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1[[quoteright:255:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/WHR3.jpg]]
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3SOLOMON, or STN[[note]]Solomon Toukatsu Nin'idantai, roughly Solomon Executive Organization[[/note]], is a group that hunts "witches" -- that is, [[DoingInTheWizard people born with specific genetic superhuman abilities associated with magic]]. The opening credits' FauxlosophicNarration implies witches may have been a culture or civilization which ruled over man until they were somehow deposed or otherwise self-destructed (as opposed to just a MageSpecies). Into SOLOMON's hunt enters the newest member of Japanese branch STN-J: the eponymous Robin Sena, a witch herself with the ability to conjure and control fire.
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5The main theme of ''Witch Hunter Robin'' involves the moral responsibility of a witch's powers -- and how many witches [[WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity become consumed by their own power]]. Other themes include isolation and persecution, as witches have a hard time assimilating and living among humans while controlling their dark urges. The second half of the show reveals that even innocent witches live in fear of being killed or disappeared by SOLOMON if their powers are discovered, and Robin herself battles with the fear she will one day become drunk on her power and become a target.
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7''Witch Hunter Robin'' had a notable format: the first half of the series runs near-entirely off the MonsterOfTheWeek trope (replace "Monster" with "Witch"), while the second half turns into a longer arc which explores the depths of SOLOMON's desire to destroy witches.
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9----
10
11!! ''Witch Hunter Robin'' contains the following tropes:
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13* TwoDVisualsThreeDEffects: There isn't any in the animation itself, but there are a lot of very conspicuously CG ''backgrounds''.
14* AllYourBaseAreBelongToUs: [[spoiler: SOLOMON]] does this to the STN-J mid-series. Made especially shocking by the fact that Robin was living there at the time, because they already did the same thing to her house!
15* AdamAndEvePlot: [[spoiler: At the end of the series, due to genetic alteration done to her mother, Robin cannot go insane from her powers and this advantage is a dominant trait that will be passed onto any children and future descendants of hers. Robin is essentially to be the mother of a new witch species.]]
16* AmbiguouslyGay: Harry is a rather effeminate-looking man who runs a stylish bar and is the STNJ's TeamMom.
17* AmplifierArtifact: The Fragment of Wisdom increases the power of the witch holding it. [[spoiler: It's actually a MagicFeather. Robin herself is the real fragment.]]
18* AnimalMotifs: Ravens, keepers of hidden knowledge and harbingers of death, are everywhere...especially in episodes featuring [[MeaningfulName Karasuma]].
19* ArtisticAge: Robin is ''15''?
20** Goes for most of the cast really :-
21*** Karasuma - 21
22*** Amon - 25
23*** Dojima and Sakaki - 18
24*** Michael - 17
25* AwardBaitSong: "Half Pain" is awesome but not very happy.
26* BadassLongcoat: Most of the cast, but specifically Amon. When forced to describe him, an orderly refers to him as "tall and ominous." Even without a name, everyone knows who he's talking about.
27* BattleCouple: Amon and Robin are usually a SwordAndSorcerer duo, but they give off a LadyAndKnight vibe in [[spoiler:"Loaded Guns" when Amon leads her to safety during a SOLOMON attack]].
28* BigBad: [[spoiler: Zaizen]], who researches [[spoiler: Orbo, manufactures it,]] and causes the main narrative's conflict.
29* BigGood:
30** Chief Inspector Shintarō Kosaka is the STNJ's boss and [[spoiler:replaces Zaizen at the end.]] Though there's probably a Big-"ger" Good in SOLOMON.
31** Another case could be made for [[spoiler:Todo]], depending on one's views on Robin's heritage [[spoiler: since he used genetic modification to prevent her power-induced-insanity]].
32* BluntMetaphorsTrauma: Robin has a difficult time grasping the intricacies of the Japanese language, to say nothing of the customs. (Contrary to Robin's belief, the Japanese do not have a custom where they eat soba when saying goodbye.)
33-->'''Robin''': It's like being pasteurized.
34-->'''Haruto''': You mean "put out to pasture".
35* BookEnds: "Your lucky color is black."
36* BoxedCrook: Michael Lee discovered STN while hacking their high-security system; he ended up "recruited" into SOLOMON for his transgression. As part of his sentence, he literally lives in STNJ's HQ and cannot leave the building without permission. [[spoiler:In the epilogue, he takes a walk outside in the daylight.]]
