Review: Witch Hunter Robin

Episode Reviewed In: Episode 110
Alternate Titles: None
Original Japanese Release Date: July 2002
Episode Length/Run-time: 26 Episodes
Summary:
The story follows Robin Sena who is a “craft user” not to be mistaken with a witch.  Craft users are raised by the Roman Cathloic Church to use their powers to hunt down witches.  Witchcraft is a dormant trait which lies in human “seeds” when they awaken it drives a person, generally, to madness.  Robin works for the STN-J a group which looks over seeds and hunts witches but through her work with them she begins to learn more about the witches she hunts and what her group really does.
Review:
I suppose I’ll start out by saying that Witch Hunter Robin is not an exceptional anime. It’s far from bad, and it’s downright entertaining most of the time, but it is hardly something which will merit acclaim, praise, or a second watch anytime soon. However, I am a huge fan of the occult and witchcraft so this series is right up my alley and tickles my supernatural bone.
The series falls under the old routine of monster of the week for about the first half. In my opinion you can watch episodes 1 and 2, then skip 3-11 and pick the series back up there. Some of the episodes are interesting and the DO progressively let you in on secrets of the STN-J group but it is filler, no ifs-ands-or-butts on the matter. The plot doesn’t really take off until the halfway mark, where they then take the non-existent buildup and your now over-familiarity with the characters to progress what is the real plot. Being a fan of the occult I didn’t hate the filler, and some of it was amusing, but filler is filler, they likely could’ve condensed it down a fair bit.
When the series does pick up, it really picks up and the plot moves quick. Not break-neck speed that makes you go “wooooah hold up!” but a good place that is enjoyable. The show is never riddled with action but has the pacing of a good mystery novel and uncovers things at a decent pace that makes it worth watching.
The atmosphere of the show and animation style are just fantastic, and really carries it along. I’ve heard it described as “neo-goth” and I can see how it fits really well. The show almost has such a good atmosphere it feels like TV shows like Charmed (without the silly fluff of Charmed) here in America.
The characters also make the show worth watching, from traditional clichés to people facing deep moral dilemmas. And the music is pretty solid too, I rocked out on my iPod for a while to it.
Overall, I may be a little biased because I liked this show so much because of the themes it used and the questions it asked. But I really enjoyed it.