Queen's Blade: Rurou no Senshi

Story: 5 (what you end up getting is a half hearted attempt at putting a script together.)

Art: 8 (high artistic accuracy to the original artwork is very rare especially at this high of detail.)

Sound: 7 (Excellent voice work is somewhat hindered to a sub-par manuscript.)

Character: 9 (Sure it might not sound all that original on paper, but...)

Enjoyment: 10 (Pure proof that sex sells, why mess with an age old secret.)

... OVERALL: 39/50 = 7.8 (Love it or hate it, this is just an anime made strictly for the fans.)

According to MAL users via word of mouth, this anime is pure 'crap' because it appears to have no story. To be technical in accordance to MAL's scoring system, the 'story' only counts as 20% of the 'overall' score. That is if the 'reviewer' consideres a non-wieighted scoring system. So that means a VERY poorly told story can still amount to mounds of fun and entertainment if the other elements of the show are in good standing. Such is the case for Queens Blade: Rurou no Senshi.

___What Is Queens Blade___
Before we go in to great detail about the show, a LARGE majority of the viewing audience have no idea what the hell they are watching. Queens Blade is basically an expansion to the Lost Worlds universe. Lost Worlds is a pen and paper game designed by Alfred Leonardi and originally published in 1983 by Nova Game Designs. Currently, Flying Buffalo owns the rights to the Lost Worlds universe and is based in Arizona.
The most current series of books, of all female fighter-types, under the title of Queen's Blade, published from late 2005 by Hobby Japan. These 19 books, have generally proved to be just new ecchi illustrations for existing combat matrices (from other Lost World books), rather than "new" characters. As of December 2007 a second series, Queen's Gate, was introduced, featuring characters from Japanese visual media, and in October 2008 Hobby Japan announced four further characters in a sub-set of the original series. (source: Wiki)
Each character book consists of 50 illustrations with the specific character in various positions according to the context of the text (i.e. dodge, thrust, uppercut, receive damage, etc). Needless, to say there's a lot of clothes shredding and exposure in the artwork.

___Story___
The story in the anime is loosely based on the campaign book: "Queens Blade Beautiful Fighter Retsuden [Adventure Record of Nomadic Soldier]" (in japanese クイーンズブレイド 美闘士列伝 「流浪の戦士冒険記」) The campaign is basically an alternate rule set and conditions from the normal Lost Worlds books. The show tries to follow over a dozen different girls on their attempt at becoming the queen of the land. That itself is a recipe for disaster as there are so many characters to introduce in only 12 short episodes.
It tries its best to get everyone up to date with the players but it ultimately falls short as people come and go in a blink of an eye. So what you end up getting is a half hearted attempt at putting a script together. And for a rushed script, it isn't completely terrible. It just lacks the proper back story to get new viewers up to date to the Queens Blade universe. So it all just looks like alot of tits and ass and no fluff.
A best way to approach the storyline is to not compare it with other anime of the genre, but instead, compare it to those silly ending cut scenes in any fighting game. The main emphasis of the fighting game, is the mechanics, entertainment, and addictiveness. Such is the case of Queens Blade.

___Art___
The characters art books were all designed and created by well known Doujin Artists (Mibu Natsuki), Key Animators (Kaneko Hiraku), and Character Artists (HIsayuki Hirokazu). Over a dozen artists conglomerated to make this series a sucess. And it shows very well through the various merchandising and even through the television series. Each character is drawn in painstaking detail thanks to the experienced artists of ARMS. You can't help but give props to the minimal loss of detail to the characters. Sure they show alot of skin but their outfits are very elaborate compared to the typical full body armor that most viewers are used to. Observing the high artistic accuracy to the original artwork is very rare especially at this high of detail.
The backgrounds, and static environments are just as good as well. You can actually experience their improvement over the years from Mezzo, to Elfen Lied, to Ikkitousen, and now Queens Blade. Even the background characters like soldiers and citizens have a high amount of detail, only a close minded fool would find flaws in it. Mad props, but my only gripe with the art value of this show is that some of the action scenes appear to be hindered by limited frame rates and 'skippy' attacks. You will know what i mean when you see it. It doesn't happen a lot, but it happens enough to notice it.
Another obvious visual effect is the gratuitous use of oppai (boob exposure). Its really there for fanservice and does its job very thoroughly. They show you alot right away and before you know it, if you were like me, it will most likely become second nature and doesn't feel obtrusive after a while. If you have a fear of boobs and/or get agitated when you see them in your tv shows, this is a good vice to get you accustomed to seeing massive use of oppai. I mean, what is so bad about boobs that would entice people to get angry and pull out their pitchforks and torches? This is the 21st century AND it's japan, oppai isn't going to go away. If you want to rage over a set of tits go watch EIKEN....

___Sound____
It appears that they tried to spare no expense with this anime, from top name anime production (ARMS is a member of Association of Japanese Animations), they also enlist an A-list cast of seiyū. Rie Tanaka, Mamiko Noto, Aya Hirano, and the list goes on. Their experience really shows in how they fit their voices fit their characters perfectly. Of course, with some of the more monotone seiyū (Rie Kugimiya and Yuko Goto specifically), its hard to visualize the characters when all you can think of is Shana or Mikuru. Bet that as it may, their excellent voice work is somewhat hindered to a sub-par manuscript. Its not the voice actors fault really so that is more of a story issue more than a sound issue.
Music and sound effects are of course top notch and really associate to the scenes very well. A lot of orchestral overtures and dramatic music to fill the fight scenes and such. Each battle rumbled with ferocity and battle cries echoed throughout my house. This is truly a show that is best viewed on a big screen tv with your 5.1 booming at a level 11.

___Characters___
Throughout my review, I've been harking over the great quality of the characters on all levels. Artistic quality is 2nd to none. The voice cast is something one can only describe as "a true all-star cast." And the originality can only come from the best minds of the anime/doujin world. It's amazing how they can take a simple super power (like shape shifting or super strength) and completely sex it up. Sure it might not sound all that original on paper, but to recognize the complexities of drawing 50 illustrations of the same character, incorporating 20+ special moves with strengths and weaknesses, heights, speeds, movement and many other things to fully make a character its own and have it balanced enough to have anyone win any fight(in reference to the combat books), really adds depth and detail to these relatively static characters.

___Overall___
The aren't just some pair of boobs that just became popular overnight, it's been a steady, increasing fanbase that has been building for the past FOUR years. From an extremely simple pen and paper game that any one can play (just as long as they can read), to the 100's of Queens Blade merchandise (including artbooks, doujins, over 50 figures, etc), to an anime series. Those who still cant understand how people can like this show, go look at all the anime merchandising websites and observe how many Queens Blade items are constantly sold out. Some people don't know there are as much (if not more) Queens Blade fans than there are Touhou or K-On! fans. Love it or hate it, this is just an anime made strictly for the fans.

What I am about to say may just create an angry, pitchfork-wielding mob in my driveway, but i'm going to say it anyway: the hated Queen's Blade isn't all that horrible. Don't get me wrong - it certainly isn't very good, but it is at the very least enjoyable. Hold on, I think I see torches! False alarm, at least for now.

