hontou ni sou omou?

When El Cazador de la Bruja dropped off the Sea Slugs! anime radar, I thought it was another BEETRAINwreck. But my interest was resurrected by the Okazu review. And I did enjoy this series, even though I am a raving fan of Noir, because my expectations were low and the series successfully conveyed its own unique feel and identity despite having a similar setup (two girls vs mysterious organization) with Noir.

I laughed a lot at how the series didn’t take itself too seriously (e.g. Jodie ‘Blue Eyes’ Hayward getting stuck descending from the ventilation shaft LOL), cheered the fanclub that gathered around Nadie x Ellis as their journey progressed and, of course, was absolutely delighted at the development of a very loving Nadie x Ellis relationship - which *shock horror* was actually an integral part of the series’ / villain’s plot.

Spoilers ahoy!

I was going to entitle this post as El Cazador de la Lirio but that would have risked confusing yuri with the pink-haired little girl who accompanies Ricardo. In any case, Lirio’s demonstration alpha inspired Ellis to take the initiative in showing her affection for Nadie. Lirio-chan, good job!

Diving into the DFC. Like a child, Ellis was so honest in expressing her feelings. But so was Nadie, even if she was more streetwise and jaded, like in the above scene when she scolded Ellis for running off and then expressing her relief that Ellis was safe without it sounding incongruous or contrived.

There was some anxiety about sharing the secret of Ellis’ origins but it got resolved by the end of the episode. Based on the OP (and the Kokopelli episode), I was wondering if the two had a deeper, shared history like Mireille and Kirika but, in the final analysis, it was good that El Cazador staked out its own territory and approach to the dynamic of this version of the BEE TRAIN franchise.

Mentar’s praise for Shizuka Itou caused me to pay more attention to her voice acting as Nadie and I can see why he’s a big fan. I thought her work as Rei Hasekura (MariMite), Wilhelmina Carmel (Shana) and Tama-nee (To Heart 2) was solid but it didn’t grab me. But her chemistry with Ai Shimizu’s Ellis just brought out her charm so well. Throughout the series, the two say so much to each other and to the audience with just simple inflections on stock phrases, most notably: ‘Yes, Sir.’

If the series’ tone hadn’t been a tad flippant, slipping on ice (rather than being shot) would have been such a copout. But the result was no less compelling, with Nadie giving up the only livelihood she knows, bounty hunting, because the danger upset Ellis. Which makes the developments of the final episode all the more wonderful with Ellis learning to balance her fear of losing Nadie with understanding Nadie’s need to do what she does best.

Let’s go… together…

DEKAI JEALOUSY: is what Alice from ARIA would have said. LOL

Reminds me of something Nobue-neesan said.

The brushing of the fingertips before performing the mid-air grab and retrieve was almost poetry in motion. Lovely stuff. As was the post rescue cuddle.

Erica’s initial announcement, regarding this episode, on the Yuricon Mailing List was: The Yuri Has Arrived. In her characteristic way, Ellis told Nadie in no uncertain terms that she would like to the two of them to be like a ‘closed married couple’. Her Tee~hee~ was just the cherry on top after her (-3-) expression in Ricardo’s general direction.

It was also great that Ellis didn’t suffer from Meg (Bakuten) Syndrome i.e. be the constant kidnap victim who needs to be rescued by the significant other. Of course it helps that Ellis has witch powers and plenty of emotional sway over L.A.

Also nice to see that they had their ups and downs - particularly the Kokopelli episode when Ellis was upset at Nadie for breaking the skull ornament that the Professor had bought for her.

Ellis trying to walk away from Nadie to prevent the latter from being hurt. But Nadie had the remarkable sense to disregard Blue Eye’s otherwise quite sensible advice to give Ellis space, instead reaching out to Ellis and offering her unconditional support in her moment of need.

I was chuckling at how many Resurrects were used in a row. Especially in Nadie’s case - with all her near death experiences - her Constitution score would have taken several hard knocks already!

But I was also particularly impressed by how Ellis got Nadie to shoot her. By telling her to do it as a job and with the 10 cent payment (”Keep the change”) and a minimum of that ‘Shoot me!’ / ‘No, I can’t!’ / ‘Shoot me!’ / ‘No, I can’t!’ repeated ad naseaum. I wonder what Athena (Noir, not ARIA) would have said.

I also really liked a whole episode dedicated to the aftermath of the Douglas Rosenberg incident (kinda like how the second half of the final episode of StrikerS was about wrapup). For me, it made good use of some characters that appeared earlier to successfully convey how a ‘normal’ life wasn’t suited for Nadie, despite what she said, and how Ellis came to realize that and push her partner back onto the path she wanted to tread. Plus Ellis was also probably anxious that if they stayed any longer, the sheriff might actually get his act together and actually propose to her Nadie. ;)

Overall, a fun, light entertainment series that picked up considerably after the midway point. The Nadie x Ellis relationship was easily the best part of El Cazador with a minimum of eye-rolling angst and fuss and plenty of sweet moments that sometimes brought a smile, tear and, at the very end, more than a little of both.