Witchblade

I heard the name "'Witchblade" floating around for awhile before I watched the anime, but what made me it sit down and watch was when I heard the main character Masane was a single parent. I hadn't seen an anime with a single female parent.

When I first started to watched it I most say the show seemed to have a split personality. It felt like the production team was split in to two camps one wanting to make a serious plot driven drama and the other wanting to make some borderline hentai.(Note if you watch the dubbed version transformed Masane totally sounds like a ... porn star)

Luckily about half way in it seemed like the "plot driven drama" team killed all of the "borderline hentai" team and what we get as a result is pure AWESOME. The last few episodes are for a lack of a better word AWESOME. This show has something it took me a while to find and that's a PERFECT ENDING!

Subbed VS Dubbed

I'm going to do my best to be unbiased.
I have watched both mainly because Japanese censorship is weird (it's hard to find a subbed version where Masane's outfit isn't censored), but the dubbed aren't bad and for most of the show i'd say it doesn't matter which you watch. BUT in all honesty you must watch the last few episodes subbed. Because the english dub just doesn't cut it.

Salior + Eechi + sexxi armor + reality = Witchblade. Its nice to see some american work on Japan's list once and a while and I suppose the Japanese didn't fuck this up like we fucked up super mario bros movie. I loved this series simpley because Im a sexxi armor and big juggs type of fan, I can't wait to see the Live Action Movie in 09, This is a definite MUST WATCH, for any eechi or hentai fan who's taking a break from penetrating and fingering.

Anime is usually based from the manga, but this one here is based from an american comic, so it's unique in it's own sense. I watched this show when I was very young (roughly 9 or 10) and this is one of the animes that made me cry real tears (and I mean REAL, not when you tear up, but when you actually CRY)


STORY - 7/10
The story is as told by the sypnosis (and I don't really want to explain it anymore), but it's not so often that you will come across a plot where the main character is a mother who has a daughter. ... It is "realistic" in a way where you can see mothers working hard for their children. People may describe it as a violent and ecchi show, but I swear it's something deeper than that, and you can really learn something from this anime.

The ending of the story is good, as it didn't leave me with my usual "That's it?" or "What the hell was that what just happened is it over" feeling. It just felt "right" and it didnt leave too much unnecessary confusions (you'll know once you finish watching)

ART/SOUND - 6/10
They're both ok, not really a masterpiece, but not horrible. The first theme song is good, you can see the connection between the song and the anime, and it makes sense. The second one was... not really so good, as they just used clips from the previous episodes and didnt bother to create clips specially for the opening. The ending songs were not ok, though skipping it may not be a bad idea

CHARACTER - 8/10
Various people can relate to various characters, and each of them have their own history. Unlike some anime, the characters here are somewhat connected, yet at the same time not (you'll know once you watch) Nevertheless, The characters are well introduced and developed with the right pace, and you can feel the connection between them throughout the whole story. Although there are some instances where twists and holes are not fully explained

What I really liked about this anime is the voice actors. There are both dubbed and subbed versions, but I honestly preferred the dub. Unlike some english voice actors who do a lame dubbing, the actors here in this anime do a GREAT job. Usually the feeling I get from watching dub is "It's too cheesy", but this didnt really make me feel that way. I recommend watching both dub and sub versions

OVERALL - 7/10
This show is definitely something new you can watch (and I recommend you DO watch it). It won't take too much of your time, seeing as it only has 24 episodes, you can watch it in a day or two.

I promise, you won't be feeling that "That's it?" feeling, you may actually want a second season (well, I do want one)

Review in Haiku: Witchblade

Anime made from
An american comic
So much fanservice

STORY:

Masane is an
Amnesiac with a weapon
... that's called the Witchblade.

It turns her into
A scantily-clad demon
Who kicks tons of ass.

She fights lots of shit
And she protects her daughter
Nine points out of ten.

ART:

Animation's good
Fluid, with excellent fights
It's got "aesthetic".

There is fanservice
So much goddamn fanservice
As thus, prudes beware.

I really enjoyed
The design of the Witchblades
Nine points out of ten.

SOUND:

The OP's rocking,
Slightly sexually charged
Like the dialogue.

There are lots of moans
Jesus christ, everyone moans
Don't watch on a bus.

The dub is OK
No real preference for me
Six points out of ten.