The reason why i am doing the unthinkable by writing a review at merely the third episode is because this anime receives such widespread malignment that some might not give it a try for themselves. I will rewrite this after the final episode.

If you ... can get past the now-infamous, shall we say, tomfoolery - and granted, that isn't easy to do - you've got yourself a decent show. Key word: decent. I think the reason why people say that there is no story is because Queen's Blade hasn't been picked up by a quality subber yet (in fact every English fansub so far has been an utter disgrace), and not everyone can understand Japanese. This is a character driven anime, and the relations between the characters and their backgrounds make up the bulk of it. It isn't all that deep, but it does keep things interesting.

I'll mention this again for emphasis: it is highly character driven. If you like character designs, you're going to like Queen's Blade. The anime was based on a set of fighting game books (yeah, I can't imagine how that's supposed to work, either) and every character was designed by a well-known artist. Unfortunately, the wide range of interesting personalities and outfits are one of the few redeeming qualities that Queen's Blade possesses, but oh what a quality it is.

It has been outsourced, and so the art isn't all that great, but at least the animation isn't terrible, and the battles are short and sweet...

...even if those battles feature a girl with acidic projectile nipple lactation that only ever manages to burn clothes, and another that pees herself constantly, and another that actually walks around completely bottomless with only a snake wrapped around her waist as a censor. The shock value is ridiculous, and any other time I would have been offended and stopped watching immediately, but Queen's Blade is so over-the-top in its silliness that it's actually downright hilarious at times. It seems as if with every new episode we meet a new combatant, each one just as, umm...original as the next. Yeah, 'original' works.

I truly can't wait to see what sort of madness is coming my way next week, and that says it all.

So don't expect a deep, riveting story, flawless artwork, or lovey-dovey romance. What you should try to enjoy Queen's Blade for is the creative cast of interesting characters. If you can get past the shock value (which is truly more comical than irritating), you may come to enjoy this. At least give it a shot before you drop it!

Now if you'll excuse me, I've just been hit in the neck with a pitchfork and have to see a doctor.

Ah yes, good old fashion Queen's Blade. You know, I had considered writing a review about 5 minutes into the first episode but I have a code of honour. I cannot write a review unless I have seen the whole thing, and so I have watch the whole thing so that I may write this review... Would someone please come to my house and stab me several times in the face?... No of course not, you damned "sanctity of human life" pricks. Let's get this over with.

Story 1/10: In a world where metal ore is extremely rare crafting armor has become a very expensive task, ... most blacksmiths can only forge tiny bits of armor such as a bra without going bankrupt and only a few nobles can purchase these armors. Enter Artorius, an aspiring young blacksmith with a dream, to acquire the funds to craft a full practical suit of armor by descending into a hellish underworld... Alright alright! The real plot is a bunch of female fighters have to go to the Queen's Capital to take part in a tournament that will crown the next Queen of apparently the whole world, the queen of course being the strongest and most beautiful (apparently you can be the strongest warrior in all the land, but if you're ugly you can just piss off, I can't be the only who thinks my plot idea was better?). As you can tell the plot is kinda shit, it does serve one purpose though, get a bunch of chicks to knock their armor off in combat and then jiggle around a lot, yeah the plot is a thinly veiled excuse to have half naked girls fighting each other, it's like a fifteen year old got a mad lib (adventure-fantasy addition) and every word he used was tits and ass, and they decided to make an anime out of it.

Art 3/10: Let's see. Generic template used for all the character so they not only look almost exactly the same compared to each other but all to 80% of all other anime characters in general? Check. Speed lines during action scenes because the guys using CG to make the whole show got lazy? Check. Absolutely nothing unique about anything in this show? Check. They made the tit's and ass look good I suppose which in all fairness is pretty much the only thing the anime is about so that keeps it from getting a 1/10 but it's still not very good, next topic.

Sound 1/10: First stop the music, it's incredibly generic to the point where you don't even realize it's there, it's not terrible mind you, it's just kinda there. It doesn't help that a lot of the time the overall mood of the song being played doesn't fit the scene well over half the time, this is what I like to call "lazy placement," they knew they needed background music so they got some standard fantasy tracks and slapped them where ever they thought it was too quiet. As for the voice acting, the dub is atrociously bad, I've seen fan dubs where every character (of both gender) were voiced by the same guy in his basement, don't watch it... Then again the sub isn't much better, it's one of the only subs where the fact I don't understand the language stopped me from realizing how bad the acting actually is. Maybe the acting could have been better if the writing wasn't so pathetic, I haven't seen writing this bad in quite a while, at least it does kinda distract from how bad the entire show is by being so bad you laugh at it.

Character 2/10: Actually some of the character development is fairly good, like when the main character witnesses some horrendous poverty and famine within her own lands and decides to do everything within her... Nope, never mind, they kind of forgot about that like a minute later. See the problem is the characters actually did have a lot of opportunity for character development and depth but it usually only last for like half an episode and then the character seems to completely forget about it and continue on happy as a clam with no problems. Probably because people would have a hard time fapping to character depth and thus just continue to focus on tit's and ass. I swear they should have just called this show "tit's and ass with sword." I give characters higher than 1 for have potential but not by much for doing fuck all with it.

Enjoyment 1/10: You know what I could be watching that's better than this show? Fucking anything! This show is porn without being as fun to watch as porn, I have plenty of place to watch actually porn Queen's Blade, if I was in the mood to jerk off I'd go there, not watch your half-assed attempt at making a hentai you can make more money off of by claiming it to be a real show so it's shown on TV. I watched it online so you made no money off me what-so-ever to begin with so eat my shit.

Overall 1/10: What more is there to say? It's a completely crappy show that had a minimal amount of potential with the characters that it never exploited like it was afraid that it might raise to at least the level of mediocrity, like it's somehow allergic to not being complete shit that someone who isn't aware of any actually porn site can jerk off to. Bad show Queen's Blade, ya should have just gone full out porn, at least then you could hide behind the excuse that the show is just meant to be porn and not reviewed seriously.

Story: The story is amazing. The tale of the Queen's Blade itself and the battle for it present quite the epic storyline suitable for just about anyone to enjoy whether you like ecchi or not.

Art: The art here is beautiful, especially the character designs. The animation itself even stays consistent and that's definitely a plus for anybody looking for an anime to watch. The fights are also very epic and breathtaking. No joke. I love the fights so much, I could watch them again and again.

Sound: Great choice of music in stereo. Everyone loves stereo and so do I! The sound effects are all ... incredible and it constantly blows me away when i hear the theme music for this anime.

Character: The characters in this show are all female, and are very very attractive and Highly easy on the eyes. Despite the fanservice, the characters all have unique personalities and it's great to watch the main female character, Leina, grow into a fine warrior, as she struggle through the hardships of her family affairs and explore the land, fighting various opponents.

