Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		2.0
Audio		3.0
Extras		0.5
Overall		3.5

Those Who Hunt Elves: Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie Review

An entertaining anime series with a surprisingly worthwhile standard-definition Blu-ray offering

Banned in China, the somewhat controversial Those Who Hunt Elves is an action-adventure comedy anime series based on the manga by Yu Yagami (Dokkoida!?) and produced by Group TAC (Space Battleship Yamato). The anime is a zany and politically incorrect comedic experience that viewers won't soon forget. The Blu-ray release contains both series: Those Who Hunt Elves and Those Who Hunt Elves 2 (which comprise the first and second seasons respectively).

Having accidentally become transported to a land of elves, the series follows the exploits of a group of four offbeat elf hunters who set out on a perilous quest to uncover hidden spell fragments which are adorned on the naked bodies of beautiful elves across the land. The group must uncover each of the five fragments in order to form a spell to make it back to their home in Japan. As the group hunts elves, they strip them naked in order to get a look at the fragments and piece together the puzzle piece-by-piece. Can the elf hunters find all the missing fragments and make it back to Japan?

The elf hunters are comprised of tough-guy Junpei, dangerous airhead Ritsuko, sexy leader Airi, and elf mistress Celcia Marie Claire. The big-guy muscle of the group is Junpei (who is the lone guy in the clan). Junpei is a tough karate master with a goofball personality who is constantly obsessed with eating food. Unlike the women in the group, Junpei can sometimes be a bit perverted and enjoys stripping elves naked (just because).

The gun-totting high-school girl, Ritsuko, has a mad love for ammunition, explosions, and tanks. Ritsuko drives the Type 74 high-end tank the group travels across the land with. Experienced in creating explosives and shooting with a sniper-rifle, Ritsuko is dangerously obsessed with weapons while being a carefree ditz at the same time. She is joined by the beautiful actress, Airi. The laid-back leader of the group, Airi makes sure to get the team out of difficult situations when necessary (as such moments do arise from time to time).

Last but not least, mistress Celcia Marie Claire is a leader of the elves who joins the task force and helps to guide them on their journey. Yet she doesn't have the appearance of an ordinary elf as she accidentally transforms herself into the shape of a dog (and later becomes a panda). The zaniness increases tenfold with Celcia Marie Claire at the sidelines. Can she help guide these off-the-wall adventurers to discovery of each spell fragment to transport them home?

Squint really hard and maybe it'll look high-def.

Those Who Hunt Elves is zany from beginning to end and almost unlike any other series that I have seen in the genre. Though the concept of the anime seems to be politically-incorrect in every degree, this is actually a far less offensive series than one might expect to find. It's more silly than exploitative or crude. The characters are all quite humorous and charming in their own way. The plot is absurdist at every level but the execution leaves a lot of room for comedic hijinks.

The first season of Those Who Hunt Elves is more risque than the second season. Season one is directed by Kazuyoshi Katayama (The Big O, Appleseed) and these episodes certainly place a greater emphasis on the elf-stripping exploits than the second season. Season 2 is more character-focused and features direction by Hiroshi Fukutomi (Flint the Time Detective, Suzuka). Both seasons were scripted by Masaharu Amiya (Steam Detectives, Blue Seed).

Those Who Hunt Elves is entertaining from start to finish. The series is largely successful because of the impressive cast of characters. The unique synergy of these off-beat characters makes this a zippy, charming anime with enough unique wit to keep viewers engaged. The concept itself might sound off-putting to some viewers but the execution isn't aimed at pleasing viewers with egregious fan-service in elf-stripping chaos. This is a comedic series through-and-through which has such a fun time with silly exploits centered around the elf-hunters that audiences will find the show one that is certainly worth checking out.

The animation is impressive with superb character designs and excellent background-artwork crafting a compelling fantasy world. As an anime fan, it's always great to see cell-based animation and this series is an exemplary example of how traditional hand-drawn animation can fare much better than many of today's modern CG animation productions. The more organic quality of the art fits things well and gives the series an advantage over less-adventurous modern productions. Those Who Hunt Elves is entertaining, charming, and well-animated. Fans of 90's anime productions will have a blast.

Those Who Hunt Elves: Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Arriving on Blu-ray from distributor Sentai Filmworks, Those Who Hunt Elves has received a 480p standard definition 4:3 full frame presentation. The anime series joins the ranks of other classic anime series which have been released on the Blu-ray format with standard-definition materials (due to source limitations).Given that the source elements are in standard-definition, the picture-quality has some of the usual drawbacks of SD material: the picture-quality is less crisp (with an inherent softness) and contrast throughout the presentation is never as robust as one would expect from high-definition material. Detail is less refined. The image is never going to approach the quality of a true high-definition source.

While my initial response to this standard-definition move is to dismiss it altogether, an argument can also be made in its favor: though the standard-definition video is far from impressive it's also a moderate improvement on a 480i signal and the better compression methods of the Blu-ray format offer modest improvements to some material (as is visible on the release of Those Who Hunt Elves). Color has a modest boost and is more impressive than it would be on a standard DVD while the interlacing is less pronounced due to the 480p encoding. These are extremely moderate improvements and not everyone who already owns the series will find the slight increase in quality worth the extra cost.

Those Who Hunt Elves: Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The better reason to consider the standard-definition Blu-ray release of Those Who Hunt Elves is the lossless audio options: the DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Japanese and English tracks manage to offer viewers a moderate fidelity boost with better compression than the DVD counterparts can provide. Dialogue is consistently clear and easy to understand. The music score sounds a tad more punchy, pronounced, and fluid than it would on a standard DVD (with its far more compressed audio). Its certainly not a flawless audio presentation but the release offers moderate improvements that are worthwhile. Despite the lack of a 5.1 surround sound mix, the series sound-design works. English subtitles are provided for the original Japanese language version presentation.

Those Who Hunt Elves: Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The release also includes a selection of trailers promoting other releases available from distributor Sentai Filmworks: Pet Shop of Horrors (SD, 1:23), Princess Resurrection (SD, 1:32), Cutie Honey Universe (HD, 1:33), and Waiting in the Summer (HD, 1:33).

Those Who Hunt Elves: Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

There is something surprisingly charming about Those Who Hunt Elves. The series is remarkably energetic and the cast of characters are vibrant. The animation is impressive and the series has a unquestionable energy that carries audiences through an entertaining journey. The Blu-ray is an interesting proposition, to say the least: encoded in standard-definition (at 480p), the series only receives a modest presentation-quality boost over a standard DVD rival. The video improvements are slight at best.

The Blu-ray has a lossless audio presentation and the convenience factor of having the complete series spread across only two discs (one for each season). These elements are certainly enticing. Given the relatively low cost of the set (and the quality of the series itself), the set may be worth picking up for newcomers. Those who already own the series on DVD might have to weigh the pros and cons of such a release first before deciding on whether or not the modest-at-best improvements are truly worth one's coin.