Witch Hunter Robin

Witch Hunter Robin (WHR) is a dark, mysterious Anime centering around Robin Sena, a witch. Though technically, Robin is no witch, but actually a "craft" user. I won't go into details, but craft users hunt the witch users. Sound interesting? It is.

The story behind this show really draws you forward throughout each episode. It's not a boss of the week show, and it's not a mindless action flick. You'll follow Robin as she finds out more and more secrets about the witch hunting organization she works for. The trials she goes through in order to achieve these hidden secrets are quite entertaining.

The animation is ... nothing amazing, but far from mediocre. Most of the series is shot in a dark environment, so be prepared to possibly turn up your screen/video gamma or you might miss a thing or two.

By far the biggest plus for WHR is its music score. Absolutely superb opening song "Shell". All the other background music throughout the show fits in wonderfully too. I could not have asked for a more perfect soundtrack.

The relationship that grows between Robin and her work colleagues is well drawn out. Robin's motives and actions are appropriate for her personality, and we see her change throughout the show as different things are presented before her.

All in all, I really enjoyed this series. There's even some romance development, which is just enough to keep you hoping for something more. Gotta please us Robin fans. :)

Witch Hunter Robin is one of those shows that draws you in unconditionally. While some people might not appreciate or enjoy the genre or story, either after the fact or at first glance, I believe that anyone who loves intellectually grasping stories and characterization should at least try out the first few episodes of Witch Hunter Robin.

While the story and plot is slow (sometimes tremendously), the overall plotline and conclusion to the anime makes you really see the epic and vast nature of just what was being approached with this series. Starting like any normal "monster-of-the-week" series, you are compelled into the daily investigations of ... the STNJ, a "secretive" detective agency (ala Men in Black) that hunts down abusive witches, individuals with various sorts of powers. Even some of these STNJ members are witches themselves, including the protagonist Robin. Robin is one of those characters that, in my opinion, stays with you long after you forget everything else about the series. As simple as she may seem on the outside, her personality and emotions unravel and become apparent later on in the series, and it does not disappoint. Robin is not the only highly characterized individual in the show, however. I found all of the other characters we met with just as comprehensive a background.

The art and sound in this show are very, very good, sporting a soundtrack by the same person who did the music for Rurouni Kenshin.

Overall, it was an unforgettable show for me that I both enjoyed and basked watching hours at a time.

Those less familiar with the gothic/horror/scifi crossover genre might enjoy this series a lot more, at least 1 or 2 points more, than I did. If, on the other hand, you've seen a lot of this sort of stuff, this series will inevitably seem somewhat predictable.

I'll not go into details to avoid spoilers, but let's just say that everything in the plot basically ended up doing what I thought it was doing. Masked soldiers, young girl with powers, weirdo green liquid, brooding hero-type, they were all unable to surprise me. Another annoyance was that I couldn't identify with any of the characters, which seemed emotionless, ... even frigid, to me. Lastly, the plot takes way to long to develop. Nothing of consequence happens in eps. 2-10.

So what is good? Well, all of the above may just be a way for the director to allow you to focus on and enjoy the atmosphere of the show. Even though I never managed to "get into" it, I still noticed the obvious attention that was payed to the every scenery, location, costume and just the overall detail. This also means that every now and then something comes up that is not explained, simply because it's part of the scenery and not part of the plot. In all, this anime does a very good job of presenting an alternate reality that is fully believable, and aesthetically pleasing to look at.

So, this is probably a very good series for those that enjoy atmosphere but don't usually like the action / magic / supernatural genres, because those elements tend to overwhelm a series' to the point of becoming rediculous. Well, here they don't.

Ill just start with the honest truth. This is probably the worst anime i have seen from start to finish. I am usually a person that wont give a show really low scores like I have this one, but I just couldnt hold back.

Ill start by telling you what I liked then disliked.

What i liked was the idea that the people with the special powers, aren't aliens or people that have had crazy scientific studies done on them and got special powers, they are witches form the ancient times. Thats right those witches they talk about drowning and hanging in Salem. That is what had ... me first go O.o this may be a great show.

Sadly that is where it stops being good, and starts going down the drain. Lets start with the main character. You would think you get to see a lot of uses of her ability and get an interesting look at her mindset since she is one of these witches. You are wrong just as was. She is in an agency that hunts the bad witches that kill people and yet her power just consists of her catching things on fire. Believe me she does not do this in cool ways nor does her power get better as the show progresses. Her lack of power is not her only flaw, she is a horrible character!!! She is so very boring and is just depressed 99% of the time. And she hardly talks to anyone, nor do you hear much thoughts going on through her head. In this show there is so very little dialogue its annoying.