Overall, it's one of the best shows I've ever seen in my life. It's so good, even the kids will enjoy it. It's great for the family, and I'm sure you'll like it whether you're a prude or not. =)

I would not normally write a review for a series like Queen's Blade, because I feel like it is not a series you need to read reviews on. It's either your cup of tea, or it isn't. However, reading through existent reviews, I feel like this show isn't getting the credit it deserves. Now, when people are saying this show is nothing more than giant boobs, bigger boobs, not clothes, and violence, they aren't kidding. This is pretty much as close to hentai as anime can get. However, I can't speak for everyone, but I can tell you I would certainly go insane if every ... show I watched was a mismatch of psychological jargon and plot development like Ergo Proxy or Boogiepop. Sometimes, you need a show like Queen's Blade or Ikkitousen, that has no plot at all. What it does have, is incredible art; studio ARMS has yet to fail me. Aside of Nitro+, they are probably the most polished studio out there right now. Queen's Blade is beautifully animated, and that said, the action sequences are pretty freaking awesome. Any action fans will be pleased with this. I haven't seen action scenes I enjoyed this much since I watched Karas. All said, Queen's Blade is great to watch if you don't really want to pay attention. It's pretty much plotless, but for something in this vein of anime, that is probably for the best.

I have re-reviewed my opinion of this anime after seeing the first four eps. And it deserves a new look after I watched better subs and got over myself. The original review follows this, since I don't censor my own views.

The voice acting is just incredible. It is some of the most top notch, sensual, incredible, well-done voice acting I've ever heard in an anime. The characters are still... lame in their personalities, but some of the character design (mostly a carry-over from the books) isn't that bad.

But, seriously, this needs to be a hentai. A snake bikini secured in one of her holes? The ... characters range from frumpy to drop dead gorgeous, there are set-ups for sex scenes that don't go anywhere. For as good as it teases me, it really doesn't deliver that climax.

Still, as sexy time anime go, this one is worth watching. They should have cranked up the sex, tried harder with the animation, and cut back on the shock value. As I have stated elsewhere, I can watch this with my eyes closed, just to hear the VA's. They literally make love to you with their voices.

It's that fucking good.

ORIGINAL REVIEW:

Fail.

Yes, this is based on two episodes, maybe I'll rehash the review in more--but I doubt it.

This isn't a feminist rant. This isn't an exploitation rant.

This anime sucks. Bible Black has proven that hentai can have decent characters and a semblance of a plot. Even ecchi shows like Kimiaru can be entertaining in a self-depracating way, and Shuffle! managed to pull a convincable bit of characterization out of its butt.

Queen's Blade is just trying to garner an audience by seeing if they can offer enough buzz over what "shocking" crap they have to offer this episode. And so far, all that has resulted in is forgettable characters.

Leina is a princess who wants to help her country, or to run away. I'd figure the latter because at the palace one of her sisters wants to have sex with her and the other is just a total cunt. So she does run away, and she's immediately attacked by a bunny girl with acid shooting tits and in the process pisses herself.

"What?"

"You're kidding me."

The sad part is that the "shock factor" isn't shocking. The ero isn't that erotic. There's just tits and thongs bouncing around but unless you're 12 you're not going to be all that impressed due to the overlying lack of substance, which by the way is a competition between several moe bitches to become Queen.

I guess it's Japan, since that's what the characters call it, and there's also a "west," but Japan seems to be a bastardized pseudo medieaval times sort of ordeal. There's a crude map at the beginning of the show, and some of it takes place in what LOOKS like japan, but one of the characters clearly refers to what is the "west" as "Japan" hell, I don't know. I doubt that even the characters know what's going on.

Another recurring theme is that the Queen candidates have a confidante/friend. Or so the first two episodes have set up. And based on the doujins and official porn art I've seen, that is a confirmation. So you don't have to suffer through ONE character with an insufferably shitty backstory, you have a twofer. And they might even fall in love with one another:|

I didn't give this anime that terrible of a rating, because people (and myself) will still watch it. For me it's the little unexpected moments of sheer stupidity that make me laugh in my ever cynical hatred of cliches.

And exploding tits will do that.

If this anime had the balls to poke fun at itself it might gain a coveted "10," but it's actually taking itself seriously. I'm still waiting for them to break the fourth wall and ask the audience "why the fuck are you watching this.?"

There are better, REAL hentai out there and the internet has better wank material.

So, what do I have to end this with?

This should have either been a comedy, since the weak ero conent isn't really substance enough to carry the show and the plot only works in a comedy or they should have gone full bore and made it into a hentai and not a broadcast show.

Because right now it's just a flaccid cock in a discount whorehouse.

I also take offense with the above statment. The voice acting makes me wet. I only wish there was more.

Right off the bat I have to say this a guilty pleasure of mine and I enjoyed watching this a lot. After seeing clips and trailers online, I wrote it off as an immature, stupid anime that just served as an excuse to show a lot of nudity.

After watching the first couple of episodes, this was definitely confirmed (the protagonist has her clothes melted by ooze that shoots from an opponent’s breasts literally in the first scene, by episode 3 you’re watching what is basically a lesbian sex scene in a goo pit). However, I found myself thoroughly entertained, amused, and laughing all ... the way to the end of the series.

I compare Queen’s Blade to an ecchi equivalent of a Michael Bay movie. It is not subtle. It is over-the-top, dumb, shallow, and lots of fun. It does not make any attempt to be anything else and makes it clear up front what kind of anime this is with no shame.

I found myself more and more awed with how blatant the camera would focus in on a character’s breasts or buttocks during a conversation, the obvious suggestive posing, the excessive nudity, the ridiculous outfits, and the exploitative fight scenes. Let’s not get into “milk” spilling. It is like the creators wanted to see how far they could go creating an anime without it being classified as hentai.

Other anime sneaks in this kind of fan service sparsely. The result usually makes me roll my eyes, especially in serious anime where this feels out of place and cheap. In Queen’s Blade, they turn this to 11 and stay there from beginning to end. It literally had me laughing at parts as characters were introduced with costumes consisting of less and less material.

I also have to point out the great character design. Yes, they’re all excessively provocative and leave little to the imagination, but you can’t fault them for lack of originality. The aforementioned breast-acid girl, Melona, has hair shaped like hands that cover her breasts. The hands are ‘alive’ and operate Melona’s breast to aim and fire acid (WTF? I couldn’t stop laughing). Where else can you find that kind of creativity in an anime? Another character, Echidna, has a living snake that serves as her underwear with obvious phallic innuendo. Again, this series has no shame and it is impressive.

It is this kind of character design that elevates the characters and story for me that would otherwise be somewhat shallow. The premise of a fighting tournament with main characters traveling place to place fighting new opponents could be boring, but coupled with the ridiculous character designs and fight scenes, I became invested.

I was actually interested in protagonist Leina’s journey as she had to learn to become a fighter while traveling the world and meeting all of these wacky people. She has a weird relationship with her sisters, particularly Elina, which I found entertaining. I also liked clumsy angel Nanael, in other anime I find this type of character irritating, here, she fits in. Later episodes focus in on the villains hanging out together, which is interesting to watch and funny.

