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Witch Hunter Robin (TV).


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BlackRose321



Joined: 01 Apr 2004
Posts: 79
Location: In my head...
PostPosted: Sun May 30, 2004 7:34 pm Reply with quote
Okay, then. Laughing I'll wait until you and I both see more of it. I was going to ask about the characters in general and about the wolf transformations/illusions...if it was an illusion or actual transformation...I missed some episodes since the Adult Swim schedule changed...if I have any questions...I'll e-mail you since this site doesn't have lightning quick replies... Wink
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evil_anime_kid666
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PostPosted: Tue Jun 08, 2004 3:59 pm Reply with quote
not to be hating but i think witch hunter is boring and thats what i think abojut this anime i dont what other have to say about my opinion i just say that this anime sucks Laughing
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SuperOnizuka



Joined: 24 Oct 2003
Posts: 421
Location: When I look At the World- New Jersey
PostPosted: Tue Jun 08, 2004 5:32 pm Reply with quote
evil_anime_kid666 wrote:
not to be hating but i think witch hunter is boring and thats what i think abojut this anime i don't what other have to say about my opinion i just say that this anime sucks Laughing


That's nice... Rolling Eyes

When Sresta (the first craft user we see hunting Robin) burns the splinter of knowledge, was that like a catalyst for Robin's power to fully awaken? Cause before he destroyed it, Robin was pretty weak against him. But once the splinter of knowledge whithers/explodes/whatever, it seemed as if Robin got much stronger.
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BlackRose321



Joined: 01 Apr 2004
Posts: 79
Location: In my head...
PostPosted: Tue Jun 08, 2004 11:38 pm Reply with quote
evil_anime_kid666: Not trying to be mean but...I was asking for help with the storyline, not an opinion of it. Wink You're probably the type that likes action packed episodes and this wasn't made to be like that. Its a dark DRAMA...
(oh yea, just in case you didn't know, the hunter's name was Sastre. LOL) As for the FOW (Fragment of Wisdom, its gotten to be a habit of calling it that.), I believe that it showed the true potential of a craft users power. Robin thought it improved it but then she realized that she had it within her the entire time. Here you can read these, they might say something different though: As Miho and Haruto arrives, she blows Sastre away, realizing that the little piece of wood wasn't the ultimate technique; the ability to control the elements was inside her all along.
. Robin realizes that she can see Sastre's attacks coming now and easily deflects them now that she can focus on them specifically. She realizes that this is the Ultimate Technique. She can now detect and use the elements, which wasn't something that was housed in the Piece of Knowledge anymore, it was now within her own body.
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Dilandau



Joined: 06 Jan 2004
Posts: 525
Location: Tea House
PostPosted: Wed Jun 09, 2004 4:07 am Reply with quote
So, in regards to to the FOW, do you think the old lady is 'using' Robin as a pawn? Before the whole incident with the old-lady Robin still didn't accept the fact that she WAS a witch. Then the old-lady left her this mysterious FOW, that would 'grant' her the 'answer' that she was looking for.

The FOW, was just something for Robin to focus on, and when she watched it get destroyed (something that couldn't possibly happen to something so 'great'), it dawned on Robin that the staff was meaningless....and in this way, the old lady 'turned' Robin into a Witch to redeem the wrongs of the past.
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Kazuki-san



Joined: 21 May 2004
Posts: 2251
Location: Houston, TX
PostPosted: Wed Jun 09, 2004 4:16 am Reply with quote
Dilandau wrote:
So, in regards to to the FOW, do you think the old lady is 'using' Robin as a pawn? Before the whole incident with the old-lady Robin still didn't accept the fact that she WAS a witch. Then the old-lady left her this mysterious FOW, that would 'grant' her the 'answer' that she was looking for.

The FOW, was just something for Robin to focus on, and when she watched it get destroyed (something that couldn't possibly happen to something so 'great'), it dawned on Robin that the staff was meaningless....and in this way, the old lady 'turned' Robin into a Witch to redeem the wrongs of the past.


Robin was always a witch whether she believed it or not, it's just that Solomon chose to label the hunters it used as craft-users, and those who had awakened (or in other words manifested their power, usually when they kill someone) as witches. It would be kind of weird if your job was to hunt down witches but you were also called a witch.
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BlackRose321



Joined: 01 Apr 2004
Posts: 79
Location: In my head...
PostPosted: Wed Jun 09, 2004 4:19 am Reply with quote
I...uh...didn't really look at it that way...thats more complex than I thought of it.
I thought of it as how I posted it...showing you your true power.
I guess..now that I think about it...Methusela (Spelling?) could have been using her because she left something to Robin that was supposed to be the ultimate technique which got Robin thinking of a lot of things...
How did she turn her into a witch though?
I mean, she wasn't a witch by SOLOMON's definition technically, she wasn't using her powers for evil.
Thinking about it that way is a lot more complex... Laughing
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Dilandau



Joined: 06 Jan 2004
Posts: 525
Location: Tea House
PostPosted: Wed Jun 09, 2004 4:29 am Reply with quote
I think Solomon always knew that Robin WAS a witch. They were just using her to their advantage. Solomon didn't decide to come after Robin because she was learning to control her powers, they came after her because they started to doubt her loyalty to Solomon.