37* BurnTheWitch: Made traumatic for Robin given [[HunterOfHisOwnKind what she does]] [[PlayingWithFire and how she does it.]]
38* ButNotTooForeign: Almost off the bat, we find out that Robin is half Japanese [[spoiler: from her dad]]. It's only near the end of the series that we learn that her other half is [[spoiler: Italian from her mom. It's also from her mom that she has witch powers and Robin's maternal grandfather is actually Father Juliano]].
39* ButtMonkey: Haruto Sakaki's Japanese voice actor commented that he kept waiting for something good to happen to the guy.
40* {{Byronic Hero}}: Amon is a dark and stoic man with a more than fair share of angst. As the series progresses, one can see him silently wrestle with the morality of his profession.
41* TheCityNarrows: The Walled City taking its name from the real world's Kowloon Walled City.
42* CoolShades: Robin picks up a pair after [[spoiler:leaving the STN-J and taking a job as a bike messenger in order to hide her eyes]].
43* ComeWithMeIfYouWantToLive: [[spoiler:When the STN-J's headquarters is attacked and all but Robin are gunned down, Amon]] appears, grabs her arm, and says "follow me". At this point, neither she nor the audience are sure which side he's on. While this doesn't technically happen at the beginning of the show, it does happen at the start of its longer story arc.
44* ConspiracyRedemption: Played with: though both sides [[spoiler: are part of the same organization]], [[GreyAndGrayMorality the line between the "good" guys and the "bad" guys blurs as more of the overall conspiracy is revealed.]]
45* CreepyCrows: Sometimes seen perched near the STN-J office, creepy crows might even be behind the gruesome killings in one episode. [[spoiler:Turns out they just know what's up.]]
46%%* CreepyMonotone: Robin.
47* DeathFakedForYou: Dojima's official report states that Robin and Amon died when the Factory self-destructed.
48* DeathSeeker: Robin's power was the only thing that could bring death to a witch like Methuselah, who was glad for this fact.
49* DistinctionWithoutADifference: Robin is not a "witch" but a "craft-user". The difference? "Craft-users" aren't targets for the STN-J (yet).
50* DoingInTheScientist:
51** Some witches use symbols that can be recognized by other unrelated witches, which implies that there is [[MagicAIsMagicA a coherent system in use]] among them. One witch even contacted her sister's ghost for a revenge plot with a ritual that Robin recognized.
52** Just five years pre-series the STN used anti-witch bullets with carvings to ward off evil, and someone in the main narrative still does.
53** Also, See ElementalRockPaperScissors below.
54* DoingInTheWizard: 'Witch' powers are actually caused by genetics, not magic, although the science is downplayed for magic and religion as the series progresses.
55* DressingAsTheEnemy: [[spoiler:The Factory's use of FacelessGoons finally comes back to bite them in episode 25, to the benefit of our heroes and particular misfortune of one [[MuggedForDisguise Factory assault team]].]]
56* ElementalRockPaperScissors: A number of witches have elemental powers, and Robin's fire powers are even blocked once by a water rune drawn on the ground. Didn't know what that symbol stood for? It's AllThereInTheManual.
57* TheEmpath: Miho Karasuma, though she uses {{psychometry}}, is notable because her power ''is'' useful when used because it finds information that would otherwise be much harder to obtain.
58* EquivalentExchange: The power of one witch is to save one life by taking another. It's notable for being the first witch that's ALighterShadeOfGrey and thus bringing a more complicated morality than what had existed earlier.
59* FacelessGoons: Employed exclusively by the Factory, from their hazmat-suited crime scene techs to their scary dark-grey soldiers.
60* FanService:
61** Robin sleeps naked but it's pretty low on the {{fanservice}}-o-meter, since all the times she sits up [[ModestyBedsheet she holds the blanket quite high.]]
62** The waitress outfits in "Separate Lives" leave little to the imagination.
63** Robin's bike courier disguise is black spandex from neck to ankle, but there are very few camera angles that seem interested.
64** Also subverted in an early scene where a prelude to the ostensible ShowerScene reveals a dripping-wet Robin...[[spoiler: fully-clothed and scrubbing the floor of the shower.]]
65* FauxlosophicNarration: Robin waxes poetic at the start of every episode in PurpleProse. It's never fully explained, but her lines are related to the events of the episode and serve as a preview.
