My thoughts on El Cazador 23 and 24 + thoughts on Yuri fan ____s.

snapshot20070914122643.jpgsnapshot20070914122651.jpgsnapshot20070914122659.jpg

In recent days this show has gotten better. I wouldn’t say it has completely redeemed itself, but yes, even I have to agree that it has gotten better.

For anyone who stuck around hoping to see more action (heh heh between Nadie and Elis AT NIGHT heh heh), well, there hasn’t been much of action since about 14 episodes back when they got into that armored winnebago and the minions from the Witches’ Council came and tried to take them down.

For anyone who stuck around to see plot development, well, that’s actually going somewhere (I mean, duh for Beetrain, it’s like, the last 4 episodes, they better get the development going!)

snapshot20070914122713.jpgsnapshot20070914122721.jpgsnapshot20070914122730.jpg

In any case, once Rosenberg and Jody explain it all, everything becomes quite clear – Rosenberg’s purpose all along has been trying to awaken the power inside Elis, the successful creation of the Witch experiment, for his grand scheme of power…

Wait, doesn’t that elicit, a, I don’t know, big DUH from all of us? Come on! Admit it! At least in the plot development, there isn’t anything special that separates it from the crowd. Out of the Girls with Guns Triology, I know Noir’s plot wasn’t superior either, but it was the first of the 3 and it was extremely stylish and very unique in its presentation. Madlax was a huge let down and it’s supernatural plot was far fetched.

El Cazador has to be most drawn out show among the 3 – I’m surprised it’s actually going to be played for 26 full episodes and not cut short or anything (wasn’t Madlax 25 episodes?), and I haven’t seem any real animation degrading issues. I really don’t know why.

Maybe it’s because of the Yuri fan…girls???!!!

snapshot20070914122740.jpgsnapshot20070914122750.jpgsnapshot20070914122816.jpg

I’ve come to appreciate and understand thoughts of yuri fan girls and how they view the male favorites such as Strawberry Panic, Mai Hime, and others. I will haphazard a guess then:

El Cazador, especially the relationship among the women, and most definitely the relationship between Nadie and Elis, is like mind candy for the yuri fangirls.

As a fanboy of yuri, this show obviously doesn’t do it for me. I trust I don’t have to explain that. 🙂 But Strawberry Panic does. Again, I trust I don’t have to explain that.

snapshot20070914122828.jpgsnapshot20070914122910.jpgsnapshot20070914122918.jpg

I will be blunt (uh-oh) about what I think of Yuri in El Cazador – it’s, frankly, kind of sweet but absolutely boring and not very beautiful for me.

I can appreciate the yuri in strawberry panic because it’s almost like explained to fanboys (me). But for fangirls, it’s probably way, way, way too blunt. My heart raced watching Shizuma almost goes all the way with Nagisa, and I actually like seeing the blond choir girl with Amane senpai, and how the choir girl is very shy, cute, and sweet and fragile, and I even sighed in frustration with Ya-Ya chan.

Notice something in my description? I remember the names of the most suggestive pairing, Shizuma and Nagisa, that yes-I-wanna-do-it-with-you-but-I-can’t-because-of-my-past thing
, and I remember the name of the strong “woman”, who would ordinarily be the main guy character in a show, and I remember the most frustrated woman, Ya-Ya. But I have a tough time remembering the name of the love interest of Amane the strong “woman”.

snapshot20070914122929.jpgsnapshot20070914122937.jpgsnapshot20070914122949.jpg

See for men, it all has to “stick” (don’t you go there) in order for them to be interested. Now I’m sure many fanboys liked the blond choir girl, but for me, since she doesn’t appear to have much to say in most cases and she has her “man”, I lost interest. But if there are two pretty girls like Shizuma and Nagisa, then my interested is aroused (heh heh heh heheh I said aroused). Except Shizuma is pretty much man-like save the classic shojo female senpai’s big hair and that classy feminine talk. But she has big breasts and she and Nagisa are just so yuri-cute for me that I could almost squeal (yeah I know, a manly squeal – ugh).