Then there are the fights with the evil witches. They are horrible!!! They are just like the main character, their powers are not interesting int he least bit. One person uses the wind to cut people, and another uses the ground to make you trip and fall. And then these fights last like 4min max, and since the show starts off as a weekly episode witch hunter for the first half, this makes the show so lame and so boring.

Then the second half of the show comes and gives you this completely awful story! Its awful because you start to think, who cares about any of this and this show really needed to be turned in a different way. Then trust me, the end makes you go, why did i watch this whole series and why was it so bad.

I only watched this show because people on MAL and other sights all have it as such a great show, and it was a total freaking bust. Do yourself a favor and just don't watch this show.

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Witch Hunter Robin is part mystery, part supernatural drama. There are no fights against uber villains or anything of that kind, just brief skirmishes with small fries. Instead, this is a slightly more mature anime that is centered around characters and an underlying plot.

The creators of this anime tried to keep the characters as true to life as possible while maintaining this kind of supernatural setting. You see that realism in the dynamics between them at the office (some character are older than others, for example) and in their histories as they're revealed. I thought that the characters could have been explored further, however. ... We're really only offered a superficial view of the characters. There aren't many soul-searching monologues in this series as you may see in others. There is not a lot of dialogue at all, in fact. More often, you'll see pointed glances or pregnant silences underscored with muted, suspense-building music. Subtlety is key in this anime, but in the end, we don't know the characters in this show very well, and we're not very attached to them, unfortunately.

In each episode you learn a little bit more about Robin, the other witch hunters, and the agency where they work. Apparently, though all of the hunters besides Robin have worked for the agency for some time, they do not know much about the true purposes of their company and as their work continues, moral questions arise. Ultimately, this is the major question of the series: are witches evil and what is the purpose of the witch hunters? You'll find that not all of your questions are answered by the end of the series, but this dangling ending seems intentional on the part of the creators of this show. They leave the possibilities open.

At the same time, Robin struggles with her identity as a "craft user" herself and the seemingly cool and professional Amon has to choose his loyalties. These were interesting aspects of the drama, but you have to be patient with this anime. The pacing is slow. Action is infrequent. You learn in bits and pieces about the organization and the world of witches in which Robin moves-- just as Robin, herself something of a newb, does. In fact, at one point in the series, there is very little action at all and it is almost slice of life, albeit a gloomy slice. It's interesting to watch as her relationship and trust with Amon slowly progresses, though this anime never approaches anything verging on romance (pity). The music, meanwhile, is is atmospheric and accomplishes its goal of intensifying the action, well-suited to a mystery thriller.

While not exactly fast-paced, if you appreciate a story that gradually unravels with darker, subtle artwork, you may like this show. It's worth watching just to experience the unique mood that Witch Hunter Robin builds through skillful scripting, art, and pacing. It truly defines mystery.

Overview:

Its that time again! Time I review another old Adult Swim anime that either nobody fucking liked or no one remembers! I've already tackled Milk Chan, Reign, and most of the big bombs, so now I turn my eyes to Witch Hunter Robin. This is one of those "no one remembers" series more than it is a bad series. Robin is better described as mediocre than actually bad. This series did sort of well with the Hot Topic crowd for roughly 2 weeks in early 2004, then it dropped off the face of the Earth and I don't think anyone has brought it up since...until ... now!

Plot and characters: 5/10

The plot is that there is an organization under the control of the Catholic Church that uses witches to hunt down other magic users and kill them. You would think that this would provide for an action packed and amazing adventure right? Perhaps a series like Hellsing Ultimate told from the POV of the Catholic Church's Iscariot group. Instead Robin is heavy on moody atmosphere and very light on action. The first half of the series involves a crazy new witch turning up every week and Robin and company need to find and ultimately burn the witch. Apparently there is actually a plot in the second half that isn't just episodic or to borrow a horridly cliche' phrase "monster of the week". However, I dropped the series around episode 14 so I didn't really make it that far. The plot and characters are ok, but this series was never able to hold my attention. It is SLOW! Now before you accuse me of being a little brat with no attention span, understand that Spice and Wolf is one of my favorite animes. I love the film Solaris by Tarkovsky! When I say this anime is slow, I mean it is fucking SLOW! Robin has nice, dark visuals and gothic cool factor, but at the same time it simply couldn't captivate its audience. It is basically like a really bad Tim Burton movie where Tim left the project 1/5 through production and let some hack director finish the film.

Art: 6/10

The art was pretty good for the time and the character models had a unique feel to them. It wasn't amazing, but certainly not bad.

Enjoyment: 4/10

Maybe if I had bit the bullet, strapped myself to my chair, and watched the second half the series could have gotten better from episodes 15-26. If there are any Witch Hunter Robin fans out there (I've honestly never met one) who DEMAND I watch the second half because it is 100 times better than the first half than I might finish this series one day. Otherwise, I have no desire to have any further dealings with this mediocrity.

