Jerry Gelb Movies

Making its Japanese TV debut on July 3, 2002, the half-hour anime series Witch Hunter Robin was assembled by the prolific cartoon-merchandising combo of Sunrise/Bandai. The premise was predicated on the knowledge that witches still existed in the modern world, with rogue witches being the most deadly and dangerous of the species. The international organization SOLOMON was dedicated to hunting down and destroying these witches, using as its principal weapon a substance called Orbo which contained the witches' evil powers long enough to allow the "good guys" to triumph. The Japanese branch of SOLOMON, known as STNJ, was under the leadership of short-tempered Chief Kosaka. The newest member of this branch was Robin Sena, a girl named for the King of the Witches. Because of her awesome ability to control the element of fire, Robin had been raised in a monastery to keep her protected from the world -- and vice versa. Although a welcome addition to STNJ, Robin has to constantly monitor her powers lest they destroy both herself and her new co-workers. Others on the STNJ team were Robin's partner Amon, whose punkish demeanor kept hidden a number of dark secrets; Doujima, a lazy young lady who landed the job because of family connection; Karasuma, who could sense positive and negative vibes (which came in handy when detecting SEEDS, or potential witch families); Michael, who managed to avoid execution after hacking into STNJ's computer by agreeing to join the organization -- and to remain under "house arrest" all the while; Robin's roommate, Touko; and rookie member Sakaki. Also on hand was Robin's mentor, a mysterious lawyer named Nagira. In America, the 26-episode Witch Hunter Robin was added to Cartoon Network's "Adult Swim" schedule on February 16, 2004. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide