Product Details

• Actors: Akeno Watanabe, Dorothy Elias-Fahn, Dave Mallow, Jerry Gelb, Mela Lee
• Format: Animated, Color, Dolby, DVD, Subtitled, NTSC
• Language: English, Japanese
• Subtitles: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rating: Unrated
• Studio: Bandai
• DVD Release Date: October 7, 2003
• Run Time: 125 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (40 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B0000APVIY
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #126,115 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)

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  Movies & TV > Animation > Characters & Series > Witch Hunter Robin

• For more information about "Witch Hunter Robin - Arrival (Vol. 1)" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

• This is item 1 in The Witch Hunter Robin Series.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Raised in an Italian convent, 16-year-old Robin Sana returns to her native Japan to join the STNJ, a secret organization that captures, rather than kills, witches of both sexes. The typically mismatched crew includes hacker Michael Lee, rookie Haruto Sakaki, psychic Miho Karasuma, Yurika Dojima, the spoiled daughter of a prominent family, and icily aloof Amon, the de facto leader of the team. As a "craft user," Robin can conjure fire as a weapon, but has some trouble with her aim. Witch Hunter combines the subdued palette of Blood: The Last Vampire with the alienated tone of the Vampire Princess Miyu OVAs. The elegantly designed settings and skillful use of color are more interesting than the flat stories about pursuing the supernatural murderers. Included in the extras is the Maelifica Compendium, a veritable gold mine of mythological misinformation. (Rated 13 and older: violence, alcohol and tobacco use) --Charles Solomon

Product Description

In a world where witches abuse their supernatural powers, a special team is tasked with hunting this new threat to society. This organization is known as the STN and comprises of several highly skilled craft users and experts in covert operations. But their most powerful craft user is a young woman named Robin. Her mysterious gift to summon deadly flames will determine the fates of her colleagues and lead her into a dark world of mystique and witchcraft!

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

41 of 44 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Witch Hunter Robin, best since Cowboy Bebop!, August 2, 2003

By	Courtland J. Carpenter (Fort Wayne, Indiana United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Witch Hunter Robin - Arrival (Vol. 1) With Series Box and Collectables (DVD)

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.

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Different Yet Good Quality Anime, September 1, 2003

By	David Sound (Huntington Beach, California United States) - See all my reviews

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!

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Alternative Anime, September 20, 2004

By	L. Mintah "Author of the Heart" (USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Witch Hunter Robin - Arrival (Vol. 1) (DVD)

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.