Sorcerer Hunters

[areaseven]

Bakuretsu Hunter ( 爆れつハンター )

XEBEC/MOVIC/TV Tokyo/King Records, 1997-1998

ADV Films, 2001

Directed by Koichi Mashimo (NOIR, .hack//SIGN)

Rated 17+ for graphic violence, T&A, HLA and S&M.

In the name of justice, a band of warriors travel all over the country to punish those who abuse the powers of sorcery at the cost of others. They are simply known as the Sorcerer Hunters.

Story: C-

After watching the spin-off OAV Sorcerer on the Rocks (Chivas 1-2-3), I expected this TV series to be better. Unfortunately, I fell asleep after the second episode. Sorcerer Hunters has a lackluster plot and the fan service dies out after only a few minutes. If you're a fan of Slayers, stick to that title instead.

Animation: C+

While the opening and ending sequences are well-animated by XEBEC (Martian Successor Nadesico, Dai-Guard) and Keiji Gotoh's (Gate Keepers, Kiddy Grade) character designs are well-drawn, the rest of the TV animation is just plain with rather dull colors and subpar frame rates.

Soundtrack: C+

Kenji Kawai (Mobile Police Patlabor, Ghost in the Shell) composes great anime music, but his soundtrack for this title is just not memorable. Neither is the show's opening theme by lead voices Shinnosuke Furumoto and Megumi Hayashibara.

Sub vs. Dub

Bakuretsu Hunter features Shinnosuke Furumoto (Junkers Come Here, Rio in Urusei Yatsura) as Carrot, Megumi Hayashibara (Come on! You know who she is already.) as Tira, Yuko Mizutani (Mihoshi in Tenchi Muyo!, The Great Will of the Macrocosm in Excel Saga) as Chocolat, Kiyoyuki Yamada (Zabine in Mobile Suit Gundam F91) as Gateau, Mitsuaki Madono (Pizza in Brave King GaoGaiGar, Prince Toma in Ranma 1/2: Nihao My Concubine) as Maron, Sakiko Tamagawa (Natsumi in You're Under Arrest, Tachikoma in Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex) as Dotta, Sumi Shimamoto (Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, Ginrei in Giant Robo)as Big Momma, and Banjo Ginga (Jigen in Lupin III, Gihren Zabi in Mobile Suit Gundam) as the narrator.

The anime already bored me to the point of sending the disc back to NetFlix without reviewing the dub.

DVD Extras: D+

Textless opening and ending sequences. Nothing else.

The Bottom Line

Sorcerer Hunters is a Slayers wannabe medieval anime that just lacks in the coolness factor. Rent it if you want to, but just wait until Scrapped Princess gets licensed instead.

Reference

Anime News Network

Edited April 17, 2004 by areaseven