First "Noir," then "Madlax" -- now "El Cazador"

[chloes_fork]

According to a report at Anime News Service.com (http://www.animenewsservice.com) (scroll down the page about halfway), the third series in Bee Train/Koichi Mashimo's girls-w/-guns "trilogy" that started with Noir and Madlax is coming to Japanese TV in April. Entitled El Cazador, the show "centers on characters Ellice and bounty hunter Nadi."

As a huge fan of Noir (my anime "gateway drug") and a less fervent but still favorable admirer of Madlax, I'll definitely be watching developments here with great interest.

[Fencedude]

http://www.elcazador.tv/

How...austere.

Anyway, its ANS so I'll take it with a moderately sized grain of salt until a news service that I don't think is totally full of shit says something about it.

[The Great Bear]

http://www.elcazador.tv/

How…austere

I guess this is from the "less is more" school of web site design.

I liked Noir a lot, Madlax not so much. I guess I will wait until there is more information before I get my interest up.

[Lego]

http://www.elcazador.tv/

How...austere.

Anyway, its ANS so I'll take it with a moderately sized grain of salt until a news service that I don't think is totally full of shit says something about it.


THAT IS THE BEST WEBSITE EVER. Wait, wait wait, I can tell the plot from that page. It'll have two girls, one different personality wise from the other that have guns and find out about themselves during the series? Wow, I'm a genius.

[TheGreenMan]

http://www.elcazador.tv/

How...austere.

Anyway, its ANS so I'll take it with a moderately sized grain of salt until a news service that I don't think is totally full of shit says something about it.


THAT IS THE BEST WEBSITE EVER. Wait, wait wait, I can tell the plot from that page. It'll have two girls, one different personality wise from the other that have guns and find out about themselves during the series? Wow, I'm a genius.

And shoujoai. Sugesstive lesbian themes FTW. :D

[BluWacky]

It's confirmed; I've seen the Newtype scans.

Not the usual character designs, but it's definitely got the normal Mashimo lighting effects (I presume this means that Tsubasa Season 3 is either not happening or is coming a bit later than April?)

[Lego]

ANS was reporting that there were some 70 odd shows airing either this spring or summer. So it might be in their, but a series of that high profile wouldn't be left out to dry.

[chloes_fork]

It's confirmed; I've seen the Newtype scans.
Went looking, and a small version of one such scan can be seen on this page (http://kineska.blogspot.com/). If there are more/bigger elsewhere, please share.

A little more plot info is found on this page (http://www.moedosed.com/2007/01/06/「noir」-→-「madlax」-→-「el-cazador」-site-news/): "It’s about a girl named Elis, who finds herself on the run from the so called Hunters of the underground society due to being a suspect of a murder. She meets up with a bounty hunter named Nadi who offers her help and guidance to pursue the truth of her past. For some reason the Hunters are now after her as well."

Finally, it's being noted that Kanemaki Kenichi is credited with "Series Composition." Seems he co-wrote the screenplay for Agent Aika, and also penned an episode of Najica Blitz Tactics. A girls-w/-guns veteran.

EDIT: Found a much larger scan of a different image here (http://img63.imageshack.us/my.php?image=011dz3jc6.jpg).

[Johnny]

Noir was great, Madlax was outstanding, so I'm expecting this to be the best of the lot.

[Gatts]

It's listed on Moonphase (http://d.hatena.ne.jp/moonphase/20070106) right after Kiddy Grade 2.

[Fencedude]

It's listed on Moonphase (http://d.hatena.ne.jp/moonphase/20070106) right after Kiddy Grade 2.

I never really doubted it, I just had an opening to point out that ANS is failure, and took it.

[something]

I like the character designs, I liked Noir, I'm interested in Madlax (cmon ADV, make with the thinpaking), so I'll keep my eyes on this one.

[TheGreenMan]

I like the character designs, I liked Noir, I'm interested in Madlax (cmon ADV, make with the thinpaking), so I'll keep my eyes on this one.

