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Witch Hunter Robin - Belief (Vol. 2)

Witch Hunter Robin - Belief (Vol. 2)

List Price: $29.98
Your Price: $26.98
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Things that go 'bump' in the night...
Review: In this DVD there are five more episodes of the Witch Hunter Robin series and the first two are not really as strong as the other three. I think that a lot more could of been done with the plot in 'Raindrops', because that is the kind of story that SHOULD of scared the living daylights out of me. I hate dummies and puppets and toys that move on their own, yet this episode didn't even make me twitch. And 'Simple Minds' was kind of lame. Yet the last three episodes PLUS the overall artwork, great music and perfect voice work saved it all. We get hints, in the last few episodes on the DVD, of something greater happening in the background.
Oh, and in episode eight the Witch-Healer's English voice is that of Steven Jay Blum (Spike from Cowboy Bebop and Roger Smith from The Big II)which increased my enjoyment of watching that episode. Of course, Wendee Lee and Crispin Freeman do a smashing job with their character's voices.
Few extras, just some files and notes, but the second Witch Hunter Robin DVD had five episodes (like the first one) and that more than makes up for the lack. I would suggest getting it used.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Things that go 'bump' in the night...
Review: In this DVD there are five more episodes of the Witch Hunter Robin series and the first two are not really as strong as the other three. I think that a lot more could of been done with the plot in 'Raindrops', because that is the kind of story that SHOULD of scared the living daylights out of me. I hate dummies and puppets and toys that move on their own, yet this episode didn't even make me twitch. And 'Simple Minds' was kind of lame. Yet the last three episodes PLUS the overall artwork, great music and perfect voice work saved it all. We get hints, in the last few episodes on the DVD, of something greater happening in the background.
Oh, and in episode eight the Witch-Healer's English voice is that of Steven Jay Blum (Spike from Cowboy Bebop and Roger Smith from The Big II)which increased my enjoyment of watching that episode. Of course, Wendee Lee and Crispin Freeman do a smashing job with their character's voices.
Few extras, just some files and notes, but the second Witch Hunter Robin DVD had five episodes (like the first one) and that more than makes up for the lack. I would suggest getting it used.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Whatever.
Review: Now i like witch hunter actualy but its just too typical you know? For example it is very repeteive each episode seems to begin with someone dying and witch apears than hunters solve bunch of "puzzles" and it ends with 3 minute make 1 minute fight
witch dies some thoughtfull eyes THE END.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Whatever.
Review: Now i like witch hunter actualy but its just too typical you know? For example it is very repeteive each episode seems to begin with someone dying and witch apears than hunters solve bunch of "puzzles" and it ends with 3 minute make 1 minute fight
witch dies some thoughtfull eyes THE END.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Marred, but a good anime nonetheless.
Review: Okay, I'll admit that, at times, this anime can get a bit redundant, and that some of the themes (creepy kids who kill, for instance), are repeated too often.

However, despite this, there's an underlying charm and elegance to this anime which I find appealing. Perhaps I am just a bit impatient, and want to find out what finally happen in the end.

What I liked about "Belief" is that Robin is finally beginning to emerge from her shell. She isn't as frail as she appeared in the beginning, and doesn't let everyone push her around as much. Despite this, there is very little character development with the others, sad to say, or maybe again, I'm just impatient. Ammon is probably the only other interesting character in this anime, although Doujima (spelling?) is also very likeable. You know something will probably brew Robin and Ammon since there is also a hint that there's some sexual(?) tension between both of them. However, I'm not sure what will become of such which will likely proceed to something greater intensity in the next dvd, (which I've heard, is also the last).

What worries me is that the anime seems to move so slow, that everything will be jam-packed into the last dvd, which will set everything off kilter. I'm not sure how they're going to pull it off to present a great denouement in the last five episodes, but, good luck to them, and hopefully I won't feel I've wasted my money.

All in all, if you're a Robin fan, I would suggest purchasing this dvd, since, after all, if you really want to find out what's going on, you will anyway.

To sum up, I'm not going to give this anime a negative review in general, because I think it's a rather fine one, even though it has some imperfections (I am quite critical in general, so don't take my word on it).

I do laud the creators of this anime and applaud them for a job well done, since most anime today are sorely lacking in quality. I would recommend that people purchase this anime. I am sure most will find it highly appealing.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: anime lite -- now with less story...
Review: The art and animation are top notch. There are a few annoying re-uses of animation (a la He-Man rolling around on the ground 500 times an episode) but they are done at the conference table, are attractive, and are forgiveable. Besides that everything is beautiful, smooth, and of the callibur you'd expect in a movie, not syndicated television show.

I am a little preplexed by the earlier volume's score. The music is very well done and atmospheric and looking at the OST's, it appears there were a lot of tracks written. However...and this is a big however...the first two volumes of Robin only seem to be using a few of these tracks...over...and over...and over again. It's a shame. The lack of variety is killing the mood because it's almost comical how many times you'll here the same musical piece in just one episode alone. Sometimes to the point that they are literally back-to-back.