66* FinalSolution: Towards the end of the series [[spoiler: Zaizen]] is revealed to be working towards one of these. He wanted to use Orbo to empower normal humans to hunt witches. Until then the organization was forced to [[HunterOfHisOwnKind use witches to hunt other witches,]] but with the enhanced Orbo that would no longer be necessary, and he can systematically wipe them out with the aid of the STN's database. In his eyes, all witches [[WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity are afflicted by madness born of their power]] (or will be eventually), [[VanHelsingHateCrimes so he sees himself as justified.]]
67* FishOutOfWater: Robin was raised as a nun in another country, and doesn't always understand what's happening with her Japanese teammates. [[AvertedTrope Despite]] [[NunTooHoly popular]] [[NaughtyNuns stereotypes]], she is relentlessly tidy and self-effacing, which almost makes her [[YamatoNadeshiko one form of an ideal Japanese woman]].
68* TheGlassesComeOff: Inverted. [[spoiler: Robin's aim isn't that great at first. Then, she visits the optometrist and it turns that out her powers make her eyesight temporarily worse.]] Whenever you see her with glasses ''on'', something's gonna burn.
69* GodIsGood: While the head honcho himself doesn't make an appearance, Amon has this to say: "{{God}} doesn't forsake any of his children." The BigBad is more of the opinion that GoodIsNotNice and that God struck down the witches long ago.
70* GoodShepherd: Father Juliano comes off more as this despite the generally dark religious tone. He genuinely thought witches were dangerous but despite that he couldn't kill [[spoiler: Baby Robin, even though he know what she was.]] Instead he raised her as his own and admitted that his fear of witches (the emotion driving the BigBad) is a weakness of his own heart, and no fault of the witches.
71* FreudianExcuse: Nagira asks Amon if he hates witches because his mom awakened as one and, in doing so, ruined their relationship. Amon says 'yes'.
72* GovernmentConspiracy: [[spoiler: The STN-J is set up as a police force for witches but it's true purpose to develop anti-witch weapons for the FinalSolution outlined above.]]
73* HotBloodedSideburns: Nagira is a aversion; he has them but isn't hot-blooded.
74* [[HunterOfHisOwnKind Hunter Of Her Own Kind]]: Robin's job is finding witches and capturing them with her witch powers. She doesn't give it much thought until [[WhatTheHellHero she gets called out on it]] by an ancient witch with [[ExpositionBeam the power to share memories]].
75* {{Hypocrite}}: Zaizen wants to eliminate witches and how does he plan to do that? [[spoiler: By using a substance his organization makes from the witches' painfully drained body fluids]]. When Robin calls him out on this, his breakdown gets even worse.
76* ImpliedLoveInterest: Amon and Robin have a LadyAndKnight vibe to them [[spoiler: and run off together at the end of the series]] but nothing explicitly romantic happens.
77* ImprobableHairstyle: Subverted; Robin's hairstyle seems improbable at first glance, but it's shown to be held in place by a number of hairpins and hair ties. The rest of the cast generally has realistic normal hair.
78* KansasCityShuffle: Amon does this by directing Robin to burn a hole in the STNJ's wall before sending her down a secret entrance in the floor, making their pursuers think she escaped through that hole and not follow her.
79* KarmicDeath: While this would appear to be the case with [[spoiler: Zaizen using the perfect Orbo he captured innocent witches to make]], he doesn't die from its use... though he might have if Robin's flames hadn't reached him first.
80* KillMeNowOrForeverStayYourHand: Robin pulls this on Amon after learning he was assigned to take her down. She even closes her eyes. He lowers the gun and ''almost'' smiles.
81* KnightTemplar: [[spoiler: Zaizen is revealed to be this at the end.]] He commits atrocities without flinching, convinced of his own righteousness, refuses to listen to anyone or anything that contradicts his plan, and at the end even believes he has a MissionFromGod. Naturally, he's a villain.
82* LadyAndKnight: Amon and Robin play with the trope. Robin looks like a victorian lady in her usual dress and is seen as the Dark Lady by many because of her heritage and some of her actions are brutal considering what the rest of TheTeam does, but at heart she's a Bright Lady trying to do what's right. Amon ultimately betrays both [[spoiler: Zaizen and SOLOMON]] to protect Robin from danger and is seen as a Dark Knight who's gone rogue, though he wavers back and forth. Robin herself calls him her "watch dog" because he will make sure she survives unless she loses herself to her power. [[MercyKill At which point he will kill her himself.]]
83%%* LiquidAssets: episode "Faith."