Yeah, I like the designs too. I hope ADV comes out with a thinpack for Madlax soon. I collected the first few volumes, but stopped.

[something]

Yeah, I like the designs too. I hope ADV comes out with a thinpack for Madlax soon. I collected the first few volumes, but stopped.
I really wish I had watched more than one episode when it aired. I don't even think I finished the ep either, I was distracted by something. It did seem a little silly but this was before I saw Noir (which is great) and before people I trust spoke highly of Madlax. I don't remember when it got licensed, but it was probably after enough episodes to convince me to buy singles. But barring that, I wait for a set... which I thought they would have solicited already.

Well, not like I haven't waited long enough already, it'll come in time.

[TnAdct1]

If ADV ends up licensing this, looks like we can expect another Easter Egg in which sock puppets of the show's main female character attempt to kill Chris Patton. :D

[The Great Bear]

If ADV ends up licensing this, looks like we can expect another Easter Egg in which sock puppets of the show's main female character attempt to kill Chris Patton. :D

Yes, that would be great. But sadly that means Hilary Haag is going to get forked again!

[Lego]

The girl on the right made me think of Dita from Vandread right way..

Still, character designs look nice.

[Nork22]

Ah so this is the series that will have cameos of the girls from Noir and Madlax. Well that's what Matt Greenfield told me last year.

[HitokiriShadow]

I figured there would be another one in the near future since the "trilogy" and the desire to make another series was mentioned in an interview in Newtype USA about a year ago. Noir was so-so, but I loved Madlax. I look forward to this series and hope they do a good job on it. I eagerly await the hearing more Yuki Kajiura. :)

[Ty]

It looks as though they have a different original character designer this time. Nice style, but I don't really care for either of the girls pictured in the scan. Maybe it's the color choices for the hair (not fond of burgundy or that nasty yellowish green that's been seen alot lately). Kirika was cute as a button to me.

Anyway, as much as I want to look forward to this I haven't seen a Bee Train show in a long time that I didn't think was garbage, and if it's the same god awful director who did some of their recent works like Avenger then I don't even need to see episode 1.

[Herufaiya]

I dunno...I mean, I love Noir, to death, but Madlax, uggh, I could barely sit through what I saw of it, and what's more, Nadi's eyes have so much lgiht and fervor to them, and Elis' apparent innocence, well, it betrays none of the depth Noir so capably carried with it, Noir simply was, in every sense of the word, unabashedly real, dark, tragic, sweet, sad, and everything in-between, but trying to recapture the concept, it just doesn't seem possible in the way their going about it, I can't help but respect the team that created Noir, but that doesn't mean I eat whatever they serve.

[Serial Experiments Nobue]

I can't help but respect the team that created Noir, but that doesn't mean I eat whatever they serve.

I know what you mean. I enjoy Noir a lot; it's very good for (what I feel is) a 'style-over-substance' series. I like the mood that the cinematography and music create in Noir. (and then there's Kirika... :sweatdrop: ) But for some reason, I just never got excited about Madlax (and have been in no hurry to check it out), so we'll see how this new series fares.

[Vicserr]

I like the character designs, I liked Noir, I'm interested in Madlax (cmon ADV, make with the thinpaking), so I'll keep my eyes on this one.


Yeah ADV bring on the Thinpak, so I can pick the singles (2-7) for cheap :P

[BluWacky]

A little more plot info is found on this page (http://www.moedosed.com/2007/01/06/「noir」-→-「madlax」-→-「el-cazador」-site-news/): "It’s about a girl named Elis, who finds herself on the run from the so called Hunters of the underground society due to being a suspect of a murder. She meets up with a bounty hunter named Nadi who offers her help and guidance to pursue the truth of her past. For some reason the Hunters are now after her as well."

