AKA: Elf o Karumono Tachi

Genre: Fantasy comedy

Length: Television series, 12 episodes, 23 minutes each

Distributor: Currently licensed by Sentai Filmworks.

Content Rating: 13+ (cheesecake, silly violence, general wackiness)

Related Series: Those Who Hunt Elves 2

Also Recommended:

Notes: Based on the manga by Yagami Yu.

Rating:

Those Who Hunt Elves

Synopsis

Anri, an award winning actress, Junpei, a curry-rice-scarfing martial artist, and Ritsuko, a gun otaku schoolgirl, find themselves magically transported to another world; along with a T-74 tank and a small arsenal of other assorted weaponry. The beautiful elven high priestess of the land, Celcia, tries to send the uninvited guests back to Japan with a powerful spell, but during the casting, something goes wrong and the enchantment, quite literally, shatters. Now, the different fragments of the spell needed to send the hapless trio home are scattered across the land, imprinted upon the bodies of unsuspecting elves. Celcia doesn't have the power to locate the exact elven bodies that carry the fragments, so what do our heroes decide to do? Why, begin strip searching every elf in the land of course!

Review

There really is no other way to describe this series in less than fifteen words except for: "Twice the chaos, but only half the intelligence of your typical anime." Because that's exactly what you get. From the absurd fish-men pirates of the first episode (who can't swim by the way ...) to undead terrorists, to heavy vehicular armor possessed by evil (well, sort of) cat spirits, Those Who Hunt Elves is a non-stop joy ride of cheap sight gags, bad puns, and copious cheesecake.

The animation is sort of middle-of-the-road for a show from the 90s. Not bad, just nothing to write home about. In all, it's bright and colorful; even the villains fail to be menacing really; this title just doesn't lend itself to seriousness at all. The music tends to be somewhat standard as well, but the opening song is rather catchy, with a retro-disco feel to it that makes you want to snap your fingers along with it.

Overall, Those Who Hunt Elves is one of those "brain-candy" shows with little redeeming value except a cheap laugh (and it does that well). You want suspense? Go watch Perfect Blue. You want high fantasy adventure? Perhaps Lodoss War would be best. You want intelligent dialogue and witty humor? Here Is Greenwood or Cowboy Bebop might be better for you. But if you want to watch something mindless and fun (you know, kick back in the lay-zee-boy, pop in a tape and let your brain melt), then Those Who Hunt Elves is just what the doctor ordered.

Add one star if you like your anime on the lighter side. — Jason Bustard

Recommended Audience: Lots of cheesecake, but no total nudity. The whole concept of traveling around the world and disrobing unsuspecting (always female) elves is probably best left to the teenage crowd and above anyhow.