Take A Pick Tuesday: Witch Hunter Robin

 Take A Pick Tuesday: Witch Hunter Robin

 

 

There’s a sort of fog like atmosphere that comes to mind with this show, it doesn’t seem to be driven by any other force except its own pace and style of storytelling. How perfect that the series is an occult detective series at heart. Many fans of many generation will find the name to be familiar and that isn’t too surprising, it’s considered a classic in it’ own right and was to me at least a part of a sort of anime renaissance, shows that stormed their way from Japan to exposure from all places across the globe.  It was an exciting time and many anime fans were born at this particular time.  Witch Hunter Robin would be very comfortable with American show counterparts and not just for the occult theme purposes.

 

       The story follows Robin Sena who returns to Japan the country of her birth from the Roman Catholic Church in Italy where she was raised. As a craft user she is sent as a replacement in this branch of the organization SOLOMON, the STN-J. It’s an organization that hunts down witches that have gone astray and we’re not talking all witches, they have a vast database and can cross-check genes and family in which a person has had their powers passed down. The list is massive so not every witch is targeted, they seem the same as any other person would. Instead they hunt down ones that commit crimes.

 

      The interesting this is though Robin is fifteen years old, she is a craft user and has had experience in the organization and witch hunting. Despite that many of the early episodes show the group ignoring her or scolding her at looking, touching things in the crime scene. Almost always though it’s Robin that makes the headway in the case and is the deciding factor in solving them, she’s at times acquainted with the target even before realizing they are the target. Robin is soft spoken and extremely relaxed seeing, a little on the introverted side but despite her trench and perhaps to some gothic look is gentler than the rest of the gang whose comments can rub you the wrong way at times.

 

     One of the first things Robin finds out though it takes the first episode for any of them to let her up into the office considering no one realized she was the new person being sent is that witches aren’t hunted the same way. For the STN in this particular branch witches are captured alive, at least that’s priority and taken to a facility they call factory. Of course immediately it raises eyebrows on why the witches are taken alive and to what purpose. Seems strange to Robin whose craft allows her to control flames much to the concern of her co-workers.

 

      Her partner is Amon. The silent angry type that seems to dislike her at first but not truly, yet despite being her partner it’s a long time before he even takes her out properly on an assignment. There is also this mistrust felt, perhaps by the other hunters but more so with the head of the unit who conveys this to Amon, we’re not sure on why. Some of the vague aspects of the show instead of being frustrated help set the mood, so once they actually begin to fill in the gaps such as the consequences of hunting the witches, of who the inquisitors are and who Robin may be, it only adds a deeper layer to the show. Even so each episode feels like a case which means you can have someone sit down with you and watch it yet it has a satisfying underlining story that gives you the pleasure of watching it from the beginning to the end.

 

Some interesting aspects that go into Robin’s psyche but spread out through the complexity of the show is her relationship with Amon, as said before he hardly takes her out in the beginning but eventually does, not only that but notices that she needs glasses when using her craft, since it was fire that was probably a good idea. Still there is this unspoken relationship between the two, passed by looks and I’d like to even call it trust, where distrust would seem obvious. Romantic but not in the usual romantic since and yes she is fifteen years old. Still though it’s hard to have characters close and separate at the same time and still seem to complement each other. I think that’s why the opening song “Shell” has such a cool insight into this aspect of the show.

 

     Another insight that comes from Robin is the actual history of witchcraft, how though they are hunted there is this question of why is it still a sin to be a witch even now in present day. Sure there is a database with all the witches that there are in the world and they aren’t capturing all of them but what if they aren’t. Why does it still feel like it’s such a crime to be a witch which goes into the persecution of people accused of being witches whether real or not throughout history even beyond Salem witch trials. If anyone has an interest in the actual persecutions of people accused of witch craft, it’s an interesting history less throughout our human history and it may make you cringe a bit. Having read about some of this I couldn’t help but question when it began to finally bubble to the surface.

 

      It has a way of linking all the previous witch hunts and some episodes don’t sit right and of course leaves certain endings bittersweet and some just bitter. It’s well thought out and helps mentor the maturity that it carries effortlessly and yet has weight when these things start to come up though at first you only really get a piece.  Now these guys may be witch hunters but they are definitely not skilled in prevention, there is an episode where they literally scream for someone not to kill the other, stand there with guns pointing and watch it happen. Also it seems like Robin and Amon are really the ones leading this team. Once there is a big shift in the series you think you figure out what’s happening and yet there’s a twist in that too, the motives are more ambitious than that. It plays off Witch Hunter Robin’s subtlety.     