Another thing I totally appreciated was the lack of male characters. I have a particular bias against harem-style anime and the tropes that come along with them. I would have definitely not been able to watch this series had it been about a male character with all these women throwing themselves at him while he did his damnedest to turn them down for no logical reason. Having a female dominated cast (I think the only male with significant screen time is that one boy) is one of the strengths of this series.

Since the main draw here is the nudity and girls, the series could have easily cut corners on production value. They did not, and for what it is, Queen’s Blade has above average animation and sound. The art is very good, the female characters are attractive, and the action scenes are well done. The music wasn’t bad either. I had the theme stuck in my head for weeks. Voice acting is good and the English dub was also very passable.

Although I can appreciate a dumb, over-the-top action film, that doesn’t mean a mean an anime or film can be good just by being overly bad or stupid. Using Michael Bay as an example again, a lot can go wrong with the execution (first Transformers: entertaining, the rest: bad). I usually hate anime like Queen’s Blade, but in this case I feel they execute the premise very well with high production value. Queen’s Blade is the type of absurd that I have no problem getting in to.

Queen’s Blade is definitely not for everyone. I can understand why a lot of people probably can’t get over how stupid and fan service-oriented it is. It is a guilty pleasure of mine and I’m not even sure if it intentionally was supposed to be as funny as it was. But in with the right mindset, I think you can enjoy Queen’s Blade and have a lot of fun watching it.

First of all, I don't think Queen's Blade is the horrible thing that most people make it out to be. As of 11 episodes, the "story" which is argued that there is a lack thereof is clearly presented to you in the first two episodes as well as the last two. Reina is a future Countess, she doesn't want to be, she wants to prove she can be strong and independent, one way for that is through Queen's Blade. Now that we have that out of the way..

Story -
What's mentioned above is the basis of the story. However, when watching Queen's Blade, one has to ... realize that there was a ton of preceding material written before the release of the anime, including three different comics, two of which were serialized in magazines. As a result, Queen's Blade has a lot of back story to work with. Unfortunately, it fails to make use of the time to explain the Queen's Blade canon and instead focuses on each character's individual story - and without the reasons for certain characters' circumstances, one might feel that they've been left in the dark. For instance, elves hate humans. But why? Fortunately there's an entirely new season coming up, so maybe we'll see if the Queen's Blade world is explained in any more detail.

Art -
Just by the amount of artists collaborating on the game books themselves means that the anime is expected to not skimp on the art direction. The character art is consistent, the backgrounds are well drawn, and the animation is for the most part fluid. Speaking of fluids, it seems divine milk is indistinguishable from oil and tears.. Wait.

Sound -
The voice actresses are famous, so no disappointments there. Actually, the voices given to the characters are very appropriate for their types. Little things aren't left out; you can hear the sound of Nowa's staff falling to the ground when defeated by Airi in episode 6. It seems like they reuse the music from the end of the first episode in other scenes often, though, and the opening song isn't that great, but that would be a subjective analysis.

Character -
As stated before, what goes on in each episode is more or less an introduction to each character of the Queen's Blade universe and what they intend to gain by fighting in the tournament. Some characters lack a certain amount of depth in relation to others (Echidna's motives are ambiguous at best, and what does Elina even do besides guard things?) but you'll find that every character has been designed to vividly stand out in terms of outfits and accessories, so it's easy to pick a favorite. Go ahead, try it out.

Enjoyment -
The series itself is truly amusing. Even if you were to ignore everything I've written up to this point, you could still watch the "wrestling" in episode 3 or so and be completely unable to resist crackling a smile or even guffawing at the silliness at which that scene was conceived. However, from my perspective, it seems that the gratuitous fan service actually ruins any chance of the anime being seen in a serious light - because if you're paying attention to the tits, you're not paying attention to the rest of the character, much less the sound and art. Regardless of how successful the game books were based on the premise of girls cutting other girls' clothes off, the Queen's Blade universe has enough material to be worked on to provide an entertaining story without resorting to things like that.

Overall -
Queen's Blade is not a series without any merit. If I were to describe it in a simple phrase, it would be Lodoss Lite. It feels like it could translate into an RPG if given the opportunity, and at the very least one could appreciate the painstaking process of drawing all those details into every character in every scene in which they're not nude. If you've read any negative reviews about the series, try your hardest not to base your judgment off those and give at least the first 6 episodes a try before you shrug it off altogether.

This show is so funny! Every time I watch it, I can't stop laughing. If you are looking for a deep story and characterization go elsewhere, but if you are looking for some (un)intentional comedy (and like big boobies) this is the show for you.

This is a very simple review and I don't claim to be going in-depth here.

Queen's Blade is often mocked for its over-the-top concept and stupid, pointless exposure of nudity at random and possibly inappropriate times, but what must be taken into consideration when watching this anime is not the expectations for a rich story with deep backgrounds and a complex plot, but the kind of expectations you might take into watching a comedy instead.

It's very enjoyable to watch when you start to laugh at the extremely predictable scenarios and just accept that it is a shameless, funny ecchi really.

The fights aren't too ... spectacular, but at least they don't drag on for multiple episodes like some anime. The fights are quick and often only result in characters losing clothing, so also comedic. Like I said, think of it as more of a comedy than an action anime or an ecchi.

The characters are nearly all unique and have their own quirks which makes them laughable and likable, though with that being said some of my favorite characters got very little screen time, but still.

The art is fair. There are few deformities and the characters look great. There is quite limited effects overall though and not too much action even in the fights so I suppose what little animation they did do has been done well.

The soundtrack and voicing is enjoyable too, though repetitive, it undoubtedly fits the scenes and characters which is ultimately what sound is there to do. The music in particular is quite epic and memorable.

Overall it is worth watching but try to think of it as a comedy rather than an action, adventure or ecchi anime and it will be a much more enjoyable watch.

I love anime because it doesn't bow to political correctness. If a bunch of old western women feel insulted by it, I know it's gonna be great! I can't watch western TV anymore because I feel insulted by it's inane predictability.
Come on, the voice of Kugimiya Rie performing the "breast milk jitsu". That's in my classics library.

Please don't judge me, I was watching this at 2x speed while grinding FGO. I didn't actually think by the end I would get invested and enjoy it, yet here we are.

TL;Dr 3/10: Fan service, Big Bodacious Bouncy Babes Battling it out in a Battle Royale to be Queen. The only thing I saw of merit was the MC Leina's development towards the very end, but that's basically it. There is a mountain of things here that could be explored but isn't cuz the show is simply Silly Huge Badonkers fighting one another.

Artistic and Fun: 1/2
0 Artistic merit, I mean what do you expect ... from a show that is about Women Fighting where armor & clothes get conveniently ripped off to flash some racks. The Battle Royale and Character Journeys, as well as the existence of other races and higher beings could be interesting but none of it is explored cuz Badonkers is the focus.
However, the show can arguably be fun if you watch it on 2x speed. Echidna is hawt, Tomoe is precious and Leina evolving from a weakling to a contender is actually fun. That is if you haven't already dropped it or paid attention to anything besides the flashing.

