Sorcerer Hunters: The Complete Collection (2001)
Review by Dindrane
Film:
DVD:

Based upon the manga by Satoru Akahori and Rei Omishi
Directed by Koichi Masahimo

Features:

• Clean closing
  
• Character profiles
  
• Trailers
  

Dindrane's Anime Warnings:

• Lechery
• Black magic
• Sexiness

Released by: ADV
Region: 1
Rating: 17+
Anamorphic: N/A; appears in its original 1.33:1 format.

My Advice: Get it or die a sad, lonely death.

Based upon the popular, slapstick manga by Satoru Akahori and Rei Omishi, Sorcerer Hunters takes viewers to the Spooner Continent, where evil sorcerers are plaguing humankind. To stop them, the mysterious Big Mama assembles the Sorcerer Hunters. Kind of like an animated A-Team, the Hunters are an amusing collection of weirdos with super-powers. We get: the lecherous Carrot Glace, who turns into a giant minotaur when he absorbs magical attacks; Carrot's refined, priestly brother Merron who might or might not like girls; the blond tank Gateau Mocha; and the two Misu sisters, Tira, she of the transformation orange bathing suit and whip, and Chocolate, who transforms into a kind of bondage sex Nazi, complete with wire garrote--both of whom love Carrot with varying degrees of disclosure.

The first episode on the first disc throws viewers in medias res, just like all good, er, epics. Various episodes have the Hunters conquering shape-shifting sorcerers masquerading as sweet girls, age-old superstitions that would maroon young girls to a lifetime of virginity, lake spirits who once every hundred years take hot-girl form and judge humanity, and more, all in the hopes that Carrot will finally get a date. There is a larger plot that eventually emerges: Big Mama is really training them for a larger mission. It seems that Sacher Torte, one of the members of her earlier sorcerer hunting team, the Haz Knights, has gone rogue, and it's up to the new Sorcerer Hunters to bring him down. Big Mama refers to Carrot as the Ultimate Weapon, but he can't even control his transformations; how could he hope to save the world, especially when the villain hopes to use this ability to destroy everything?

The Complete Collection includes all twenty-six episodes that aired on TV in Japan, but not the three slightly longer and somewhat raunchier, thirty-minute straight-to-video episodes. As a side note, the second season was released on video in the US as Spell Wars: Sorcerer Hunters' Revenge.

The video quality is good, with bright colors and very nice designs. The villains and heroes alike look top-notch, as do the backgrounds, architecture, and other details, especially during the very watery episode, "A Dreamy Girl at Lakeside," and the very cool "Spirits of the Sorcerer Hunters" on disc four. The audio is also good, and this is one of those blessed shows where the English dub is as skillfully done as the Japanese original.

The features include some very nicely done character biographies, which include many of the villains, as well as the heroes. Would that more anime DVDs would include that particularly helpful and fun feature. Other features include a clean closing and original trailers.

Anime fans already know they need to pick up this set, but if you aren't an anime fan yet, then watch this and you'll probably become one. Fans of fantasy, comedy, and magical mayhem will adore this series. From fireworks competitions to dangerous red flowers, every episode is funnier than the last. While the strength of the show is its slapstick comedy, it also has some genuinely interesting plot twists and characters that have richer than usual emotional lives. The friendships are the center of the show, especially that between the sisters and rivals for Carrot's affections and that of the brothers. It might just become your newest guilty pleasure.