Those Who Hunt Elves

Those Who Hunt Elves

English release Volume 1 - Ready Set Strip!
エルフを狩るモノたち
(Erufu wo karu mono-tachi)
Genre Comedy, Action, Fantasy, Adventure
Manga
Written by Yu Yagami
Published by MediaWorks
English publisher
Demographic Shōnen
Magazine Dengeki Comic Gao!
Original run March 1994 – January 2003
Volumes 21
Anime television series
Directed by Kazuyoshi Katayama
Studio Group TAC
Licensed by
Network TV Tokyo
English network
Original run October 3, 1996 – December 19, 1996
Episodes 12
Anime television series
Those Who Hunt Elves 2
Directed by Hiroshi Fukutomi
Studio Group TAC
Licensed by
Network TV Tokyo
English network
Original run October 1, 1997 – December 24, 1997
Episodes 12

Those Who Hunt Elves (Japanese: エルフを狩るモノたち Hepburn: Erufu wo Karu Mono-tachi) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Yu Yagami. The plot revolves around three travellers, the eponymous "Elf Hunters", and the elven sorceress Mistress Celcia. The anime was released in North America on VHS and DVD by ADV Films.

Plot

Elf Hunters seek five spell fragments that have been placed on the skin of elves, similar to tattoos, throughout the magical world they have been transported to. When they find them, they will be able to return to Japan.

The Elf Hunters travel by means of a Type 74 tank, which has been transported to the magical world with them.

The reaction of various elves as the team attempts to strip them naked is a primary basis for much of the show's humour, and are more ridiculous than risqué. The series is also known for breaking the fourth wall, mostly from Junpei.

Characters

Elf Hunters

Junpei Ryuzouji (龍造寺淳平 Ryūzouji Junpei)
A 19-year-old Karateka & strongman with incredible fighting ability, Junpei is the muscle of the group as well as being the only male in the group. However, his rather rough way of saying things as well as his eye for beautiful women get him into trouble more often than not. He is constantly arguing with Celcia and obsessed about curry and, briefly, heliocentrism. Junpei abhors fantasy stories and might be atheist or agnostic. He is infatuated with Airi but is clueless to Celcia's own feelings for him as well despite their constant bickering. Junpei carries a wallet filled with membership cards from various dojos, and a condom with the words 'Use with Airi Only!' written on the wrapper.
Ritsuko Inoue (井上律子 Inoue Ritsuko)
A 16-year-old high school girl and military otaku. She's a tomboy but not to the point where she loses her femininity. She drives and maintains the tank (to which she has a strong attachment) and also acts as a sniper from time to time; she often sets landmines and booby traps. Despite her love of modern military hardware, Ritsuko also displays a more sensitive and innocent side: she falls in love with the cute Pichi and maintained a belief in Father Christmas long after her peers had abandoned it and is also frightened to death of ghosts. Ritsuko carries a Howa Type 64 Battle Rifle, SIG SG 550 assaut rifle, SIG P226 semiautomatic pistol, Heckler & Koch USP, G36 Assault Rifle, PSG1 Sniper Rifle, a sheath knife, some C4 and a Colt M16A1 Assault Rifle. She also speaks fluent English and German.
Airi Komiyama (小宮山愛理 Komiyama Airi)
A 24-year-old American-born talented actress, Airi is as skilled as she is beautiful. Able to cut from one emotion to another in an instant, and even disguise herself as someone else, Airi's talents come in useful for getting out of sticky situations that require trickery rather than brute force. Airi also has an ability to quickly and accurately assess any given situation and to plan for its eventual outcome. Although aware of Junpei's blatant affections for her, she does not reciprocate (although she does use them to her advantage, for example when getting Junpei to volunteer to be live bait to catch a giant shark by saying "Pretty please"). Airi carries a katana and a make-up compact kit.
Mistress Celcia Marie Claire (セルシア·マリクレール Serushia Marikurēru)
The unfortunate elf who happens to get tied up with her world's new visitors, Celcia offers to transport Junpei and the others back with a spell, but gets distracted in the process and causes her spell book pages to be spread out all over the world. She is a bit of a ditz and a bit psychotic and is constantly at odds with Junpei, but she is just as determined to get him and his friends back to their own world as they are - even despite her own feelings for Junpei (who she's actually in love with but publicly butts heads with). Generally, she wants them to get back home because they tend to cause a LOT of trouble. During the efforts to retrieve the spell fragments, Celcia displays an uncanny knack for getting stuck in animal form - first as a dog (Pochi), into which she'd willingly transformed, and secondly into a panda. The reason for her retention of these forms is that it is she who recovers spell fragments from the bodies of other elves, only for them to become cloven to her. Unfortunately, if they become cloven to her while she is in another form, it traps her in that form. Also, some of these marks are rather annoying. One, for instance, is a goofy looking black eye; another gives her a set of whiskers.
Mihke (ミケ Mihke)
  • Voiced by: Eriko Kawasaki (Japanese); Joe Jaworski (English) for Season 1 Eps. 5 -9 and Christopher Bourque (English) Season 1 Eps. 10-12, Tiffany Grant (English) for Season 2
The Type 74 tank is possessed during the show by the spirit of a cat known as Mihke. Mihke is first met by Elf Hunters possessing a giant teddy bear, which is then attacked by villagers, who explain that the spirit has been harassing them for some time. Upon the destruction of the bear, the spirit possesses a toy dog, found floating in a river by Ritsuko, before this too is destroyed.
Pichi (ピチちゃん Pichi-chan)
A small, white, teddy bear-like interdimensional creature with the ability to produce toilet paper, to whom Ritsuko takes a liking. Pichi ends up proving an incentive for the group, especially due to a plot involving a scarcity of toilet tissue.