Recommended: 0/2
I could never in my right mind recommend this to anyone. Please understand I only had this on as a sort of background junk to watch while I grind my gacha. If you want a battle royale that delves into the theme of Kingship where the winner will fulfill their wish and the main protagonist is also a Blonde Royalty voiced by Ayako Kawasumi, go watch Fate/Zero (To TM fans, yes I know. Now shush)

Narrative Consistency: 0/2
The plot is pretty much a battle Royale, but the show seems unable to even respect that. Usually if you lose in a battle royale you get disqualified, but that isn't the case here, a lot of the rules and restrictions aren't explained leaving us, the viewer, very confused and giving it a Deus Ex Machina feel. Considering this show messed up handling its core plot, which was so shallow its amazing how they managed to mess it up, you will frequently wonder why anything is happening. The only way anything made sense would be in hindsight from the ending, it's all in service to Leina's growth. However, I argue, Character growth is not a plotline. It is something that happens over the course of one. Simply removing the involvement of the Angels declaring a Queens Blade battle outside the Imperial Capital can nicely address that issue, this way the pilgrimage to the Capital for the selection is made meaningful as you will likely face many dangers and competition on the way. Only the strongest will survive and reach in time for the selection. So yeah, you will find yourself confused and frequently wonder what is happening, why is it happening, whats the point and why are you even watching this.

Emotional Highs: 1/2
Defined as moments that evoke strong emotion, be it Anger, Sadness, Happiness, Laughter or even Thought Provoking that can leave you speechless. United States of Smash, the unveiling of the master plan in FMAB and Okabe's Operation Arclight are good examples.
Minimum 3 moments = 2 points
Despite failing to service a plot (instead it services the fans lmao), Character growth is definitely present here. Leina's battle after her training arc was actually pretty fun imo. As someone who was cheering her on from the start, it was nice to see the MC finally blossom into something resembling a challenger. However, I'm really stretching over here to say this was an Emotional High. Considering the absolute hype that is Haikyuu, or the end of Vinland Saga, Operation Arclight from Steins;Gate. This is incredibly lukewarm, but I cannot say I myself didn't feel anything. So if I can feel it, means there exist others who might as well hence I feel this anime has earned this 1 point.

Bias: 1/2 (mentioned after the next 3 paras)

Queens Blade's Power and Magic System is incredibly shallow, it gets points for completeness like the first enemy having a limitation that was exploited. However aside from that it is bland, uninteresting and uninspired. Stuff happens cuz it happens, and there is extremely little information provided in understanding how powers function. Although, I do prefer this Limitation without Explanation System as opposed to a OP Can Do Literally Anything with a BS Explanation System (think OP MC kun with a harem) they are still both equally bad and I cannot accept such a terrible Magic System.

The core complication is the Battle Royale Tournament to determine the next Queen: Queens Blade. The show touches on many things that merit a deep dive such as the idea that the strong take what they want rightfully: Law of the Jungle. The idea of one having Responsibilities from birth they need to live up to: Birthright. The idea of forging ones place in the world when you are a hybrid of two races: Mixed Race Identity, and of course the theme of what is in the name (it's male counterpart is more fitting) What Does it Mean to be a King? Is overwhelming strength the only perquisite? Where does Wisdom, Kindness and Duty come in? The idea of a King is something that truly fascinates me since it is the oldest and one of the most prevalent means of ruling for Mankind until we had Democracy in the modern era. However, sadly this show explores literally none of these.
The sad part is there are alot more themes here that I haven't even mentioned and I know I'm not mistaken when a show full of bouncy badonkers can casually mention "Separation of Church and State" as part of National Policy. This anime has tons of deep themes ripe for potential, but it squanders all of them by being utterly shallow and not exploring them at all. Its utter disrespect since the show kicks you in the face saying "What did you expect from a show literally about tits"

Queens Blade has its own World with its own histories, nations, traditions, factions, phenomenon, races and cultures. From the Oriental Nation where Tomoe comes from, to the more standard European one where Leina hails from. The Elves in their forest, the Dwarves in their Mountains, and while sadly most of this is just set dressing for the main show (Big Hooters) it isn't irrelevant. The Elf council making their decision based on Racial Prejudice, The Dwarves getting involved because the Humans were out producing their market with cheaper less quality goods instead, The Orient facing rampant corruption in their nations administration, the existence of Angels and Demons down to the fact that Queens Blade was a Divine mandate. This all tells us of a world lived in, and sadly this anime barely does anything to explore this world. Instead once again rushing ahead to flash some racks on screen.

My biases: Magic Systems, Idealogue and History

Magic Systems: Any system with strict (Hard) or implied (Soft) restrictions of what it's capable of qualifies as a Magic System for the purposes of this Review. Be it FMAB's Law of Equivalent Exchange, Steins;Gate's World Lines or Dr Stone's Science

History: Real world History or World Building and Lore based History. Re Zero and Overlord have vibrant Worlds with their own fleshed out History, Races, Relations, Politics and Factionalism. Bonus points for Natural Phenomenon Unique to their worlds. Whereas Youjo Senki / Saga of Tanya the Evil takes direct inspiration from WW1.

Idealogue: Deep and Thought Provoking takes on contemporary or otherwise archaic matters. Be it Intangible stuff like Justice and Meaning of Life, or something achievable like being the Best at X and the ramifications of being so. My favorite is the Idea of being a King, and the concept of a King in general.


Conclusion: 3/10
This anime is wasted potential, a shallow caricature who's prime operating directive is "Boobies"
The show is unable to remain consistent with its complications, it refuses to respect any of the themes it mentions, it keeps churning out episode after episode of sludge that is mostly tits flashing left and right.
However, if you by some Herculean merit decide to look past the fan service. You will be left with nothing but disappointment at how much of a wasted potential this show truly is. This show is a very good example of how damaging fan service can be to a story, I'd like to believe the person who wrote the plot truly had something in mind but maybe I am giving this show too much credit and maybe all these deep things are red herrings there to give you a pretty pathetic attempt at an illusion of depth that all really exists to act as a backdrop for big bouncy boobs battling each other.
The only thing off merit in this entire mess is the main characters development at the end, which isn't exactly impressive. I'm just saying its the "only thing that's good"

This show is defineatly the show for me. Its also probably the show for many of you people out there. Many could throw this off as just some stupid ecchi show. and thats what i thought at first. But it really is so much more than that. It is true that this show is very ecchi. But at the same time it has a very engaging and dramatic storyline. Showing that anime can be crazy sexy and still make you cry with good drama and character development. Not only that but the fight scences are very well done and can easily hold a candle to ... any action show out there.So if you want a show that is full of hot girls who where skimpy clothes and sometimes no clothes at all. But still has a good story and well done fights. you must watch queens blade ASAP!!!

This is a review of the Blu-ray version of "Queen's Blade: The Exiled Virgin" (Queen's Blade: Rurou no Senshi) released by Media Blasters in 2011. It was viewed with English voice overs.

"Queen's Blade: The Exiled Virgin" falls into the category of fantasy action adventure with a significant degree of ecchi content.