CHARACTER:

The best part, hands down
Characters are excellent
With just enough depth.

Masane makes an
Enjoyable heroine
Main villain is GROSS.

Daughter's super cute
Allies, enemies well formed
Ten points out of ten.

ENJOYMENT:

Total batshit nuts
Kind of like Gurren Lagann
Or like Kill la Kill

Slightly more mature
Than the two examples shown
Boobies, boobies, boobs.

Gets pretty damn deep
And dramatic near the end
Ten points out of ten.

OVERALL:

If you like great fights
And psychos with massive tits
You should watch Witchblade.

Witchblado. I guess that's how the japanese pronounced it, but the premise is pretty interesting thus far. I swear that I didn't pick to watch this anime simply because of the nudity that was involved in "witchblade's" clothing. I would've prefer a more clothed witchblade costume, or armor than this fucking bikini like armor. Like for real, how would an armor such as this protects you from anything aside from sexually arousing men to lust these characters. Or literally anyone that wear a bikini like armor that doesn't protects you efficiently.

That aside, this anime has alot of possibilities to be good. One of the ... few thing that irritates me when i watch this anime is our female MC's personalities, and train of thoughts. I mean, when she stood up while she was sitted in a helicopter (as if she was sitting on an interrogation room, with doors). That already explains how dumb our MC is, and how stupid the overall logic of the anime are. Some understatement reactions in ep1 one when she stole a police car is one. And for those feminist out there, i have nothing against female being the MC. I actually finds it alot more interesting for a story to have a female MC, acting in a heroic sense of wanting to do heroic things. But our MC's immature character, naive personality, gullible, and... let's just say having a child like, personality and having a very unfathomable/unthoughtful courses of action kinda ruins this anime for me. And of course, it's very natural for a story to have both hate and like characters in the show. Either it's because they're pretty fucked up as a character, stupid, annoying or just doesn't suit to yoru taste. But to have a character that are entirely devoid of logic is just annoying to watch. Tbh, there're alot of anime out there that are unthoughtful and tend to use illogical set of ideas while they presented their stories. This anime is definitely one of them in term of characters.

And there seem to be a major theme of hierarchy, law vs citizen needs, relationship etc. And i guess it does pretty well in term of presenting it, in a very bias way as possible. By either making the authority acting like everybody's father or mother. And talks like they're some kind of well mannered people when they don't even act like a well mannered lawful people (well that's pretty natural for some of those prideful, and stubborn people that I've met).

The art and the animation of this anime is pretty well done. The frame rate, or drawn characters in the animation seem plenty, and surpass that of our newer anime. And in term of the art quality, it was ok. This anime also kinda reminds me of samurai champloo and deadman wonderland. Maybe becuase of the art? (prolly). Asides from some of the conspicious problems with the logic that the anime is going by, and a certain course of actions. It did its jobs into bringing out the personality and the characteristic of the character that was ascribe by the author. Take for instance, ep1-2 really did its job into showing that our female MC is a child, dumb, unreasonable, and she still seem pretty oblivious to how her surrounding community works as well (despite being a grown up).

And having a kid walking off, wandering around, buying ticket to go somewhere without being questioned, "where's your mother at?" or "Are you alone?" is just. Simply wtf? is this a way to conveniently progress the plot line of the story? There're plot holes, and convenient story progression elements in the story as well.

Asides from that, the story in itself is pretty interesting, and worth a try if you're alright with watching an early lame ass MC, and illogical moments that are commonly made in the story (although this anime portrays it quite frequently). And the witchblade is pretty badass too. It also have some pretty cool, and badass fight scene. And some unnecessary lip licking, for, literally, idk. Or even some fanservice for some unknown reason. Well for alot reasons actually, one of it being the manipulation of lust in men's libido. Because men are known to have more sexual drive than women. Which are scientifically proven by tests, and experiments and shit. But yeah, check it out.

So, picked this with no expects really, had some knowledge of the basic story though.

My first impession was "Boobs and supernatural fights". Need to say this offered quite a bit more. There´s lots of emotion in the story also, got me touched more than once. The characters are also good, there weren´t exactly bad characters in this anime. Action was rather good also, even though this style isn´t the preferenced one for me really. Animation was pretty solid, not the best Ive seen though. Overall, really enjoyable anime, recommended!