Overall: 5/10

If you are reading this, you actually made it this far into a Witch Hunter Robin review without falling asleep! Bravo! This series had potential and could have been good if it fixed its god awful pacing issues and had a better director. Instead it ended up a sub-par mess that will be forever forgotten from the hearts and minds of anime fans everywhere.

Witch Hunter Robin, anime by Sunrise, made in 2002, something I've unexpectedly picked up one day. Well no harm done. Let's start dissecting my classification shall we?

Story-wise, it all starts slow as most introductions are want to do. The STN-J, witch hunts, the replacement from a convent in Italy and all that jazz. Most of the episodes were predictable, which left me with nothing to go on but character irony. It could only take me so far however. Sure enough a person whose three main weapons include surprise, words and a machine were enough to get the ball rolling. ... This is when the conspiracy starts, drawing you in, shyly stripping away whatever is hiding the truth. At this point, the viscosity of the plot is just perfect and proceeds nicely along as it builds up to the end.

Next along we have the artwork. Pleasantly above average, with enough variations of shade that seem to be everywhere. The characters themselves are fine, but its just personal bias that has me nitpicking on how they draw mouths. Additionally, astute watchers may be able to derive that Sunrise also does publication.

How does a gun that fires bullets using compressed gas only sound? Pretty damn realistic, that's how. Every cut, graze and slice will give you something that's close enough to life but still loud enough to emphasize it's point. Still, I'll be comparing the sound of the P90s fired in the anime to the real deal sometime and that may affect my score but right now, sound effects are good. What really does it for me in the sound department, is the music. I'm such a sucker for the stuff. The various compositions easily set the mood, whether it be eerie or discordant. The opening, Shell by Bana, is best listened to only as an instrumental in my opinion however, especially since the electric guitar is a bit more active. The ending, by the same artist, is passable, I skipped it after the first episode. That didn't hurt the score too much though.

The focus is really on Robin, our titular character, setting up trials for her to overcome, seeing her mature from the, I would say, introvert into someone with more confidence. That is not to say the rest of the cast should be forgotten. Each and every one of them brings out something unique to them, whether it be Amon, the stoic and aloof big brother, or one of Nagira's staff, who may not have a single line in the whole anime but is able to communicate in his own subtle way.

Enjoyment, well how hard is it to enjoy something this good? Do I even have to explain myself here? Enjoyment for me, its pretty much the Overall score, just averaging out everything. Even after the whole event subsides it leaves me with a tingly feeling, that feeling of wanting more. A good indicator that I enjoyed it. I feel like I'm repeating myself at this point so this review comes to a close. Should you like to take a dip into this world, be sure to watch out because nobody expects the Solomon Inquisition.

I had wanted to see this series for a number of years. I finally found the complete series at a reasonable price. To say it was a disappointment would not do the series justice, it was a good watch; it just didn't thrill me either.
The main characters proved very interesting and developed as the story unfolded which kept me engaged despite the slow pace at the beginning of the series.
I personally thought that with a wealth of folktales and history associated with witches and demons the plot could have been much more interesting.

'Witch Hunter Robin' is fairly unique as far as anime goes. It had Witches, a Gothic atmosphere, Christian iconography, realistic character designs and backgrounds and a slow, deliberate pacing intended to draw in a mature audience. It had all the ingredients needed to make it a cult classic, but it never quite took off. It would be easy to say that it wound up forgotten among other early 2000s classics being released around the same time, but I think the answer is more straightforward than that - it simply isn't a very good anime. Its strongest aspects are, without a doubt, the art and sound ... departments, so I shall look at those first.

Visually, 'Witch Hunter Robin' is easy on the eye. Simple, realistic character designs are placed against highly detailed backgrounds to good effect. The colour palette is dark, utilising different levels of grey and black to enhance the Gothic atmosphere it has going on. Lighting is used effectively to create mood when required. The action scenes also sport a good frame rate and feature some nicely integrated effects. On the whole, the art and animation is solid and remains consistent for the duration of the show without ever really going beyond the call of duty. Good, but lacks the finesse needed for it to be great.

On the aural side of things 'Witch Hunter Robin' fares equally well. The music is done by Taku Iwasaki, famed for his stellar work in 'Now and Then', Here and There' and 'Tengen Toppa Gurren Legann'. Each episode is kicked off by a fast, grungy opening and then concluded by a more reflective, somber end theme. Like the art, the background music is subdued but captures the show's atmosphere perfectly with eerie piano pieces and fast electronic beats. While the OST may be good enough to listen to in isolation, it is undoubtedly better in context. As for the voice acting, it does the job. 'Witch Hunter Robin' is a pretty mellow series, so the voice actors' range aren't greatly tested in either the Japanese or English versions. The English dub is competent, similar enough to the original script without ever being so faithful that it comes across as awkward, so you could get away with watching either audio track. Having now finished discussing the technical merits of 'Witch Hunter Robin', it would make sense to look at the bread and butter of any anime - the story.