 

        There is endless amounts of thoughts to play with from things that aren’t said, if you follow close enough, pay attention to gestures, simple things said you can get something much larger from the show. That might take time to get used to, it might even be seen as a fault, don’t believe it is, it is the style in which the show was born to have.  Questions linger in the air and soon their crowded with more or simply the questions become greater.

 

    Luckily the answers trickle faster than confusion can set in.  Not direct questions of the twist and turns but more so this feeling that witches being hunted aren’t always threats, sometimes they are but this feeling that’s obvious that STJ-N do not know the reasons  their after their targets only solidifies the feeling. It brings to mind why animal protecting organizations have to protect black cats during Halloween. Superstitions run deep and the fear associated from them can cause horrible things to happen. In many ways Robin sees this and then experiences it.

 

     Yet when they begin to reach this point morally you’ll find yourself saying thank goodness. If they hunted no questions asked well it wouldn’t be Witch Hunter Robin truly.  The answers begin to flood in and the broader picture of what’s happening becomes clearer. Though some twists and secrets are kept close to the chest, very close to the chest, even Robin who you know very little about begins to unravel secrets of her own. This is where the mood and pacing of the show shine and show how well they worked with the story.

 

      It’s almost essential at this point, the massive change halfway through the series requires it as well as adding another main character to help probe what we are watching and the other side of what we wanted answers towards.  It becomes clear the secrets kept or a part of the organizations itself divided between its own agendas and goals, which is part of what the secrets reveal.  Soon we see it for everything it is and the truth of Robin, the truth of witches and the truth of people in general is enough to overshadow the warring organization and finally see where every character stands.

 

     We get a philosophical, ethical question to the entire premise of the series and only than do you truly understand what Witch Hunter Robin is about. So where does it leave the characters of the show, some answers are shown. Others are left a little more ambiguous, can whatever is left of the organization still hunt witches even after everything the characters see, I’d like to think things have changed but of course, it’s up to you to find what you think is the answer by the end of the series.

 

      This exciting time for anime was merely a platform for a series that stood on its own and still does today, a great example to showcase the unique versatile realm of storytelling that anime holds. A must see show that asks questions without having to shake them in front of your face, all the while carrying around an irresistible mood. It’s great to take in daily or as much as you can in a single sitting.  The horror places on the aspects that are mystery in the series and at least to me is a great heir to a modern gothic story. Characters that are shadows upon the background world of theirs that seems perfectly normal only complete the landscape, reaching far through this fog in order to reach into your after thoughts and the dreams that will follow.

Take A Pick Tuesday: My Love Story

                                                             Take A Pick Tuesday: My Love Story

 

 

One very distinctive show and one I had been really excited for since the anime had been announced is My Love Story. Takeo is a high schooler that many not be the usual anime Prince Charming but is the lead character in this series.  His friend is the dashing Sunakawa who happens to catch the eyes of all the girls as well as the credit of heroic deeds. When really it is Takeo is doing them, such a saving a child from drowning, running in a burning building and any other heroic feat imaginable. The first person to say it wasn’t Suna is Suna and there is a reason for that.

 

     Takeo is over six feet, huge with bulging muscles, thick rugged lips that are more human than anime as well as long side burns, which are backed up by his monstrous strength having been the captain of his Judo team in middle school which is before he became a freshman in high school. Yes he’s a freshman, one who appears to be a body builder someone who may belong in a fighting anime.  Except looks can be deceiving as they are in real life.

 

    His best friend Suna knows what we know as we watch the series, Takeo has a heart of gold, gentle as can be, extremely polite, thoughtful and kind of longing for true love.  The only problem with that is despite Suna being disinterested in the sort of attraction that the women have for him it sort of snatches Takeo’s chances away. Except that changes when they are on a train and Takeo spots a grouper who is making a young girl uncomfortable and a little more than that, touching her. So Takeo steps in and lifts the man’s hand in front of the whole train car, embarrassing him.