The story for this witchblade was amazing. I love how she fought to keep her little girl safe and beside her. Even if she did not have the power I'd still Watch it.(10/10)

The art style was really good too. People who love a good story or just want to Watch half naked women fight to the death this anime is for you. (8/10)

Can't say much about the sounds cause I'm not an expert but different sounds make different animes better which I found the sounds in this one really well done. (9/10)

As for the characters.I found for the most part well done. Little off on ... the main character but nothing to be mad about. (8/10)

I enjoyed the bonds and the fight scenes in witchblade. This goes with the art cause they were just amazing. You get right into it. (7/10)

Overall I'd rewatch it but I found it to not be that rewatch able. After you Watch it once watching it again it not good for the most part. (8/10)

Given that the heroine of this series sports a costume that barely contains her rampant assets, it is a surprise that at its core this is a story of parental love and self-sacrifice. It also serves up a fair amount of fan service in outrageously exaggerated feminine forms who equate violent combat with a sort of sexual lust. While this may sound good, the action mostly teases and never really reaches its potential. As a matter of fact, the action is at times an afterthought to the often moving relationship between mother and daughter. But these incongruous elements never quite mesh, resulting in a schizophrenic ... plot that is unnecessarily convoluted with unexplained concepts and confusing jargon. This Japanese interpretation of an American comic, while well intentioned, just loses something in the translation.

I never read any of the Witchblade comics, so I'm judging this anime solely on its own merits.

I got interested in Witchblade about a month or two before Christmas of 2009 and decided it would be a good Christmas present for myself, so I ordered it and had some family members pay me back. I was hooked into Witchblade by its pleasant imagery (I am a guy, after all) and with its many promises of it delivering a "touching, grabbing story." However, much like Elfen Lied, I was swindled by a bunch of the gushing praise that was totally based in dishonesty (a ... common crime committed among mainstream anime fans). It's yet another modern anime title that's horribly executed yet many people gush over it because they like its message. In art and entertainment, the message is ALWAYS secondary to the execution of it.

"Sought by the greed of Men since the dawn of Humankind, but only bestowed upon the woman whose fate it forever scars – The Witchblade. Is it the Righteous Sword of God, of the Hand of the Devil Himself? Now a new bearer has been chosen and she must discover the answers for herself. As she stands on the brink of destiny, she is forced to seek the balance between ecstasy and ruin…
Masane Amaha is a woman on the fringe of society, bouncing rootless from town to town with her daughter, Rihoko. She struggles to build a life for her family, with no memory of the past and no clue as to what the future holds. But upon their arrival back in Tokyo forces conspire to separate parent from child, unleashing the fury of the Witchblade. The young mother will find herself conscripted into the service of the Doji Group and hunted down by the emissaries of the NSWF, all while seeking to balance the weight of this forced duality."

-Taken from product description (too lazy to summarize plot myself)

CHARACTERS

The characters aren't done well, to put it lightly. They're victims of bad writing, since there's so much time wasted on totally unimportant characters at the expense of everything else. The main culprits of this would be Masane's apartment neighbors. They have no importance to the story yet so much time is wasted on such characters like the inverted fortune teller Naomi, a guy who says and does nothing named Michael, and the perverted old guy who's a computer hacker. It wouldn't be so bad if these characters weren't so bland. Oh look, Naomi constantly fusses over the pronunciation of her name and can't run her business well because she can't talk to people. How funny!! Apparently, the creator of this anime said something in the booklet that came with the DVD along the lines that he wanted all the characters to be relate-able so that you can follow almost anyone in the anime. Sorry, but I'd rather relate to only a handful of interesting characters relevant to the story than a large amount of dull ones that are unimportant to the story.

Also, some characters seem to be fleshed out in pretty ridiculous fashions. Rihoko, Masane's supposed daughter, has an absurd personality because she's a six year-old girl that functions like a fully matured adult, which is a really damaging blow for something claiming to be a character drama (which is what Witchblade claims to be). Development is horribly done for some characters as well. For one, Maria (the main antagonist) suddenly develops from a whiny infantile brat into a fully matured young woman without any gradual steps between those two stages.

