Description: The complete story of tragedy and purity. Ken, Omi, Yoji and Aya are members of Weiss. As assassins, they murder those who bring fear and death to the innocent. What will destroy them first? Will it be the agents of evil, or their own dark pasts? Hunters of Night, deny these Dark Beasts their tomorrows!
Amazon.com: In this 1998 television series, four bishonen (beautiful boys) work as florists to cover their activities as the vigilante posse Weiß Kreuz, the Knights of the White Cross. Ex-soccer pro Ken fights with a ninja claw; self-styled ladies' man Yoji uses nooses; computer ace Omi fires poison darts and crossbow bolts; sullen, taciturn Aya wields a traditional samurai sword. The Knights assassinate murderers, kidnappers, and sexual predators when their hidden superiors tell them, "Hunters of the Night, Deny these Dark Beasts their tomorrows."
Knight Hunters begins as a sort of male version of Bubblegum Crisis, with the dedicated quartet squabbling among themselves before they fight as a unit. But after the first few episodes, it turns into an elaborate and bloody soap opera of vengeance, hidden identities, and old family wrongs that must be righted. Their main target in the first adventure is the evil Masafumi Takatori, who tries to assume dictatorial powers when he's elected Prime Minister. After Takatori's murder, the series grows increasingly bizarre with supernatural and satanic elements. The Knights have to take out a musician whose songs induce insanity, a serial kidnapper, a trio of cult leaders, and the still-active agents of Takatori. The last episodes are heavily padded, and the ending is a classic cliffhanger, leaving open the possibility of additional adventures--should anyone be interested. (Rated 13 and older, but more appropriate for 16 and older: violence, violence against women, brief nudity, sexual situations, grotesque imagery, torture, alcohol and tobacco use) --Charles Solomon
it was not what i was hopeing for the preview i saw of it made you think of something different like they were a dark angel for justice when they are a group of guys trying to stop a crazy school that brain washes you to commit murder and get a low self asteem.
Weiss Kruez, not Knight Hunters Weiss Kruez, amusingly enough the title in english being Knight Hunters, is most likely one of the greatest animes from 1990s, coming from the era of hand-painted cels and made with not all the the great technology we enjoy today, I give the animation for Weiss Kruez a massive 9 or 10 out of 10 for the sheer beauty of its animation not being computer generated graphics. This is hand painted animation at its best. I've heard a few comments in the past, not all here on Amazon, about the animation not being the greatest and I felt there was a need to post a review defending that. Hand-painted animation and computer animation need to be considered in separate categories, not one lump, or you lose all sense of appreciation for either branch of animation.
Also I have heard that the plot for Weiss Kruez is not among the greatest, again, I sharply disagree. True, this is a shojo series and there are a few moments of sitting there doubting some of the plot devices, but to quote a article I read called "Synergy Between Sociopaths" Weiss Kruez was described as a confusing soap opera, and it fits that description very well. This is a drama series and its meant to be watched with a box of kleenexs and if you are a detail freak like I am, Weiss Kruez delivers on those little pieces of plot and subplot that keep your eyes and ears glued to the TV screen. There are many details to this series that require the viewer to watch and rewatch to catch all details and how they later crop up, such as Crawford's appearance during the Human Chess episode without the rest of Schwarz, even though his name is not given during the episode, his appearance marks another huge portion of the plot, Schwarz and their role in concerns to Takatori, Eszett and the Weiss boys. However, paying attention to all these details is what makes the series pure love, the more you watch it, the more you realize what you missed in your first sitting of it and the more you are drawn into the series. A series that cannot charm you again in the second sitting/viewing all over again, is not truly a anime. The animation is gorgeous, the plot is very well written, and whether you watch it in english or japanese, you will fall in love with the series again and again with its charm.
Hunters Of The Night--Seek Out Better Actors, Better Writing, And/Or Better Dubbing While I would never claim to be an expert in the anime field, I have done some experimentation and found quite a few great items. Besides the dozens of classic films I have collected, I have also purchased and enjoyed several series including the macabre "Hellsing," the moody "Noir," the fast and funny "Cowboy Bebop"and my favorite--the sublime "Berserk." Having never heard of "Knight Hunters," I picked it up on the basis of its description. There seem to be a lot of people who have enjoyed this series, but for me, it lacked the sophistication and overall quality of the other programs that I have seen. That may be its intent--again I'm under no illusions as a true connoisseur--but its lack of artistry, over-the-top dramatics, and groan-worthy dubbed dialogue had me laughing more often than I would care to mention.
The setup of "Knight Hunters" is a good one. Four young men, working undercover in a flower shop by day, form a secret organization that hunts evil by night. Getting their secret assignments, they leap into action--each with a unique fighting style. The plot, for what it is, is serviceable. Some of the stand alone capers are effective, some are cheesy. But the series does manage to weave a fairly intricate plot with recurring villains with grand designs on conquering the world. Our heroes love and lose, get betrayed, uncover family secrets and go through some pretty interesting scenarios as the story progresses. For the most part, I enjoyed the primary story arc--and that is what saved this series from being a complete disaster.
For what I enjoyed in the plot development, however, I truly loathed most of the dialogue. I don't know if this is from the original series or if something was lost in translation--but I am commenting on the dubbed version available here. From the very beginning, as hordes of schoolgirls swarm the flower shop to ogle our hunky heroes, the dialogue is so preposterous and awkward. While fighting crime, things are fine--but when things slow down and we attempt character development, it can be almost painful. There are peculiar moments of exposition and strange romantic exchanges that sound bizarre, campy and infantile. The actors employed seem to be reading, not acting, and so the dramatics fall flat--and then in heightened moments, we swung into the realm of stilted overacting. It really, really detracts from what might have been a lot more involving.
I couldn't, ultimately, take "Knight Hunters" very seriously. But I'm not trying to detract anyone from checking this out. Maybe the subtitles would be better--but I still wouldn't rank this in the same league as the programs I mentioned in the first paragraph. I would recommend that you try to sample an episode, if possible, before making the financial commitment.
PS. Using the other shows I liked as a reference, if anyone wants to recommend another series, I'm all ears. KGHarris, 01/07.
Oo! Oo! Oo! I want it! I absolutly love this series, this is going on my wish list! A friend of mine got me started by lending me "dead ringer" and I became pretty obsessed with it. I must have watched it 100 times before giving it back. My dad doesn't like anime very much, but I even got my uber-religious mom into it. It's that good.
Lover of Weiss Kreuz What is it about this series? Once you watch it you are hooked. People complain that the art is not great yet everyone that watches falls in love with the beautiful bishonen. Yes, the story seems far-fetched at times (the experiments performed--combining people with anilmals) and there seem to be some details that are not completely answered...but we get just enough to let our minds fill in the rest. If you like angst (a young assassin final finds a girl only to later discover she's his sister!) The four all have tragic pasts that are connected by one person: Takatori! Though the focus of much of the anime is on Aya's craving revenge for his family--watch it to see why he wants revenge--there is eventually a little light shed on the others. If you have the time you really should check this series out. If nothing else you will get to look at some really yummy guys.
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