Back to El Cazador. The love between Nadie and Elis is never that blunt, but they go out and talk often, does a lot of things together, and the care that Nadie has for Elis and vice versa just doesn’t seen so…friend like. Maybe because I’m American and paranoid about these things (which guy in the US isn’t? If there’s someone out there that’s that brave, he would probably be treated like gay. Gotta love that paranoia we have!). But after going for 24 episodes, I’ve come to terms that this final installment in the”Girls with Guns” Trilogy really doesn’t have anything to do with firearms, save a few shots fired. I knew it quite a few episodes back but I just didn’t want to accept it.

I’ll be blunt again. I think this final installment is aimed at Yuri fangirls.

snapshot20070914123006.jpgsnapshot20070914123013.jpgsnapshot20070914123033.jpg

I want to tell the Beetrain folks: save that crap about developing a relationship for 26 episodes; this is not a drama. Save that crap about we-don’t-want-to-be-known-as-the -studio-that-can-only-do-action; action is the best you guys can do. Save that crap about development takes a long, long time; enough shows can develop relationships within half or less the time this show requires.

But once again, it’s mind/fantasy candy for the yuri fangirls, because they can go back to every little moment between the two girls, and savor the tender care, small talks, and other tiny little things that women find intimate.

Most of us guys at most times would be falling asleep thinking about these things.

For yuri fangirls, in this case, these little things aren’t quite plain as your average close friendships.

It’s kind of odd how this review is turning out to be about my thoughts Yuri fangirls. But beyond that, my thoughts on this show, alas, hasn’t changed a bit. It’s too slow, has too little action for a show brandishing action shots for the OP and gunfire for the ED. It’s main characters are too incompetent and it’s plots are too obvious and sometimes cliched. Also, I really can’t stand the stupidity that Nadie exhibits way too often. I tossed my hands up when I saw the view of her dancing inside the sniper scope. What, she’s finally going back to her Incan/Mayan/Aztec/whatever roots? Has she been smoking crack?? Has her own stupidity finally elicited enough frustration from herself??? Yeah, I know she is trying to get that vulture and this part is meant to be funny, but adding that on top of her weaknesses making her a complete moron in my view.

But you know what? Perhaps her weakness and all the exaggerated incompetence is going to make her a yuri fangirl favorite.

Because at least some of the fangirls would see her as someone to be identified with. Because despite her weaknesses, she tries very hard to protect Elis and takes care of her.

Here’s one for the classic shojo fans. Her clumsiness is sometimes comparable to Sailor Moon’s clumsiness. Hence, I’m going to go so far and propose that she’s the modern Maho shojo heroine, or rather, both she and Elis are – with guns and real magic.

snapshot20070914123050.jpgsnapshot20070914123113.jpgsnapshot20070914123253.jpg

I don’t recommend this show except for those who really like it for whatever reasons. I know I won’t watch it again ever unless they have a 26 minute shoot out for one of the last two episodes. But we all know that isn’t going happen.

P.S. LA’s demise is very, very well done. That was the successful element that I forgot to point out.

snapshot20070914123310.jpg

Author: Ray

I'm a hardcore Anime Fan and I'm proud of it. I know so many things and I've acquired so much knowledge you wouldn't believe. But my love is anime. I've been drifting in this world for so long that I don't even know what an anchor means. I've seen so many shows that I've lost count. The only thing I'm sure of myself is that I care for the lowly and disenfranchised. I hate the rich and powerful and I love what I do, or what I can do. I like anime and I don't mind watching different types of shows. I have experience in different types of Japanese animation. I would be called an "expert" in a bizzaro world. One day, I'd like to start a revolution. I love the US, pizza, beer, sashimi, Chinese food, and steak. But I love freshly baked bread more than a well-aged steak. In reality, if I were born Japanese I'd be a real, hardcore Otaku. I love to love and I can hate strongly. I'm passionate in nature and I don't mind shedding tears. I can be reached at rayyhum777 at animediet. My Twitter is rayyhum777 at twitter.