Parental Advisory:
The age rating on the Blu-ray packaging is listed as "16 AND OLDER" while some other sites including this one list it at 17+. Scenes with female topless nudity occur in every episode. The fantasy outfits that some of the females wear have little beyond the equivalent of thongs for their ... lower region, and copious amounts of skin are displayed often. There is combat violence in several episodes, and some deaths occur, but it isn't overly graphic.

Brief history of the Queen's Blade characters:
For those unfamiliar with their background, the Queen's Blade characters were originally introduced as playable fighters in a set of game books back in 2005. These books were based on the "Lost Worlds" combat system, and they were an instant hit among gamers and collectors. In 2006, a series of PVC statues for "Queen's Blade" were introduced by Megahouse, and these similarly became instant hits among collectors. Many of these featured "cast off" outfits which at the time was not a common feature of PVC figures. The popularity of this feature for PVC statues has grown considerably, in part due to the huge popularity of the "Queen's Blade" figures. Since then many additional figures have been produced by Megahouse and other companies. By 2007, the series made its debut in light novels and manga. In 2009, "Queen's Blade" was finally made into a TV series.

Thus, when watching or reviewing this, it's important to realize that this series did not take a traditional route from manga to anime. It started out as a game and a popular line of PVC figures before that.

Story: 5/10
The show spans 12 episodes. The central plot revolves around several beautiful warriors that are vying to win the Queen's Blade tournament in order to become the next queen. As the series unfolds, additional contestants are introduced, each with a different reason for trying to win. Each episode features one or more combat situations between contestants, or battles between a few of the more heroic characters and various villains. The story largely follows the path taken by Leina (aka Reina) Vance, but several other characters such as her sisters Claudette and Elina, the bandit Risty, the mercenary Echidna, the warrior priestess Tomoe, the assassin Shizuka, and the villains Melona, Menace and Airi are given significant screen time during the series.

Overall, the basic premise is quite simple, and while the lack of complexity is probably to be expected for a series based on a fighting game, this is one of the weaker aspects of the show.

What the series lacks in story, it somewhat makes up in it's character interaction and backstory. Although there isn't a lot of character development, the story does explore the history of some of the primary combatants, and it provides ample motives for them to be involved in the tournament. As a result, the conflicts between some of the opponents seem less forced than the showdowns that occur in some other anime that are based on episodic battles.

Characters: 9/10
The "Queens Blade" characters are among some of the most strikingly beautiful women to appear in anime. Although a few characters are younger, most of them appear to be adults, and the artwork and animation captures this very well. The outfits most of them wear are extremely skimpy, but most of these match the armors depicted in the original game books. As a result, I give them very high marks for staying true to the original source material.

For those who may not like this style, I will re-iterate what I wrote in another review -"Anyone that doesn't understand the reasons for fantasy-based outfits existing in a fantasy world should probably stay away. Please find a documentary on the history channel about period armors if that's what you're looking for. This isn't it."

Overall, each of the characters are rather unique, and most of them are fleshed out (pun intended) to provide their backstories and motivations. A few of the characters are very much over-the-top, but this also fits with their original game book style as well. For example, Melona is a essentially a shape-shifter with an unusual acid attack that takes the form of a bunny-eared bombshell. Echidna is skilled with her blades, but she also wears a very unusual lower "garment" - a real snake! These unusual and outlandish characters are a big part of what defines and sets the Queen's Blade setting apart from others, and the anime does a fantastic job of capturing them so vividly.

Regarding specific characters, Leina, Claudette, Risty, Echidna, Tomoe and Shizuka are featured in multiple episodes which allows for a deeper exploration of their motives and personalities. Other characters such as Elina, Melona, Menace and Airi are also featured in multiple episodes, but they don't seem to be given as much explanation. A few other characters like Nowa, Cattleya and Ymir only appear in a couple of episodes which doesn't allow for as much exploration of their backgrounds.

There are a couple of things I dislike about the characters in "Queen's Blade". One of them is Nanael, a hapless angel, who is supposed to initiate Queen's Blade matches. It seems like she was purely included for comic relief, and her inclusion was not necessary at all. I cringed at watching almost all of her scenes, and I really wished she wasn't included in this series. The second thing I disliked was the lack of explanation provided for Airi. Why is she dressed as a maid while all of the other characters wear outfits that are either armor or clothing fitting for their backgrounds? The anime offered a golden opportunity to explain her outfit but didn't. For these reasons, I can only give characters 9/10.

Art / Animation: 9/10
Most of the characters, and animation are extremely well-done. In the 2nd half of the series, there were a few spots where it looked like they took some short cuts in the artwork and it wasn't quite up to the standards set by the rest of the series. While most of the combat scenes are good, there are a few times where the animation seemed less fluid.

Many of the scenes feature angles that show off the characters breasts or butts, however, this is very much in the spirit of the character artwork featured in the original game books.

Sound / Voice: 7/10
The songs during the beginning and end credits are acceptable, but forgettable. For a series that is heavily focused on its imagery, the sound and voice work was generally good, if not great. The English voice covers were good for the most part, though I found Nanael to be annoying. However, that might be more due to the character than the voice actress. The male voice actor for Setora (Menace's scepter) was a riot. He must have had a lot of fun doing that part.

Enjoyment: 9/10
I was familiar with the Queen's Blade franchise due to the game books and statues. However, I had very low expectations for this series, and I was very doubtful that they would be able to turn it into a watchable anime. Thus, I was quite pleasantly surprised to see that this series turned out so well. It often takes me several viewing sessions to sit through a 12-episode series, but I liked this show so well that it only took me a couple nights to watch the whole series. This isn't any type of cerebral masterpiece, but the characters and combat is remarkably faithful to its game book source material.

Final verdict: 8/10
The copious amounts of skin may be a turn off for some viewers, and the overall story is rather basic. However, the creators should be applauded for taking the "Queen's Blade" material and turning it into a highly watchable and enjoyable anime. Unfortunately, the faithful recreation of the characters from the original "Queen's Blade" game books may be lost on many mainstream viewers who are unfamiliar with the franchise's origins. Ultimately, watching "Queen's Blade: The Exiled Virgin" is somewhat of a guilty pleasure and one which fans of the "Queen's Blade" franchise will likely enjoy the most.

The main plot of this anime actually seems to be about Reina chasing after Listy (Risty, or whatever), and not about the queen's blade tournament. Reina wants to follow Risty to become stronger since she is weak. Or so it seems at first. To me this entire season seems to build up to the second season. Since the ending is a complete cliffhanger. I wont say any more than that otherwise I might spoil it.

The artwork in this anime seems pretty normal to me. The only thing to take note of is the attention to detail on ... all the girls boobs. They artists made sure that the boobs jiggled when the girls move, and the fact that they actually draw the nipples just shouts at you to look at them. That alone should be enough to catch any ecchi fan's attention.

Opening song is really mellow. Te beat in the background is fast but the words in the song are sang slower that the beat. It seems weird at first, but it works... i guess. It was worth downloading the full version.

As stated earlier a lot of focus it put towards boobs. I would say that 85% of all the girls in this anime have big boobs. The rest just have the right proportion for their body.
Anyway... the characters all have various reasons for competing in queen's blade. All of them feel that with the power of being queen they can change things for the better, but only to make things better for them. Which may seem selfish but everyone had to go through hardships to even consider of becoming queen.