PLOT-HOLES/LACK OF LOGIC

While plot-holes aren't that gigantic or abundant, they're big enough to lower the rating of the show. Something that irritated me pretty badly is that one of the main focuses of this anime is of course, the Witchblade weapon. However, the Witchblade itself isn't really elaborated upon that much. Instead, we get the aforementioned redundant character interactions.

Also, the series starts off as Masane finding and killing cybernetic weapons called X-Cons. Masane joins the Doji Group, which makes the X-Cons, and has serious objections to the X-Con program, but those objections fade away without any sort of reason.

COMEDIC FILLER

Like most popular yet poorly made anime titles, Witchblade has moments of pointless comedy thrown in solely to pad out the running length, “lighten the mood,” or add “emotional variety,” when it just degrades the quality of the show. There's a part in Witchblade where Masane spends the whole day out with Rihoko and one of the things that they do is go to a public bathhouse to relax and what could have been a touching moment was killed by a moment of stupid risque humor when the perverted old guy tries to peek in on the two bathing.

There was an episode in the series that was Masane and her neighbors just going to the beach and while that was a really bad case of general filler by itself, it had some really bad attempts at being humorous. The prime example of this would be when a woman in glasses bitches at the perverted old guy because Michael is supposed to be famous, and it's completed with goofy facial expressions more fit for Naruto than a serious anime for adults.

Because of all the filler mentioned above, this wastes a lot of time for the important parts of the story, and this causes the end of this anime to become horribly rushed and unsatisfactory. I absolutely hate it when anime titles do this.

MATURE CONTENT

Witchblade just barely gets a TV-MA rating for one or two moments of ultra-violence, but most of the content is barely risque, and there's blatant fan service given the Witchblade and Cloneblade designs.

ACTION SCENES

As shallow as this sounds, I was really disappointed by not only the lack of action scenes in this anime, but also with how lackluster most of them were. The action scenes had noticeable shortcuts in animation and most weren't so compelling.

APPEARANCE

The animation is decent at best, and while the artwork is nice and shiny overall, the character designs aren't impressive. I don't know why Gonzo hired the character designer for Love Hina to design the characters because they don't work for this type of anime. Yoshiaki Kawajiri would have been a better choice because his character designs are more distinct and mature, and especially for the female characters, much sexier. The designs of the children were too sugary for a serious anime.

POTENTIALLY GOOD STUFF

There were some moments of squandered potential here. I found the themes of “being consumed by the dark side” and the mother-daughter relationship pretty interesting and in the case of the latter, touching at times. I did feel a little sad in some areas, particularly when Masane tells Rihoko to live with Reina Soho (her real mother), but realizes how much she misses her once she's gone, along with the moment towards the end when Masane converses with Rihoko about death and what will happen once she dies. However, these feel like manipulative actions at the behest of the animators in an attempt to make you forget about the show's blatant shortcomings, and I'm not going to fall for it.

FINAL WORD

This is another bad anime that relies on emotional manipulation and some eye candy to “wow” the audience rather than coherent, logical storytelling, and these types of actions really infuriate me.

As someone who puts logic and proper story and character development before anything else, Witchblade really got on my nerves after thinking about it some more.

Watch these anime titles instead that are much superior:

Serial Experiments Lain
Shigurui: Death Frenzy
Rin: Daughters of Mnemosyne
Battle Angel
Voice of a Distant Star
Armitage III
Paprika
Millenium Actress

Instead of popping Witchblade into your media player of choice, smash the disks with a sledgehammer.

Oh god… alright… this one is well… I see it as another one of those ‘Queen’s Blade’ style shows. It’s got tones of Fanservice, almost little story, and just overall was made as a thing to show powerful almost naked woman fighting. It’s not all that bad I guess in that it’s not as boring as Queen’s Blade and they actually tried to give the characters some depth but when the main characters breasts are so big that they flop no matter how she moves; it just throws me from the show.

This is based off of an American comic book character and if you look ... at the two versions side by side, I would probably say this one is the more conservative of the two. As I never read the Witchblade series, I can’t say anything about storyline but what I have heard is that this one is only very loosely based on the original. All I do know though is that there is a lot of sexual things in this, especially when it comes right down to the fighting because it seems that all the ‘Witchblade’ characters get turned on by fighting one another. It makes for great fan service but not for a storyline that is supposed to be serious. The humor also breaks the seriousness of the show although in some parts, I guess it is needed. There are very adult things that they talk about like being a single mother and trying to keep her child while everyone around her is trying to break them apart. I really feel they push it a little too much though as it always seems like no one believes at all that Masane can be a mother. It’s like they don’t even give her a chance to be one.