8 thoughts on “My thoughts on El Cazador 23 and 24 + thoughts on Yuri fan ____s.

  1. WOAH. I’m a girl and I think you hit upon why I like Nadi/Ellis better than I can describe it. I am In Awe.

    For me, yeah, this beats StoPani so much. I could barely watch StoPani, I was too busy screaming at my screen every episode hating Shizuma and the heroine’s name (I don’t even remember it!) with every inch of my body because I just couldn’t buy it. (Plus I was rooting for Tamao. Poor Tamao!)

    But this? Nadi and Ellis feel like contemporaries. They can both kick ass (to middling degrees – I believe I think more highly of Nadi than you do.. sometimes) and they don’t take no bullshit. No angsting! (well, minor Ellis angst, but she’s still growing up.) Whereas StoPani was angst angst angst and angst some more. Plus Nadi/Ellis is based on mutual bonding and trust and you can just see it grow and grow right before your eyes, and gosh that is just so beautiful.

    God I am such a bloody fangirl.

  2. I’d have to agree with Kaei on almost every point xcept the Shizuma part lol!
    However I’ll add something more:
    To some this is obvious but many others (often boys I’m afraid) aren’t so aware of how unrealistic it is. SP is basically an animated wet dream. It has never happened, it CAN’T happen and will never happen. As a girl, and one that went to an all girl’s school and is attracted to girls, I just couldn’t buy the BS on that show. Mind you it’s still one of the shows I like for various reasons. However it’s also a show that added to my desperation of a world never to come lol! Personally I loved Shizuma’s character and her looks (she would have been sexier with a smaller chest lol) but I hated Nagisa with a passion and spent most of the time asking whyTF everyone was after her. Hikari (the blonde) and Amane didn’t have enough character developement and where rather uninteresting and would have been worth had they not been in eachothers pants, I mean arms. Yaya and Tamao were very believable so let us not be too hard on the show. However the reason why SP is popular amongst Yuri fans is that the LFB (loser Fan Boys) get what they want to see XD and the LFG (loser Fan Girls) either get to see their perverted fantasies BUT they also get to see what they’d never have the courage to do.

    You are right about the protective Nadie part. The fact that she tries her best but isn’t perfect make her more real, closer to us. Also since their relationship isn’t explicit as you have said it is mind candy. It’s Romantic. And I think Nadie’s clumsiness (I don’t know where you get the idea that she lacks intelligence) is cute and is actually a nice contrast to Mireille’s and Kirika’s inability to fail XD
    I haven’t seen Madlax so I cannot compare them but I think Noir and ECdlB are supposed to be extreems in contrats and varieties. BTW I

  3. My knowledge of these things is from “textbooks” – this means I understand women in theory, but in real life I really don’t understand women much.
    Contrast to Nadie and Elis’ relationship, I like Mireille and Kirka’s better because they really don’t talk that much. They bond through action…during gun fights. I kept on thinking Bee Train should just make a show about assassins/bounty hunters/killers/whatever in an all-girls high school, then maybe they can balance the talking and the action better, and they wouldn’t have to go into all these stupid time wasting side quests. At least in FF series people get stuff doing these!
    Well, Nadie gets easily fooled by the vulture guy…I mean, couldn’t she use her head and figure out that they guy was just tricking her? OK, maybe she isn’t stupid, but she just seem so clueless for a bounty hunter.

  4. Nadi’s just trusting!

    I liked Amaya’s comment about Nadi trying her her best and not being perfect; in the end it’s just the love in her that saves Ellis, and anyone’s capable of that.

    (Yeah I loved Yaya too. I guess unrequited love characters win.)

  5. And we don’t know Nadie’s exact age (she’s probably younger that what she passes as) I wouldn’t be surprised at all if she was just well… Naive? Anyways Kirika and Mireille have a special bond however it is unusual, for women anyways to bond with somone without speaking.
    Technically girls are happy when they talk and people listen to them. And a lot of girls also like just listenning to others speak. I have the impression that silence is akward for more women than for men. You tell me lol!

Comments are closed.