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One of the most exciting pieces of news I've heard for a long time is the announcement of the anime series El Cazador de la Bruja.

El Cazador appears to be the third installment in Bee Train's Girls-With-Guns trilogy directed by Koichi Mashimo, who you should all know is the genius who directed just about every .hack anime series to date. With the release of Noir it was reported that Koichi Mashimo wished to make a set of three anime series of the Girls-With-Guns genre, and this first installment was followed up by Madlax.

Now, it seems that El Cazador is set to be the third and final series in the trilogy, and I expect great things. It should be no great surprise that I'm a major fan of Mashimo's work and have fallen in love with both Noir and Madlax. El Cazador looks to be a brilliant spiritual successor to the Girls-With-Guns trilogy, with the above piece of promotional artwork that's to die for, as well as apparent confirmation that Yuki Kajiura, my favourite anime composer, will be composing the series' music.

The storyline is as follows (Courtesy of ANN):

Ellis, a young girl suspected of murdering a prominent physicist Heintz Schneider, is on the run from an underground society called "Hunters" when she is tracked down by the bounty hunter Nadi in a small Mexican town. However, instead of turning her in, Nadi impulsively decides to help her and the two girls embark on a journey to Ellis' hometown, where they plan on finding clues about her past. From there, they travel south to search for the mysterious Gemstone of the Inca Rose, the "Eternal City" of Wiñay Marka, and Ellis' own obscure destiny.

Already we can hear a number of themes cropping up that resemble those of Noir and Madlax, including the mysterious introvert with the forgotten past, the professional extrovert hitwomen, and the underground society. However, no more info on the series is known other than the fact that it is scheduled to begin airing in Japan at some point in April this year. I'll certainly be looking out for this and I suggest that you do too.

So, please discuss. ^_^

im very intersted in this anime but were can i get more back ground ifo on it?
from what you told us and what i have seen so far i think it will go far in the anime world but i dont think it will ever show in england -_-

I'm certain it will be released in Britain, I mean its just the new Madlax and that was released in Britain.

As for background info, it turns out that Ellis is a 'Witch' and that her DNA was modified by something known as the Leviathan.

The title, El Cazador de la Bruja does mean Witch Hunter, so I guess the fact that an organisation called Hunter has gone after a Witch is where the title came from.

The next gen Madlax?!? w00t!! I loved Madlax the whole way through, so I'll definitly be picking this one up. Cute girl with amnesia + hot-as-hell hitwoman friend + some well-placed plot-twists = teh win!!

...I...want to see this so bad...

Ellis looks adorable.

And aside from that, what's not to love about girls with guns? Never mind the fact that the little plot synopsis there really drew me in...

I really hope this is released soon. In a language I can read, that is. ()

Fansubs, mayhaps? XD

I think Nadi looks uber-bad-arse! I'll also agree with you that Ellis looks cute, especially with the tall glass! ^_^

The fact that I fell in love with Noir and Madlax upon contact has only convinced me that this will be a masterpiece.

Wow, I said "read" and not "understand"...I didn't even realize it, but I was subconsciously talking about fansubs. xDD

Those would be good, yes. ^^

I never had the good fortune to see Noir, but Madlax was awesome. An anime where the main characters tote guns is always great in general. That's probably what I really liked about Trigun...other than the fact that Vash is my ideal man.

Never got to see Noir either, but I always here it was awesome. Madlax was just brilliant though. The characters were great (Madlax is one of my all-time favorite characters in anything fictional), the story was awesome, and some of the lines were completely amazing.  In the english dub at the end where Margret says "You see.. I'm a bad little girl Friday Monday.." and then shoots him.. I could've died happy right after seeing that part.
Having said all that, the third installment has no choice in the matter, it's going to be great even if it doesnt want to be I want to know more about Nadi!

The main El Cazador site has been updated with the character designs for Ellis and Nadie:




A list of characters alongside a the Japanese cast list:

Ellis: Ai Shimizu (Mikoto Minagi in My-HiME)
Nadie: Shizuka Itou (Saburo in .hack//Roots)
Heintz Schneider: Shin'ichiro Miki (Crim in .hack//SIGN, Kuhn in .hack//Roots)
Jodie 'Blue Eyes' Hayward: Aya Hisakawa (Chloe in Noir, Limelda Jorg in Madlax)
Douglas Rosenberg: Kenta Miyake (Tawalaya/Tohta in .hack//Roots)
L.A: Mamoru Miyano (Kiba in Wolf's Rain)
Ricardo: Fumihiko Tachiki (Gendou Ikari in Neon Genesis Evangelion)

And finally, the names of the OP and EP, as well as their performers:

Hikari no Yukue by Savage Genius
Romanesque by Fictionjunction YUUKA

Update: Links to character model sheets from official website and new info on characters.

Jodie 'Blue Eyes' Hayward: Works as a secretary in accounting for the CIA and frequently assists Douglas Rosenberg.
Douglas Rosenberg: A CIA operative codenamed R-339, he is also well-known in politics.
Heinz Schneider: Before his apparent murder, Heinz was the leader of Leviathan and lived for his research.
L.A: A mysterious boy seeking out Ellis.
Ricardo: A soldier-turned-bounty hunter working for Douglas Rosenberg.
Lirio: The step-daughter of Ricardo.

It was also revealed that Lirio is played by Marina Inoue, who played Cossette D'Auvergne in Petit Cossette.

looks interesting
so far, it sounds like something i'll love
i think i'll check out the previous two animes if they're all along the exact same lines?

and it sounds like the action parts would be realistic (kind of like ghost in the shell or gunslinger girl) and i take it it'd have a proper, good story?

edit: and i just found out, the main character in noir is called mireille. i dunno if i'd be able to take her seriously at first XD

There are slight differences between Noir and Madlax, but the underlying themes are very similar, and it is quite easy to imagine the two scenarios presented crossing over to an extent. Though I will say Madlax is a bit more supernatural than Noir.

The action sequences are generally very well executed and absolutely beautiful, but I must warn you not to expect to run through the anime guns blazing, because it is more concerned with the psychology behind the characters behind the guns. The story of El Cazador so far sounds very interesting, and if Noir and Madlax are anything to go by, it should be very deep as well, but it won't be a western shoot-out.

Noir, Madlax and El Cazador are all similar in that they have a pair of leading characters rather than one; for Noir its Mireille Bouquet and Kirika Yuumura; for Madlax its Madlax (oddly enough) and Margaret Burton; and for El Cazador its Ellis and Nadie.

And don't worry, it'll be easy to get around the fact that she's called Mireille, as the two characters have next to nothing in common.

yeah, getting used to things that seem so weird in animes seems to be simple after a while.

it sounds excelent then

well, the first ep is subbed and so far, it looks like something i'll be following for sure at least

yes, i'm going to see it now Umbra

Well...
It's pretty boring :/
I saw till the third episode, and I continute only because of Kujiura Yuki's soundtracks and Bee Train's animation.

yeah so far its not too interesting, but 3 episodes is FAR too early for me to pass judgement. its nto hard to watch a 24min ep once a week anyway :/

i want to know WTF was that bit near the end of ep 2 about with the heavy breathing all about? xD

The main El Cazador site has been updated with the character designs for Ellis and Nadie:

WTF? Moe ? 0.0;
I thought the story was more like. . Noir/Avenger >.< If that so , I'll watch it >.< ; and I also likes the OST for this anime. . Its. . Unique :p