In a nutshell, 'Witch Hunter Robin' is about a teenage girl who joins the STNJ, an organisation that hunts Witches - beings with supernatural powers such as telekinesis or fire manipulation. With the aid of the hacker Michael, the loud-mouthed Doujima, the psychic Karasuma, the rash Haruto and the mysterious Amon, they all set out to capture Witches. While the premise may sound interesting enough, it's difficult to remain motivated to continue watching when you realise that the first half of the anime is nothing but your typical "Monster of the Week" affair. The first 11-12 episodes follow an episodic format whereby we're firstly shown a murder, the STNJ then perform a little research and finally the Witch is identified and confronted by Robin and co. It quickly becomes repetitive and the only thing keeping the viewer's interest are the very limited titbits of information we gain about the STNJ members. These episodes are on the whole unremarkable and among them I can only recall one highlight - an episode where the Witch happens to be a doctor. What made that episode interesting was the added focus on the Witch himself. This insight allowed the audience to sympathise with him, unlike the other episodes where Witches are treated as inherently evil and devoid of any personality. All a little too black-and-white.

Fortunately, the episodic "Monster of the Week" formula is ditched in the second half as a plot begins to develop. Here the focus is shifted to Zaizen (the Director of STNJ Operations) and what his motives are, Solomon HQ, the Orbo, and the mystery surrounding the Factory. While all this is going on we also have a story of self-discovery where we gradually begin to learn more about Robin through a combination of introspection and her interactions with those around her, namely the STNJ members. While the second half is undoubtedly more interesting, it still suffers from its fair share of shortcomings. For one, these episodes lacked cohesion. 'Witch Hunter Robin' hopped from one idea or revelation to the next like a rabbit on crack. It made a frankly straightforward show needlessly difficult to follow and the end result was a bit of a clusterfuck. A consequence of this was just how sudden some of the twists were. The lack of sufficient foreshadowing simply makes them feel contrived more than anything else. A little more diligence with the storyboard would have gone a long way. A special mention must also go to the conclusion. For an anime of this nature the conclusion is absolutely vital, but 'Witch Hunter Robin' swung and missed completely. The whole thing was rushed and left many details and the fates of several characters unresolved. The complete absence of any sort of closure leaves a bitter aftertaste and prompts the viewer to ask as the credits begin to roll, "is that it?". Unfortunately, the disappointment doesn't end there as I am yet to discuss the characters.

If I had to describe the cast of 'Witch Hunter Robin' in one word, it would be "forgettable". How you feel about the characters during the first episode isn't too dissimilar from the last. None of the STNJ members seem to have lives outside of their work and in the end feel like pieces to help move the story along rather than genuine characters. You have the chief that always seems to be annoyed at something, the girl that's more interested in goofing off than working and the hacker guy that is rarely ever seen away from his computer. They are clichés and unfortunately they don't really break away from them. The main antagonist is laughably one-dimensional with the side and tertiary antagonists faring no better. Robin is obviously the most fleshed out given the series revolves around her, but even then she does little to endear herself to the viewer. We see her struggles and learn of her tragic past, but because the viewer can't connect with her the impact is minimal. Ultimately the entire cast seemed to lack that charisma and energy which draws us in and keeps us hooked and that is probably the main reason why completing 'Witch Hunter Robin' felt like such a chore.

Overall, 'Witch Hunter Robin' is a show which is easier to respect than it is to love. I respect it for trying to be different by appealing to the more mature, western audience. I think it was bold to base an anime around catching Witches and I thought the Gothic atmosphere it had going on was a breath of fresh air. However, 'Witch Hunter Robin' couldn't capitalise on its unique (by anime standards) concept. It was, to be frank, a complete mess. It seemed to be unsure of what direction it wanted to go in and the characters were among the most unremarkable I've seen in a while. Unless you're a huge fan of mystery or are looking for something with that Gothic vibe then I couldn't recommend this anime to anyone. I think there are better options out there to dedicate nine and a half hours of your life to watching.

Ever wanted to see Twilight's central relationship emulated into an anime format tossed in with more gothic crap, dull and formulaic supernatural battles, cardboard characters and bogus revelations and motivations? No? Thought so. Unfortunately that's most of what you are going to get out of Witch Hunter Robin, so if the aforementioned things don't tickle your fancy, I suggest you avoid at all costs.