The main storyline about the witchblade was nothing but holes in it as they explained little to no info about what was going on. They would lead you in one direction and then into another like they were jerking your collar so much you were having whiplash. Half way through; they added a whole new thing into it they were not even hinting at that just felt plastered in as well. I do have to say the ending was a bit tearful but it in my mind, it was not worth going threw the rest of the show.

The animation is nicely put together, very clean cut and loveable designs though the background is a little lacking in detail although better for Gonzo. Gonzo is a strange studio, they either win or don’t. This one… well for the animation, it might be one of his better ones in there pocket. Another thing I hate is the large amount of fan service in the act of large breasted women that their breasts go everywhere. Breasts do not move how their breasts move unless they are full of water and probably about to explode from being inflated that much. The fighting scenes which seem to make up most of the shows is not all that well done, I almost have to say it is a bit like any fighting show where clothing is torn off. Even though her clothing doesn’t fly off, it’s really more of a fan service to show her butt and breasts every chance they get. Not to mention the rather sexual ‘horniness’ that she gets while fighting. It’s like watching prono in that aspect without the male partner.

The voices now are a little odd. I’m not fond of Rihoko’s voice, being a bit whinny in my mind. Most of the voices do match the characters but even though they do, I wanted to cringe when I heard them. I think that the music was really good, perfect for the fight scenes though any other background sounded like a day in the life of the characters, just not that well done. The beginning and ended aren’t really very memorable though the opening is a little better then the ending.

It’s an ok show to watch but I’m not sure why. The underlining plot is well done and the fan service is ok but other then that, well… I guess I’m fine with one time watching.

✪ Genre: action, comedy, drama, sci-fi (genetic enhancement), military, seinen


✔ Positive Aspects ✔

◧ The quality of the animation is typical of any Gonzo production, highly saturated, fairly vibrant colors, with the characters being distinct from one another, with clear facial expressions.

◧ I found the concept of this series very interesting, even though it could have developed more.

◧ Probably the strongest aspect of the show was the character development of its protagonists, with the mother-daughter duo taking center stage, and every plot change being understandable only through this lens.
...

✘ Negative Aspects ✘

◧ As far as the unfolding of the plot goes, this was a major bummer for me. The series seemed to lack an obvious antagonist. At best, there was a mixture of different characters periodically acquiring antagonistic roles which were allowing the plot to unfold in its distinctly inconsistent manner, constantly giving me a sense that it was lacking in direction. The wearer of the Witchblade did not appear to be progressing much, either with regard to her fighting abilities, or her growth as a person on an emotional and/or intellectual level. Also, we did not get to know much about the device itself, besides some sporadic references very early on in the series.

◧ Another gigantic bummer for me was the character development of the deuteragonists. Both the mother-daughter duo’s fellow residents and her 2 coworkers were barely developed. For most of them, I did not get a clear idea of where they were coming from, I did not get to know much about their personal histories, their motivations, their thought processes. It’s not that the series dedicated that much time in action scenes or the story was sufficiently complex that it required extensive air time.

◧ On the sound department, there was not much to speak of, since I can barely recall anything at all.

◧ The action scenes seemed to be very rushed, escalating normally but ending somewhat abruptly, not allowing the viewer to take much pleasure in them.


Overall: A pretty boring series which had decent potential but did not make much effort to live up to.

Well I decided to expand this review abit

Story: 6/10
I'm not usually the type of person who cares how complex or simple a plot is but I know where to draw the line as well with the two extremes. Unfortunately Witchblade crossed the line of complex into "incomprehisable", it's not that it lacked information, infact it was quite the opposite. They present far too much information far too fast, and sometimes all at once. It's sometimes useless and unnecessary for the viewer to know yet they give it to you anyways. Alot of things get lost as well, some characters even get slightly forgotten until they ... crop up like a guest apperance. It is also missing some action, it's sorta lacking on that. On the bright side the story is touching in a sweet kind of way, it's hard not to get a little engrossed in it.

