Customer Reviews

Those Who Hunt Elves - The Complete Collection

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Those Who Hunt Elves is a fantasy anime with comedy theme to it. Taking place in an alternate world similar to earth. The high priestess of the elves, Celcia, was fighting against a powerful demon, so she cast a summoning spell, but instead of summoning something useful, she got three idiots from planet earth. Celcia did try to send them back, but the spell got screwed up and fragmented into different countries and etched themselves onto the bodies of elves. So the three idiots, Junpei- the martial artist, Ritsuko- sharp shooter, Airi- the movie star; join forces to hunt down elves. The funny thing is that they have to strip the elves naked to check if they have the spell fragments on their bodies. Celcia turned herself into a dog in disguise but found out that she couldn't return to original form unless she got the spell fragments too. They all traveled together on top of a battle tank that got possessed by the spirit of a cat. This series is funny, and had the right blend of action and character development. They fought against all types of creatures, including skeleton soldiers, fishmen, wizards and more. It's also funny how they try to convince the elves to strip off their clothes and their reactions. The cat-tank got excited and chased after mice and rabbits, yet was afraid of a dogs. The character design are great, I loved the elven women and the heroes were funny and skilled at fighting. I also liked how the anime was able to make fun of itself; in a couple of episodes the characters stated "...even for a fantasy show this is too corny". The only flaw is that the animation is not up to par with current anime standards. Some of the action sequences were done like still shots, instead of being fully animated. And even though the elves get nude, their bodies are blank looking and lack detail. But this series was as enjoyable as the "Slayers". Contain very Light nudity and slapstick violence, good for teens. Adults may think it is too dumb, but I enjoyed it very much. The english voice-acting is okay, but it is much better to watch this series in it's original japanese language.
Ends on episode 26. Most of it was episodic in nature but there was a continuity with the same characters. I also recommend the anime series called "The Slayers"

Outline of the story:

Those who hunt elves, is a show that resolves around three people, from our time, who got `trapped' in a parallel universe. The reason is that a high priestess of the elves messed up a spell, during a confrontation with a demon and brought these three humans to their world. Thing is that the spell got divided into five parts and in order to reverse the spell - and return home - they have to find the five parts of the spell and put them together; which are presented, more or less, in the bodies of five elves. In order to see which elves have a piece of the spell on their bodies, they have to take their clothes off (well, basically strip). The issues that arise out of it are:
- The humans are: Junpei, a martial artist, Ritsuko, a sharp shooter and Airi, a movie star while the problem with these three is that they behave more in accordance with their own personal `ego-trip' instead of working together and solve the problem (something that they will eventually do). Something that turns out to be very funny and entertaining
- The elven high priestess has transformed into a dog and in order to reverse the transformation they have to bring all five pieces together
- They ride across the country on top of a tank that possesses a cat spirit and behaves accordingly
- They have to come up with so many excuses in order to convince the elves to get rid-off their clothes, something that is truly funny (referring to what they will come up in order to convince the elves); and if this fails, well they will strip them eventually one way or another :-P


As for the shows:

If you have watched Rune Soldier you will definitely like it. The reason is that the series are build on a similar pattern that `Rune Soldier' was build on. Meaning, although there is a central storyline, some shows are more like episodes.
As for the animation, obviously it is not as great as the animation of some other shows out there, but still a good one.
The character development is good.
The story is more like a combination of action and fun.
Contains little nudity and violence.
As for the ending it gives the impression that at least one sequel will follow the present show.

To sum up:
There are various kinds of anime shows out there. But if you would like to have a nice brake from some `serious kind' series, and have a relaxed and enjoyable time, than these shows are definitely for you. As I also have said about `Rune Soldier', these series most probably form a separate category on their own; which means that they are funny in their own unique way.

To the final question:
Are these shows worth buying?
The answer would be yes and I personally am recommending them.

I hope I could provide some help...

SPOILER:

A reviewer said that in the end they do not collect all the pieces. Well, I would suggest him or her to watch more carefully the two last episodes of the second season because they actually do collect all of them.

I got some good chuckles out of this anime, one of those animes you wish they would have conituned some how... Fun to re-watch for laughs as well.

WHAT IS IN THIS SET:

One collectors box to hold your 4 thin-cased DVDs

Season One - 2 DVDs
DVD 1 (Episodes 1-6)
DVD 2 (Episodes 7-12)

Season Two - 2 DVDs
DVD 1 (Episodes 1-6)
DVD 2 (Episodes 7-12)

This series (especially series one) is now runner-up for my favorite anime series. If you consider my favorite has stood since it came out in 1992, that's saying something. (Oh, All Purpose Cultural Cat-Girl Nuku-Nuku is my favorite, tied with the Nuku-Nuku TV sequel series). If you like the humor style anime this one is a must.

