El Cazador de la Bruja - Initial Review

Episodes watched: 3 out of ?

I have to admit, I only began watching this series because I heard Yuki Kajiura was doing the music, and I was already in love with the ED single Romanesque.

Set in a world of sharpshooters, cowboy hats and scorched desertland, the plot follows Nadie, a young and highly skilled female bounty hunter with an unrevealed past, and Ellis, a mysterious girl who's family was killed when she was little.
Ellis has since been on the run, heading south for reasons unknown to even herself. The bounty on her head does not make her journey any easier.
When Nadie meets Ellis who turns out to be her target, she takes a liking to the strange child and decides to accompany her on her journey on the condition that she will allow Nadie to finish her job once she is done.
Before long, Nadie realises Ellis isn't your average runaway child when she leaps off a rooptop with ease and subsequently heats up another bounty hunter's handgun to the point of setting off the gunpowder inside without so much as merely looking at it.
There's a lot more to the past of both girls which is yet to be discovered as the two begin their journey to Wiñay Marka, the City of Eternity.

The animation is a standard affair, typical of what you would expect from Bee Train. Not too shabby but not overly impressive either.
I enjoyed the first episode but I felt the following episodes were a little bit slow. Not really surprising either, considering how both Noir and Madlax, the spiritual predecessors to El Cazador, didn't really pick up momentum till the later episodes.
The plot looks like it has a lot of potential, and the music is of course excellent in all fields.
I also like the lead characters in El Cazador over the ones in Madlax and Noir, but that stalker blond guy gives me the creeps (I swear if theres another scene of him in the boot of a car smiling maniacally I'm gonna have nightmares). Ignoring the creepy Fye lookalike, the random narration inserts are also a bit annoying.
Putting that aside I think it's not too bad, and definitely worth your time if you enjoyed Madlax and Noir. I know I did.
On the other hand if those two series' weren't to your liking, then I'd avoid this anime at all costs.
It sits on the line if you haven't seen either, but you might as well grab the first episode and see for yourself if you're looking for something to watch.
Verdict: Above average.

Initial Rating: 7/10