Supporting

Annette (アネット Anetto)
A priestly elf and acolyte of Celcia who often appears during the group's adventures. Early in the series, she loses her faith and trust in Celcia for she thought she'd betrayed the elven race for helping out Those Who Hunt Elves and sought to stop TWHE by using a powerful spell, but ended up opening a portal and bringing more earth-originated material through. Subsequently, she ended up stripped naked and flowing down a river attached to a log. Despite this, she is later seen as a major supporter of Elf Hunters efforts to return to Japan. Probably because this is the best way to stop them.
Einal (エイナル Einaru)
  • Voiced by: Motomu Kiyokawa (Japanese) for Season 1 and Genmu Kiyokawa (Japanese) for Season 2, Bob Elliott (English) for Season 1 and Rob Bundy for Season 2
Beenal (ビイナル Bīnaru)
  • Voiced by: Cha Fu Rin (Japanese); Lew Temple (English) for Season 1 and Randy Sparks (English) for Season 2
They are the two Elven Bishops, with whom Annette and Celcia often consort and often disagree.
Emily (エミリィ Emirī)
An elven wind-priestess. She initially mistakes TWHE as the Legendary Trio when Hammerhead and his pirate crew raid her village.

Andy

An inhabitant of Emily's village.

Bronco

Andy's younger brother.

Hammerhead

Leader of a group of anthropomorphic sea creatures who hunt elves to sell as stuffed hunting trophies. They prove to be no match for Junpei's fighting skills, Ritsuko's weaponry and the T-74 Tank's gun.

Gabriella

An Amazon-like female elf. Her forces would be effortlessly defeated by Those Who Hunt Elves and she herself would fall to Junpei. After which she develops feelings for him for his honor as a fighter.

Dihal

  • Voiced by: Hiromi Tsuru (Japanese); Rebecca Connelly (English)
A female elf and leader of a town beset by skeletal warriors, she drinks a magic potion which causes her to grow, thus enabling Elf Hunters to search her naked frame. She spends the rest of the episodes in her giant form.

