Customer Reviews

Witch Hunter Robin - Arrival (Vol. 1)

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Sometimes everything can come together when crafting a good anime. It has happened again with Witch Hunter Robin. This is definitely not your fan boy's anime. You won't find any beauty contests, beach episodes, goofy pets, or other lighter anime standards. What we do find here; is a solid storyline, beautifully drawn, well animated scenes, excellent music, and interesting characters.

It's difficult to create the dark tone of an anime, without looking like its been forced. There is seriousness to the story, that's rarely seen in an animated show. In fact, it may be a small flaw, that it lacks sufficient comedy relief. The first few episodes, play like something out of early X-Files. Its important to stay tuned. As the show starts to heat up, it becomes a "must have more episodes now", by about mid-series. One word of warning, for buying later episodes, you may want to wait till they are all obtainable. You may not be able to stand the wait, for the final chapters.

On the story itself, it unfolds as characters are developed working within the context. This is not one of those series that wastes time doing mind-numbing introductions. The characters, and their roles become apparent, as the story plays out. This is the best way to learn about them, because it keeps the viewer involved, and does not pander to overly casual viewers.

The full series of Witch Hunter Robin spans 26 episodes, and does a nice job of completing the story. That is significant, as many anime designed for multiple seasons, have very poor endings. It appears this series was designed to start, and reach completion, within the 26 episodes made. I cannot speak for the dubbing, but the voice work on the Japanese track is quite excellent. Hopefully the dub will be just as good.

Witch Hunter Robin is probably one of the best Anime I've seen yet. I'm usually a tradition oldschool Anime kind of guy. I'm also a picky b*stard. I was always a Bubblegum Crisis, Dangaioh, Megazone 23 kind of guy. It was probably the great music in them. Even though the music in Anime today isn't as rememberable as some oldschool Anime, the story lines are way great. Well there are exceptions, and Witch Hunter Robin had some great music. Remember guys, Witch Hunter Robin was by the makers of Cowboy Bebop, and you probably will be expecting a lot out of it. Don't expect too much, because Cowboy Bebop was the best (1998). But still, even when my expectations were high, Witch Hunter Robin was still great and overall quality, and it deserves five stars. The dialogue and everything is detailed. Beautiful animation, Well it was made in 2002 :) If you're the type that likes to discover new Anime and like taking risks to buy Anime that you've never seen and hope to love, this is the right one. Telling you this kind of defeats the purpose of taking risks. :P Well yeah, it's awesome, again music is awesome, and characters are cool. This release is l33t!

Witch Hunter Robin (it's so cute the way the Japanese voice actress pronounces 'Robin'). For some reason, I can't get out of my head the French pronunciation, Ro-BAHN. This character, however her name is pronounced, is such a refreshing change from the typical fifteen year-old heroine of Japanese anime. Robin Sena has left a nunnery in Rome to join with STN-J, a secret Japanese police agency that fights witches. She has been brought to replace someone who was killed - we do not find out on this volume who they were or how they died.

Robin is very natural and believable. No huge bishoujo eyes, short skirts, and long hair; Robin has a somber, Puritan-like black dress and a quirky hairstyle. There are hints she will probably develop a romantic interest in a fellow officer: hey, it's anime - this nun thing can't be carried for too long! But you hope she will stay the special person she is and will not change too much.

In volume one, Robin arrives but is ostracized by Amon, the unofficial leader of the STN-J agents. She quietly and determinedly seeks to prove herself. A place of refuge for Robin is Harry's, a lovely restaurant run by the sympathetic yet mysterious Harry. No other customers ever seem to be in Harry's. Who is Harry?

In Volume One, the agents fight four witches - all male except for one. This is interesting, as "witch" connotes a woman. There are four episodes: 1. Replacement, 2. Addicted to Power, 3. Dancing in Darkness, and 4. Stubborn Aesthetics.

The music on the intro is fantastic. The animation is exceptional, one of the best I've seen in anime. Interestingly, the Sci-Fi Channel, which brought us the series Stargate, is producing a live action version of Witch Hunter Robin. It will air sometime in 2004 or 2005.

"A cross between 'La Femme Nikita' and 'The X Files'", as another reviewer put it. 4 stars, worth the price of admission.

Well, now that we've gotten the "synopsis" and the "conclusion" out of the way, read on to see why I feel that way, and why I've titled this review 'striptease'.

A long time ago, after the Dinosaurs but before TV, there was something called "Burlesque". One of the more earthy components of a good burlesque show was the Strip Tease. A woman would come out, fully clothed, and strip to next to nothing. Look for References to Gypsy Rose Lee, who brought this form of entertainment to an art.