Art: 8/10
Gotta hand it to Witchblade, while the main characters chest was huge the art quality wasn't demished. I have to say that I really anjoyed the art, they did a wonderful job balancing the main characters chest with teh rest of her body, she didn't look like she might fall forward. The style was soft and gentle, yet when needed rustic and unrefined. I have to say if anythign I enjoyed the art style most of all.

Sound: 8/10
Music sometimes defines an anime, it sets the mood and the emotion, I feel like it was definately appropriate. I gotta admit I enjoyed both the ending and the opening songs which is not usually common. They fit the feel of the anime, and the background music was beautiful as well, so no complaints on that front.

Characters: 7/10
Gotta hand it to Witchblade, the characters may've been a bit cliche-ish but they had their own unique qualities that made them sound out as individuals and not just clones of each other. Their personalities didn't always mix but they somehow found common ground and were able to build friendships of it. They also showed some personal development through the anime, which is important when you notice how a character has grown and changed, for the better or worse. While the development was subtle it was noticable and pleasently refreshing.

Enjoyment: 6/10
I can't say I cared much for the story, it was overly complex (and I'm not the dullest crayon in the box mind you) and sometimes drawn out and annoying but I did find some parts to enjoy. It was a rather heavy anime and I probably wouldn't suggest this for someone looking for a lighthearted, feel-good anime but it's definately for those seeking something with a little more depth to it. Otherwise it was alright to say the least.

Overall: 6/10
I wouldn't recommend this anime really, but I wouldn't tell someone NOT to watch it. I believe this kind of anime is the type that leaves an individual imprint on everyone, each unique in it's own way. I have say if anything it's worth watching for the art and music alone, even if the plot is rather insane sometimes.

Witchblade is an irritably bland anime that's apparently based on a comic book series made in 1995.

I recently watched an analysis on why Morbius is terrible as a superhero movie, and I think most of the points that made Morbius bad can be transferred to Witchblade. First thing, and most important bit: the main character has absolutely no motivations, and is a pushover when it comes to anything.

She's got, apparently, the most powerful weapon in the world, and she just gets dragged along the entire time by a random CEO of a company. She gets mad at people for kidnapping her, but she's ... also dumb as a brick and gets "tricked" or perhaps a more apt word to say is "persuaded" to help out the Douji company, which used to own Witchblade.

the MC, or Masane's only unique trait other than the fact that she's dumb as rocks is how she has a child who she cares for deeply, and her desire to be with her child drives almost all of her actions. But again, she does stuff like run away from child protection services. They try to take her away from Masane, and Masane, again, dumb as rocks, gets convinced that her child would be better off with them, only to immediately regret her decision and commit assault and battery, steal a car, and still fail to retrieve her kid from the child protection services.

The MC's only purpose in the story is to be dragged along by smarter and more important people in the story, her only attribute being the witchblade holder.

Honestly, less is more in this situation. The story is framed in how there are multiple organizations that desire the Witchblade, and the MC gets taken under wing of one of them and works for them to ensure herself and her kid's survival. The fact that she's still just working for some organization despite being the owner of the strongest weapon in the world is pretty damn lame. Doubly so, since she's not even being forcibly restrained or tortured to do their bidding. She's just such a pushover that she agrees to be their mule and do their work. This show would have been so much better if the MC was just set free. She's the owner of Witchblade, has to protect her daughter, and is getting constantly chased by enemies. That's it. No exposition dumps or plot devices in order for us to understand how the world works or why witchblade exists. Something like Dororo maybe? But no, instead we have a terribly stupid MC that gets pushed around and has no purpose or motivations. Even though she is the holder of the "greatest weapon," she does nothing with it for her own advantage, and wields its powers for other people.

Of course, the only other relevant character in the story is her daughter, Rihoko. Rihoko is more of a hero than her mother ever would be. Unlike Morbius and Masane, Rihoko has a strong, stubborn personality that shows character. She's extremely mature for her age, probably to make up for her mother, and takes things into her own hands. She doesn't let people of authority have her way with her unlike a certain other person that has the "strongest weapon," and she desperately does all she can to reunite with her mother. Masane on the other hand, despite also loving her kid, does the bidding of her organization before FORGETTING that they both agreed on a location to meet up in case they were ever separated. It's seemingly only coincidence that she remembered the location, since it was put right in front of her, otherwise, I think she would have forgotten completely. Rihoko is a much stronger, and likeable character despite having little to no power at all. She makes more decisions for herself than Masane ever did. While Masane is just drifting in the wind, Rihoko actually tries to do everything in her power to make things happen in her favor.