Rapier

A female elf and accomplished fighter, cursed with the numbers of her defeated rivals on her back. It can't come off until she's defeated her 1,000th opponent. She would fall to Junpei but was relieved of her curse because she learned the true way of the fist that her late sensei taught her but refused to listen. She thanks him and Junpei for relieving her of the curse.

Sister Romina

An elven nun.

Emmy

  • Voiced by: Minako Ito (Japanese); Amy Jackson (English)
A ghostly elf who claims to be a lesbian to keep Junpei from stripping her.

Pierre

Born-again ex-alcoholic hotelier.

Colleena

An elf who works in flower delivery.

Grace

A human dressmaker.
Milliea (ミリア Miria)
An elf cursed to eternally wear a magical suit of armor she donned in order to protect her city from an evil giant. After a few comical attempts by TWHE to strip her of the armor, she finally manages to remove it, only to put it back on again.

Milliea's Grandfather

  • Voiced by: Isami Tanonaka (Japanese); Matthew Kelly (English)
A short, shriveled-up elf who is also a pervert who holds an antidote for Millia's armor to come off.
Judge (ジャッジ Jajji)
The chief elven prosecutor for the world in which Elf Hunters find themselves. He is often looking for ways to end the heroes' reign of terror.
Magistrate (裁判長 Saibanchou)
  • Voiced by: Rin Mizuhara (Japanese); Alissa Alban (English) for Season 1 and Monica Rial (English) for Season 2
A female elf presiding judge who heard the case against Elf Hunters, only to award them a license to keep stripping elves as a means to return home.

Rosa

Mermaid elf leader.

Lana

Elven thief.

Nancy

A healer who has become a recluse after being inflicted with spell fragments.

Dr. Bruno

A scientist and astronomer, developing her father's heliocentric theories, much to the chagrin of the astronomical council. However, her theories are far different than the normal scientific definition.

Beano

Mr. Tomato

  • Voiced by: Donaldo (English)
They are two island-based botanists whose experiments with increasing plant growth exponentially end in conflagration.

Lilia

  • Voiced by: Minako Ito (Japanese); Melissa Williams (English)
An elf who plays the part of a ditsy schoolgirl in a scenario invented by the Judge to entrap Elf Hunters.

Mr. Wolf

A wolf who bears a grudge against humanity after the death of his parents. His plans are thwarted by Elf Hunters, who later save him from four elven hunters.

Grandma

  • Voiced by: Orine Fukushima (Japanese); Melissa Gybele (English)
Grandmother of Little Red Riding Hood.

Elven Hunters

  • Voiced by: 1. Jessica Boone {English) 2. Kathya Coker {English} 3. Kim Prause (English) 4. Melissa Williams (English}
Four psychopathic hunters who are eventually shown as female elves.

Pulana

An elf bearing an enchanted Chinese-style dress. She is rescued by Junpei and Ritsuko from the Friskers.

The Friskers:

The Chairman
Leader of the Friskers, a group who pride themselves on being the primary stripping faction in the Elf Hunters' fantasy world. Ironically, they worship TWHE as the premiere elf strippers.
Bunny Mask
  • Voiced by: Kenichi Ono (Japanese); Randy Sparks (English)
Mary the Shepherd
Man Who Stripped the Emperor
  • Voiced by: Takahashi Yoshida (Japanese); Rob Bundy (English)

There are several Father Christmases in the world in which Elf Hunters find themselves, including Satan, Infomercial and Salary Man Santas, as well as several female Santas - including Annette. There is also a Dog Santa.

Satan Santa
Infomercial Santa
Salary Man Santas
Regina
A powerful elven sorceress residing in Treetown, who firstly attempts to lure Elf Hunters into becoming human sacrifices by a trick, in order to save her world from destruction at the hands of the Legendary Sorcerer (subsequently ending up stripped), before imploring their aid when her fears become reality.

Mayor of Treetown

Helping Regina with her plans.

