With the first volume of the series we got introduced to the main setting, characters and the atmosphere of the series as well as a couple of decent little action sequences. With that one bringing five episodes in one session, it's quick to move past the big setup phase and let the second volume tell some tales.
The episodic nature of Robin, at least so far, comes through strong with this volume which also has five episodes. Each one tells a story relating to the STN-J group going after different witches or probable witches and dealing with the situation. There's some light character growth when it comes to the leads, such as Robin and Amon, but overall more time is given to telling occult style mystery tales. That's not to say there isn't some personal aspect to the tales though, as a couple of them play nicely to the cast.
One episode deals nicely with some of the problems of tracking down the witches and just how subtle they can be within society. After getting a ride out of the rain, Robin learns that the driver died just a short time later in a car accident. Though she didn't really know the women, she felt some kind of worth in finding out what really happened. Amon, seeing that Robin is taking an active interest in the investigative side of their job even though there's no apparent witch connection, lets her go forward with it even though it pushes the boundaries of abuse of power.
Her investigation leads her and Amon to one of her employees home, one she visited just before the accident. The woman there is quite odd, almost unconcerned about learning about her bosses death and about things in general. All she seems to care for is the numerous dolls that are around her house. Once the two entered the house though, something changed and Amon later finds himself being attacked in his car by one of the dolls. As they research even deeper into what's going on, there's some really interesting revelations about past histories and witch abilities and how they manifest. This is one of the creepier episodes so far and it plays out very well.
The last episode on the disc is another very strong one where the STN-J gets word of one of their old cases needing to become priority again. A few years prior, a rogue witch had gone to the US to avoid what was going to happen in Japan, but he's snuck back into the country now and they know he'll come to Harry's bar at some point. Setting up with cameras throughout it and having Robin and Dojima work as waitresses there, the bar gets staked out for the long haul.
Like earlier episodes, there's a certain slow pacing and casualness to things that keeps it from being the edge of your seat exciting show, but as it plays along it becomes something closer to the edge of your seat nail biting experience as you wonder what will happen, such as when they discover someone else is watching for the mans arrival as well. Though the episode is filled with quiet moments, the interactions between characters between them, such as Amon dealing with what may be an actual girlfriend or Dojima giving her boss grief, are quite enjoyable. Harry himself continues to be an intriguing character and this episode does a fantastic job in fleshing him out more than I expected him to be this early.
One aspect to this series that I'm really enjoying is the photo-anime style used with a high number of the backgrounds. With the photograph being anime colored and lined as well as mixing in character animation, it just looks amazing. Some of it stands out a bit more than it should, but so many scenes just have such a deeper more detailed looked because of this style that it really helps build the overall atmosphere of the show, giving it more life.
Extras:
The extras are a bit minimal and similar to the first volume, with a few pages worth of conceptual designs for the mechanical/equipment side of the show as well as a few pages worth of basic liner notes for the show. The liner notes have a few interesting bits to them, but they're not as detailed as a lot of liner notes we've gotten used to recently
