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Witch Hunter Robin - Vengeance
The show is set in the near future and centers on a young gal, Robin Sena, who has the ability to start fires and direct the energy from them as a weapon. She belongs to an organization, the STN, which trains such youth to act as "hunters" who use their powers to track and kill similarly gifted individuals that use their powers for personal gain or to harm people. She is sent to a branch office of the group, in Japan, where she replaces a team member that died 6 months prior. Not much is known about the young gal but it's clear she has an agenda and no one is quite sure what to make of her. The unofficial leader of the group is an older male, Amon, who is in his mid 20's. He is less social than average and doesn't like Robin's seemingly dangerous inexperience. Miho Karasuma is another senior team member-one who can sense thoughts or events by touching objects, Michael Lee-a computer hacker, Haruto Sakaki-another rookie to the team, and Yuriko Dojima-a flighty rich gal who doesn't take life seriously. Their immediate supervisor is Chief Kosaka, a grumpy old guy, and the top man at the STNJ branch is a mysterious man named Zaizen who knows more about what's going on then everyone else put together but doesn't share his information.
The team is sent on missions to confront "witches", those who use their powers to break the law. In a sense, the show is a cop show with the added dimension of the paranormal powers involved. STNJ, the Japanese branch of the organization, does things a bit differently in that they don't seek to kill the witches but to capture them using a green liquid (orbo) that nullifies the witch's powers. Generally shot through a gun-like weapon, the orbo is expensive and weakens the hunters' powers too. Initially, each episode focused on a single mission and the variations on the "hunt down those who are just like us" play out a bit each time, combining themes from the highly intelligent La Femme Nikita, the lesser Mutant X, and a host of other shows and pop culture references like The X-Men, New Mutants, and similar comics. The questions of who Robin "really" is, how she got her powers, and what her agenda is, are but a few of the questions the series raises, and mostly answers, before the final volume ends here.
Up until about the midway point of the show, in Volume 4, the general formula for the series progressed much like it was expected to, going with the mutant of the episode format, but then things changed in an unexpected whirlwind of events impacting the characters. Within the space of an episode or two, the STNJ was attacked, Robin was branded an outsider on the run, and everything learned about the cast to that point seemed almost pointless given the manner in which their priorities shifted. Well, in Witch Hunter Robin: Vengeance, the driving conclusion of the series accelerated even faster than in Volume 5, with the team making one last attempt to save their friend from an uncertain fate, learning more about Robin in the process. The truths were unveiled as Solomon had his last shot at controlling the young witch, with Robin finally knowing her complete origin as it filled her with despair. The back of the DVD cover said this about the concluding volume:
"Amon and Dojima confront each other about their loyalties, and then share information. Zaizen is trying to develop a new type of Orbo that would make Hunters irrelevant. Meanwhile, Zaizen's group begin attacking members of the STNJ!
Although Sakaki is saved, Karasuma has vanished. The team realizes that she must have been captured. Before they can mount a rescue operation, however, they need to gather more information. Back at STNJ, Father Juliano is waiting for Robin. He tells her everything he knows, and gives her the final key to solve the puzzle of her identity.
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?"
The episodes this time were 23) Sympathy for the Devil, 24) Rent, 25) Redemption Day, and 26) Time to Tell, each adding to the bigger picture as the impressively interesting series draws ever closer to the conclusion. If you've seen the series up to this point, you have little choice but to finish it out with this one and you won't be disappointed given the manner in which it ties up almost all the loose ends. Yes, there are multiple deaths and you could hope for a revival based on some of the other characters picking up the spin off (I'm not going to spoil it for you now…) but I found it much more realistic to end this way than the usual series would do. I rated it as Highly Recommended since the entire package seemed to be well made with solid drawing, excellent use of moody music, great writing, nice pacing, and a host of other aspects so often left by the wayside in weaker series from Japan. You'll want to see this one from the beginning but you'll definitely want to see it if you haven't already given the quality of the production.
Picture: Witch Hunter Robin: Vengeance was presented in the original 1.33:1 ratio full frame color as released in Japan. The artwork was solid, the anime style minimalist but perfect for the darker nature of the material, and the visuals in general contributed to the effect of the storyline. I saw no compression artifacts and the grain was minimal throughout the show, even in the darker night scenes, all making me appreciate the quality of the show.
Sound: The audio was presented in Dolby Digital 2.0 with a choice of either the original Japanese with optional English subtitles or an English language dub. The stereo channels were usually reserved for the special effects but the vocals and music seemed very solid too. Each channel had its own merits and I liked them both but the original Japanese track vocals seemed to work for me more while the music seemed slightly enhanced on the dub. I like when both tracks add their own flavor to the material since it increases the replay value and it's always good to see a dub that approaches the original language track in terms of quality (although I'm sure this upsets the snobs who think otherwise).
Extras: The best extras were once again the two interviews, one with Hiro Yuki (Michael Lee) and another with Takuma Takekawa (Amon) that gave some insights as to the characters, the show and the people behind the Japanese track voices. There was no edition of the "Maelifica Compendium" providing some background cultural notes on the episodes this time (I guess they ran out of topics); the typical trailers, and a double-sided DVD cover as well as a minimal paper insert were also included along with a plastic character card that looked pretty cool (this one featured Michael Lee, the computer nerd for the STNJ).
Final Thoughts: Witch Hunter Robin: Vengeance finished up the series nicely with all the dark twists and turns one would expect of a series based as much on the type of spy agency theme as the supernatural youth run amuck idea. Robin, when her powers were bolstered by the Splinter/Fragment of knowledge, was almost invincible and therefore a threat to all mankind and the motivations of those trying to stop her make them somewhat less evil given the big picture, a character design that made those enemies more interesting than the black & white foes too many other series rely on. The final conclusion of the series relied a bit heavily on the cliffhanger too but that allows you to decide what you prefer to think happened rather than be force fed a convenient close to a series that I've found to have a lot of great replay value (the last volume came out a year ago, I was just lucky enough to pick up a copy of the last two volumes a week or so ago to finish the reviewing of this great series). I've seen a collector's set of the series that I'm sure would rate a Collector's Series rating given the excellence of the series as a whole so if you haven't seen the series yet, go buy that one instead, I doubt very much that you'll be sorry for doing so (they seem to retain a lot of value with people so you can sell it if you aren't happy).
If you enjoy anime, take a look at some of the recommendations by DVDTalk's twisted cast of reviewers in their Best Of Anime 2003 and Best Of Anime 2004 article or regular column Anime Talk
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