El Cazador de la Bruja, the full title of the show, means "The Witch Hunter" in Spanish. So when Elis busts out the glasses and handlebar hairstyle we'll know the series has really taken off :)

The internal project name for the show appears to be "Leviathan"; god knows how that'll factor in to the show. I loved Madlax, even though it's completely insane tosh, and I'll at least check out the first episode of this when it airs.

[mighty_vespa]

*looks at site*

Oh. So, that's what happened to Ed post-Bebop. :roll:

[TheGreenMan]

*looks at site*

Oh. So, that's what happened to Ed post-Bebop. :roll:


Hmmmm...western, space western, or something else entirely?

Edit: BTW, the title means "The hunter (or hunt) of the witch." That's what one of librarian's I work with said (and Google).

[something]

*looks at site*
Oh. So, that's what happened to Ed post-Bebop. :roll:
...I don't get it, is there part of the site with more than just what's on that one image page? I'm not sure what reminds you of Ed there.

[Dicrel Seijin]

How...austere.

Indeed.

My Spanish is rusty but a loose translation of the title would be "The (male) Hunter of the (female) Witch."

Is this a witchfinder title or does the title have no relation whatsoever to the plot?

I get more of a Weird Wild West/ pirates vibe from the wanted poster and the bar.

[chloes_fork]

I get more of a Weird Wild West/ pirates vibe from the wanted poster and the bar.
They're just isolated images, of course, but with reference to earlier Bee Train productions, they actually call Avenger to mind more than Noir/Madlax. Not the mental association I'd prefer to be making.

[Vicserr]

[My Spanish is rusty but a loose translation of the title would be "The (male) Hunter of the (female) Witch."


You are correct, The Witch Hunter for short ;)

[Nakuru Akizuki]

Anyway, as much as I want to look forward to this I haven't seen a Bee Train show in a long time that I didn't think was garbage, and if it's the same god awful director who did some of their recent works like Avenger then I don't even need to see episode 1.

Erm... Koichi Mashimo, director of Noir and Madlax, also directed Avenger. I don't know what Bee Train shows qualify as "recent" for you, but... :sd:

[Ty]

Anyway, as much as I want to look forward to this I haven't seen a Bee Train show in a long time that I didn't think was garbage, and if it's the same god awful director who did some of their recent works like Avenger then I don't even need to see episode 1.

Erm... Koichi Mashimo, director of Noir and Madlax, also directed Avenger. I don't know what Bee Train shows qualify as "recent" for you, but... :sd:

I just don't care for his "style" if you can call it one. Waste half the budget on the first episode, then resort to choppy animation until the last third of the series. Tons of enigmatic plot points that get revealed early and all at once but usually never go anywhere. Shows that run on and on and then freak out 2 episodes before the ending and totally change course in some lame deus ex machina plot twist that sends us thrusting towards a rush and nonsensical ending. Everything in between the confusing beginning and confusing end is paced too slowly and tries to feel profound but instead just ends up being fillerish.

Is there anything about this man's "style" I'm forgetting? For the record I like Noir enough (not like I did when it first came out though) and can watch .hack if I'm in the mood for something slow, but everything this guy's done hasn't worked for me personally. Avenger was just plain awful by anybody's standard and it's hard to look forward to somebody's work with that on their record.

[Fencedude]

So, in other words, you weren't paying a damn bit of attention when you watched the shows?

(that being said, Avenger DOES suck, but no one's perfect)

[pianocello]

And shoujoai. Sugesstive lesbian themes FTW. :D


Quite frankly, I'm tired of them teasing the audience in Noir and Madlax with only subtext. They better go all out and give us a full-blown hot yuri scene.

[Serial Experiments Nobue]

Shows that run on and on and then freak out 2 episodes before the ending and totally change course in some lame deus ex machina plot twist that sends us thrusting towards a rush and nonsensical ending.

That was the one thing I didn't like about Noir. The 'plot twist' came from nowhere, and I was scratching my head wondering what it had to do with anything that had gone before. In Noir's case, I felt the last 2 episodes saved the ending of that one, which is why it still earns repeat viewings.