Bizarre

An elven master thief with plans for global domination. She is aided by two goblins.
Goblin 1
Goblin 2
  • Voiced by: Tomohisa Asabu (Japanese); Chris Patton (English)

Legendary Sorcerer

Having lain dormant for many years under Treetown, the sorcerer has the power to destroy the world.

Media

Manga

The manga was written and illustrated by Yu Yagami. It was serialized by MediaWorks in the manga magazine Dengeki Comic Gao! from June 1995 to March 2003, and collected in 21 bound volumes. It is licensed in English by ADV Manga, with only the first seven volumes published in English in 2004, before the series went on indefinite hiatus. ADV's website makes no mention of the series in manga form, so it is unlikely the series will be continued.

Anime

The series was licensed by ADV Films, who released as 4 DVDs. The first half was called Those Who Hunt Elves and the second two DVDs were called Those Who Hunt Elves 2. In 2009, Sentai Filmworks had released the series in a complete collection set.

Those Who Hunt Elves
Volume 1 - Ready, Set, Strip!
# Title Original air date
1 "Those Who Hunt Elves Attack"
"Raishuu! Erufu wo karu mono-tachi" (来襲!エルフを狩るモノたち) 		October 3, 1996
The team are taken for a group of "legendary warriors" prophesied by Emily to save a town from marauding fish-men pirates. 
2 "An Invincible Team is Formed"
"Tanjou! Muteki no paatii" (誕生!無敵のパーティー) 		October 10, 1996
Celcia joins the team as they take on Gabriella's band of mercenaries. 
3 "The Red One or the Blue One?"
"Sentaku! Aka to ao no hiyaku" (選択!赤と青の秘薬) 		October 17, 1996
Dihal, the eleven protector of a town under siege by terrorists, makes a bet with the team to see who can defeat "The Skeletons" first. 
4 "The Search for the 1000th Fighter"
"Hicchitsu! 1000 hito-me wo nerae" (必殺!1000人目をねらえ) 		October 24, 1996
Rapier, an elf kick boxer inflicted with a curse until she can defeat one thousand opponents consecutively, selects Junpei as her 1,000th opponent. 
5 "The Addition of the Fifth Fiend"
"Tsuika! Go-ban-me no nakama" (追加!五番目の仲魔) 		October 31, 1996
Ritsuko's tank runs out of fuel in a town terrorized by the spirit of a deceased cat which can possess inanimate objects. 
6 "The Most Horrible Spell of All Time"
"Senritsu! Shijou saiaku jumon" (戦慄!史上最悪の呪文) 		November 7, 1996
High priestess Annette grows frustrated with Celcia's support of the elf-strippers, and decides to take the initiative in destroying them. 
Volume 2 - Elf Stripping For Fun and Profit
1 "Catch Me in a Field of Flowers"
"Kyoufu! Ohanabatake de tsukamaete" (恐怖!お花畑でつかまえて) 		November 14, 1996
While camping in a haunted mansion, the team discovers a field of elven flower-people. 
2 "To The End of This World and Beyond"
"Rinjuu? Anoyo no hate ma demo" (臨終?あの世の果てまでも) 		November 21, 1996
In order to strip a ghost elf, the team must leave their bodies. 
3 "Let The Maiden Dance in Beauty"
"Kandou! Kimi yo utsukushiku mae" (感動!君よ美しく舞え) 		November 28, 1996
Airi helps a poor elf girl realize her dream of being the belle of the royal ball. 
4 "The Elf Who Couldn't Undress"
"Higeki! Datsu gitai erufu" (悲劇!脱ぎたいエルフ) 		December 5, 1996
The team are sought out by Milia, who wants their help to remove her cursed armour. 
5 "No Tomorrows for The Captured"
"Gyukushuu! Ogen-tachi ni myounichi hanai" (逆襲!お前たちに明日はない) 		December 12, 1996