The English dub is decent, but they make a lot of pop culture references. When some random elf starts talking about Celine Dion it kinda takes you out of the fantasy. Eventually I switched over to subtitles, which were truer to the original manga script.
Overall I'd say the series is pretty good. Not great, but on the whole it's a nice package. The animation is a little dated by todays standards, but really not noticeable once you get into it.

This show is about three soldiers who mysteriously find themselves in a fantasy world, and they must collect five different pieces of a powerful spell to return home. Unfortunately, these spell fragments are imprinted on the skin of five elves across this fantasy world, and so they must strip each elf they find. As risque as it sounds, there is no nudity in this show, and it's actually very funny. It doesn't have the awesome writing or animation as some of the really great anime shows out there, but it's pretty good for what it is.

Before I say anything else, let me state one thing: this series is great. It's one of my all-time favorites. TWHE (Those Who Hunt Elves) is about a trio of modern humans who are drawn into, and ultimately trapped, in a fantasy world where humans coexist with elves and such. Due to a minor incident during a ceremony to send them home, the spell being cast is split into five parts and tattooed on the bare flesh of five female elves. This means the travelers have to search the world for the spell one elf at a time, usually making for great gags. Now while this is the plot for both seasons, by no means does it make the series dull. Quite the opposite in fact, as the misadventures range from rescuing a town from fish pirates to a twisted parody of classic fairy tales.

Now let me say something about the content. This series, while rated for 13+, is not exactly something you would watch with the kids. At least, not if you are sensitive to foul language and sexual humor. The female elves, I've noticed, are extremely foul mouthed. For being members of an exotic and elegant race, they would make sailors blush almost every time they open their mouths. While they USUALLY only use minor swear words, there are several occasions in which stronger language is used.
As for the sexual content, there is very brief nudity. It is not explicit, just a couple of bare butt shots and I believe a couple scenes of frontal nudity (but the type of stuff you would see if you had a naked cartoon Barbie). In fact, it's done more for comedic effect than sexuality.

That's all for this guy's review, and I hope it helps.

After seeing a few episodes of this funny and witty anime I knew I had to get this set to add to my collection up there with Ranma 1/2, and Rune Soldier. The series is a mix of fantasy, action, and good old fashion mayhem as you have three Japanese travelers trying to return home after being mysteriously transported to this magical realm. After screwing up their first time trying to get home and interfering with the spell that the Elf sorceress was trying to cast causing the spell to fragment into five pieces and anchoring themselves onto the skin of other elves the foreign travelers must now find the elves with these mystical marks on them and collect them all to try and do the spell to return home. The anime may not be up to par with the recent animes of today like Death Note or Gundam Seed but remember that this was mad around 1996 technically, if you've seen the Ranma series I would put the animation on the same level as that. Also I agree that the Japanese voice actors did a far better job than the dubbed cast but some of the dubbed actors were pretty good not all but some, still it is better quality to listen to the series subbed as the Japanese cast seem to bring out the humor in the scenes a lot better than the English cast does. Don't expect much on the way of extras just the standard textless intro/ending songs and trailers that's about it. So if you like the light-hearted series where you'll get both the comedy and action this box set is a good pick for your anime library....

There are two very big minuses with this series:
1. The animation is lame, with lots of still shots, even in the fight scenes
2. The English dub is poor, and deviates quite a bit from the Japanese.

The premise was great, and I wanted to love this series, but did not. It will be better for those who watch in the original Japanese.

Those Who Hunt Elves was the first Anime I really ever watched and realized where it had come from. Sure, I think we've all seen "My Neighbor Totoro" or "Castle In The Sky" at some point, but I personally had never known they were made in Japan. Then when I found Those Who Hunt Elves, I realized they were from the same place and instantly fell in love with anime.

As for the story, I think it's one of the funniest around. A big macho guy stuck with 3 girls in another world. Plus poor Celcia, the bad things that happen to her, to me are just hilarius (pardon my spelling).

To anyone who has ever watched an anime and thought that all animes were like it, I recommend Those Who Hunt Elves. It's a one of a kind (that I've found).

I am a little disappointed that they never actually find all of the pieces at the end of season 2 (sorry for the spoiler), but the show overall I still rate 5 Stars.