But still, the whole thing with Kirika getting unhinged was Noir's biggest fault, imo. I liked the ending, but it needed a different lead-in.

That's one reason I never got excited about Madlax. I didn't want to go through that kind of distraction again.

[Ty]

So, in other words, you weren't paying a damn bit of attention when you watched the shows?

(that being said, Avenger DOES suck, but no one's perfect)

In other words, I think the shows have shitty planning resulting in a haphazard story with little direction and focus. I had no trouble following what was going on if I inadvertently implied that, but I felt what I was following was sloppily done.

[Fencedude]

So, in other words, you weren't paying a damn bit of attention when you watched the shows?

(that being said, Avenger DOES suck, but no one's perfect)

In other words, I think the shows have shitty planning resulting in a haphazard story with little direction and focus. I had no trouble following what was going on if I inadvertently implied that, but I felt what I was following was sloppily done.

I'll admit that Noir could have been a bit tighter, but I never felt it was horrendously paced or anything, I've seen many shows that were FAR worse.

Madlax, despite having a much more convoluted and WTF-ish plotline, is actually far, far tighter than Noir was, and does not waste time.

Granted, this isn't exactly apparent the first time through, but a rewatch makes clear just how much they throw stuff in your face in the early episodes.

...and I'm not going to defend Avenger, because it was a pile of shit.

[CrazyAsano]

...and I'm not going to defend Avenger, because it was a pile of shit.

That's a very fecesist attitude.

[Fencedude]

...and I'm not going to defend Avenger, because it was a pile of shit.

That's a very fecesist attitude.

*snicker*

[Herufaiya]

Madlax, despite having a much more convoluted and WTF-ish plotline, is actually far, far tighter than Noir was, and does not waste time.

Granted, this isn't exactly apparent the first time through, but a rewatch makes clear just how much they throw stuff in your face in the early episodes.

Right, it was "tightness" that Madlax lacked, it wasn't, say, interesting and developed characters, a quality soundtrack or simply artistic direction, then, well...

[haruhara]

Madlax, despite having a much more convoluted and WTF-ish plotline, is actually far, far tighter than Noir was, and does not waste time.

Granted, this isn't exactly apparent the first time through, but a rewatch makes clear just how much they throw stuff in your face in the early episodes.

Right, it was "tightness" that Madlax lacked, it wasn't, say, interesting and developed characters, a quality soundtrack or simply artistic direction, then, well...

I loved Madlax because it did have interesting and developed characters, an awesome soundtrack and excellent direction. But then, Beetrain anime always does seem to be love it or hate it. I for one love Mashimo's style, and Madlax remains one of my favourite series to date.

I read about this third show in a trilogy of Beetrain anime in one of the Madlax DVD booklets, so ive been looking forward to this one for a while.

[Herufaiya]

I certainly won't deny it at least a few episodes, this is spawned from Noir, after all, and Noir is an anime I treasure deeply, above all but perhaps The Big O and Gundam Wing, so I feel that I owe BeeTrain this much, but shows like Arc the Lad, Avenger, Madlax, .hack, none of these were anything near what Noir did, what Noir said, and though I won't call it a fluke, it does make me wonder what the directors were looking for with Noir, A, and B what they think they've succeeded in creating with Madlax and now El Cazador.

[haruhara]

I love Noir a lot, but I really feel that Madlax surpasses it.

But those two series are the only ones from BeeTrain that I liked, so although this new series sounds exciting to me I don't want to get my hopes up too high.

[Nakuru Akizuki]

So, in other words, you weren't paying a damn bit of attention when you watched the shows?

(that being said, Avenger DOES suck, but no one's perfect)

In other words, I think the shows have shitty planning resulting in a haphazard story with little direction and focus. I had no trouble following what was going on if I inadvertently implied that, but I felt what I was following was sloppily done.

I'll admit that Noir could have been a bit tighter, but I never felt it was horrendously paced or anything, I've seen many shows that were FAR worse.

