Robin Sena, a fifteen-year-old Japanese Italian nun, lives what could be termed an unusual life, but only if you're apt to make severe understatements. She has just joined the ranks of STN-J (the Japanese branch of your standard Semi-Secret Paranormal Government Agency) to work with a special ops team with the explicit mission to hunt down Witches, an umbrella term for any person who possesses unnatural "abilities." The catch is, however, that Robin herself is a Witch (with a particular fluency for fire), and STN-J has specifically recruited her so that she may work against her own kind. And if that's not enough, her new coworkers bring some more angst to the table, as they greet Robin with varying levels of acceptance as well as mental stability.

That's the setup, and from there on Witch Hunter Robin takes a serialized look at the everyday life of Miss Sena in her adventures at STN-J. Each episode brings us a new Witch and a new witch-hunt, and we are given the perspective of the inexperienced and naïve title character to observe the people and the world around her. The show seems to have a full mythology built up behind the scenes; everything, from the Hunters to the tools they use, seem to have a few more secrets brewing underneath than we might expect at first. And yet, the exploration of this world is not really the main focus of these first five episodes, but instead it allows the bigger picture to rest predominately in the smaller actions, the details that only the careful watcher might appreciate. At face value, Robin is just an extremely well produced and stylish action/horror anime with a bit of social philosophy thrown in for good measure.

Which isn't a bad thing in the least. In fact, a great deal of my enjoyment of this anime came from the sheer fun of it all. The writers of the series know how to structure a plot well, and all the developments, those both concerning the case at hand and the continuing sub-plots, come at a natural flow with effective editing. The actions scenes are likewise handled nicely, as Robin's loner style and unpredictable attacks contrast nicely with the militaristic coordination of the rest of the Hunters. And as expected from the writers of the Vampire Miyu TV series, rarely an episode goes by without quite a bit of depth behind the one-shot story.

Dojima is rearing to go ...take a nap.	Michael Lee - one of the more animated of these ...animated characters.

Keeping with the similarity to Miyu, Witch Hunter Robin boasts a very intriguing title character. As I watched Robin in these five episodes I truly bought her as both a levelheaded agent of the government and as a naïve teenager who's way over her head. Her witch-hunting exploits are interesting to watch, but most importantly I felt that the writers really use Robin's off-duty hours to expose her true character, with moments like her quiet, reflective visits to the Harry's Café and her after-hours coffee and donuts with her possible crush Michael accurately depicting a teenager in her position and with her history. Sure, she could use a wardrobe that didn't look like it was purchased at Hot Topic's bargain basement sale every now and then, but by the end of this disk I felt as if Robin Sena was an entirely real person. And that's unusual in anime nowadays.

As previously stated, the recurring cast of Hunters is an interesting group of folks, and the show successfully conveys a sense of unrevealed depth. All of Robin's coworkers seem like real people you could deal with everyday just gifted with extraordinary powers and placed in extraordinary circumstances, and both the script and vocal performances allow for subtle nuances to fully round them out. I especially enjoyed Dojima, who truly seems to have fun in both her work and her normal life-a rarity amongst characters in these types of shows. The only true exception from my praise would be Amon, as he seems to be the stock Dark & Angsty Bishounen, and I can't really get behind a cliché when the rest of the characters are presented in a more fully realized light. Too bad he's apparently Robin's "true" love interest, if the opening credits are any indication (And remember that Robin's only fifteen - which does makes it icky, Japan's lenient age of consent be damned!)

The cosmetics on Witch Hunter Robin are stunning, end of story. The character designs are all clear and individual, and they all keep with the sleek Gothic flare that fills the rest of the show. Grays, reds, blacks, and metallic tones cast a decidedly somber haze over the series, though the show does wisely stay away from any morbid tones or symbols, as that would put a damper on the action and sense of energy that pervades throughout. Also the animation is fluid and well defined. On notable aspect of the series is the amount of recurring symbolism used in through the visuals, from the ever-present crows to different usages of lights. Catholic references are often used as well, in character names (Solomon, Michael, etc.), Robin's occupation as a nun, as the fact that the Hunters' Orbos (talismans that deflect Witches' magic) are suspiciously cross-shaped. Of course, one should note that the majority of the Japanese people understand the Western religions about as well as the majority of us do the Eastern ones (which is to say, not much), so there is the curious aspect that priests and nuns seem to have no qualms about raising Witches in their monasteries and convents (though that probably won't bug most as it did me).

In addition, music is well placed when used, and the OP and ED are both nice tracks that bear repeated listenings.

Bandai has produced Robin under their vaguely defined Platinum Edition imprint, and while I haven't a clue what exactly that means, the product is definitely satisfactory. The packaging is a great shot of Robin and gives an excellent idea of the tone of the series. The inside booklet is decent as well, but does nothing other than give a slightly better hint to Robin's motivations, but otherwise is completely missable. On the extras, however, Bandai scored with the liner notes, which not only go into some of the symbolism but also just explains some of the mechanics of the show's mythology for those who'd rather have the setup in one place for reference. The regulars are all accounted for, which are not the least bit notable except that they included all of the main characters in the Bios section in this one volume, which suits me just fine; I always thought spreading them out over later installments was sort of cheating anyway. And at five episodes all in digital format, this is a great deal.

Witch Hunter Robin is one of those few anime series that I really think would work in a live action adaptation in America. Think about it: the semi-secret government agency devoted to the paranormal thing would go over well with the X-Files crowd, the characters' slow but consistent development gives the show a good bit of substance under the flash, and the serialized nature of the plots would make the syndication deal much more likely if and when it has racked up enough episodes. The stylish neo-Goth visuals would translate just fine with the right cinematography too. But then I can't help but feel that this was just what the doctor ordered for anime right now, for in the mindless sea that is the new crop of anime series, Witch Hunter Robin is a quality show with thrilling adventures for the present and major promise for the future. I can't wait for the next dose.r the next dose.

Distributor: Bandai Entertainment
Creator: Sunrise
Released: 2002

Video Quality: A
Audio Quality: A-
Presentation: A
Content: A-
Overall: A-