Back in the 90s a cult fantasy anime series was released that offered up quite the change in pace from adventures like Lodoss War and many of the others. Those Who Hunt Elves proved itself to be a show that was heartfelt, hilarious, and a darn good ride while it lasted. It only had twelve episodes instead of a full season, but a second season was soon produced and the adventures were able to continue much to the delight of fans everywhere.

In reality though, both seasons are essentially the same. The same plot points return, the same characters, heck, even the same jokes stick around. The concept gets a little tiring after a while, but it is kept up with a fresh style and each episode offers up a different gag. You see, the whole purpose of the show is for our main characters to strip as many female elves as possible, in any way that they can.

Through a twist of fate our three heroes were sucked from our world into that of a fantasy land filled with elves, spirits and magic. They befriend (I use that term loosely) a revered leader and hero of the elves known as Celcia, who tries to assist them by conducting a ritual that would send them home. The only problem is that she gets distracted very easily, so when she loses her concentration, the spell shatters and the rite gets spread across the land. The only problem is that the mystical markings didn't just wind up anywhere, they were actually imprinted on the skin of a handful of elves scattered around the world. This leads our characters on a quest for the spell fragments, but the only way they can really do that is by disrobing elves across the land.

The group eventually becomes notorious and their reputation spreads around the globe. When Those Who Hunt Elves come to town, you'd better run unless you want to be publicly humiliated. This off the wall comedy/fantasy has a completely different tone from other fantasy themed anime and really is pretty absurd at times. That's part of the charm though, and even though the ideas get old after a little while, the show has a way of staying highly entertaining. That watching value comes from the cast of characters who teeter on the edge of cool and insane.

Junpei is easily my favorite character out of the bunch because he's the type to overreact to just about everything. He's a muscle bound knucklehead who is proactive in ripping the clothes of girls, enjoys getting into fights and is generally the biggest form of comedic relief that the show has. He's also always blowing up over little things and makes a scene no matter where he goes and what's happening.

Airi is much cooler headed than Junpei is and is seemingly the brains of the operation. She's a world renowned actress and can turn on the talent at a moment's notice, which comes in quite handy in sticky situations. She is usually looking for a more peaceful solution to problems by using her theatric abilities, but it doesn't always work. That's where Junpei and Ritsuko come in.

Ritsuko is a munitions expert who drives around in a tank, sets explosives and is pretty darned good with a sniper rifle. She's usually the most upbeat character and is very attached to her Type 74 tank which was transported to this world when they were. The tank eventually gets possessed by the spirit of a dead cat, which leads to it taking on a life of its own and more hilarious situations.

Celcia and Junpei are constantly at odds over absolutely everything. If one of them would say up, the other would say down. This adds a lot of friction to the show and it's hilarious to see them each blow up at each other, since they share a lot of the same personality traits. Even though she is one of the most honored elves around, Celcia is responsible for what happened to the group of characters from our world. She can't exactly help them out openly so she turns herself into a dog as a way to keep her identity disguised. Unfortunately for her she can't turn back into an elf until all of the runes are collected, so she's stuck as a mutt for basically the entire show. She also becomes the butt of a cosmic joke as the various magic symbols they come across become attached to her in some embarrassing manner.

If you can't tell by now, this show is off the wall in just about every way possible, but that's really where the charm lies. It's hard not to crack a smile when the group comes across an elf that they haven't seen in her birthday suit. The characters do act with a little bit of decency though and more often than not make the girls strip all on their own. It's these situations that give the Elf Hunters notoriety and they quickly become legends around the world.

There is a little bit of continuity that flows throughout the show, especially since each episode ties together into the same story arc. For the most part though, the individual stories here are stand alone adventures as the troop continues to roll across the landscape. Many characters reappear and some events are referenced in subsequent episodes, but if by some chance you accidentally skip an episode you shouldn't be totally lost.

I really enjoyed this show and since I had heard a lot about it before going in, I had high expectations that were fortunately all met. The thinpak contains both seasons and twenty four episodes in total, so you don't have to worry about being left out in the dark once the first season ends. There are of course some episodes that are better than others, but I didn't really feel that there was a "bad" one amongst the bunch (though it does get a little silly near the end of the first season). There is a lot of fanservice since the premise of the show is all about looking at naked elves, but it remains fresh enough that it's highly entertaining and a worthwhile watch.

With the original production back in the 90s, i>Those Who Hunt Elves is a nice looking show that doesn't really wear its age. It is presented with its original broadcast aspect ratio of 1.33:1 full frame and features some very nice quality on DVD. The animation is fluid, the colors are vibrant, and there is practically no cross coloration or aliasing. I did notice a few moments where there was some slightly visible grain, but it was nothing to mar the viewing experience. One issue of the show's production quality comes from a few occurrences of repeat or still animations, though even those moments still look very solid.

Both season of Those Who Hunt Elves come with 2.0 tracks for both English and the original Japanese. While both offer decent quality, I found the Japanese track to be all around better due to some annoying English dubbing on the other selection. The audio is free of distortion, but it's a little disappointing to not have a 5.1 option even though there is some minor directionality to the sound.

Absolutely nothing is available on the thinpak collection for bonus material, so if you're hoping to see something extra, you'll be left out in the dark.

Those Who Hunt Elves is a very entertaining romp through a strange fantasy world. The concept and characters are begging to tickle your funny bone, but I do have to admit that the idea behind the show gets a little old after a while. Fans will appreciate being able to get both seasons here, and for twenty four episodes you can't really argue with the pricing point. If you enjoy your anime with a little bit of fanservice, action and adventure, then this is a series you'll want to take notice of. Recommended

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