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On the Spooner Continent, humans are oppressed by evil wizards who rule over them; their only hope lies in the Sorcerer Hunters, five supernatural heroes who fight injustice according to the orders of the goddess-like "Big Momma." The improbable quintet at the center of this 1995 broadcast series is a lot less dignified than their title suggests: blond muscleman Gateau Mocha, elegant Marron Glace (pronounced "GLAYSS," rather than "glah-SAY"), his klutzy brother Carrot (the self-proclaimed "love machine"), and the Misu sisters, Tira and Chocolate. During the first season, the characters wander around, dispatching bad guys while Carrot chases every female in sight. The tone darkens in the second season (originally released in the U.S. as Spell Wars: Sorcerer Hunters' Revenge), when they're pitted against Zaha Torte ("Sacher Torte" in some translations), who wants to destroy the world so it can be reborn in a purer form. To accomplish his desire, he must unleash the God of Destruction who dwells within Carrot. Their drawn-out confrontation takes a number of odd twists before love triumphs over evil. Sorcerer Hunters is surprisingly entertaining, with a slapstick tone reminiscent of Slayers or Generator Gawl. The filmmakers give Carrot some unexpected kind moments that separate him from run-of-the-mill anime lunkheads, but the fate of the cosmos resting in the maladroit hands of Carrot and his friends seems as improbable as the cast of Seinfeld turning out to be the gods of Olympus. (Rated 15 and older: risqué humor, brief nudity, violence) --Charles Solomon
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