The reason she started losing faith in Solomon and wondering about herself was because they started capturing witches that weren't really a threat to anybody, the family that Robin visits a few times (and the mom thinks she is her daughter), is an example...as is the heart touching episode where Robin is baby-sitting the little girl (witchling, lol).

She turned into a 'witch' by following her own ideas, just as the so-called witches of Europe were non-conformists. Robins 'use' to Solomon expired and so she was put on the hunt list.
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Kazuki-san



Joined: 21 May 2004
Posts: 2251
Location: Houston, TX
PostPosted: Wed Jun 09, 2004 4:37 am Reply with quote
Dilandau wrote:
I think Solomon always knew that Robin WAS a witch. They were just using her to their advantage. Solomon didn't decide to come after Robin because she was learning to control her powers, they came after her because they started to doubt her loyalty to Solomon.

The reason she started losing faith in Solomon and wondering about herself was because they started capturing witches that weren't really a threat to anybody, the family that Robin visits a few times (and the mom thinks she is her daughter), is an example...as is the heart touching episode where Robin is baby-sitting the little girl (witchling, lol).

She turned into a 'witch' by following her own ideas, just as the so-called witches of Europe were non-conformists. Robins 'use' to Solomon expired and so she was put on the hunt list.


As I said Solomon DID know she was a witch, all of the hunters that were "craft-users" are also witches and always have been. Solomon came after Robin, in the beginning because she had used her powers to kill another witch (which the inquisitor sees) at this point she crossed over the line that Solomon uses to judge witches and Solomon reclassifies her from a craft-user to a witch, although at this point only Zaizen and then Amon know about it. (at STNJ) Later it is Julianno who sends hunters because he knows what she really is (the ultimate witch). Nothing TURNED Robin into a witch, she was born that way. Methusula was more of a guide, to help Robin realize what she truly is. To that end the fragment of wisdom was used to help her realize this.

Also, we know that Zaizen's goal is to eventually use the orbo to replace the hunters. Zaizen hates witches, and he intends to get rid of ALL witches, as well as seeds.

The fragment of wisdom didn't really DO anything to her powers, it's sort of like a placebo, you feel better because you think what you took will help. The fragment of wisdom made Robin think she would be more powerful, when it fact it was just her true power beginning to manifest, she doesn't realize this until it is destroyed though.
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MaxSouth



Joined: 11 Oct 2008
Posts: 1363
PostPosted: Thu Apr 03, 2014 11:35 am Reply with quote
This seems to be proper general thread for the anime, even though it is ten year old. (Obviously, there is no sense to create new thread for this just because this one is old, so no, it is not "necroposting".)

I have read Zac's review of this anime and he has wrote that it is outstanding. This surprised me -- as if we are watching different shows.

Concept and execution story-wise, consistency:

1) concept is nothing new

2) case by case stories tamper with continuous storytelling, worsen whole project

3) some magic crimes stories are immediately obvious

4) investigators from the secret agency are presented as stupid and incompetent (for example, investigator, while being on the crime scene does not go to check video recording of the place until ordered by a higher up)

5) in reality investigators do not just leisurely decide on their own to take a case and go to the scene of crime. This is not how agencies work; things are planned and coordinated

6) there was a lot of talks how Robin was sent from central office where way of work is differently, so it is implied that she was capable of doing her job properly. Yet Robin was shown to be incompetent fool with using force she could not control. There was no way she would be allowed to do that in such agency

7) If Anon giving Robin glasses was a symbol, then it is weird gesture that has required him spending time and money for buying glasses, while he could simply say to her whatever he wanted right away. Besides, there would be no need for that as Robin's inability to target her fire skills would be dissected in details anyway as required in such agencies

8) Robin initially came from monastery and was shown praying in Christian church, but Bible directly sends sorcerers (besides Christ himself) to hell, so it makes no sense. She was known to be sorceress, and yet she was allowed to be in a monastery. Besides, she has said that she prays as a custom, what showcased her as shallow person (normally you would either pray honestly or do not do useless stuff in routine that makes you hypocritical)

9) Michael-the-hacker presented as stenographer that always types War And Peace from his memory while "hacking", which is one of the stupidest and annoying clichés.

Technical details:

Zac has mentioned that animation quality is sometimes sketchy, but it turned out to be more than that; overall, the quality is simply poor:
1) low frame rate,
2) grey, bleak colour palette,
3) hues of faces of men are light swamp, of women -- dirty pink,
4) bad drawing consistency, sometimes faces get crooked,
5) characters do not look like their suggested age (Robin and others look older they are said to be), though this is more stylistic issue rather than technical.