 

     When explaining it to the authorities, the young girl Yamamoto stands up for Takeo as well as Suna who stood there but in his usual quiet way assisted. It’s quick to get her interest in thanking the two of them and she’s beautiful to Takeo, unfortunately even she personally comes to his house to thank him he’s sure it’s like all the other girls that her real interest is in Suna since she seems to get flustered around the two of them.

 

     However Suna seems to know the truth and eventually calls it as he sees it, allowing the chance for Yamamoto to show that she’s been appearing on purpose, baking on purpose because she actually has feelings for Takeo.  Right in this instance the show accomplishes two things that are not only unique but organic to the show. They resolve what the usual premise to most romantic comedies is and offer something more.  As well as place an unlikely underdog as the main character.

 

         My Love Story is in a lot of ways what it’s like to be in a relationship, even more so for someone who never believed they would be. Finding out about the person that changes this belief and trying to understand them. Takeo is indeed a great boyfriend, the smallest things about Yamamoto make him happy as it is for her who declares him hot even though her friends find the pairing odd to say the least. Though Takeo has a way of impressing anyone, simply by his good character.

 

 

       Another twist to the series is that Takeo is the opposite of a perv.  He’s a gentlemen with what some might call an innocent mind, he wouldn’t even hold hands with Yamamoto until she brought it up. Takeo has a great respect for her which may at times make it more difficult for him to understand what she’s thinking. Yamamoto on the other hand has no problem imagining dirty thoughts and in a lot of ways she moves the relationship forwards. Of course Takeo has help from his best friend Suna whose disinterest in dating kind of places him in the third wheel position. Something he is quite aware of, usually he’s placed there without even wanting to be but truth be told Takeo needs the help.  Though even for the stoic Suna, some of the things he’s needed for to help Takeo can even scare a reaction out of him, such as Takeo wanting to learn to kiss, putting plastic wrap on Suna’s head which makes it appear like he’ll kill him throwing him to the wall with the image of Takeo’s lips approaching.  Poor Suna and still after the scaring experience he’s a faithful friend.

 

      Everyone knows it too, it never goes unnoticed with his obvious answers to their dilemmas, playing it calm, cool and collected, Suna hardly bats an eye at his sisters’ devastation that Takeo has a girlfriend having apparently been in love with him for years. Every once in a while the quiet, helpful Suna reading a book and can find his assistance to help in his own personal life, such as a family matter which shows that this quaint heartwarming love story can have consequences and concerns that do not necessarily overshadow the romance but enhance the world it’s placed in.

 

        We witness everything from birthdays to rivalries to child birth? Ok it isn’t Takeo having a baby so spoiler on that but I say nothing until you watch it but really heartwarming episodes,  transcending cute while still maintaining tension in the characters’ dilemmas, giving you the sense of what they’re experiencing in front of them, something that they may go through themselves in the future, yes even having a child. You never know where this is going.  You also get a look at Takeo's parents, his mother who he seems to get his super strength from and his perfect father who doesn't need the white in his eyes is where he must get that relaxed charm.

 

       An interesting contrast is other relationships happening around the two characters. Now Takeo and Yamamoto move slow, real slow and it’s a different pacing that people around them have to comment on  but again I think it’s great how they emphasize on every step in their relationship, see challenges, maybe even realize something as simple as not everyone gets the happiness the two do. It makes it all the more fragile and important.

 

       Now as unlikely as Takeo might seem to be the main character or even to some in the show, I’d said that people are impressed about how great a guy he seems.  This helps see an admiration for Takeo coming from everywhere, all the characters around them. Takeo restores your faith in people to be kind and yearn to understand accomplishing what it’s set out to do in a bold way, give you a bit of a twist on a genre you were cocky enough to believe you figured out. If all this sounds like a lot to take in it’s packed in nicely with the humor in the show as well, laugh out loud humor in large part because of Takeo’s gestures. When he is passionate he looks serious enough to kill someone often portraying his great strength and speed or his positive encouragement you’d be a fool not to take. You have this to compare to Yamamoto, to Suna, to everyone and it’s great to watch. Is it surprising that the hit manga didn’t just spawn this series but also a live action movie as well. Of course not, watching this makes that very clear. Where will the series go from here, will it maintain and innocence while still delving deep in the intricacies of the relationships of people  or taking a completely different direction as only anime can. Only time will tell and we’ll revisit this Take A Pick Tuesday Article when that times comes.