Plot Synopsis: “Ellis is an amnesiac with a bounty on her head, and Nadie’s trigger finger is the only thing keeping her friend from falling into the wrong hands. They’re looking for pieces of Ellis’s past, and every mile of open highway brings the girls closer together – but their special bond is bound to be tested. At the dusty border crossroads where ancient spirits and modern science meet, a storm of conspiracy is brewing low in the desert sky. Someone out there can explain the hazy mysteries of Ellis’s past. If she and Nadie just keep moving south, the Hunter and the Witch will get their answers soon enough.”

If there’s one thing I’m going to miss it’s Funimation’s old habit of printing way to many copies of half season sets. It was great because once they released a complete series set the half season sets would be priced really cheap in order to get rid of them. That’s why I was able to find a seller on eBay selling bundles of both parts of Cazador for $20. That’s pretty much the only reason I bought it. It was cheap, and it has girls with guns, so why not?

Purchase El Cazador de la Bruja at RightStuf

Guin Saga – Collection 1

Plot Synopsis: “He awakens in the dark forest of a mythical land with some type of leopard mask that he cannot remove. The only thing he remembers is his name – Guin – and that he is a warrior of unimaginable power. And when the two twins of Parros, innocent victims of a civil war, arrive, Guin knows what he must do. But the journey to save the children means much more than just slaughtering a few hundred well-trained Mongoul soldiers. Victory means he must battle magical desert tribes, assemble forces that have fought each other for hundreds of years, and divine a mysterious plan that he is central to.”

It’s not exactly a secret that I like fantasy. It’s pretty much my favourite thing ever and I hope that once the Berserk movie hits theatres in January the entire industry will realize that medieval dark fantasy is honestly the only kind of anime worth making and that’s all we see from then on. It will be great, trust me. Anyway, since I like fantasy so much I decided to get Guin Saga, which I’ve been meaning to do for months. Just look at how fantasy this thing is. That guy’s holding a sword, and wearing a cloak, and he has some kind of tiger head or something. That’ like the most fantasy thing ever. Expect a glowing review of this at some point in the future so I can continue to push my pro-fantasy agenda.

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Catherine (PS3)

Plot Synopsis: “Vincent is trapped in a nightmare, facing a choice of marrying his longtime girlfriend Katherine or moving on to the incredible blonde he just woke up next to – named Catherine! The worse part is, if he makes the wrong choice, he could end up dead.”

I was debating about getting this game for a while before it came out. I didn’t really feel like spending $60 on a game where I already knew through demos that I hated a core element of the game, in this case those god damn block puzzles. Fuck those puzzles.If Atlus ever releases another version of this game called Catherine -Puzzle Free Edition-, I would buy 10 copies of it at full price. But it was made by the people behind Persona 3 and 4, so I couldn’t just skip it. I ended up getting this because I decided to trade in some games and it only cost me $9.99.I’ve actually already finished it once, which only took about 12 hours. I really like the story, as it adds a supernatural element to ordinary everyday life things like relationships, and any time a story takes familiar elements and builds on them it tends to grab my interest.

But seriously. Fuck those puzzles. I ended up playing on the hidden Very Easy mode because I couldn’t be bothered to deal with them. It wouldn’t be so bad if it wasn’t for all the different traps and crap. The chainsaw baby was the hardest, with his stupid buzzsaws that he sends all around the area and debris falling from the cieling. I could barely keep track of everything happening and died at least 10 times before managing to finish that one. God I hate that baby. No wonder Vincent didn’t want to settle down and start a family.

The game also comes with an art book, which has some information about the making of the game, and a soundtrack CD. My favourite part of the art book is where they explain in great detail just how the draw Catherine’s boobs. Well it was actually an explination about how they drew the artwork and stuff, but they used the cover of the art book as an example and her boobs are right there so that’s obviously what they were thinking about. the sound track CD is just classical music remixes by the game’s composer, Shoji Meguro, which I haven’t actually listened to yet.

Purchase Catherine at Amazon

Chantelise

Plot Synopsis: “Five years ago, a witch’s curse beneath the red moon turned Chante into a fairy. Now she and her sister Elise search for a way to transform her back into a human, and in their travels they come across a particular town, which is home to a number of nearby ruins, as well as a peculiar shopkeeper named Aira, and a strange, mercurial fortune-teller who calls herself Elma. Could this place hold the key to returning Chante to normal? Or will it lead to more answers than our two sisters ever wanted to know?”

This is an older game from EasyGameStation, the people who made Recettear. It’s being released in English by Carpe Fulgur, the guys who released Recettear in English. Although this one doesn’t involve running an item shop or paying off debts, but whatevs. It’s a fun little dungeon crawler that costs $9 at the moment, so you should get it and support indie developers and indie publishers. You can get it on Steam, GamersGate, and probably other places too.

Project Diva 2nd

I spent almost $70 on a rhythm game for the PSP featuring the J-POP music of a virtual idol.

What have I become?

Purchase Project Diva 2nd at PlayAsia

El Cazador de la Bruja

That said, El Cazador isn’t your typical girls-with-guns anime. The series focuses much on its characters, and there actually isn’t as much action in the show as one would come to expect. However, I’m totally okay with this because the show delivers well where it intends to.

Ellis is a mysterious girl who does not remember her past. For reasons unknown to her, there is a large bounty on her head, and naturally many people are after her. This attracts Nadie, the main heroine of the story. Rather than claim the bounty on Ellis, Nadie, for her own reasons, chooses to help her discover her past. The story focuses on their quest, the people they meet, and the troubles they run into along the way. The story is not all that deep, and because of this, there is plenty of filler. However, El Cazador makes up for this in its character design and presentation.

The two main characters, Ellis and Nadie, are quite enjoyable. Ellis is a quiet and often dense girl who is obviously very confused with what’s going on in her life. Nadie is the cheerful, supportive, but also tough girl who protects Ellis. Together, the two of them make for an interesting and often humorous duo. There are several moments in each episode that will have one laughing out loud. What improves the effectiveness of these humorous parts is the show’s excellent dub. I’m usually very picky with dubs, so it means a lot when I say that FUNimation did a great job here.

Another aspect about this show worth mentioning is its outstanding music. Composed by Yuki Kajiura of Tsubasa, .hack, and Noir fame, the music certainly gives the series a “mysterious fantasy” kind of feel. While this may seem unfitting for a show like El Cazador, it actually works quite well, and really enhances the presentation.

Overall, El Cazador is a fun watch, and despite its slow pacing, the dub, music, and character designs make it worth watching. Throughout all 26 episodes, there wasn’t a single point where I felt that I wasn’t enjoying the show. That’s an indication of a good anime.

El Cazador de la Bruja is licensed and distributed by FUNimation Entertainment. Part 1 and Part 2 are on sale now. Review copy provided by The Anime Almanac.

ENJOYMENT – Excellent cast of characters, music, and dub make it a very fun show

RECOMMENDATION VALUE – Definitely worth checking out

REWATCH VALUE – Worth a rewatch, even if just for the humor

Purchase El Cazador de la Bruja at RightStuf