Rating: - Good drama, style, and characterization, but plot needs work
Witch Hunter Robin is a 26 episode Japanese animation series set in the near future in Japan. In this near future, individuals dubbed Witches who exhibit uncontrolled or psychotic manifestations of supernatural penomena are tracked and hunted by a shadowy international agency. The title character, a quiet teenage girl raised in a European convent who posesses the ability to mentally start fires, works as a hunter for the Japanese branch of this agency (in the STN-J). Some of the people she works with are up-front about their personal histories; others stay secretive. The first half of the series focuses on Robin working within the STN-J to hunt other Witches. Events halfway through the series lead to her becoming a fugitive; the storyline then delves deeper into several subplots concerning Robin's origins, the personal backgrounds of some of the secretive STN-J members, and the activities of the STN-J administrator.

This series is carried by its rich character development and its strong dramatic moments (which are neither forced nor overplayed). The characters, even those who appear in single episodes, are defined deeply in a way that makes the watcher care about them. The storyline slowly (but not too slowly) unfolds within single episodes and across the series as a whole. An air of tension or mystery often permeates the plot. Remarkably, this is all done with relatively little action (many action scenes merely feature people staring at each other while they duel with psychic powers) and with remarkably little nudity. This is a strong dramatic series that holds the viewer at the edge of his or her seat with plotline, not with cheap thrills.

The animation style compliments the storyline very nicely. Everything is cast in dark hues complimented with pale colors. Faces, clothing, and architecture are highly stylized; much of it looks gothic or industrial. A strong emphasis is placed on visuals, particularly visuals of individual faces. While the individual characters and scenery are drawn technically well, the animators did have some problems. Some scenes feature computer-drawn backdrops that look artificial, and cars for some reason are not drawn well when moving along the line of sight. Despite these drawbacks, though, the animation still looks great.

The series only has two problems. The minor problem is the soundtrack, which is somewhat lackluster. The major problem is the predictability of the storyline. In earlier episodes, when Robin is hunting other Witches, the writers leave little mystery as to who will be hunted at the end of the episode, even if it is supposed to be unknown. Often, the hunted Witch is the one character that Robin or someone else in the STN-J interacts with during the episode. The later episodes become less predictable, but a significant portion of the series's finale is disappointingly easy to infer.

I did not view all of the extras on the DVDs, but both the character/equipment overviews and particularly the cultural information were useful.

Overall, this is a very good anime series with excellent drama and characterization as well as a visually-pleasing animation style, although the predictable storyline and lackluster soundtrack inhibit it from being the best. I recommend it to any anime, sci-fi, or fantasy fan.

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