Witch Hunter Robin DVD 6: Vengence
Sex/Nudity: None
Music:
Runtime Episodes: 24m/26
Overall Rating: B
Artwork: B
Story: B +
Comments: None yet.
Voice Acting English: B +
Voice Acting Japanese: A -
Genre: Gothic, police, supernatural powers
Extras: two more interviews with the Japanese cast, previews for Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, Dragon Drive, and Galaxy Angel. DVD credits.
Date Reviewed: 11/6/08 Last Updated: 10/26/09
Basic Premise: Amon directly confronts Robin and himself about whether or not to complete the hunt of Robin as a witch. The factory decides to start hunting the STN-J now.
The STN-J launch a direct attack on the factory which Zaizen now leads. Through much detective work from Robin and others Robin is able to discover why a hunt order was put out on her and who the people responsible are. Juliano pays Robin a visit to confess some of the other circumstances surounding her past as well. Many answers are forthcoming to Robin as Robin finally learns the complete truth to who she really is and what she must do.
Review: It is hard to write this review without spoilers, so read this review with caution. I will, however, try to keep the spoilers down to a minimum.
This DVD is thankfully better than the last. Not that the last one was all that bad, but just hard to wade through for some reason that I still can't quite figure out and can really only guess at. It was like vol 5 created just for the sake of drawing things out without really revealing anything or progressing the story. That really may not be true. Maybe there was a lot of character development that had to brought out before the rest of the story series could be completed. I don't really know.
One thing I have noticed about the occasional anime like this is that there is a great deal of storyline that is compressed into the last two or three episodes. The voice acting is wonderful as always. It is always difficult when the English voice actors either lose interest or worse, lose the entire point of the anime by trying to be comedic when the show is serious or cutesy when the show is trying to be dramatic. I am not one of those who is Japanese or English language only. I prefer whatever language has better voice actors. When the two are about the same then I prefer the English. The Japanese is better in this DVD, but I still prefer the Enlish.
A new character is introduced in this volume. Father Juliano from Solomon headquarters. He makes a personal visit to Robin to explain why the hunt was ordered and explains a great deal more, but the most important revelation is still to be saved for the final minutes of the last episode and the revelation does not dissapoint. The disc that Zaizen is trying to decode has the answer as to the nature of witches which goes against the fundamental ideals Solomon and Zaizen, as an ursurper to STN-J and competitor to Solomon HQ, wants to know the answer as soon as possible. The disc has been suppressed by Solomon HQ and/or destroyed. When Zaizen learns the truth he tries to destroy the disc as well, but the answers are pivotal to everything and Robin especially.
The secret of the orbo is revealed too also what exactly happens at the factory to all of the witches brought there from the earlier STN-J hunts. This DVD is almost too fast paced, so when you start watching this DVD you will need to listen to the answers fast so as not to lose anything important.
It is good to see Michael outside of the little cage that he is always in and in action as he uses some of his hacking gadgets. Sakaki is less accident prone too. I have to laugh a bit at this, because throughout the series Sakaki seems to be the token victim. I have a hard time buying the reason for Doujima's sudden increase in maturation halfway through this series. Amon is not as absent in this final volume as he was after the attack on the STN-J.
I do believe that the answer as to what happens to Robin and Amon at the end of the series is revealed and is not left up in the air. To give you a hint just pay attention to the last conversation between Amon and Robin. Also ask yourself how Karasuma got separated from Amon and Robin and why she is reluctant to reveal what happened to them. This used to always bother me because I never could figure out their fate when I first watched this show, but now I think the answer is clear. There are many more hints as well and none are conflicting.
Conclusion: This DVD picks up the pace and reveals a lot and satisfactory explains pretty much everything. It is a pleasing ending to a series that is for a somewhat older audience. This is the DVD with the answers.
Publisher: Bandai
Related Website: witchhunteronline
Where Found: Still pretty common and is part of an anime legends collection. Try most anywhere or Amazon.
Copyright: 2002/2003
Author: Shukou Murase
If you enjoyed this anime try: Key: The metal Idol, Noir
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