A little backstory tidbit before my review (feel free to skip if you so choose to ignore my ramblings ;_;): As a young adolescent male anime fan with a craving for boisterous shonen action and flamboyant spectacles, seeing clips of Witch Hunter ... Robin on the Bionix block of Canada's YTV station, it seemed really boring and unappealing to the young me suffice to say. The colour palette was bleak, the pacing seemed slow, the action - very bland and the tone too brooding and reserved. Cut a few years later and I think back to the series and how with my tastes have refined; maybe a start to finish re-examination may have me ending up liking it, and some positive reviews from critics I trusted helped validate my decision to give it another shot...only for things to end poorly. Contrary to the situation with Kure-nai (see my other review) I ended up hating Witch Hunter Robin EVEN MORE as a young adult, and now every time I hear those beautifully melancholic opening and ending themes, my skin crawls as it serves to remind me what a dreadful series it came from. No more woe, it is time for the RAGIN-I mean, the review.

Story: Witch Hunter Robin (Bella) finds our titular character as a craft user (witchcraft -> craft = magic) working for a team of, well, other witch hunters cracking down on witches (this show's jargon for espers; can be either gender) who tend to be out of control and are misusing their crafts. The first 11 episodes follow a basic monster of the week formula where STN-J gets some hints on a witch and chases them down for inevitable detainment with some bits of mystery, slice of life and organizational politics thrown in to draw things out more. The problem is, the cases themselves are boring, and the suspects' powers are really uninspired and redundant - about 80% of them use just use psychokinesis or some spirit channeling stuff with some really lame effects (and subsequently battles) that aren't enticing in the slightest. The other elements, again, are stuffing for each episode; the initial mystery involving the suspects using their powers for some misdeeds drives the conflict for the episode which is just humdrum stuff lacking major consequence later on or any immediate depth, the slice of life and STN-J affairs just kind of balance the capers out to establish the characters, the company and such, but the characters are all one-note and disposable; any attempt at characterization is one smile uttered from them or some purely expository backstory that they try to cram into a few minutes of one episode just to get it out of the way, simply resulting in a general lack of focus and half-baked story elements. On the matter of half-baked, almost each of these 11 episodes ends with a red herring that teases further developments but are ultimately shafted by the finale (more in a bit). You know what has a good monster of the week arc? Bleach. Those were the glory days, back when it was shiek and cool and had some spice in its formula *sigh*. -Back to WHR- In the midst of all this is Bella's rather contrived and stale relationship (or one sided yearning for) Amon (Edward) where she just kind of fawns over him passively and emo-like while he stays apathetic, angry and emo until later down the line. Once we reach episode 12, there's about a 2 episode mini-arc where they investigate some former witch village and some old woman gives a bit of backstory on witches (some of which has some real life historical references like the Salem Witch Hunt and such) and offers the revelation that--*GASP*--maybe not all witches can be generalized as evil! But our incompetent troupe ignores the old woman's apparent ramblings and returns to base before the typical "government is evil" plot twist transpires, putting Edward in question with his disappearance, STN-J shattered and Bella on the run. This leads me to one positive I have about the story: there's this little arc where the downfall of The Hero's Circle is shown as Bella's world is crumbling around her and she has to re-establish herself by way of finding a mundane job without the use of her craft to stay incognito while getting a source of income to afford living essentials and such; it's a rather interesting and grounded outcome to all the mayhem that transpires, but then the former STN-J members begin to regroup and plan their inevitable overthrowing of STN'J's head Zaizen. Edward resurfaces along the way and is given the task of monitoring and protecting Bella but killing her if her powers get out of hand *groan* while showing subtle signs of reciprocating her "feelings". The opening animation alludes to the series focusing heavily on their relationship, but really it's one big ruse; Bella half-assedly pines for Edward, who neglects her feelings through a majority of the series and is missing throughout most of the 2nd half and he half-assedly comes to terms with her feelings slightly, that's it. By the finale (will try not to spoil too much, but I can't help but share how nauseating it is) everyone converges to stop Zaizen's plans, and the 11 monster of the week episodes with red herrings build up to...one really minor twist about the Orbo being made out of witches like the ones in said episodes TO FIGHT WITCHES. Bravo. That sociopathic boy smiling ominously as he was getting hauled away in his episode? Totally ignored along with all the others. Then Zaizen gets foiled ("Whoopee", he says sarcastically), what happens after and what did the gang learn from all this? Nothing. They say: "let's keep ignorantly hunting down each and every witch with Orbo but NOT be Zaizen and therefore, not be evil". The series not only tried to show a grey area of humans and witches through the old woman at the halfway point, but also through the morally just witch doctor (OO-EE-OO-AH-AH) in one of the first 11 episodes, only to completely abandon any moral or thematic purpose it ever had and completely spit on it. It all caps off with a pseudo-ambiguous ending where Bella and Amon's whereabouts are unknown, but you see little glimpses of what could be the two of them in the very end, but I did not care at the slightest at that point; there was no reason for me to care whether they were alive or not and leave it all mysterious because they were irritating characters and the series had thrown enough crap at me that I already hated it. In short, the series is an insubstantial, dry, repetitive, morally-jaded and uninspired trash heap saved only by a short adequate little arc and not being too offensive. I should've just stuck with my pubescent first impressions.