All this, again, is forgivable. So why the lower rating? The story and characters seem so flat and watered down that this show almost becomes unwatchable at times. The plot meanders on with little insight as to why people are doing what...and the characters seem carbon molds of dull lifeless puppets. There is no wit, no suspense, no tension, just....blah. This is part in due to the *horrible* dialogue. It's not a translation problem. The translation is pretty good. It's just *really* bad dialogue. You've seen it before: "Robin? Huh? Ohhhhhhh. Huh? Ohhhhhh? Ok." with nice loooooooong pauses in between people speaking.

Having said all this...it is quite possible that the series will pick up from its snail pace...and that the characters actually develop into non-puppet form...but at full DVD price a pop...and a couple more volumes to go...I would recommend waiting until the series ends to invest in buying it.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Witches, Witches, Everywhere
Review: The second volume of Witch Hunter Robin features more vignettes about STN-J and the witches they chase. These episodes are interesting, although the only one that really wowed me was the third one, Faith. That had an amazing twist I did not see coming.

In the last episode, Separate Lives, someone from Harry's past is revealed, but the story is a little disappointing in it's ordinariness. I hope there is more to Harry's then just this revelation.

Something is going on with Amon towards Robin. She doesn't know it, for he keeps it secret, but he actually dumps his girlfriend, Robin's roomate Touko. But why? What information about Robin does Amon have that we do not? We will have to wait for the next volume of the series.

Vol. 2 has character profiles, very helpful in allowing you to get names straight. Belief contains a hearty five episodes, 6-10: Raindrops, Simple-Mind, Faith, Sign of the Craft, and Separate Lives.

In volume three, the series will take a serious twist and change its tone.


Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Nice One!
Review: This is one great anime. It has action, some (in my opinion) Sci-Fi related things. Now, on with details.

Dub-This is the part that most people hate about anime. They all have bad dubs. This one, suprisingly, was good. It was off in some parts, put it was a pretty good dub. The dub in some scenes even matched the sub word for word!

Animation-I'm not really a big fan of modern animation. I prefer the old style animation, namely Rurouni Kenshin's animation(it's lighter and the people don't (in my opinion) look like wax figures). But, I came to like the animation on this particular one though. It is dark and like I said, the people to me look like wax figures, but in this one, they look great.

Music-The music is GREAT. I love the opening theme song and the action in it(I downloaded it and I can't get the part that goes "Kawaita jikan no" out of my head). I don't care much for the ending song, but it's still pretty good.

Overall Rating-4 out of 5. I gave it a four because of the dub. You'll have to excuse my picky personality if you disagree.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Angels and Devils
Review: This is the second DVD in a series that is proving to be much better than my initial expectations. 'Hunter' drama story lines tend to be violent and hyper heroic, and thus far, Witch Hunter Robin is proving to be the antithesis of that style. Set in modern Japan, it is the story of the STNJ, a small group of young people who hunt those with paranormal powers. Since they have powers of their own this puts them in an equivocal position.

Rather than focus on violent resolutions, the story focuses on the personal interplay of young Robin Sena and the rest of the team. She is a young practitioner of the Craft who has recently returned from Italy to serve as a hunter, and has yet to become completely comfortable in a team of strangers whose leaders seem to have a hidden agenda.

How this will play out is still unclear, but a gradual change in the depiction of the offending witches has become apparent. This series begins to play up the humanity of all the characters, not just the team. I think it is fairly clear that something in the STNJ organization is not quite right. Captured witches are shipped off to some kind of vague processing center whose purposes are unclear.

The episodes in this series range from the poignant story of a witch who uses dolls for her primary to the tragedy of a doctor who finds he can save lives by killing. In a haunting episode that touches on the impact of these powers on family relationships, we learn much about Yuji Kobari, the bar owner, who has been a bit of a mystery so far.

All the tales are told with a very light touch, and deliberately intended to leave mixed feelings in the viewer. Thus the story has complex overtones that play well against the sparse stylishness of the settings and animation. On many occasions, very dramatic effects are achieved by a curious minimalism that demonstrates that good taste can be a strong a creative device.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Angels and Devils
Review: This is the second DVD in a series that is proving to be much better than my initial expectations. 'Hunter' drama story lines tend to be violent and hyper heroic, and thus far, Witch Hunter Robin is proving to be the antithesis of that style. Set in modern Japan, it is the story of the STNJ, a small group of young people who hunt those with paranormal powers. Since they have powers of their own this puts them in an equivocal position.

Rather than focus on violent resolutions, the story focuses on the personal interplay of young Robin Sena and the rest of the team. She is a young practitioner of the Craft who has recently returned from Italy to serve as a hunter, and has yet to become completely comfortable in a team of strangers whose leaders seem to have a hidden agenda.

How this will play out is still unclear, but a gradual change in the depiction of the offending witches has become apparent. This series begins to play up the humanity of all the characters, not just the team. I think it is fairly clear that something in the STNJ organization is not quite right. Captured witches are shipped off to some kind of vague processing center whose purposes are unclear.

The episodes in this series range from the poignant story of a witch who uses dolls for her primary to the tragedy of a doctor who finds he can save lives by killing. In a haunting episode that touches on the impact of these powers on family relationships, we learn much about Yuji Kobari, the bar owner, who has been a bit of a mystery so far.

All the tales are told with a very light touch, and deliberately intended to leave mixed feelings in the viewer. Thus the story has complex overtones that play well against the sparse stylishness of the settings and animation. On many occasions, very dramatic effects are achieved by a curious minimalism that demonstrates that good taste can be a strong a creative device.


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