This season left me a bit disappointed though. The story seems kind of interesting, and you keep watching for all the fan service all the way until the end. Then when you finally get to the end the main event is about to start....... next season. I mean really?! The entire point of the anime is about this tournament, but it ends before it even happens?! (oops small spoiler) I guess that was what they intended, because I am going to watch the second season. I want to know what happens. Hopefully the next season will be more fulfilling.

Queen's Blade the Exiled version is a borderline Ecchi/hentai anime. Its primary focus is most notably fan service and perversion. However there is a bit of character development on the main character. This series is well worth watching at least once if nothing else but for the random enjoyment of the series. Personally it is an enjoyable show that had me laughing like crazy if even if it was a bit out there with the sexual innuendos and scenes.

First off I want it to be known this season doesn't get a good score. It wasn't good in my opinion and put all it's time into showing naked chicks. It was like they invested all their time into learning how to fight while de-clothing the other and not much time into learning how to make stronger armor to protect from your clothes flying off. I like watching anime with women fighting and clothes flying off but don't make that the only thing that happens. Don't get me wrong the overall story might turn out to be a little interesting so this is just my ... view of the first season. Also I like how some of the females look they do look sexy and I like the clothes flying off but have more importance to it if it's something to do with battling. There are some anime and hentai I watch to see the panties flying and sexy women but with this I thought they were going to be more in the fighting and second in the titty flying maybe that is how it will be in the second season.
It's about this spoiled girl, named Leina, who decides that she wants to fight or something, the first few episodes I kept falling asleep because Leina was in love with Risty and did it so quick. I understand overtime that she would see her as a friend since she didn't really have any friends in the past. The weird wing angel just didn't make sense to me. Why is her other wing so small? How did she ever get that spot after being so stupid? I don't know how the Queen's Blade tournament is going to go but wouldn't all these people who are in this story have to fight each other to win? With them helping Leina she's going to be strong and smart enough to take all of them on and win. She gets to watch how they fight and learn from them. She doesn't even have an important reason to fight compared to the others. Look at the priestess that came from Japan all her friends died and now she's helping this girl who just want to learn how to fight with nothing better to do. And one big thing if she is able to win the tournament doesn't that make all the females with her suck? She was able to fight on their level with 2 days of practice and walking around watching them fight. This story was stupid to me but I'm hoping they just had to do an opening so when the tournament starts everyone would know the characters and why they are at the tournament. They did go overboard with some of these women and the sizes of their breast; you know who I'm talking about after watching this. I mean I am a breast man but that's too much for me and how can she fight without having back problems or someone slicing off her breast.
Overall the story for the 1st season I give it a 6/10 since it might get better once the tournament starts. I would have given it a lower score if it didn't have the nice breast and ass shots all the time. I just didn't like this first season about some weakling wondering around the land learning how to fight and escaping her sister. She could be some type of nobility and own land but yet she wants to walk around not knowing what she wants to do. It's sad how everyone around her has some story which gives them a legitimate reason to be there but with her she's acting like a spoiled brat wanting to do what she feels. She thinks that she's a good fighter so she's going to follow this girl into the tournament which I still don't understand why she entered in the first place and how come it only took her a couple of days and spars to become a fighter at master level? She didn't have any training in the past now she's super great from just watching and getting into a couple of fights.
The art was great so I give it a 9/10 I don't want to give it a 10 since I want to see how they do in the 2nd season with the battles. The woman with the big breast was just horrible and I couldn't tell if her kid was a boy or girl. I still really don't know but thinking that she's a girl the more I watch it.
The characters I give a 7/10 I did enjoy how the main character looked and all the people she faced. I didn't like how the Queen looked like she was 22 in the beginning and at the end looks 16. What is up with that? I mean this looks like an older crowd anime but they have this monkey girl with no parties and now the Queen. I mean the others look pretty young but the youngest out of them look 19. I like the ninja chick she can get it. The funny thing is how their clothes always get ripped off. Come to think of it I haven't verified but out of all the chicks that fought I can't remember if Risty ever showed her breast. She did get beat up by Thunder goddess so that was funny.
The sound I give it a 4/10 I didn't really pay attention so it didn't catch my ear compared to other anime and some voices I didn't like.
Overall enjoyment I give it a 5/10 it was okay some of the females were the only reason why I kept watching and laughing at how quick they got naked. I couldn't believe how Leina was bugging out over the monkey girl not wearing panties when she just had a thong on and almost always lost her clothes in the fight. I know the Queen's Blade tournament was thought up by some men because seeing these chicks fight and lose their clothes would be a lot better than men fighting and losing their clothes. I am interested in seeing how the tournament goes but it's no rush and I think Sekirei was a lot better.

Girls in armored bikinis? Showing enough skin to show off several weak points to the enemy? What is this a schlock exploitation film from the 80s? Ah, nope, it’s the infamous Queen’s Blade.

Many things have been said about this anime since its inception. Scorn for its negligent fetishistic debauchery and unwillingness to give any damns what prudes both in and outside the anime community think about it. I always admire this approach when making an ecchi series fun and exciting to watch, at least in comedy form. When it comes to making it into a dramatic series that involves adventure and action, it can be ... very hit or miss. Unfortunately, they mostly fall into the latter category with a look back in history. Ecchi is typically a genre that people want to chill and laugh at while simultaneously aroused by the cute pantsu and sexy bodies of the show’s massive amount of cuties. You try to put this into a setting or situation that we’re supposed to take seriously, but that dynamic shift can adversely affect both aspects.

Does Queen’s Blade overcome this difficult task? For the most part, yes, it does. While the action side of things isn’t anything remarkable, the lewd situations the girls get themselves into are fun and gorgeous to look at. The ecchi parts predominate the action, which kind of sours the action side of things. Art-wise, the girls look great with nicely drawn curves, and all of them have nice colors that make them look distinct and unique from each other. Same with the animation both in the action sequences and outside of them. Although I would not say that it was great compared to anime with way bigger budgets than Queen’s Blade, it didn’t garner any disdain on my end.

And yes, certain ecchi scenes can be a bit excessive. Right from the first episode, we have a female antagonist that shoots acid milk from her nipples. If that sentence made you cringe from the mental image it gave you, then I don’t think you will want to provide Queen’s Blade a shot. Unless you want to watch it for the insane hilarity of it, which I think Queen’s Blade’s intention was. I mentioned before how this seemed like it was influenced by the tongue-in-cheek exploitation sword and sorcery films of the 80s. Those films, just like Queen’s Blade, were serious in tone for the most part, yet they had this sense of camp to them that felt charming to watch. When you watch Queen’s Blade from that context, it makes it a better viewing without feeling alienated on the purpose of its mix of ecchi and drama.