3/10

Characters:
Hahaha! What characters!? Oh wait, I should actually try to fill this in? Okay, I'll make this quick. Bella is a whiny lovelorn emo teen witch, Edward is a brooding, conceited jackass (Sasuke fans rejoice!), Haruto is Guy A: the brash newbie, Michael is Guy B: the blunt hacker, Miho is Girl A: the psychometry-using...teammate(? lack of descriptors for her), Yurika is Girl B: the serious ditz and Zaizen the evil corporate guy. There are other characters who I've mostly forgotten, but they are hardly relevant, I guess there was that potentially homosexual cafe owner, he was kinda cool I guess...but yeah, can't say I remember the others. So yeah, 90% of the characters are indistinguishable stone-faced agents who hardly have any souls. Paper thin cast.

2/10

Art & Animation:
The art wasn't too bad, it had more of a Western-styling to it; the characters look more comic-esque--but to be more accurate--are rather sleek - a bit conservative but sharply drawn. The palette gets somewhat strenuous for the eyes with how muted and drab it is, but in small doses can look somewhat cool with the aesthetics. Some of the architecture have really eloquent Victorian (or maybe Elizabethan or something; architecture isn't my forte) designs to them that have a peculiar warmth, homeliness and style to them themselves. The animation on the other hand recycles in places, cuts corners, is very sparse and dated and lacks effort and splendour it seems. It all levels out to an okay image for the screen, above the standards of the plot at least thankfully.

5/10

Sound:
Best part of the series (which can be rather unfortunate considering how weak everything else is). We got Taku Iwasaki (of Rurouni Kenshin: Trust and Betrayal fame) doing the score, so that should connote a lot of quality, and Witch Hunter Robin is no exception. The soundtrack has a soulfully resonating and mysterious quality akin to his work on R.O.D (my favourite series, and which also has a lovely soundtrack) that simultaneously has an air of melancholy and grand transcendence; no complaints for music. As for voice acting, I listened to the dub and it was fine, and any poor sounding performances (didn't really find anything out of place) would probably be attribute to the limited capacity of emotion for the characters themselves, so I'll be fair and only deduct one point for the voice acting sounding fine but apathetic for how their actual characters are so one-note, but still spot on if that makes any sense.

9/10

Enjoyment:
If you've read my other reviews, you'll know that enjoyment runs concurrent with story for me, so I was not pleased when watching this series. I kept clinging to those positive reviews thinking it would get better up to the very final episode only to be sorely disappointed. Heck, even my PS3 was making extremely loud and unsettling noises when loading each disc; that must have been another sign. This anime was one of the biggest wastes of time--and to an extent, money--to have been sitting on my shelf briefly.

3/10

To potential Canadian brethren who had seen glimpses of WHR on Bionix and were curious about it: ignore it and watch Fullmetal Alchemist 2003, Eureka Seven, or maybe .hack/Sign if you missed those among others (or something else that's great in this vast medium); to everyone else who has come across it: you keep moving along as well, this insipid spew isn't worth your time. It's certainly far from the worst thing ever, but left me totally deprived afterwards, and I wish for most of you readers to avoid the same anguish I went through.

At least it doesn't have teenage werewolves falling in love with vampire babies or w/e.

Whoops, said too much.

*The More You Know*

This show started off well with random witch hunts but then moved into a plot driven storyline for the second half. This wouldn’t have been a bad thing if I could just care enough about any of the players in the show. But I didn’t. Apart from the bartender I could care less about any of the others. As for Robin, the main character, she was hard to like because her dialogue consisted of too many “hmms” and head nods. I did like her hair style though.

I have seen the term “monster of the week” being thrown around as if ... it were a bad thing. As previously mentioned this was the portion of the series I enjoyed most. In defense of “monster of the week” shows I would like to point out a few successful shows that followed this from different genres. For starters, Mushishi, my favorite anime, is basically a monster of the week show. As is Law and Order in the cop drama genre and for the most part the X-Files. If Witch Hunter Robin wouldn’t have strayed from this I could have liked it better even though I couldn’t latch onto the characters because then the show would have been more about the villains. And, if for some reason I didn’t like an episode, I could at least look forward to a different approach to a plot in the next episode.

This anime kept my attention only because of the battle scenes. Whenever there wasn't fighting, the series seemed boring and slow.
The music was wonderful, but very repetitive.
You learn nearly nothing about the characters throughout the series, nor the plot. They seemed to wait until the very end to explain every single detail and the background of the main character. It was frustrating, because the entire series you wait for some more information and you get nothing but more questions.
Every person will have a different opinion of this anime, but in mine, I did enjoy it, but I think I forced myself to ... watch it to simply find out the ending.

