"Queen's Blade: The Evil Eye" falls into the category of fantasy action adventure with a significant degree of ecchi content. It is the sequel to “Queen’s Blade: The Exiled Virgin” (Queen’s Blade: Rurou no Senshi).
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. Some episodes feature very suggestive poses or actions as well, but nothing overly graphic. 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.
Very brief history of the Queen's Blade characters:
When watching or reviewing Queen’s Blade, it's important to realize that this series did not take a traditional route from manga to anime. Queen's Blade started out as a series of game books and a popular line of PVC figures before that.
Story: 7/10
The show spans 12 episodes. While the original series introduced the contestants and covered the events on the way to the tournament in the capital city of Gainos, this series focuses on the Queen’s Blade tournament and some other events transpiring simultaneously. The first episode is a bit of a throw-away, as it spends a significant amount of time re-explaining information from the original series, and then focuses on the women finding lodging in the city. However, after this, the action heats up quickly, and most episodes feature one or more Queen’s Blade battles. Some of the combats are a bit predictable, but there are several surprises along the way. The episodes also show some behind the scenes actions taken by various characters while fights are transpiring or during the downtime between the battles.
The story in “Queens Blade: The Evil Eye” is significantly better than the simple, sometimes thread-bare tale that formed the basis for the original series. There are some unexpected character developments along the way. Some characters that were enemies in the past are forced to team up, and in a couple of cases, allies become enemies. The banter between some of the characters is very well-done, and the interaction between some of the combatants is very entertaining.
Nanael has a different role, now being a contestant rather than some kind of referee. This role suits her much better, and allows her serve as more than just comedy relief. Instead, multiple characters provide bits of comedy during this series.
There are some weaknesses in the story. At one point, Echidna is identified as one of the remaining characters vying for the title, but then she suddenly seems to be forgotten. The only plausible explanation is that she pulled herself out of the tournament due to some of the events that affect her and another character, but this is not clarified. After seeming to be built up as one of the stronger competitors in the early episodes, her absence in the later episodes seems like a glaring oversight. In addition, the Swamp Witch is never shown, so we never get any more insight into the character that sent the trio of Airi, Melona and Menace to enter the battle.
Characters: 8/10
Some of what I wrote in my review of the first series is still applicable for this sequel:
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.
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.
The series introduces a few new characters, such as Aldra and Nyx. While Aldra is a potent villain, Nyx seems to serve little purpose beyond comedy relief, and being an early round loser in the tournament. I would have really liked to have seen Nyx developed more and not made into such a submissive character.
Some of the characters undergo significant changes from the first series. As mentioned, Nanael is now a contestant. Risty undergoes a drastic change and becomes a key character in the later episodes. Meanwhile, Airi and Melona also end up changing allegiances somewhat. Several other characters show varying degrees of character growth through the series. By the end, nearly all of them have undergone some measure of change, some much more significant than others.
The series still never explains why Airi is wearing a maid outfit, nor does it explain why a specter would bother to exert energy to cover herself in such an outfit, which is apparently what Airi does - when she gets weak, her clothes become transparent layer by layer.
Art / Animation: 8/10
Most of the characters, and animation are extremely well-done. The art seemed a bit weaker at times than the prior series, with slight variations to the character design, and at times, simpler animations. Most of the fight scenes are pretty well done, but too many of them end up with the “cloud of dust” situation where the climax of combat becomes masked by effects or objects that block our view of the characters. This is a cheap way to reduce the cost of animation, but it tends to leave the viewer unsatisfied.
Similar to the prior series, the angles often emphasize showing the female characters busts or butts. At times this can be distracting, but this is in the theme of the original game book art which tend to feature a lot of ecchi poses for the characters.
Sound / Voice: 9/10
The song during into credits is largely forgettable, but the rest of the audio is great. There are different versions of songs used during the end credits, and some of those are rather cute. The background music and sound effects during the episodes is good. The voice acting seems to have improved as well. I especially liked the English voice acting for Echidna and Claudette – the actresses for those do a fantastic job.
Enjoyment: 10/10
I was not sure if this would be able to live up to the quality of the first series, but it actually exceeded it. Between the improved story, some key changes to characters like Nanael and Risty, and some very entertaining scenes with intriguing characters like Echidna and Claudette, there was is a lot to enjoy here. At times, it seemed like the show might push the envelope on the ecchi content too far, yet it never crosses the line into something else. The result is a series that does a fantastic job of capturing the Queen’s Blade characters in all their glory.
Final verdict: 8/10
The high amount of ecchi content may be a turn-off for some viewers, which is unfortunate. Underneath all the eye candy lurks a very interesting and entertaining show. I’m amazed that the outlandish Queen’s Blade characters which first debuted in game books and then in PVC statues could become brought to life in such a highly watchable and enjoyable anime. This is a must see for fans of the Queen’s Blade franchise, and is worth seeing even for those that aren’t.