Of course, listed issues do not mean that this anime is bad, but situation would not let me to give it the highest mark.
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Gewürtztraminer



Joined: 14 Nov 2007
Posts: 1028
Location: Texas - Its like whole other country.
PostPosted: Thu Apr 03, 2014 7:02 pm Reply with quote
Strangely, I just started this on disc on Tuesday.
Bought on sale, probably during the great Best Buy anime exodus, it had sat for years until I finally decided to dust it off.

I was stunned at the first episode.
How could it be that dull?
This was on Adult Swim!?
The dub was pretty stilted for a west coast dub.

I put it in a 3 way playoff to see what I continued watching from my backlog with Desert Punk and Gun X Sword.
To Witch Hunter Robin's small credit (or the other two series overall lack of perceived quality), I am now on episode 3 of each and series and have yet to decide which one to polish off first.

Regarding the high rating and write up. It happens. I doubt the review would be anywhere near that these days, but I am just guessing.
I think I rated Love Hina a 9 at one time, being the 2nd anime I ever completed. I think I revised, but I really need to go over my list again and rerate everything. To better reflect my now more refined? (or jaded?) tastes.

Two things I do like so far in Witch Hunter Robin: The opener. I love that guitar riff that starts, and the vocals have me ripping from the dvd to an mp3 for my player.
The character designs. Of course anything non anime standard these days stands out, and different is good.

Overall, I feel there is potential in the story, but I have refrained from reading this newly resurrected thread closely, for fear of spoilers.
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Tony K.
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Joined: 18 Nov 2003
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PostPosted: Thu Apr 03, 2014 7:54 pm Reply with quote
Gewürtztraminer wrote:
Overall, I feel there is potential in the story, but I have refrained from reading this newly resurrected thread closely, for fear of spoilers.

Yeah, their are tons of spoilers on the first couple of pages, and only about half of them are even tagged.

I haven't watched WHR since it aired on [as]. But from what I remember liking about it, the show did do a pretty decent job of having this quasi-supernatural cop-show atmosphere to it, sort of like the series Fringe, only switch the sci-fi out with magic and occult elements (and subtract a Walter Bishop-esque character for the quirky comedy).

I remember when the show first started airing that led to a whole bunch of hoopla over the dub on these forums, too. Ultimately, I think most people thought it was okay, but not one of Bang Zoom!/Animaze's best.

Personally, though, if I were to pick between this and GUNxSWORD, it depends on your sensibilities.

On the one hand, WHR is pretty slow and methodical, has a lot of dialogue, and really takes a while to get to the main story. Most people will say it's boring, but again, it just depends on your tastes on what "boring" is to you and how much you can tolerate.

GxS, though, is pretty kinetic and over-the-top actiony. It sort of parodies, pokes fun at, and exaggerates other anime genres, but in a dystopic wild west setting, which I thought was pretty fun.

EDIT: Very minor grammar goofs.


Last edited by Tony K. on Mon Apr 21, 2014 3:50 pm; edited 1 time in total
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Shiroi Hane
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Joined: 25 Oct 2003
Posts: 7578
Location: Wales
PostPosted: Sat Apr 05, 2014 12:43 pm Reply with quote
I did find it very slow going on my second watch, and never got around to finishing it again. Same on my third attempt. I was very fond of it when I first saw it (fansubbed) however, and laid out for the US volume one with t-shirt and shot glass (my other volumes are UK ones). The ponderous dub probably didn't help since, while it had some of my favourite VAs, they were seemingly... badly... directed...

When you talk about the concept being "nothing new", it is worth bearing in mind that it is over 10 years old now - this was back when CSI was still pretty new.
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DangerMouse



Joined: 25 Mar 2009
Posts: 3980
PostPosted: Mon Apr 21, 2014 1:46 pm Reply with quote
@Tony K.

Yeah, they're very different and I also quite enjoyed both WHR and GxS.

It's been a while since I last saw it on my DVDs after the AS airing and some fansubs but I really got into it and it's methodical pacing and atmosphere (and really good soundtrack).

Shiroi Hane wrote:
When you talk about the concept being "nothing new", it is worth bearing in mind that it is over 10 years old now - this was back when CSI was still pretty new.


Yeah, this plus with the art style I have to say it really felt rather fresh back when it was new.

I'd love to see Shukou Murase get to do another show someday it's been years since Ergo Proxy which I also enjoyed and loved the visual style of.
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eyeresist



Joined: 02 Apr 2007
Posts: 995
Location: a 320x240 resolution igloo (Sydney)
PostPosted: Wed Apr 30, 2014 9:39 pm Reply with quote
Gewürtztraminer wrote:
I was stunned at the first episode.
How could it be that dull?
This was on Adult Swim!?

Regarding the slow pace of Witch Hunter Robin, bear in mind it was very influenced by X-Files, which looking back was generally very slow and low key. I guess it was a different era, when TV shows did not have to be "interesting"? Wink
After the set-up episodes, WHR bogs down in case-of-the-week stuff for a while, but the pace picks up in the second half. Overall I am fond of this series, but you should not expect any kind of Shonen Jump-style action show. This is much more about mood. Think of it as Stand Alone Complex on downers and you won't be disappointed.
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