I love the darkness that is in this. I first got into it by accident and it has had me hooked for a while now. The story line feels a lot like the idea of almost every business is corrupt and has some mystery aspects that almost make it go into a genre of its own. I would have liked to have more answers though, since some things were not explained well. In the end, I felt more like I had more questions then answers and made things a little bothersome. The ending flew me for a loop though, and I have no clue ... what to think of it. I don’t think it was a really good note to leave us on. Another problem is we do not get really any background story about anyone. Sure we get very tiny hints about Robin’s but that’s it.

The animation is really well done though some of is a tad to dark to see what was going on without lightening your screen. The whole feeling of the show is dark and most of the scenes happen at night or in dimly lit rooms. The design of Robin really makes her stand out with the ‘handle bar’ pig tails she has. I have never seen a character like her before so I knew right away that she was special even outside the anime. Unfortunately, the rest of the characters seemed way too simple and in the background then I would have liked, making characters that should have stood out just not feel interesting.

The English voices are somewhat to be desired, though I think they picked almost the right tone for Robin, Amon, and one or two others. Some of the other characters I would of liked a little deeper voice or a different vocalize. I really wish Robin would have a little more emotion though, but that wasn’t the fault of the dub, the sub has that as well. The music is well done, perfect for the darkness and I loved both the opening and ending though the opening animation didn’t fit the story line at all it seemed.

This show was one of those shows that seemed like it was going to be great, builds up, and then kind of lets you down to a certain extent.

The animation, art, backgrounds ect regarding the production value of this anime are great, as was it's predecessor cowboy bebop. I would have ranked this anime much lower if this were not so, as is most of the value comes from the fact that this is a great looking show. Unfortunately, the production value was not matched by the stories progression.

The first half of the plot is good enough, there is a steady build of tension, and ... intrigue, however, halfway though events start to make less sense. Normally my reviews are completely story free, but I will make a minor exception to explain here: When Robin STOPS being hunted, I kinda had a WTF? Why did the script writers decide they were gonna back down just when the story gets interesting. Futhermore, the direction the anime was headed seemed like you were going to get a really epic sort of story, and the ending was just kind of not spectacular. Its kind of like having anime blue balls. For a show that is 26 episodes long it is NOT NECESSARY to hold back at the end so you have somewhere to go from there.

If this is a "true to the manga" (if there IS even a manga, I dont know, because I haven't looked into it), I really feel like they should have changed the ending to reflect the fact that this is not a serial anime. That being said, this anime still gets a solid 8 for its interesting parts, and high production value.

I will start my review by telling that WHR was the first anime i watched that didnt have stupid facial expressions ( which i dislike deeply) , so for that only it will always be one of my favorites . Soundtracks r amazing , dark, sad or simply innocent and always feet perfectly to the scene's mood.

Animation is great , simply great . Characters dont look alike like in some other animes where u can switch clothes and hairstyle and characters will remain the same . Architecture is very good too.

As for the characters - i'd give them 8 out of 10. They didnt get ... 10 from me for a few reasons :

1. some relations between characters could have been more developed: for example some would see that appearing romance was implied in Robin/ Amon relations , but it was never shown . We get to find out only few character background stories, but it doesnt effect the storyline much, so its ok.

2. the ending could be more informative - as 26 episodes were all there ever going to be , it didnt make much sense to keep viewers guessin

Other then that - great anime, awesome music and artwork and overall great anime to watch

Witch Hunter Robin is one of those animes that, while I see many of its faults, I can't help but enjoy it. The plot and character development are interesting and draw you in, allowing you to overcome the somewhat less enticing art/ animation style.

The anime is somewhat of a noir/ supernatural, though it is definitely more toned down than others. I'd say, for me, this is a very much character-driven story. Robin, the main character, is an interesting lead shrouded in mystery. She is not the typical weak main character, but she has plenty of room for growth. The side characters are interesting ... though some could have definitely been more developed! In general, the characters remain mysterious and yet likeable enough to build the story.

The art style and animation are not the best but they get the job done, and the character design for each of the characters is unique and adds to the story. While the animation is a bit dated, it does not distract from the story at hand.

Overall, if you enjoy supernatural action, badass female leads and some mystery, check out Witch Hunter Robin!

Witch Hunter Robin puts a new spin on an old "problem". This anime does not go into the why's and how's for the extermination of witches, it just lets you know that the Vatican still sees them as a problem and threat in the world. In steps the STN also known as Solomon. The story is unique and fairly fast paced It kind of gets bogged down towards the end of the series, but still has interesting twists and turns. The characters are strong and have a lot of depth to them. The music is also good in the ... anime as most of the darker anime tend to have a stronger sound tract. I enjoyed the new spin on a "problem that plagued Europe and early America. It was shone in a very new and interesting light.

