Witch Hunter Robin

Though hidden away from the general public, Witches—those with supernatural powers—have always existed in human societies. Neither numerous nor inherently evil, Witches are nonetheless capable of creating disorder by misusing their powers for criminal means. The task of solving supernatural crimes falls outside of the jurisdiction of normal authorities and is instead handled by the Solomon organization.

Having finished her training in Italy, Robin Sena transfers to Solomon's local Japanese branch, STNJ. Possessing powerful pyrokinetic abilities, she is herself a Witch, putting her at odds with STNJ's methods of dealing with rogue Witches. In particular, Robin opposes the use of an elixir called Orbo, which can weaken or even neutralize a Witch's powers. If Robin wants to find her place within the organization, she must find a way to navigate the internal politics of Solomon while also handling the threat of hostile Witches—but both seem to be dangerous for very different reasons.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Sena, Robin Main

Watanabe, Akeno Japanese

Amon Main

Takewaka, Takuma Japanese

Lee, Michael Main

Yuuki, Hiro Japanese

Doujima, Yurika Main

Hikami, Kyouko Japanese

Karasuma, Miho Main

Kouda, Kaho Japanese

Sakaki, Haruto Main

Fukuyama, Jun Japanese

Nagira, Shunji Supporting

Yamanoi, Jin Japanese

Kurosawa, Akio Supporting

Ohba, Mahito Japanese

Kirihara, Kazuhiro Supporting

Endo, Moriya Japanese

Kousaka, Shintarou Supporting

Tsuji, Shinpachi Japanese

Sugita, Tsutomu Producer

Murase, Shukou Director, Episode Director, Script, Storyboard, Original Creator

Fujino, Sadayoshi Sound Director

Nagai, Tatsuyuki Episode Director

Reviews

May 26, 2023

mai_mai_

Recommended

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!

Reviewer’s Rating: 8

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Aug 8, 2024

Silcaria

Mixed Feelings

This show is a mixed bag. Its first half is a cookie cutter detective show, albeit, with a supernatural gimmick, whereas the second half is where the plot actually kicks in. Even then, it's pretty hit or miss, with the last few episodes salvaging it.

The biggest problem it has, is that at its core, the plot revolves around a mystery. This isn't an inherent issue. The problem is the execution. It essentially has two plot lines that branch out before converging together at the end. Plot A is the mystery, and plot B is a fairly simple narrative driven by a conflict between different groups.

The ... A plot is fine, but moves at a snail pace. Despite the core narrative only being present in the second half, the pacing could've been better. The B plot is mainly there to serve as a way to tie everything together at the end of the show. On its own, it's bad. Mainly because the conflict driving it is nonsensical and shouldn't even be happening to begin with.

Produciton wise, it's pretty average.

Overall, I wouldn't recommend this. There's better detective show out there, and better mystery series as well.

Reviewer’s Rating: 6

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Sep 13, 2024

SgtSalamander

Not Recommended

Let me preface my review with this- Witch Hunter Robin, on paper, should be a home run for my personal tastes. It's an atmospheric Adult Swim anime from 2004 with supernatural elements and Gothic design influences. That sounds like it was made for me. However, despite this, it still falls flat as a clumsy, ugly, and even downright boring slog that barely kept my attention. Beginning with the story, like much of the anime, it has a very strong conceptual base that is theoretically engaging with a ton of staying power. With an international witch hunting organization, and people randomly ... bestowed genetically inherited magic powers called witches causing havoc across the world, it makes for a setting that is compelling and rich with potential lore and interesting conflicts, even drawing in the real-life Ogham script of ancient Ireland. However, instead, we get a show that spends half its runtime on lengthy, pensive silences, and the other half on drawn out office scenes, populated by exhausting exposition. This all results in a story that languishes as an underdeveloped, underexplored mess, all moving at a truly geriatric pace. It must be reiterated that the pacing is some of the worst I've ever seen, in anime or otherwise. It is tortuously slow, blasting past a 'realistic' sense of time, instead lapsing into something more akin to a stilted cutscene from a PS1 game. It even gets less interesting as it goes on, switching from these mysteries surrounding different types of witches with different powers and their various crimes, to a melodramatic conspiracy plot that culminates in a confusing and anticlimactic final episode. It throws in hints at an interesting wider lore, but none of it is ever explored in any real depth, abandoned instead for a half-baked contrivance that is the second half of Witch Hunter Robin. However, the story, for all its sins, isn't the worst part of the anime.

That ignoble dishonor goes to the art, which is the pinnacle of this anime's wasted potential. Once again, conceptually, it seems unique and interesting, with an art design and visual identity that sets it apart from other anime of the time and exudes an atmospheric, mysterious feel. It also brings in real-life elements, like certain cave paintings in the credits sequence, namely a notable example from Trois-Frères cave in France, famously called "The Sorcerer". However, it abandons its potential and decides to go all-in on some truly awful CG. I'm not just talking about a casual use here either, like an elevator or a car. I'm talking nearly all of the background art and many of the foreground objects looking like they came straight out of a cheap Chinese knockoff of Half Life 1. They are primitive, ugly, and artificial, serving as a constant and unceasing distraction from a show that otherwise would have looked pretty good. Considering the caliber of the stuff coming out at the time, this anime really has no excuse to be so much worse, and then to use it so liberally. Considering its admittedly interesting art direction, this really is a shame, and results in an end product that is genuinely hard to look at a lot of the time.

The sound is probably the strongest aspect of this anime, though that's really only for a lack of anything else. This is due to the soundtrack, which really captures the mysterious, witchy atmosphere they're going for, and pairs it nicely with a mid-2000s techno vibe that adds to the suspense and general cool factor. I watched the dub, as that's how it aired on Adult Swim in 2004, and the dub's voice cast is also chock full of legends, like Steven Blum, Michael McConnohie, Crispin Freeman, Wendee Lee, and Johnny Yong Bosch. However, despite this essentially all-star voice cast, the dub is still pretty subpar. Outside of Steven Blum and Michael McConnohie, whose respective performances are the best in the show by far, the voice work overall sounds stiff and artificial, replete with awkward pauses and dry, contrived line delivery that would sound more at home presenting an after school special about the dangers of speeding. Once again, this demonstrates Witch Hunter Robin's repeating pattern of totally wasting its potential.

As for the characters, there's not really much to say. They fulfill their roles in the story while not standing out or breaking the mold in any notable way. Of them, Dr. Kurosawa and Father Juliano are my favorites. Both of them are supporting characters that only really appear very briefly, but they're the best written among them and demonstrate the best voice work in the show, respectively delivering compelling performances, though this reflects poorly on the main cast. Overall, Witch Hunter Robin is a tragic display of wasted potential. It could have been great if it made just a couple of strategic adjustments- pick up the pace a bit, lay off the CG, put more effort into the voice work, etc. Instead, we got this. In the end, it might be a passingly fun watch for one or two of the earlier episodes in isolation, but as it stands it doesn't work as a whole anime. It is entirely too long, too slow, and too boring to be something really worth watching, let alone finishing. What a waste.

Reviewer’s Rating: 5

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	Poll: Witch Hunter Robin Episode 26 Discussion Sabinlerose - Mar 21, 2011	46 replies	by Niveen_Sleem »» Nov 17, 11:38 AM
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