El Cazador 22 – finally the plot gets going and characters get moving.

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So, Doug takes the plane to somewhere, and we learn what the bracelets on LA’s wrists are for. Elis talks under influence not from alcohol but from power, and Nadie gets hurt.

But at last, they find Wiñay Marka. Or do they?

I was sighing and shaking my head for about 1/3 of the show when plot suddenly gets going.

We discover that Nadie and Elis are asking around about unusual things like witches; LA shows up and literally points out the location of the “Eternal City (or it’s not)”; Jody, who has been acting on her own, follows Nadie and Elis and also follows them to the Witches’ Village, and guess what? There’s Ricardo and Lilio again!

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Aside from the important fact that they have discovered what appears to be a key place to the witches, most of the episode is almost the same old, everyday occurrence that we’re so accustomed – Nadie and Elis are broke and hungry, Ricardo and Lilio show up to the rescue, LA speaks psycho-nese, Jody follows our dynamic yuri-wanna be duo, and Doug…

Oh but wait, here’s what some of us have been waiting for – Doug is finally on the move.

He manipulates LA into position, and now all the pieces of the puzzle are finally in place, he’s going there personally to pull off his grand move, to be on the stage where everything is happening, and he will help us understand what the hell is going on by unveiling his scheme, which appears to have come to fruition.

Or so we can hope.

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It’s really hard for me to think intelligently and decipher the undercurrent (actually, only if there really are some) because there are so many fillers, or maybe not quite 100% fillers; however, unlike some other shows where just about every episode is tight, even if a lot of them are seeming fillers they at least really tell us something about the characters, the undercurrent behind the plot(s), or some other important elements of a story.

With El Cazador, fillers at best tell us little about relationships between Nadie and Elis; among other characters, or relationships between the two and others. The characters are portrayed pretty well, with some minor stereotypes. That, plus we get to learn little bits about the project, the Witches’ Council, the legend, and so on. Oh, and we can all thank the staff for their on-location work to bring us the beauty of South America and some places in Canada. The artwork is excellent and the music from Kajiura is great as usual (if you like the music get the soundtrack. It’s highly recommended).

However, at its worst, El Cazador is filled with inexcusable stupidities, pointless minor side quests that doesn’t appear to do much other than showing a slice of Nadie and Elis’ life on the travel, endless teasers of action that gets interrupted abruptly, silly jokes and dragged on plot developments – for a 26 episode show what I’m feeling is that at the end, there actually won’t be enough time to explain everything, precisely because all the silly stuff, the fillers that doesn’t really move the plot anywhere, and finally, the minor characters that keep on showing up in the side quests that takes the precious time of a 26 episode series away. Yes, in today’s anime world, 26 episode is considered long, but with the pace El Cazador has been going, I wonder if 36 episode would be more appropriate?

But thank God there aren’t going to be 36 episodes or I’d get bored to tears and frustrated to senselessness.

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For this episode, 81% recommended for your daily anime diet. It’s not as good as the previous episode but finally something is actually happening.

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.

2 thoughts on “El Cazador 22 – finally the plot gets going and characters get moving.

  1. Good point about the fillers and stupid subplots, it seems to me that hours of the screen time were wasted with us witnessing how Ellis and Nadie try to earn a few bucks. It’s so boring and repetitive. In Cowboy Bebop for instance, such side quests are actually funny, not stupid.

    El Cazador could easily have been 13 episodes long but Bee Train stretched the main simple story almost to the breaking point. Sure, Noir could have been 13 episodes long too, if the side stories and “assassination of the day” episodes were removed but there they are an integral part of the character development. Here most subplots just waste my time as a viewer.

  2. That’s one of the biggest flaws with this show – that they could have them bond much quicker, and perhaps even during gun fight sequences like what John Woo can do. Bee Train has the power to do that but for whatever reason they’re not doing it.

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