What we have here is an intellectual strip tease. DVD #1 starts with our world "fully clothed", and the music begins to play. We see the dancer's moves. Ah, but we know more is comming, don't we (yeah, I've read the other reviews)?

Things that I liked:

THE CHARACTERS: quirky, without being too over the top. Robin shows more composure than I would expect a normal 15 year old to have, but then again she was raised by Italian Roman Catholic Nuns. Anyone who's ever been to parochial school will tell you that even six hours a day with these "brides of Christ" was a special hell (bitter? who, me?). Is Robin all *she* seems to be?

THE ART: a very interesting combination of CG and cel animation. Most interior shots are CG "backgrounds", as well as some external shots (Harry's Bar). Animation is very well done and sytlish.

THE LOOK: Bounces around between Art Nouveau, "2 Ton Gothic", and indeterminate modern. Hey, *I* like it.

THE WORLD: 'Day After Tomorrow' Sci Fi. The agents wander around with PDA's that I would kill for. Nobody uses CRT's any more. Witchcraft exists but is suppressed to the point where the Normal Human Beings are convinced it's tabloid stuff.

THE EXTRAS: The usual stuff, including a glossary of the magical "tools" used. As another reviewer mentions, the series seems to be well researched.

THE STORY: Episodic in volume 1, with a hint or two of the "larger world" dropped in each story. By the end of Volume 1 you are left with several questions: is Robin a spy; why does the Japanese branch capture witches, and what do they do with them; Harry the bartender seems to be more than he appears. etc, etc. Nice set up.

Ah, good anime at it's finest: the first 4 or 5 epsiodes get you to the top of the hill in the roller coaster. The Big Drop has to come soon. I can't wait for Volume 2.

I have a 'sweet tooth' for dark fantasy, but the truth is that much of what comes out today, both anime and film, is repetitious. At some point you have to start being choosy. Because of that, I've stayed away from this series, despite early critical interest. But interest has remained positive and curiosity made me decide to pick up the first DVD. Which always bodes ill for the condition of my wallet. Fortunately, Witch Hunter Robin turns out much more interesting than I originally expected.

Robin was born in Japan, but as raised in an Italian monastery. There is some implication that she is actually a nun, but what she actually is is a hunter of witches and a practitioner of the Craft herself. Her return to Japan to replace a member of a witch hunting team (the STNJ) who died in action ruffles many feathers in a group that can only be described as idiosyncratic.

Amon is the team lead - cold, withdrawn, and not very happy with Robin. Miho Karasuma is a psychic who can only sense feelings. Michael Lee is a hacker - caught in the act he volunteered his services to the team. Haruto Sakaki is another new member who tends to go off half-cocked. Yurika Dojima is young, rich, and very self-involved. The 'adults' are Chief Kosaka, whos is everyone's worst nightmare as a boss, and Zaizen, the top man in Japan, and one who seems to have an agenda of his own. Robin herself can control fire, but not very well.

In this DVD the 'witches' being hunted are not pleasant people. These are people that use their powers to satisfy their own ends and take pleasure from the pain they cause. But the STNJ folks only differ from them in intent and name. As director Shuko Murase remarks in an interview, these are really just opposing sides in a deeper conflict. In the interactions of the characters one can already see the beginnings of some blurring of the boundaries.

The episodes so far focus on the interpersonal level, acquainting the viewer with the individual characters and the politics of the STNJ unit. These are complex, and so far balance the action perfectly. Production quality is excellent, with a finely rendered gothic atmosphere that manages to avoid seeming out of place in modern Japan. Camera angles and graphic effects are good as well. It's too early to give the series a hearty recommendation, but it certainly isn't a replay of old themes - definitely worth a look.

"Witch Hunter Robin" is an animation that many are quick to compare to other series, both animation and live action. "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," "La Femme Nikita," "Vampire Princess Miyu" etc...It is clearly tapping into a current zeitgeist of dark fantasy with a young female lead. Both the story, tone and visual style are reminiscent of many other works, from the long black clothing and the melancholy faces to the outcast, somewhat-innocent young girl who uses dark power to battle evil. Death is her gift.

With this in mind, the question becomes one not of how good the show is, but how does it succeed within the genre? Judging from the first episode, it succeeds quite well. While all of the elements are familiar, it is not a storyline that is so played out that a new, stylistic variation is not welcome. Robin herself is visually interesting, and her back story of a young life in a convent gives her some flair. Add to that her lack of control over her own power, and the classic tale of a stranger in a strange land unfolds.

This first DVD is definitely enough to hook me into the series, and want to see how things play out. AS is typical of Japanese drama, everything is not handed to you at once, and you have to have some patience while the atmosphere builds and the story unfolds.