Madlax, despite having a much more convoluted and WTF-ish plotline, is actually far, far tighter than Noir was, and does not waste time.

Granted, this isn't exactly apparent the first time through, but a rewatch makes clear just how much they throw stuff in your face in the early episodes.

...and I'm not going to defend Avenger, because it was a pile of shit.


While acknowledging Mashimo's involvement and influence as director, it's also worth noting the other individuals responsible for these shows.

Madlax is easily the strongest show in terms of writing and construction (if not necessarily plot), and this is easily attributable to Yosuke Kuroda's writing. The man knows how to put a show together, whether doing it himself or overseeing a project, and it's very apparent in Madlax. It's still very much a Mashimo story, and I'd argue that Kuroda's work on the project suffers because of it, but really it's as if we simply got a Studio Orphee series in disguise, and I'm okay with that.

With Avenger, we have more writing from Hidefumi Kimura, a man who proved he could do great comedy with Dai-Guard, but also proved that we generally shouldn't expect anything but shoddy work ranging from bizarre to piss-poor in series such as Generator Gawl, Kiddy Grade, and Uta Kata. I realize a lot of people like Kiddy Grade, but I'd hope that those same people can at least recognize that the story layout is crap because Kimura simply can't plot properly. His complete disconnect from proper pacing or plot structure, coupled with Mashimo's peculiar directing style, could at best only produce the steaming pile we know as Avenger.

I'm honestly not sure where Noir's writing went awry, as Ryoe Tsukimura has a remarkable list of projects to his name that he's not only written but helped plan and conceptualize as well, including El-Hazard, Tenchi Universe, Asagiri no Miko, and Tenamonya Voyagers. Perhaps he just wanted to get something like Noir out of his system? I'd hope a lesson was learned in the process, and he's going to stick to comedy from now on.

Anyway, say what you will about Mashimo, but there's more at work on these shows, as with any show or movie or whatever, than just the director and his eccentricities and shortcomings.

[something]

With Avenger, we have more writing from Hidefumi Kimura, a man who proved he could do great comedy with Dai-Guard, but also proved that we generally shouldn't expect anything but shoddy work ranging from bizarre to piss-poor in series such as Generator Gawl, Kiddy Grade, and Uta Kata. I realize a lot of people like Kiddy Grade, but I'd hope that those same people can at least recognize that the story layout is crap because Kimura simply can't plot properly.
It's not the best ever but I do genuinely disagree that the plot is bad, or paced badly, or whatever. It was only at the end that things got silly, and even then everything was better when I watched it a second time. And I really like Uta~Kata as well.

I haven't seen Gawl or Dai-Guard, so of the two non-Avenger works from him I did see, he's pretty good. Now Avenger was nowhere near Kiddy Grade or Uta~Kata quality. That said, I didn't hate it, even if it's easy to admit it has many flaws.

[Nakuru Akizuki]

With Avenger, we have more writing from Hidefumi Kimura, a man who proved he could do great comedy with Dai-Guard, but also proved that we generally shouldn't expect anything but shoddy work ranging from bizarre to piss-poor in series such as Generator Gawl, Kiddy Grade, and Uta Kata. I realize a lot of people like Kiddy Grade, but I'd hope that those same people can at least recognize that the story layout is crap because Kimura simply can't plot properly.
It's not the best ever but I do genuinely disagree that the plot is bad, or paced badly, or whatever. It was only at the end that things got silly, and even then everything was better when I watched it a second time. And I really like Uta~Kata as well.

To clarify, I have no problem with Kiddy Grade's plot. I thought the plot was a very entertaining, albeit cliched, creation that incorporated some interesting twists, and generated a story that made good use of it. I do, however, have a problem with Kiddy Grade's pacing and structure, which do the plot and story a disservice by spending time and episodes unwisely. I'll readily agree that Kiddy Grade is much better the second time, but I'll argue that that's so largely because you already know what's going to happen and don't need to rely on the show to lay it out for you, because it doesn't do a very good job of it, or at least not as good a job as it should.

