Those Who Hunt Elves - The Complete Collection Reviews

• Comedy Hunters

  
  By AGR4LKC72JEQ8 on 2005-09-19
  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"
  
  
  

• Funny and very enjoyable shows

  
  By A3FIKATQ286DMV on 2006-05-10
  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.
  
  
  

• First Always

  
  By A16BAU37IMXWJ6 on 2005-12-27
  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.
  
  

• elves may be cute but I wouldn't hunt one

  
  By A1VCLTAGM5RLND on 2005-10-24
  Three warriors are stranded in a foreign land of a fantasy land or something and they must piece together the 5 parts of an ancient book so that they can return to Japan. The five parts of the book are written on the bodies of 5 elves that is funny.
  
  

• Elve stripping was never this funny.

  
  By A1E6UZZ1LHBIX on 2007-01-23
  Those who hunt elves is worth the buy, you won't regret it.
  
  
• Good Series
  By A1MXZV6SJU2NPA on 2007-03-18
  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.
  
  
• Time for some balance
  By A186DKII05QRXW on 2008-03-31
  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.
  
  
• Good laughs, Worth buying
  By A1FCCY5VAZ5WSG on 2008-07-29
  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)
  
  
• Those Who Hunt Elves
  By AMCLXS8DWW8GV on 2007-11-15
  Although I was dubious about buying this Anime I thouht I would take the chance after reading other peoples reviews about it. I have now Watched it through and found it at times about as subtle as a heard of wild elephants, but I would as say it is definitly worth a laugh at times.
  Stupid, silly even absurd but a good giggle none the less.
  
  
• Possibly the hardest I've laughed in years!
  By A3QO324Z4CUNNO on 2008-02-08
  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.
  
  

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