ellis and Nadie's meeting will occur in Mexico but they'll travel south from there, searching for a mysterious Peruvian artifact, the gemstone "Rosa del Inca" (Jap. インカローズ inkarōzu), and the "Eternal City" of Wiñay Marka (Jap. ウイニャイマルカ uinyaimaruka).[1][1]

Characters

See also El Cazador characters.
  • Ellis (Jap. エリス erisu), a "witch" whose DNA has been modified in the course of Project Leviathan and who is suspected of murdering Heinz Schneider. She appears inexperienced, naive and innocent but is, in fact, quite nihilistic. Her witch powers seem to be incomplete.
  • Nadie (Jap. ナディ nadei), a bounty hunter wielding a .45 Colt Government. Ellis' counterpart, she comes across as an easygoing wanderer, despite carrying a heavy burden deep in her heart, as she is the sole survivor of a terrible massacre in her hometown.[1]
  • Dr. Heinrich "Heinz" Schneider (Jap. ハインツ・シュナイダ haintsu shunaida), a prominent physicist of German origin who was allegedly murdered by Ellis. Schneider was (?) the head of Project Leviathan and lived entirely for his research.
  • Jodie Hayward (Jap. ジョディ・ヘイワード jodei heiwādo) alias "Blue-Eyes" (Jap. ブルーアイズ burūaizu), a secretary at the accounting division of the CIA who frequently does cover up work for Douglas Rosenberg. She appears insignificant but, in fact, carries out important classified assignments.[1]
  • Douglas Rosenberg (Jap. ダグラス・ローゼンバーグ dagurasu rōzenbāgu), a CIA chief operative working on the top secret project Room 339.[1] He is well acquainted with many a political figure.
  • L.A. (Jap. エル・エー eru ē), a mysterious boy who observes Ellis, reporting back to Rosenberg. His motivations are unclear but he seems to be personally attached to Ellis.[1]
  • Ricardo (Jap. リカルド rikarudo), a taciturn soldier-turned-bounty hunter working for Rosenberg.
  • Lirio (Jap. リリオ ririo), Ricardo's stepdaughter.

Music

The series music was composed by Kajiura Yuki. To draw inspiration for this soundtrack, Kajiura spent 10 days in Peru in November 2006.[1]

The opening theme of the series, Hikari no Yukue (Jap. 光の行方 "A Place of Light") will be arranged by Kajiura and performed by the duo savage genius, and FictionJunction YUUKA will be returning for the ending theme, romanesque.[1]

Other media

For the first time in the studio's history, an original work by Bee Train will be adapted into a manga. Drawn by Shū Hirose, it'll be published in Akita Shoten's Champion RED starting from 19 March 2007. Also, unprecedentedly, a radio show based on the series will start airing on 24 March, before the television broadcast begins.

Trivia

  • The scriptwriter Kanemaki Kenichi has been previously involved with Agent Aika and Najica Blitz Tactics, which both have been often mentioned in relation to the girls-with-guns genre, though not in very favorable context. Kikuchi Yoko is the only character designer of Noir who hasn't returned in Madlax.
  • Apparently, Hisakawa Aya will be the only seiyū to have had major roles in every installment of the girls-with-guns trilogy.
  • In 2003, a comic book under the same title was published by CrossGen and back in 1991, there was a Mexican movie with the same name. Apparently, these three works are not connected to each other in any way.

See also

References

    External links

    Retrieved from "http://www.beetrainfan.org/wiki/index.php?title=El_Cazador"