Witchblade

They started quite a bit from the comic and it sort of worked. It does get old seeing the main character getting her ample butt kicked for most of the series. I felt they focused too much on form instead of substance. Its watchable but has some fairly repetitive episodes. With all the gushy reviews I guess I'm in the minority. If you havnt read the comic its probably easier to like.

I think my biggest gripe with the Witchblade Anime series might be that because of its style (ie: supple and typically barely covered female anatomy), many potential viewers will be quick to write it off as nothing more than a peep show. While it may be true that Witchblade does contain fanservice en-masse, the story is what is truly remarkable here.

The trials and tribulations the lead characters endure from beginning to end brought me to tears several times throughout. The characters are lovable, the action is intense, and the characters reactions to the events that are unfolding around them are exceedingly well done.

Yes, there will be moments where the series drags its feet and to that I say, what series hasn't? No media can go full bore all the time without becoming mindless (At least in my opinion). Still, even through the slower moments of Witchblade, the story gradually progresses, until reaching a conclusion that still has me begging for more.

I could honestly go on for quite some time about how much I truly, and completely enjoyed every bit of this series. However, at risk of getting into spoilers and potential tirades, I leave you with this: If you like anime, and enjoy a great story with fantastic characters, and great action, give Witchblade a try. You won't be disappointed.

*note: I do intend to play the devils advocate here in light of all these positive reviews. I'm just stating how i feel about this series*

A co-production between American comic book company "top Cow" and anime company Gonzo, Witchblade is loosely based on the famous supernatural genre graphic novel series of the same name. In retrospect, "loosely" might be giving this series way too much credit. As a whole, "Witchblade" feels like a completely un-related anime series with the "Witchblade" title slapped on it just because it happened to feature a gauntlet-like object that binds to a woman thus granting her supernatural powers while replacing her clothes with an overly skimpy combat outfit. Other than that, it has absolutely NOTHING ELSE in common with the comic book it is based on.

Whatever intriguing supernatural detective story or down-to-earth characters that are easy to relate to has been thrown out the window and replaced with cliché upon cliché, staple to many science fiction Japanese anime.

Our story is set in future Japan. A couple of years ago, a giant disaster ravaged Tokyo leaving one Masane Amaha and a little girl the only survivors at ground zero. Now Masane and the little girl Rihoko, whom she adopted as her daughter, have returned to Tokyo and get involved in A string of events that culminates in an encounter with a strange and dangerous biomechanical creature leading Masane to discover that the little jewel on her wrist is actually "the witchblade", a legendary artifact. Now Masane has become caught in the middle of a power war between the NSWF organization and the "Douji" group, each with their own bio-engineered super soldiers and each desiring to possess the Witchblade for their own ends.

Though the characters are tried and tested stereotypical anime characters, their interactions come across as very genuine. Masane and Rihoko especially play out their mother/daughter roles very realistically, thanks to an excellent voice cast both in the original Japanese and the English dub tracks. Both are extremely likable even though the whole "mature young kid" and "bumbling but kind hearted immature adult" stereotype is nothing new in the world of anime.

Sadly after a rather promising first few episodes, the series starts to falter. The subsequent characters introduced to the series tend to be rather one dimensional and set firmly in stereotypical roles of "the tough guy protagonist", "sadistic female assassin", "comedy relief gang" etc. The story pacing also takes a nosedive. It feels like a 12 episode story stretched into 24 episodes. There is a bit of Comedy, but comedy is a good thing when played right, not when it is awkwardly written and badly placed.

Awkward also translates to the animation and art style. It would be easy to criticize this show's overly sexualized portrayal of Masane and the other "clone-blade" users. On almost every young adult female character, it is either the butt or the.....chest or both that is disproportionately emphasized. Fanservice is at an all time high with scenes of scantly clad blood-lusting females duking it out with blades and bouncing "melons". Even the "bloodlust" is quite literally a "lust"; all in a bid to titillate the male audience. Characters are drawn off-model sometimes with Masane's body proportions seemingly changing size in-between scenes. The animation also suffers in the long run. Only the still shots and close-ups look passably decent but disappointingly stiff. Action shots and many scenes involving movement cause the level of art detail to drop quite a bit.

The mother/daughter drama between Masane and Rihoko might have been the saving grace of this series but sadly it is also stretched to breaking point over the course of the 24 episodes (again due to horrible pacing). The story gets more and more convoluted as the series passes into its second half while the art and animation sort of settles into a low-to-medium budget look and feel as the production constantly cuts corners by using one too many animation short-cuts.

For all the advertising Funimation and Top Cow did on the Witchblade anime, this series is an utter disappointment. Instead of building on the more original mother/daughter dynamics and character drama, the series decides to play the "sex sells" card and deliver one fan-service laden combat sequence after another, complete with jokes about the main character's over-sized breasts. Lacking even the coherence and cleverness of the original comic books, Witchblade may satisfy those hot blooded young male viewers who love to be teased by anime females in states of semi-nudity. Other than that, it is mediocre fare not worth the time or money, compared to other better series out there.

This anime is just beautiful! The animation is very clear and smooth. It is a joy to watch the characters walking around in this anime. Also there are a lot of likable characters in this series. I promise you will laugh. The relationship between Masane (the woman who carries the witchblade) and Rihoko (Masana's daughter) is a special one. It is obvious that they love each other very much! And it seems that Rihiko takes care of the mother who is a bit of a wild one (maybe as a consequence of the witchblade,we don't know). And at the end we are witness of some change in Masana's character. She has to mature in order to provide the best care for her daughter. It is touching to see how strong the bond is and that it doesn't matter what obstruction and misery comes their way. Because of their love for each other they will overcome it. Maybe it sounds too much like a soap opera. But in my opinion there is nothing wrong with a bit of drama now and then. Especially when it's done like in this anime. This show doesn't contain as much action as one would think. But that is primarily because this is a plot based anime with some action in it. The action scenes that are shown are fun but not real special. Only the sexy outfit,the big boobs and other features keep popping up to add some flavor. Probably done to tease the male viewer (I think). The last episode gives enough closure,although we never get to learn about the origin of the Witchblade and how it chooses it's wielder. But since the focus wasn't about the Witchblade it doesn't matter that much. Overall this is a nice, fast paced anime with beautiful animation and great characterization.

This Japanese anime is loosely based on the American comic book of the same name. The setting is some time in the future in Tokyo, after a large disaster that has left the city in some disarray.

Presumably, Sarah Pezzini of the comic book, and American TV series is long gone, and the Witchblade has chosen a new bearer, Masane Amou. She's a young, scatter-brained, single mother trying to look after her daughter Rihoko. A governmental child welfare agency is after Masane because they claim she is an unfit parent and want to take Rihoko away. They may have more in mind than the welfare of the child, however.

Masane must also learn to control this new force whose origin is unknown to her.

This is an interesting addition to the Witchblade saga and should be well-liked by most fans of action animes.