While elements of our world begin appearing in the elf world, a plot is set in motion to capture the team. 
6 "And Yet Those Who Still Hunt Elves"
"Soshite erufu wo karu mono-tachi" (そしてエルフを狩るモノたち) 		December 19, 1996
Celcia and the team stand trial for their elf-stripping antics. 
Those Who Hunt Elves 2
Volume 3 - Forgive Me for Stripping You
# Title Original air date
1 "Those Who Fish Elves"
"Erufu wo tsuru mono-tachi" (エルフを釣るモノたち) 		October 1, 1997
The TWHE has to start all over again hunting for spell fragments. Celcia gets a call for help from mermaid elves. 
2 "Those Who Wipe"
"Fuki-tai mono-tachi" (フキたいモノたち) 		October 8, 1997
The TWHE runs out of toilet paper, which leaves Junpei running around. 
3 "Those Who Have Been Animal Cursed"
"Noruwaretakke? Mono-tachi" (呪われたっケ?モノたち) 		October 15, 1997
Celcia becomes Panda due to the curse. 
4 "Those Who Manipulate Heaven and Earth"
"Tentochi wo ayatsuru mono-tachi" (天と地を操るモノたち) 		October 22, 1997
The TWHE gets in argument about which moves around "The Sun or The Earth?". Dr. Bruno might have the answer. 
5 "Those Who Bean"
"Mame nihamaru mono-tachi" (マメにはまるモノたち) 		October 29, 1997
While the TWHE are stuck on an island, they witness the growing of a large bean stock. 
6 "Those Who Are Entrapped!"
"Damasareru mono-tachi" (騙されるモノたち) 		November 5, 1997
The Judge returns to stop TWHE from raising havoc on the citizens. 
Volume 4 - Still Stripping After All These Years
1 "Those Who Hunt Wolves"
"Urufu wo karu mono-tachi" (ウルフを狩るモノたち) 		November 12, 1997
The TWHE goes to a town, that is be stocked and attack by a wolf. 
2 "Those Who Protect Elves Sometimes"
"Tokiniha erufu wo mamoru mono-tachi" (時にはエルフを守るモノたち) 		November 19, 1997
The TWHE runs into a girl, who is being chased by the Friskers. 
3 "Those Who Wait for Noel"
"Noeru wo matsu mono-tachi" (ノエルを待つモノたち) 		November 26, 1997
The TWHE celebrates Christmas. 
4 "Those Who Fight for the Spotlight"
"Shuyaku wo arasou mono-tachi" (主役を争うモノたち) 		December 3, 1997
The citizens of treetown hunt for TWHE. 
5 "Those Who Dream"
"Yumemiru mono-tachi" (夢見るモノたち) 		December 10, 1997
While, resting by the river the TWHE finds treasure chest filled with pillows. 
6 "Those Who Still Hunt Elves"
"Yappari erufu wo karu mono-tachi" (やっぱりエルフを狩るモノたち) 		December 24, 1997
The Legendary Sorcerer awakes in treetown, and the TWHE ends up heading back there. After defeating the Legendary Sorcerer, the TWHE are back to square one on the spell. The series ends with TWHE hunting again. 

Music

Those Who Hunt Elves

Opening Theme:
  • "Angel Blue"
    Lyrics by: Naoko Hamasaki
    Composition and arrangement by: Chihiro Kiryu
    Song by: Naoko Hamasaki
Ending Theme:
  • "The Genius Comes At The End" (天才は最後にやってくる; Tensai wa Saigo ni Yattekuru)
    Lyrics by: Natsumi Tadano
    Composition and arrangement by: Hideki Tsutsumi
    Song by: Naoko Hamasaki

Those Who Hunt Elves 2

Opening Theme:
  • "Round11"
    Lyrics by: Naoko Hamasaki
    Composition and arrangement by: Chihiro Kiryu
    Song by: Naoko Hamasaki
Ending Theme:
  • "To a Place Beyond Miracles" (奇跡の向こう側へ; Kiseki no Mukou Soba e)
    Lyrics by: Naoko Hamasaki
    Composition and arrangement by: Hideki Tsutsumi
    Song by: Naoko Hamasaki

References

    Further reading

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