Those Who Hunt Elves: Thinpak Box Set

Those Who Hunt Elves is a fantasy anime with comedy theme to it. Taking place in an alternate world similar to earth. The high priestess of the elves, Celcia, was fighting against a powerful demon, so she cast a summoning spell, but instead of summoning something useful, she got three idiots from planet earth. Celcia did try to send them back, but the spell got screwed up and fragmented into different countries and etched themselves onto the bodies of elves. So the three idiots, Junpei- the martial artist, Ritsuko- sharp shooter, Airi- the movie star; join forces to hunt down elves. The funny thing is that they have to strip the elves naked to check if they have the spell fragments on their bodies. Celcia turned herself into a dog in disguise but found out that she couldn't return to original form unless she got the spell fragments too. They all traveled together on top of a battle tank that got possessed by the spirit of a cat. This series is funny, and had the right blend of action and character development. They fought against all types of creatures, including skeleton soldiers, fishmen, wizards and more. It's also funny how they try to convince the elves to strip off their clothes and their reactions. The cat-tank got excited and chased after mice and rabbits, yet was afraid of a dogs. The character design are great, I loved the elven women and the heroes were funny and skilled at fighting. I also liked how the anime was able to make fun of itself; in a couple of episodes the characters stated "...even for a fantasy show this is too corny". The only flaw is that the animation is not up to par with current anime standards. Some of the action sequences were done like still shots, instead of being fully animated. And even though the elves get nude, their bodies are blank looking and lack detail. But this series was as enjoyable as the "Slayers". Contain very Light nudity and slapstick violence, good for teens. Adults may think it is too dumb, but I enjoyed it very much. The english voice-acting is okay, but it is much better to watch this series in it's original japanese language.
Ends on episode 26. Most of it was episodic in nature but there was a continuity with the same characters. I also recommend the anime series called "The Slayers"

Outline of the story:

Those who hunt elves, is a show that resolves around three people, from our time, who got `trapped' in a parallel universe. The reason is that a high priestess of the elves messed up a spell, during a confrontation with a demon and brought these three humans to their world. Thing is that the spell got divided into five parts and in order to reverse the spell - and return home - they have to find the five parts of the spell and put them together; which are presented, more or less, in the bodies of five elves. In order to see which elves have a piece of the spell on their bodies, they have to take their clothes off (well, basically strip). The issues that arise out of it are:
- The humans are: Junpei, a martial artist, Ritsuko, a sharp shooter and Airi, a movie star while the problem with these three is that they behave more in accordance with their own personal `ego-trip' instead of working together and solve the problem (something that they will eventually do). Something that turns out to be very funny and entertaining
- The elven high priestess has transformed into a dog and in order to reverse the transformation they have to bring all five pieces together
- They ride across the country on top of a tank that possesses a cat spirit and behaves accordingly
- They have to come up with so many excuses in order to convince the elves to get rid-off their clothes, something that is truly funny (referring to what they will come up in order to convince the elves); and if this fails, well they will strip them eventually one way or another :-P

As for the shows:

If you have watched Rune Soldier you will definitely like it. The reason is that the series are build on a similar pattern that `Rune Soldier' was build on. Meaning, although there is a central storyline, some shows are more like episodes.
As for the animation, obviously it is not as great as the animation of some other shows out there, but still a good one.
The character development is good.
The story is more like a combination of action and fun.
Contains little nudity and violence.
As for the ending it gives the impression that at least one sequel will follow the present show.

To sum up:
There are various kinds of anime shows out there. But if you would like to have a nice brake from some `serious kind' series, and have a relaxed and enjoyable time, than these shows are definitely for you. As I also have said about `Rune Soldier', these series most probably form a separate category on their own; which means that they are funny in their own unique way.

To the final question:
Are these shows worth buying?
The answer would be yes and I personally am recommending them.

I hope I could provide some help...

SPOILER:

A reviewer said that in the end they do not collect all the pieces. Well, I would suggest him or her to watch more carefully the two last episodes of the second season because they actually do collect all of them.

I got some good chuckles out of this anime, one of those animes you wish they would have conituned some how... Fun to re-watch for laughs as well.

WHAT IS IN THIS SET:

One collectors box to hold your 4 thin-cased DVDs

Season One - 2 DVDs
DVD 1 (Episodes 1-6)
DVD 2 (Episodes 7-12)

Season Two - 2 DVDs
DVD 1 (Episodes 1-6)
DVD 2 (Episodes 7-12)