Ranked #2378

Queen's Blade: Gyokuza wo Tsugu Mono

Along with bigger boobs, Queen's Blade seems to have grown a sizeable beard.

Perhaps the shock is no longer shocking or the gross-outs are not that gross any more. Maybe we just got used to seeing those nipples and bare asses, and this time, it all seems so arbitrary than intentional. But one thing is for certain-- Queen's Blade: Gyokuza wo Tsugu Mono is quite a change from the original series.

It is an unquestionably, undeniably and irrevocably BETTER anime.

The sequel to the infamous first season does the impossible by taking what is a disastrously and deliciously bad fanservice anime and turning it into an anime with actual heart and soul behind the massive cleavage.

It makes one wonder how, since the fanservice is not diminished and the pure head-shaking inconceivability is still present. Yet what this sequel manages to be is an improvement of the former series. While the first is just about naked idiot women ploughing through a poorly-patched together excuse of a story, this series is now a tale of naked KICKASS women fighting through an elimination style plot.

Also, perhaps the shift into awesome is attributed to the change in focus of the story. No longer are we following the insipid Leina, but we get various perspectives from different characters. It is this is what makes the story a lot more fascinating. While the first series plodded through Leina's travels and focussed nearly entirely on her, Gyokuza wo Tsugu Mono gives us the stories of secondary and minor characters who have infinitely more interesting tales to tell.

No longer is the anime lost in a world with no understandable geography-- the setting is a medieval town, and the artwork completely captures the spirit of this time period. The swamplands are gorgeously animated, so too are the other stages used to host the battles. It seems the artists knew what to do this time as what they are animating is not completely out of context. The still-art that is used is completely beautiful. The main attraction, of course, which is the nudity is given its dues. The women are found in various states of undress and strange get-ups and we are reminded with every bounce, shake, and drop of Holy Milk (which still looks like jizz), that we are still in fact watching Queen's Blade.

Gyokuza wo Tsugu Mono utilises the same score, and it is still utterly magnificent. It is alarming how truly passionate and inspiring some of the tracks are for this series, especially the violin compositions. The voice acting is still incredible. Noto Mamiko even does a scene where she cries, bawls her lungs out, and it hits you right deep in the guts-- such is the amount of energy and precision the seiyuu bring to their roles here. They may not be playing the deepest characters, but their professionalism does not once waver, and if anything, they create personalities for these characters. The most notable thing about the music of Gyokuza wo Tsugu Mono is the ED theme song "Buddy-body" which is performed interchangeably among Kugimiya Rie, Goto Yuko and Ito Kanae. It is brassy and utterly fun, invoking the coolness of jazz and the spirit of show tune lyricism.

The characters are... good. It is shocking how the shallow, empty, walking blow-up dolls with swords manage to grow layers and layers of depth in the span of just a few episodes. It is like watching the ugly duckling turn into, well, not so much a beautiful swan, but a less ugly duckling. Echidna shines in the sequel, changing from being the pervy villain to being the pervy Obi-Wan, and then finally settling on being a pervy but veritable badass with quick wit and a sly tongue. Leina, once the Pikachu of the series, manages to evolve into someone less incompetent and annoying and grows into a fine warrior. Not as interesting as the others of course, but she has made herself more involving at least. Also, it seems she is not so much of a Pikachu but a Ditto. Think about it for a minute if you have seen it.

Nanael is still Nanael, and the trio Melona, Menace and Airi turn into comic relief but with amazing results. Alternatively, Shizuka and Tomoe, who were once sources of comedy, eventually shed that outfit and don more seriously and effectively dramatic roles. It is astounding how much role reversals in this series benefited certain characters. The good characters turned bad get a whole lot more interesting, and the bad characters turned less-bad have the same effect. Even Leina's creepy younger sister and bitchy older sister manage to get better. There are a few new additions to the main cast, including a Kama Sutra nun (no, really) and Aldra, the Queen. Even minor characters like the unfortunate son of Cattleya (why is this boy wearing a dress?) are given a considerable amount of time to make themselves seem less like screen filler.

What a surprise Gyokuza wo Tsugu Mono manages to be, taking a completely different turn than the first series but without changing anything. It is still no masterpiece, and it still borders in between laughably bad and scandalously good, but it is without a doubt that this anime is incredibly good for what it is. It is ecchi done to a near art form. This is The Last Supper, if Leonardo Da Vinci had painted a portrait of half-naked women with impressive assets hacking away at each other with swords instead.

Queen's Blade: Gyokuza wo Tsugu Mono is bare proof (in more ways than one) that the successor can indeed outshine its predecessor. read more