Witch Hunter Robin...
Years ago, Witch Hunter Robin seemed like something interesting, so, I picked up the entire series during its initial run with Bandai...
The first half of Witch Hunter Robin is fairly mundane as Robin assists with witch hunts in a distinctly monster-of-the-week pattern where new types of witches emerge in many of the early episodes. After a while, Robin begins to have doubts about her work with Solomon. In the latter half of the series, after Solomon's Japanese branch is attacked by Solomon's headquarters and Robin is targeted by Solomon, Robin openly questions everything she thought she knew about herself and begins an investigation into the secretive Solomon organization and her own past in an attempt to uncover the truth. All the while, Robin is being pursued by Solomon's hunters.
During the course of Witch Hunter Robin, Amon, Robin's superior at the Japanese branch of Solomon, has suspicions regarding Robin's true nature and her intentions. Amon is antagonistic toward Robin, but, gradually, as Robin begins to prove herself in the field, Amon begins to appreciate Robin's unique talents and a mutual friendship emerges. When the Japanese branch of Solomon is attacked, there is some doubt about whether or not Amon will help or hunt Robin. And, following the attack, a cloud of suspicion hangs over both Robin and Amon.
The latter half of Witch Hunter Robin focuses less on the hunting of witches and more on the politics involved between the various factions of the Solomon organization and, as a result, has a distinctly darker tone than the first half of the series. Much of the action in the series involves the use of witch craft, but, there is also a surprising amount of gun play in the series. While the series is fairly violent, it is not particularly bloody or gory. Likewise, there are no naughty bits or fan service to speak of.
Overall, Witch Hunter Robin was entertaining, but, in my humble opinion, the series suffers greatly from its combination of monster-of-the-week action mixed with political intrigue. Given the violence in the series, it is surprisingly bloodless. Witch Hunter Robin was a bit more slowly paced than I would have liked. In addition, the series builds to a somewhat lackluster climax, and although, it does pay off in the end, there are some questions left unanswered at the end of the series. All things considered, I would give Witch Hunter Robin a 2 out of 5. The Witch Hunter Robin soundtrack CD has 23 tracks and I liked 5 tracks for a total of 21.7% which works out to a rating of 2 out of 4.
According to Wokipedia...Volume 1
Arrival
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.
Volume 2
Belief
Being a Witch Hunter is anything but normal. Robin has begun settling into her new life at the STNJ, practicing with her supernatural powers and making some extraordinary progress. The arrival of her beloved Vespa has given Robin independence and freedom as the hunt for witches continue. There is no one type of witch - Robin and the STNJ will face them all: witches who kill out of vengeance and a witch who takes a life so that another may be spared. And this time around, one of the STNJ’s targets will be someone very close to them...
Volume 3
Inquisition
Robin's "normal" life is about to end.
After another seemingly routine investigation of a Witch-related murder, a strange old woman appears and speaks to Robin. She claims to know the truth about Witches, about the Craft, and even about Robin herself. But Robin refuses to believe the tale she spins about gods and demons and the blood that carries power.
Robin is soon bombarded by strange visions and attacks, but it soon becomes clear that Robin is being targeted by someone and that everyone around her is in danger!
Volume 4
Fugitive
After the attack on Robin, Michael and the others convince her to stay at headquarters. While they believe she would safe there, the group slowly begins to wonder if the attacks were orchestrated from inside the STNJ. But the mystery thickens as the headquarter is brutally attacked with Robin barely escaping with her life.
When investigations into Robin assailants dig too deep, Robin is again put the test and must use her powers to protect the people around her. But is she truly in control of her powers?
Volume 5
Determination
Now that Robin has demonstrated her true power in front of Nagira, she decides to tell him everything. While this leads to a deeper understanding between the two, it also raises more questions than it answers. At the STNJ, things are slowly returning to normal as Sakaki recovers from his injuries. But to make matters worse, Solomon has decided that Robin must be eliminated!
One by one, they dispatch their top hunters to deal with her and while she finally comes to terms with the pain of being hunted and of being a Witch - In her darkest hour, Amon will reappear, but is he a savior... or executioner?
Volume 6
Vengeance
The Explosive End! Loyalties will be put to the ultimate test as Zaizen begins development of a new type of Orbo that would make Hunters irrelevant. With attacks upon the STNJ, Karasuma has vanished! As the remaining members begin to gather information for a rescue attempt, Robin is given the final key to solve the mystery of her past. The members of the STNJ mount a desperate assault against the Factory to save their friend and learn the whole truth. But the cost of truth is high, and once Robin learns the truth, what will her destiny be?
Following the closure of Bandai Entertainment in 2012, Sunrise announced at Otakon 2013, that Funimation had rescued the series, along with a handful of other former Bandai Entertainment titles.Recently, I took the opportunity to watch Witch Hunter Robin. The series follows Robin as she stalks the streets of Japan looking for nefarious witches that use their powers for evil. The series follows the exploits of the Japanese branch of Solomon (STN), a secret organization with a stated desire to hunt down witches for the greater good of humanity. The hunters in the Japanese branch use a mysterious substance called Orbo to aid them in their witch hunts, but, Robin doesn't use Orbo as she finds it disgusting.
The first half of Witch Hunter Robin is fairly mundane as Robin assists with witch hunts in a distinctly monster-of-the-week pattern where new types of witches emerge in many of the early episodes. After a while, Robin begins to have doubts about her work with Solomon. In the latter half of the series, after Solomon's Japanese branch is attacked by Solomon's headquarters and Robin is targeted by Solomon, Robin openly questions everything she thought she knew about herself and begins an investigation into the secretive Solomon organization and her own past in an attempt to uncover the truth. All the while, Robin is being pursued by Solomon's hunters.
During the course of Witch Hunter Robin, Amon, Robin's superior at the Japanese branch of Solomon, has suspicions regarding Robin's true nature and her intentions. Amon is antagonistic toward Robin, but, gradually, as Robin begins to prove herself in the field, Amon begins to appreciate Robin's unique talents and a mutual friendship emerges. When the Japanese branch of Solomon is attacked, there is some doubt about whether or not Amon will help or hunt Robin. And, following the attack, a cloud of suspicion hangs over both Robin and Amon.
The latter half of Witch Hunter Robin focuses less on the hunting of witches and more on the politics involved between the various factions of the Solomon organization and, as a result, has a distinctly darker tone than the first half of the series. Much of the action in the series involves the use of witch craft, but, there is also a surprising amount of gun play in the series. While the series is fairly violent, it is not particularly bloody or gory. Likewise, there are no naughty bits or fan service to speak of.
Overall, Witch Hunter Robin was entertaining, but, in my humble opinion, the series suffers greatly from its combination of monster-of-the-week action mixed with political intrigue. Given the violence in the series, it is surprisingly bloodless. Witch Hunter Robin was a bit more slowly paced than I would have liked. In addition, the series builds to a somewhat lackluster climax, and although, it does pay off in the end, there are some questions left unanswered at the end of the series. All things considered, I would give Witch Hunter Robin a 2 out of 5. The Witch Hunter Robin soundtrack CD has 23 tracks and I liked 5 tracks for a total of 21.7% which works out to a rating of 2 out of 4.