The artwork, style and characters are first-rate (not to mention a remarkable soundtrack). Its a great series, the characters are well thought out and each is different enough to add the interpersonal interest long running series need between it's characters. The first 10 episodes are not really related to the main story, they are more like separate x-files style episodes used to introduce you to all the characters before the main story kicks in around episode 10, this isn't to say the first 10 episodes aren't interesting.. they're a great deal better than your typical x-file episode (but then what isn't with the way that show went downhill).
Charles Solomon's covers the basics in his description above pretty well, if you can mentally remove the pompous remarks. Does this guy even like anime? (Check some of his other reviews on other anime series for sale at Amazon to see what I mean).

Seems like series upon series appear on the anime landscape with the "Special Forces Hunting (Insert Evil Character Type Here)" premise. "Hellsing" and "Vampire Hunter D" specialized in vampires, "S-cry-ed" focused on mutants; "Witch Hunter Robin" makes a commendable effort to follow in the vein of these series, but falls just short.
The basic premise follows STN-J, the Japanese branch of an international witch-hunting organization; theirs is the only branch that captures, instead of kills, the witches, a point whose importance becomes more obvious as the series goes on. The group tracks X-Files-type, strange cases from the police database, and checks if any of the involved has a witch in his/her genealogical line. The group is armed with Orbo bullets and amulets, Orbo being a green liquid that somehow neutralizes witches' powers.
Enter Robin Sana, a teenager from the European sect of STN, sent as a replacement for a recently lost member of STN-J. Team members, particularly the shady leader Amon, are uneasy as Robin exhibits powerful, but raw use of witchcraft, particularly the use of fire, to control their targets.
The series is beautifully shot and animated--clean, quick, smooth animation with CGI used sparingly but effectively. Each character is portrayed well enough, with Robin's naivete and innocence captured perfectly. But looks aren't everything. The first half of the 26-episode series drags along with episode after unconnected episode of STN-J chasing down witch after witch. Few of their targets, if any, really cause problems for the team; Robin's skill, polished by Amon, is much too strong for the "criminal" witches.
Like most 26-episode series, "Witch Hunter" kicks into gear about midway, around the 13th-15th episode. The storylines from episode to episode begin to tie in to each other, and the line between villain and civilian begins to blur. STN-J begins to struggle internally, building to a climactic last few episodes that revolve heavily and importantly on Robin's past.
"Witch Hunter" finds itself just a few steps from being truly excellent; had the creators been able to sustain interest in the first half of the series as they did in the second half, it may have been so. Even the second half has a double-edged sword: most of the fun involved figuring out who's loyal to who, who's chasing who, and why...which can also be an overwhelming task.
This first volume will surprise you with its cool, depressingly gothic look, but the pace and repetitiveness hinders true enjoyment. If you have the patience to wait the series out, and if you want to collect a solid series, this one's for you. If you want a keeper that's quickly rewarding, you might want to pass.

It's Buffy the Vamp Slayer meets La Femme Nikita!

That's all I could think, watching this. It's not bad, mind you; but the dialouge needs a bit of sandpaper to smooth it out. It seems firmly targeted at fans of those two series.

And I'm sorry, but the opening scene is kind of funny. It's not supposed to be, but please. You can't make up a broody character just to have a broody character because they're popular with girls; you actually have to want a broody character in the show. So, the whole "I'm so dark and mysterious" bit that goes over well in some TV shows... falls a little flat when it looks this calculated. The whole show looked a little calculated to me.

Anyways, I kind of liked it, when I could get into it. Good animation, standard premise, not-so-hot dialouge. A bit slow and I think they were trying to make it that way, but they don't cary it off as smoothly as you ought when you're going for that feeling.

All in all I think it could get better but right now it seems a bit too pre-packaged to succeed. Who knows, maybe this will break anime into the main in America the way more unique, difficult and well-made shows couldn't. I generaly watch anime because it's not the same as American shows; but most people like the familiar more than the new and strange, have to be eased into it a bit more. Maybe this will be something like a bridge for more of the TV-watching population. There arn't any of the really challenging concepts in this one, the way there are in a lot of other anime.

All in all, it's not bad.

Witch Hunter Robin is an excellent anime about witch hunters. The series begins with STN-J--a group of witch hunters, that capture witches--instead of killing them. (A more humane way of dealing with them.) The witches are then sent to the Factory. Where they are studied.

A few months ago, one of the hunters was killed during a hunt, and they are in need of a replacement. In comes a young Robin Sena, a craft user. She has the ability to control fire, which really causes some discomfort from her co-workers. :-\

The series starts out with the Villian of the Week scenario, but by the 11th episode---Whoa. The REAL story kicks in. And when it kicks, it leaves one hell of a dent.

Don't pass this anime up. It leaves you wanting MORE.