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.
