Through the Milky Way

I came across a very cute 4-koma doujin of this lovely anime series "El Cazador...". It's very short, only 3 pages, but it's better than nothing. I've added the raws in an extra folder. Enjoy!



Artist: Saipaco
TL/Editing: Winterbraid
TL Check: Shijima

Download: "El Cazador" 4-koma (megaupload) | "El Cazador" 4-koma (hotfile)

Plot Summary: In the country of Gazth-Sonika, civil war rages. There, a mercenary called Madlax plies her trade, with almost supernatural skill. In the seemingly peaceful country of Nafrece, Margaret Burton lives a tranquil life. As separate as their lives may seem, the two are connected by ties of mystery, and by a holy book that is also sought by the shadowy organisation, Enfant. As Margaret and Madlax follow the path of their destiny, they come ever closer to uncovering the truth - with no guarantee that it is a truth they can bear to learn. ~ IMDb


Genres: action, drama, mystery, psychological, supernatural

Themes: assassins, girls with guns, military

Comment: I totally loved this anime! There was lots of mystery, action scenes, violence, and what it means to have friends in life, or to look after someone you care so much about, and protect this person with your life. It was almost heart-touching seeing Madlax, a professional mercenary-for-hire AKA "kind assassin", turning from a "robotic-killing-machine" to a person who was actually regretting what she was doing, that she could kill people very easily and yet feel nothing, not even compassion. She was never happy with her life, but she felt like it was her only purpose.

Margaret Burton, the other lead role, was the most boring character, EVER! She has all money in the world, lives with a maid who takes care of her, lives in a mansion, yet her life was dull, in great contrast to Madlax' life. Given that Margaret has lost her memory, almost didn't have a personality, but did she really have to be THAT boring, "dumb" and "naive", too? I mean, yes, I understood later on why she was like that, and her link to Madlax, why they were so much alike despite the differences, but still. As much as I have loved Madlax's character, I have disliked Margaret's.

However, watching this anime requires a lot of patience to finally understand what was going on, because the pace of the plot was horrendously slow! Anyway, this was my opinion of this anime, read my first impression in this post.


Watch Madlax online
at JustDubs (dubbed) | AnimeNetZone (dubbed)

List of Madlax characters:









(click image to view complete list)

Images to Madlax

Since I've recently watched El Cazador de la Bruja and totally enjoyed it, I went looking for animes that were of the same genre, drawing style, and theme, so I came across the other series, Noir and Madlax by the same director. I wasn't really sure which of these two were the most appealing so I watched both first episodes, only to realize that Noir kinda has turned me off.

Upon watching Noir first, I was unsure whether I would really find the motivation to continue. Seriously, it didn't catch my interest, unlike El Cazador de la Bruja, where I've instantly fallen in love with the anime by just the first episode. The character Kirika Yuumura rather iritated me with her too quiet voice and introverted personality, yet she could fight like a pro (this saved the character, in my opinion!). The action scenes were quite well done, but when she had this conversation with the other protagonist, Mireille Bouquet, asking for her assistance, Kirika Yuumura just irritated me further. The background music was way too loud for this very significant scene where they first met and agreed on a deal to work together, drowning out the shy girl's voice completely.

Madlax, on the other hand, did catch my interest a bit, so I guess I'll gonna finish watching this anime first, and then let's see whether I continue watching Noir or not. I think the reason why this anime (Madlax) appealed me more was because of its visual style. It's prettily drawn, and the lead role, Madlax, is actually quite the sexy, cool woman with a mission, wearing a dress and high-heels (mind you!) while fighting against an army of soldiers, blowing up tanks, and shooting with her eyes closed. Now that was awesome; kinda reminded me of Angelina Jolie in Tomb Raider, Wanted, and Mr. and Mrs. Smith. Just loved it!

Most of the reviews about Noir that I came across were quite positive. They said the story plot was great and it's definitely worth watching. But well, there's no accounting for taste, and maybe, just maybe, I might watch all episodes and post a new comment. I wonder if I'll change my mind about this anime? Hmm...


EDIT:
I've finally finished watching both animes. My second impression about Madlax and Noir, and to be honest, I was quite surprised. (^o^)

(English: The Witch Hunter)
"Girl-with-guns" triology animated by Bee Train Studio: Noir, Madlax, and El Cazador de la Bruja


Plot:
A fateful encounter between Ellis, a fugitive girl with amnesia, a troubled past, and supernatural powers, and Nadie, a feisty bounty hunter, leads to the two of them traveling south together in search of the key to unlocking Ellis' past. The only clues they have are a mysterious stone given to Ellis by a fortune teller she was staying with, and Ellis' notion that she has to go south. ~ wikipedia





Comment: Seriously, I keep rewatching this anime, all my favorite episodes and scenes, and I still enjoy it. It certainly was better than the other two of the Bee Train produced animes, Noir and Madlax, combined! You have to watch the triology starting from Noir, then Madlax, then El Cazador de la Bruja, to appreciate this anime even more, but I've watched it the other way around. This is why I was so disappointed when I watched Noir.

Nadie, the bounty hunter, is just such a feisty person, you can't help but love her! I love her cool, optimistic attitude, exceptional marksmanship, her witticism, and her loyalty to friends (seeing, in later episodes, the kind of strong bond she'd formed with Ellis, the bounty, and refused to accept her payment just to stay by Ellis' side). She even mentioned in the following episode when she ran out of money and was half starving that she should've accepted the payment instead of trying to appear "cool", but that she would've regretted it for the rest of her life. Because accepting the payment would've meant that she had to leave Ellis in Hayward's, her client, custody, without knowing what will happen to Ellis. Nadie has a habit of saying, "Got any last words, say 'em!" scaring her opponents to death. During the course of the series, Nadie has taught Ellis everything a "human being" should know, including all kinds of human emotions, even love. (I think they meant "love for a friend" here, and not implicitly "love as in being in love with a person". I dunno....)

Ellis is just this (what do they call it in anime-language?) moe-character? You will feel compelled to protect her even as an audience because she's just innocent, naive, cute and adorable, despite her supernatural powers and inhuman strength. If angered, mostly triggered when Nadie is in danger, you better not mess around with her. There was definitely character development, in each episode, you can see its progress, it's like filling water in an empty glass until it spills over.

I especially loved the finale of this series. Just heart-wrenching, because after all, love means sacrifice. Love means sharing the same pain and dying together if it comes down to it.

Anyway, that's it.

View links to episodes by clicking 'Read more'.

The eScapist's Review

Volume 1

Episode 1 | Episode 2 | Episode 3 | Episode 4 | Episode 5 | Episode 6 |Episode 7 | Episode 8 | Episode 9 | Episode 10 | Episode 11 | Episode 12 | Episode 13 | Episode 14

Volume 2

Episode 15 | Episode 16 | Episode 17 | Episode 18 | Episode 19 | Episode 20 | Episode 21 | Episode 22 | Episode 23 | Episode 24 | Episode 25 | Episode 26