I haven't seen Gawl or Dai-Guard, so of the two non-Avenger works from him I did see, he's pretty good. Now Avenger was nowhere near Kiddy Grade or Uta~Kata quality. That said, I didn't hate it, even if it's easy to admit it has many flaws.


For the record, I like Kiddy Grade. If anything, I'm just disappointed that it wasn't better because it really could've been (like almost every Philip K. Dick novel), and I have a lot of (cautious) optimism for Kiddy Grade 2/Kiddy Generation/whatever it's going to be called and hope now that Gotoh and company have been through this "let's make a show" thing twice that now they can concentrate on the fine details and not have to worry about not having done this on their own before.

Dai-Guard I consider to be Kimura's best work to date, and perhaps as mentioned before it's because it's a comedy and Kimura might just be really good at comedy. But, it's also worth noting he was co-writing with Fumihiko Shimo, who's worth noting as well for writing, scripting, and conceptualizing duties on a number of titles (Full Metal Panic!, Gravion, Air, and the Kanon remake, among others), so that may have factored into the final writing product as well. Well, that, and Dai-Guard is one of Seiji Mizushima's works, and we all know he's a very capable director.

[AbeChinchilla]

I've been waiting for this! I just hope that it really does tie the three series together, as Koichi Mashimo had stated interest in doing before...

I enjoyed NOIR.
I absolutely loved MADLAX.
And now...

<3

Oh, and AVENGER had its faults, but it was still a hell lot better than Chobits. (Yeah, yeah. Forgive the random comparison).

/BeeTrain fan.

[Shsway]

It's confirmed; I've seen the Newtype scans.
Went looking, and a small version of one such scan can be seen on this page (http://kineska.blogspot.com/). If there are more/bigger elsewhere, please share.

Ditto on that, because that pic is YUM.

I read about this third show in a trilogy of Beetrain anime in one of the Madlax DVD booklets, so ive been looking forward to this one for a while.

Now that you mention it, I recall this as well...it was in the notes included with the 1st or 2nd volume of the R1 release, I believe.

I have yet to finish either Noir or Madlax, though the latter was far more interesting to me. Avenger is bad, but it was fun while it lasted! I <3 Toyoguchi Megumi...though the poor dear really could have used more dialogue.

Edit: Abe, how dare you speak against a program that housed both a Chii and a Sumomo?!

[AbeChinchilla]

Edit: Abe, how dare you speak against a program that housed both a Chii and a Sumomo?!

But you see, it also housed an extremely annoying boy named Hideki.

[Shsway]

But you see, it also housed an extremely annoying boy named Hideki.

Hideki's cluelessness was a bit extreme in the anime at times, but acted to death by both Sugita Tomokazu and Crispin Freeman, who are both stellar and wonderful and stuff.

I swear, I think I'm the only one who actually found Hideki lovable in these parts. Well, that's next on the rewatch pile, so mayhap I'll change my mind this time around? :)

[battle001]

I loved Noir
I grew to like Madlax
Avenger was cheap,so i got my money's worth
and i'm a dot hack freak

so i have no complaints. maybe it will be better maybe it will be worse but i'll still watch the whole series before i judge it. <This is why i'm broke>

[HitokiriShadow]

Trailer Here (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O9d90Zhza28)

I already figured I would like Blondie, but I like her even more now. Apparently, based on the footage around :22-23, she enjoys feeling up other young women. Also, it seems that these two will be a bit more energetic and talkative than their counterparts in the previous two series.

[TheGreenMan]

Trailer Here (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O9d90Zhza28)

I already figured I would like Blondie, but I like her even more now. Apparently, based on the footage around :22-23, she enjoys feeling up other young women. Also, it seems that these two will be a bit more energetic and talkative than their counterparts in the previous two series.

I think she likes it. The yuri lives on in this one as well.

Edit: I'm referring the younger girl in the above statement.

