Short Synopsis: It starts raining, so Ellis and Nadie take refuge in a house whose owner died long ago.
Good: Great combination of comedy, characters, mystery and thought-provoking elements.
Bad: Will Rozenberg be doing other things than just sitting on his chair?
Overall Enjoyment Value: 8/10

I just realized that I’m blogging quite a few series who feature a strong female lead, who travels along with one companion. It’s interesting to see that each season does have its distinctive features. It’ll also be interesting to see which of these series will turn out the best, as they’re all very good so far. El Cazador has its mystery, Wellber no Monogatari has its setting, Seirei no Moribito has its attention to detail and Claymore has its tragedy.

And really, ever since Eruhe (spelling?) emerged from the back of the car, I started to really like him. His obsession with Ellis just isn’t healthy, but he’s on one side very funny, and he has to have some kind of reason to be so obsessed over her. Ellis and Nadie are the same, in a way. Ellis herself has quite a few sides, a clueless girl, a murderous one and a compassionate, for example. Nadie, meanwhile, acts cheerful and level-headed most of the time, but she is actually hiding some kind of sad past. I love how balanced these first three episodes have been so far.

El Cazador also comes with a nice amount of symbolism, which doesn’t feel out of place at all. The main theme also is quite interesting: how people live their life after killing someone, and the aftermaths of the death of a person. I also love the addition of random cases of random people Ellis and Nadie run into. For some anime, it may not be a good idea, but it’s perfect for El Cazador. Again, a very good balance is kept between the story of the person who gets featured in the episode and the main storyline, unlike stories as Mushishi and Jigoku Shoujo, where Ai and Ginko take a step back in favour of the other characters. I’m glad I decided to blog this, as this episode gave me lots of inspiration and topics to write about. Now let’s hope that this series doesn’t go down, somewhere in the middle.

Short Synopsis: The second episode centres around Takashi Wako, as he gets to be the first to play the game.
Good: Gosh…. that ending.
Bad: Still no real bad points.
Overall Enjoyment Value: 8/10

I never understood what people have against slow mechas. Okay, they’re less testosterone-inducing, but slow mechas are far more realistic than these fast ones. I mean, where do they get the energy to swing a sword of roughly 3000 kilogram along with the speed of 400 km/second?

Anyway, before I start with the episode, I think it’s best to make a small list of the characters, as I just know I’ll forget their names if I don’t, especially with such a huge cast.

Takashi Waku, he’s probably the most stereotypical character of the cast, but even he easily defied the clichés in the second episode. He’s impulsive, likes to say what he thinks, and he’s really good with football. He used to be in a top-team, though I think his father made him quit.

Masaru Kodaka will probably cause a lot of conflict in the future, as he likes to get into arguments with others. I believe he was the one who tried to burn the crab in the previous episode.

Kunihiko Moji is about the opposite, and he likes to be on the good side of everyone. He’s also one of the more mature members of the cast.

Isao Kako is playful like Wako, but less innocent. Wako never really insults others, though Kako doesn’t really care whether he does or not.

Daiichi Yamura is probably the most level-headed of the cast, I like him.

Kanji Yoshikawa is sortof like a combination of Waku and Yamura. He’s carefree, though slightly mature at the same time.

Jun Ushiro is your typical elitist, he regards himself above the others, and doesn’t talk much, and when he does, it’s without a lot of respect.

Yosuki Kirie is an interesting character. He’s overweight and incredibly shy. Especially Kako likes to yell at him a lot.

Now for the girls:

Mako Nakarai hasn’t had a lot of screentime, and my memory is a bit fuzzy about her. More about her later.

Aiko Tokosumi, the one with the blonde hair and the hat is one of the more talkative females. Probably one of the more normal ones as well, I like her somehow.

Chizuru Honda seems a bit like a shy girl; with her my memory is fuzzy as well. The second episode was more about the boys than the girls.

Takami Komoda has the most objections out of everyone. Judging from the OP, she has a really high status at school, and likes to play piano. I think she’s trying to keep her reputation the way it is.

Maki Ano is the more care-free of the girls. She’s playful, but unlike Wako, she doesn’t try to force others, and unlike Kako, she never really insults others as well.

Yoko Machi also didn’t really get much airtime in the second episode, but from what I remember, she’s also more level-headed, but she doesn’t like to be proven wrong.

Kana Ushiro has been involved with this totally against her will. She’s the little girl, and she was just transported along with everyone else. It also seems that she’s Jun’s sister.

Kokopeli was the reason the kids got involved with everything in the first place. I wonder if we’ll see him again, now that he disappeared.

Koemushi (spelling?) took over Kokopeli’s role in guiding the children. He’s, to put it bluntly, completely arrogant.

Chiasu is the mecha that’s been hiding in the sea, and that will be piloted by our characters.

About the episode, like I mentioned above, it’s all centred on Waku. The episode itself was quite good, but I really liked the ending, in which Ushiro just pushes Waku off of the top of Chiasu, through the use of a simple joke. I can’t believe the first character has already died. At least, I assume he did, as so far, he seemed to be the main character of this story. I also can’t believe he just slapped his sister afterwards. I believe that that’s just a preview of things to come.