84* LonersAreFreaks: Amon thinks so. "Witches are loners. It's part of their nature." But not really. One witch was an engaged businessman and even the witch that spent all her time alone in her apartment had living dolls to keep her company.
85* LonelyDollGirl: There was a witch with multiple personalities manifesting through her dolls; personalities which considered any slight to her as "Unforgivable!"
86* LovableRogue: Nagira, the pachinko-playing lawyer layabout, is a great ally to Robin.
87* MadnessMantra: "You soiled, you soiled, you soiled..."
88* TheMenInBlack: STN, operating under an organization named Solomon, are outside of the public's view and don't officially exist. After all, witches aren't real, right?
89* ModestyBedsheet: Robin sleeps in the nude, which is surprising considering she was raised in a convent. She holds a bedsheet high whenever anyone is near enough to see.
90* MonsterOfTheWeek: Follows the format of "catch the new dangerous witch" for the first half of the series, before progressing to the formal storyline proper.
91%%* {{NGO}} Solomon
92* NiceJobFixingItVillain: Sastre's actions, though depending on your perspective it might be a case of NiceJobBreakingItHero - [[spoiler: destroying the Fragment of Wisdom]] awakened Robin to the realization that her true power was within her all along.
93* NoMoreHoldingBackSpeech: Robin says one when she discovers the secret behind the Fragment of Wisdom. [[spoiler: "I can see it... The inner secrets of the craft... I can see his element of air. You burned the fragment to ashes. I see...This is the true craft. The power derived from the elements, lying dormant in my body, not captured in some "fragment of wisdom". That's why you attacked me. Tell me, what makes you think I am a witch?]]
94* NoSell: In the series' prologue, Amon takes a witch's psychic blast without flinching and says, "Your powers don't work on me." It's justified because Amon has a PowerNullifier on his neck.
95* NotAMorningPerson: Robin. Her insomnia is even alluded to in the ending theme ("Falling into a light sleep...").
96* NotSoDifferentRemark: Discussed by Karasuma: [[{{Foreshadowing}} "A witch who kills people that soil her world, and witch hunters that capture them for soiling the human world."]]
97* NunsAreMikos: Robin's roommate refers to her as a nun, and she was definitely raised in a monastery, and that certainly would explain her modest dress and penchant for prayer... but then she admits she's never really thought about whether God exists, and you'd think a Catholic nun would at least have an opinion on that.
98* OhCrap: [[spoiler: Sastre]] panics when Robin {{No Sell}}s his best shot.
99* OnlyOneName: Amon. It might be his first name. It might be his last name. It might be an alias. It's all you're getting.
100* PersonalityPowers: The series is noteworthy in its aversion. Since powers are tied to genetics and spiritualism, the writers had every excuse. However, [[ShrinkingViolet Robin]] is shy and demure, in contrast to the typical personality that one would expect from someone with [[PlayingWithFire her powers]]. Karasuma, by contrast, probably would've been an insightful person even without PsychicPowers.
101* PlagueDoctor: The Factory's assault team wear full-face masks with round eyes and decidedly beak-like nose guards...
102* PlayfulHacker: Michael Lee. He says he had fun [[ForbiddenFruit going places just because he wasn't supposed to]] and never damaged their systems. The most he would do was open a back door to make it easier for him to come back.
103* PlayingWithFire: Robin's powers cast fire.
104* PoweredByAForsakenChild: Expected in a series about hunting witches, but the specifics are refreshing. [[spoiler: Orbo, the [[AppliedPhlebotinum magical green juice]] that protects the STN-J members, is [[PoweredByAForsakenChild painfully extracted from previously captured witches, even those who have never used their powers for evil.]]]]
105* PowerNullifier: Orbo, bane to witches everywhere. Their powers are limited or totally useless against people wearing it and bullets filled with it can negate their powers.
106* PowerAtAPrice: The downside to Orbo is that it weakens the hunters using them as well. The original version causes a 30 percent decrease in efficiency and improved versions actually hurt them.
107* RomanticismVersusEnlightenment: The conflict between inherent witchcraft and manufactured Orbo, complete with a Byronic Hero love interest and neo-Victorian costumes, just in case anyone failed to notice the Victorian atmosphere.
108* SalemIsWitchCountry: In episode 12, "Precious Illusions", Robin meets a witch called Methuselah who is [[ReallySevenHundredYearsOld over 400 years old]] and survived the Salem Witch Trials. The witch tells Robin of the various {{Witch Hunt}}s over the centuries and talks about the motives behind them.