[Talyn]

Have not seen any of Madlax, even teaser trailers... Love Noir to no end, this looks full of chaotic energy definitely a contrast to the calm and methodical Noir... Good way to end the chapters of kick ass chicks... I need to see Madlax...

[Captain Impulse]

Hey, as long as there aren't any characters with retarded names like "Friday Monday", I think I'll enjoy this series as much or more than Noir or Madlax. ;)

[Ty]

Hey, as long as there aren't any characters with retarded names like "Friday Monday", I think I'll enjoy this series as much or more than Noir or Madlax. ;)
I lol'ed. Had forgotten about that name.

[chloes_fork]

Another, longer trailer here (http://www.jvcmusic.co.jp/m-serve/elcazador/asx/v-01135B.asx?elcazador).

[AbeChinchilla]

Another, longer trailer here (http://www.jvcmusic.co.jp/m-serve/elcazador/asx/v-01135B.asx?elcazador).

Looks promising! But it does appear to be a bit lighter in tone. Cutesy-like even... Ah well, maybe they're hiding a dark secret.

[something]

Looks promising! But it does appear to be a bit lighter in tone. Cutesy-like even... Ah well, maybe they're hiding a dark secret.
Don't worry, I'm sure they'll have SAD, TRAGIC PASTS™ for us to revel in. At any rate, I look forward to it. All I'm expecting is good sexy fun and likable characters, any interesting plot or anything like that is just a bonus.

[TheGreenMan]

Looks promising! But it does appear to be a bit lighter in tone. Cutesy-like even... Ah well, maybe they're hiding a dark secret.
Don't worry, I'm sure they'll have SAD, TRAGIC PASTS™ for us to revel in. At any rate, I look forward to it. All I'm expecting is good sexy fun and likable characters, any interesting plot or anything like that is just a bonus.

Yes, the characters seem to be direct opposites of the girls from the last two, making the series look lively and fun. Did they decide to do that because of some criticism they got from the girls from Noir and Madlax being too cold?

[HitokiriShadow]

They probably just wanted to do something different. Both of the previous series had two brooding leads with few words and, honestly, I'm glad they decided to change that.

[DangerMouseDM]

I think it will still have plenty of that dark cold goodness though, they are just trying to make this new update of the trilogy a bit more lively which could be good.

Even with some of the "non-stupid humor" there are still plenty of very dark "Noir/Madlax" moments in that trailer and Nadi seems to be traditionally bad-ass and serious in all of the action clips in the trailer, she seems like she's going to be awesome. Ellis with what seems to be some special abilities Noir/Madlax-style also should be great and looks serious (and/or appropriately naively confused) the majority of the time, so I think it will just add a bit more life to the show and not take away from the all-important IMO, seriousness of the show.

The cuts that are a little lighter than the usual Noir/Madlax stuff will only be bad if it's too cutesy, in the trailer I felt it was still just "in character" enough (and not stupid humor) to not take over the seriousness and just add a bit of life, but it will be a tight rope since I definitely prefer it to stay "dark and mysterious" in overall tone. If Nadi is not portrayed as stupidly "bi-polar" then I like the sarcastic liveliness she has in the trailer since most of the time she still has that "Noir/Madlax face" duirng the cool action moves she shows off and sneaking/hiding clips.

Oh yeah, I hope that like in the trailer it's the Nadi Ellis friendship that gets the most character interaction and we don't have to endure any tacked-on love-interest type arc so that the story remains the focus just like in the previous shows.

[TnAdct1]

They probably just wanted to do something different. Both of the previous series had two brooding leads with few words and, honestly, I'm glad they decided to change that.

...along with the fact that the company is probably expecting another sock puppet "Easter egg" from ADV and are making it somewhat lighter in preparation for that. :P

[DangerMouseDM]

...along with the fact that the company is probably expecting another sock puppet "Easter egg" from ADV and are making it somewhat lighter in preparation for that. :P


LOL :D