Witch Hunter Robin is a Japanese animation series created by Sunrise. It follows the STN-J, the Japanese branch of a secretive global organization, SOLOMON, that fights the harmful use of witchcraft, and mostly focuses on one of its members, Robin Sena.
Being a witch is a genetic trait, and the STN-J maintains a database of everyone with the trait and is empowered to eliminate or arrest them should their powers "awaken." Witches have a wide variety of abilities, though they usually possess only one each, and the powers can be anything from electrical generation or telekinesis to the ability to stop and start hearts at will.
The show begins with the recruitment of Robin Sena as a replacement for an STN-J member who was lost in action. Robin is a witch who was born in Japan and raised in an Italian convent. Robin's "craft" is pyrokinesis.
Initially, the series appears to take a "monster of the week" approach. About halfway through the 26-episode season, the characters and the relationships between them are established. At that time, the real story gets underway.
As the series goes on, Robin grows increasingly uncomfortable with her role in hunting and capturing other witches. She begins to question the treatment they receive while incarcerated in the mysterious "Factory". Eventually Robin begins to worry that she will become a target and grows to suspect that her partner Amon will welcome the opportunity to hunt her.
In the story, Robin is a "craft user", i.e. a secret trainee of The Catholic Church in Italy that uses her craft (fire) to hunt down witches. Witchcraft is seen as a genetic anomaly that is passed down in the human genome and may surface at any time as the species reproduces. Therefore witches are simply people whose genes contain the witchcraft genetic traits. Once they learn of their power(s) ("awaken"), unfortunately, they can begin using them for personal gain. And that is when secret organizations, such as "Solomon" (and the Japanese "STN-J" in Japan) come in to eliminate their threat on society.
Robin is sent to Japan to aid the STN-J in their efforts to capture witches. The STN-J are however working on a liquid called "Orbo" capable of deactivating a witch's craft at the cost of weakening the user. Eventually, as the story progresses, Robin herself becomes a target of the STN-J and labeled a witch, and thus "hunted".
Orbo is a green liquid that disables witch abilities. STN-J's hunters carry small vials of it on necklaces as a form of protection; the orbo bubbles and swirls when witches try to use their abilities against them. Hunters also carry air pistols which fire darts or pellets of orbo that dampen witch powers when it enters the bloodstream. The hunters use orbo amulets and weapons, but don't really know how it works or where it comes from. Orbo has a harmful effect on non-witches unless they wear full-coverage protective gear.
The story hence asks the viewers the question: Are we innocent until proven guilty, or guilty until proven innocent? Especially if we are born with unique abilities? Who has the right to judge others? For example, in one episode, a physician working in a hospital, realizes that he has a "magic touch"; he has the power to handle and transfer "life forces". So he drains the life force out of criminals and greedy mafia bosses, and gives them to terminally ill children dying in hospitals. The STN-J hunts him down without hesitation.
What appeals to many fans of this TV series is the soundtrack (composed by Taku Iwasaki), the sleek Matrix-like styles of the characters, the well done dubbing, and the concept behind the stories themselves such as mysticism, telekinesis, remote viewing, PK tests, causality violations, etc. In addition, the time devoted to the character development of Robin (especially in the later episodes) is also quite rare in animation, Japanese or otherwise.
- From
Wikipedia