Manga A Quick Look Back on Sorcerer Hunters
It's been over 20 years since Bakuretsu Hunter began in Light Novel format, so here's a short review.
At first glance the series seems to be nothing but bouncy-boob fan service, but doesn't feel as shallow. Thematically it is something between an Adventure-Comedy and a Romantic-Comedy, and the sense of humor is maybe best described as "make the audience embarrassed by proxy". Be forewarned.
Strengths: The strongest point in the series is the characters, all extremely likable, besides amusing. The setting is also interesting and expansive.
Weaknesses: Depth was sacrificed for humor (unnecessarily since we know they can both be done). There is also the impression from the creators' notes that things were simplified or dumbed-down for the presumed target audience (shonen), and it is noticeable.
Additionally, the anime is was B-quality even at release time and disgruntled fans; it does not have the same feeling as the manga, and changes were not improvements.
YMMV: The sense of humor isn't for everyone and might just seem retarded. The art style changes throughout the manga which is irritating. Certain concepts presented are never delved into deep enough, or explained very well, in both manga and anime. Some subtleties also seem to get lost on Western audiences.
Series with similar themes that did it better include Slayers and Gensoumaden Saiyuki, perhaps the more recent Black Butler. Dysfunctional misfits deal with heavy plots in wacky ways and are always Big Damn Heroes.
Last word: - Manga superior to Anime; - best if you're familiar with 90's series; - don't take anything in it too seriously because it doesn't get that deep.
Manga Why Sorcerer Hunters is weird at best
Look - I read the manga. It was fairly decent - I have all 13 issues on my shelf and have read all of them many times. I just disliked the sheer amount of fanservice. As a female fan, it would be nice to have a powerful, female character who doesn't need fanservice to get around. It's literally so prevalent that a ninja named Shicho provides fanservice - which just seems impractical. And, yes, I know Gateau does it too- but it's literally Gateau and maaaybe Marron at worst - certainly not to the same extent.