109* ShoutOut: The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qHrWGaxJq7I intro sequence]] of ''Witch Hunter Robin'' is almost a frame-for-frame recreation of [[Music/{{Madonna}} Madonna's]] music video for [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XDeiovnCv1o "Take a Bow"]].
110* SinisterMinister: Subverted and then defied.
111** Subversion-The Inquisitor is more of an official than a minister and less "sinister" than playing the "bad cop".
112** Defiance-Father Juliano, Robin's guardian [[spoiler: and grandfather]] tried to be this trope but raising Robin mellowed him out. Instead of condemning her, he blesses her.
113* SuperHumanTrafficking: [[spoiler: The Japanese branch deals in the bodies of witches.]]
114* SuperpowerfulGenetics: Witch powers are genetic, and following this logic, twins have the same powers.
115* TheStoic: Amon doesn't express emotion and goes about his business in a calm and efficient manner.
116* TeamMom: Harry for the STN-J; the members go to his cafe for emotional support and guidance. He makes special tea for them when they're sick. After the WhamEpisode he hugs Robin and says "Welcome home."
117* TookALevelInBadass: Robin, after "Loaded Guns" gets an overall magic boost when [[spoiler: she realizes she is the true Fragment of Wisdom.]]
118* TrademarkFavoriteFood: Michael loves food in crinkly aluminum bags. (The diet comes standard with the computer, apparently.) Robin's poor sleep habits are supplemented by large amounts of [[MustHaveCaffeine coffee]].
119* UltimateJobSecurity: Dojima comes in late, leaves early, takes extra-long breaks, and spends most of her time looking at fashion magazines, plus she was only hired because of who her father is. [[spoiler: Subverted in that she's really there as a spy for the parent company, which is suspicious of the new procedures instituted by the Japan branch - she acts like a slacker who owes her job to nepotism, but this may just be her cover.]]
120* UmbrellaOfTogetherness: Robin sees Touko and Amon sharing an umbrella and subsequently thinks they're lovers.
121* VanHelsingHateCrimes: BurnTheWitch! Wait, the witch is a SalaryMan who hasn't even jaywalked? ...Oops?
122* VillainousBreakDown:
123** [[spoiler: Sastre]] losses it when Robin [[HatDamage burns his hat.]]
124** This happens to BigBad [[spoiler: Zaizen]], when the truth concerning witches and humans is revealed. He goes from denial to contradicting himself, screaming louder and louder all the while... and this from a guy who was the epitome of composure the entire series.
125* WhamEpisode: ''Loaded Guns.'' [[spoiler: Robin is declared a witch and goes into hiding. Amon disappears and is possibly dead. Zaizen's EvilPlan is revealed.]]
126* WhatKindOfLamePowerIsHeartAnyway: It was a recurring joke when it aired on Creator/AdultSwim for the bumps to question what was so scary about the witch hunted in the first episode whose power appeared to be ''tripping people''. [[spoiler: [[HeartIsAnAwesomePower He still almost wiped out the STN-J]].]]
127* WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity:
128** Along with ScrewTheRulesIHaveSupernaturalPowers and TranshumanTreachery, this is the reason Solomon and the STN-J hunt witches. All witches in the MonsterOfTheWeek episodes (and many afterward) are [[BreadEggsBreadedEggs insane, criminal, or criminally insane]]. [[spoiler: It turns out that this isn't even a ''majority'' of the witches in existence. Most witches are nice and law-abiding people who happen to have powers, and they are the victims of VanHelsingHateCrimes by the STN-J and Solomon.]]
129** Made explicit in the backstory of the witch and partner to Amon that Robin is replacing. [[spoiler: She knew she was losing control and went rogue rather than be captured. Amon had to kill her.]]
130** [[SerialEscalation Again in an episode]] when they tried to capture another witch, who [[BullyingADragon was relentlessly bullied]] and eventually gave in and killed his tormentors.
131** ''[[SerialEscalation Again]]'' in the episode where Robin is befriended by a mixed marriage of a witch and human [[spoiler: whose innocent teenaged daughter was kidnapped by the STN-J. ]]
132** Capping it off is the episode where [[spoiler: a centuries-old witch uses an ExpositionBeam to showcase just how thoroughly humanity has been persecuting the good and bad witches even long before Salem. Really, humanity got lucky that there was no Witch ComicBook/{{Magneto}} to lead the oppressed witches in a revolt against the {{muggle}}s.]]
133%%* WhoWantsToLiveForever: Methuselah

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