Now with all of that being said. There is a story that does tie all of these together. Everyone always jokes about how there is no story to Queen’s Blade. That is not necessarily the case. There is a story to the show. However, it is not told very well. The narrative is all over the place. There are plot points involving our main heroine, Leina, introduced in one episode that ends on a cliffhanger that is quickly forgotten about in the next episode and reintroduced around six or seven episodes in. Instead, they put her in other situations that had nothing to do with the previous because they had to introduce the other girls somehow. As a result, the narrative feels unfocused until the end when all the character plot points tie together, albeit in an anti-climatic way.

I will give Queen’s Blade credit that some of the stories are pretty interesting, Menace’s story, in particular, being a big highlight. While not particularly original, the lore itself was engaging for what it was. I can only hope that the next season can expand it more, including the character arcs that we’ve been shown. A few characters were not given enough screen time compared to others, but I will hold on to that criticism once I’ve gone through the rest of the seasons.

As the first impression of Queen’s Blade, this season does a decent job of showing you what you will be expecting from the series. If you want an engaging story that further explores “the Hero’s Journey” trope, this will be a disappointment for you. This was a nice bit of hedonistic escapism as a campy, action, lewd anime to have fun with. Queen’s Blade at least prides itself with more booty service than oppai, unlike other ecchi anime like it. That should account for something.

Grade: B-

Queen’s Blade is a really moronic, asinine boob show. So, if you don’t enjoy series like that, don’t expect to like this series. This series is actually really hilarious though: the juvenile sexual humor, the epic music while ridiculous boob flopping or camel toe is happening is glorious, the implied lesbian relationships or maid girl with little boy pairings (?), and the girls, who admittedly, are well-designedーcoalesce to make the Queen’s Blade franchise, BUY THE FIGURES!

• The plot is nothing special, the first season is pretty much written like a light novel, a sexy princess is abducted from her kingdom and falls from glory to ... be put into numerous, humiliating situations that are so ridiculous that you would only see it in a really bad hentai. In the first few minutes of the very first episode, a gelatin bunny girl (Melona) shoots acid milk out of her nipples and melts the main girl’s clothing off.

• No, it doesn’t burn her skin. Nope, the series just has to get her naked. The first season focuses on the princess, Laina, and her two incestuous sisters. Because, this show will use any excuse possible to get characters in sexual situations. The second season of Queen’s Blade introduces many more colorful characters, including a loli with an piece of armor on her crotch that is not a penis. Nope, not phallic looking at all!

• The second part of this, uh, masterpiece, is pretty much any generic tournament arc that you would see in a Shounen Jump series but the fat tits and pussy edition. It improves in the momentum and the ridiculousness from the first season, which is good, because it’s a lot more entertaining and epic. If you thought that the angel girl from the first season that was voiced by Aya Hirano and spilled suspicious looking milk on herself all of the time was ridiculous, I am completely ecstatic to reveal the Holy Pose.

• There’s a nun character that literally prays to God and shoots a light beam from her spread legs. Surprisingly, the OVA after the second season (there are two separate onesーfor some reason), but the only one of note is Utsukushiki Toushitachi, translated to Beautiful Warriors. The only downside to this six-episode OVA is that the first two or three are the only memorable ones, but they actually had a bit of character development.

• It’s weird that Queen’s Blade has anything akin to character development, but I actually really liked the Elina and Alleyne arcs. I wanted to like the third episode more than the first two, because Airi is best girl, but it just emphasized more of the creepy relationship that she had with Cattleya’s family, yes, that’s actually her nameーbecause she’s the size of a cow.

• So, let’s talk about the Vanquished Queens OVA. I didn’t like it at all. It was the worst edition of the franchise, by far. It was bordering more on a rape hentai than a ecchi fighting show like the other series. It made me feel filthy to watch it. It was gross and unwatchable, not as much as Violence Jack, but really, really bad.

• Queen’s Blade: Rebellion was awful and made me feel like I should be flagged by the FBIーbecause of the sheer volume of loli characters. I usually don’t mind two or three of them, but when the entire cast is just underaged-looking girls. I’m not into it and I can’t find it funny. Rebellion definitely wasn’t as campy as I would have liked it to be.

• Queen’s Blade Grimoire, the latest edition, was a lot of fun. It takes a lot of fictional characters like Alice in Wonderland and Little Red Riding Hood and makes it a trippy, ecchi fighting romp. There’s also little cameos from the original series, which was enjoyable, but overall the franchise doesn’t care about the quality of the anime. They just want you to buy pretty girl figures.

• Overall, Queen’s Blade is horrible, but it can be entertaining to watch if you want to laugh at the absurd sexual humor, like the anime: My Girlfriend is a Shobitch; just tune in to something incredibly moronic and it can repel rainy moods like an expensive umbrella! I would say that these series are more for stoners than people who are actually attracted to the characters, because it is so freaking bizarre. I rate the first season a 2/10, the second season a 3/10, the Beautiful Warriors OVA a 3/10, all of the other OVAs (like, the prequel to Rebellion) a 2/10, Vanquished Queen’s is a 1/10, Rebellion is a 1/10, and Grimoire is a 3/10.

Extraordinary! It seems that studio ARMS have outdone themselves by providing some hot (and I mean hot) garbage for some amateur English voice actors to come and dismantle further. The result of this perfect storm is Queen's Blade: The Exiled Virgin. Watch as Leina: The Wandering Warrior proceeds to befriend Risty: The Benevolant Bandit of The Wild in the most perculiar love-hate relationship since Disney bought Star Wars.

As for story, I'm afraid there's not much here chaps, not that it matters of course! This show was never intended to have a competent story, merely to act as a bridge between breast and bystander. In ... Queen's Blade we follow our sheltered protagonist Leina as she seeks life away from riches and royalty. How will she do this? By becoming queen of course! In order to do this she must win the Queen's Blade competition, collecting copious comrads along the way. This show seeks to break the anime clichés by featuring never-before-seen training montages that involve the self-application of tree sap and a single day of swinging a sword to become the most powerful warrior on the continent. Also hugging boob explosions (you'll know what we mean when you get there ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) ).

Not much to say with regards to the animation and sound fellas. In order to spice things up and really get the most bang for our yen, we decided to undertake this adventure with an English dub. What a splendid idea indeed ! The English dub for this show alone is bad enough to boost our sound rating by two whole points! Who could forget the half hearted "Thiiief~" that a single guard seemingly says to himself as some valuable jewels are stolen from a castle! Extraordinary! If you're going to experience this art, do it in the best way and watch the English dub.

You may have gathered what are thoughts are regarding the characters in this masterpiece (a word I do not throw around lightly) from our previous statements. Here, however, I shall elaborate. Our main cast of characters are a strange lot! Ranging from angel to angry, blind to blacksmith and Raina to rapist. (Especially that snake one!) While this could make for some interesting interactions, characters seem to lose their own personality when interacting with others, making conversations feel like they are between cardbourd cutouts. How disappointing! The only exceptions to this are the servents of the Swamp Witch who seem to be the only characters capable of retaining their personality in their dialogue.

Overall this anime is a jolly old time! It's flaws perfectly combine together to create the ultimate anime viewing experience, featuring suprisingly few clichés. It draws you in with promises of boobs and then delivers while providing nothing else. A good time when watched with friends. 5/10.