Hardly a review more than a fun fact about the show. It is oozing with AMAZING or at least well known English voice actors that we know and love.

Johnny Yong Bosch (Vash the Stampede, Lelouch, Lamperouge, Izaya, Kiba, Rossiu)
Crispin Freeman (Alucard, Shizuo, Tsume, Straight Cougar)
Wendee Lee (Faye Valentine, Konata Izumi, Suzuka)

These are just a few actors, if you browse through like I did you'll be ecstatic with all the familiar voice actors in this one, It's missing Steven Blum:( but it has a lot of other greats, I watched this anime based solely on the fact of them all.

This is one for the adults. Subtle, clever and elegant iis how I'd describe this anime. I'll leave the basic contextual stuff to everyone else.

I started watching WHR immediately after Blood+ as I'd heard it was fairly similar, and indeed there is a mysterious subplot/history that unfolds itself throughout the series. I really liked the way many of the plot pieces were seeded, to eventually open up episodes later. Maybe it's one of those series that's more satisfying to watch in several sittings rather than one a week (I'm not sure I could have stood the suspense otherwise).

I hear gripes about endings and character expressions ... (particularly from the leads, Robin and Amon) but for what it's worth, I really like this anime particularly for its potential to go further.

It really did remind me of a Blood+/Japanese Joss Whedon/Buffy type show - you always want a bit more.

Witch Hunter Robin was a 2002 Sunrise anime. Yes, the same studio that brought us Gundam (the good and the bad), Code Geass, Dirty Pair and many more.


Story:

We open with a witch hunting organisation, STN-J, anticipating their new recruit. They quickly meet her, the titular Robin, as fire craft user with an improbable hair style. Which just proves that she’s the protagonist. From there, we watch as Robin and her team go up against witches of various kinds and bring them in. But there’s something amiss with STN-J. Where are they taking the witches they capture and what is this mysterious Orbo substance that ... protects them from a witch’s powers?

The biggest narrative problem with the series has to do with the set up. So, we’ve got these Seeds who are born with mysterious powers that may or may not awaken. If they awaken they’re either recruited by the Solomon organisation, STN-J’s parent company, or they’re hunted as witches. So, they’re basically Marvel mutants if the Xavier institute aggressively went after every mutant who didn’t join an X-team. The problem is, how did this organisation get formed and why do mutants join up with them instead of fighting back? We know Orbo is a new invention and that normal humans can’t use it without complications. That’s a major plot point. So, how exactly do they get people to cooperate with them? There’s never an explanation. It’s just the way it is. I guess their world needs a Magneto.

On the positive side, the series is interesting. It has quite a few mysterious elements that get built up throughout and, ultimately, do have pretty satisfying conclusions. So, there is quite a bit of investment to be had. I also do appreciate the way a lot of early events that don’t seem particularly significant do ultimately play a more substantial role than you might think.

Characters:

This is where the series has its most significant problem. Namely, some of the major character dynamics come across as under-developed and contrived. You’ll have certain characters who show no interest in one another outside of business matters or where one does but the other doesn’t. Then the plot needs them to have a closer dynamic and they will as if by magic. Who knows, maybe a witch is manipulating the script. Probably the same witch who completely changed Squall’s characterisation in the last disc, except this series isn’t nearly that egregious. How interesting a character is also varies a lot. And this isn’t a series where the split is based on a character’s importance. You can have a major character like Amon who’s a bog standard, stick up his arse serious dude while some more secondary characters like Michael and Karasuma actually get complexity and some interesting traits.

Art:

Sunrise’s art in this has a fair few problems. First of all, the character expressions are frequently just vacant. Secondly, some of the action sequences can be really slow and even kind of tedious. With that out of the way, the series does have an interesting aesthetic and when they get their action sequences right, they’re really damn good.


Sound:

This is another element that varies a bit. They got a lot of talented people like Watanabe Akeno, Yuuki Hiro, Fukuyama Jun and others. But some of them, like Fukuyama, got saddled with dull characters while others, for narrative reasons, spend a lot of the series trying to sound unaffected, rather like they don’t care. Which doesn’t exactly lead to the most impactive performances. The musical score is pretty good.

Ho-yay:

There really isn’t any.

Final Thoughts:

Witch Hunter Robin has quite a few problems. As well as some things that could have been done better. That being said, it is an interesting series with enough strong characters to exonerate it, mostly, for the bland ones. If you want something with supernatural action, and you’ve already seen Yami No Matsuei, it’s a good choice. Final rating, 7/10. Next week, Tetsuwan Birdy Decode.