It's like Masane is the powerless character, and Rihoko is the MC with a real personality. It would have been real interesting if Rihoko was the witchblade user. Unfortunately, you're stuck with Masane,

And then there's the fanservice. Yeah, I mean, that's probably what the show was going for. No story, no good MC, stupid exposition dumps and plot devices with a MC that just goes with the flow in order for fanservice fights between supernatural beings. This show is just lazy, and extremely medicore, kind of like Morbius. Plus, not once was the line "IT'S MORBIN TIME" ever uttered by any character in this show. By that virtue alone, I have to rate this show lower than Morbius.

wow!....watching the trailer for this show almost made me want to never ever EVER watch it......it looked like complete garbage.......boy was i wrong!
i'm goin to assume all the wrong people bought this anime......they did a bait and switch....hahaha.

however i was very pleasantly suprised by the story and what they were doing with it ......i easily got behind masane and rhikos "or however you spell it" connection.......i like masane voice actor....it's helena from claymore english dub......and i like the dub in general. i haven't had the chance yet to see the subbed japanesebut i'm sure it very good. i watched 10 episodes ... before i pulled the trigger and bought it and i was also looking for something new to get on bluray.....great show.

A definite must for Claymore fans, like Claymore except that the family emotion and human ties are more dominant. There are a couple funny catch phrases like "let’s go blow some shit up". Overall a nice anima about a mother daughter bond; there are some intense sad moments but all the more to show the viewer how much more rich the love is with all the relationships with the other characters. One aspect of the anima I enjoy is the way the witchblade destroys its host slowly; this allows for more characters to move throughout the show without a cliffhanger on them. The ending I ... believe is poetic.

This is my first review of a anime. So bare with me. But for this anime i'm glad it's my first.

Story 10/10

The story begins with a mother (Masane) and a daughter (Rihoko) trying to not break apart as a child protective services tries to take Rihoko away. As they end up doing so, Masane finds herself in a tied up in knot with a big corporation and a government agency. Where she learns about this mysterious bracelet on her wrist called the Witchblade. Which gives a very strong power, however using too much would eventually kill her.

Art 9/10
I personally think the art is really ... nice considering it's from 2006. It certainly aged well to this day. The outfits when Masane transformed gives the show some of a little ecchi for the boys. But it's subtle.

Sound 9/10
Although I haven't listened to the opening while watching the show. When I looked it up in my free time. I was very pleased, that it fit very well with the show. However the ending song was a great choice for ending the show. It was soft and sad.

Character 10/10
I absolutely love these characters Masane has got be one of my favorite characters right now. For how much she cares for daughter. And how much her daughter cares for her. Also enjoyed the little bit of romance between Masane and Takayama. I though it was really sweet. And all the side characters really cool too.

Enjoyment 9/10
I really had a good time watching this show. I guess the only thing I wished could of happen was a season 2.

Overall 10/10

Thank you for reading my first review.

People think I'm crazy but this is my favorite anime series that didn't go for a second season. I thought everything was strong but I just wanted more. Go witchblade

WELL An interesting Anime Experience. I have never seen anything like it.
The story was very good, especially in the Enjoyment department. The story line is quite straightforward, events happen one after another, no unexpected plot twist, which change you mood to worse. If you want an Anime which don't make you tense and in instead relax when watching, this is one of the best choices. The Art is outstanding especially the female characters, very attractive. It sometimes makes you want this was some kind of Harem/Ecchi Anime, if not Hentai.
The sound, well if we talk about OST, i haven't heard it :D . The Oppening ... songs were horrible. But you do not pay attention to that cause you don't get into the Anime a lot.
Character Development was very little, but in this particular Anime it is not so important.
All in all a good Anime, I really recommend it, if you want an Anime to watch and just relax, but with a good art.

If you take away one thing from this anime it will be its music, GIVE ME YOUR XTC! It has been over 10 years since I last saw the anime but I still remember and listen to all of the music, more specifically the Opening, Ending, and the OST Sexual Panic.

At first glance the big fucking tiddies make this anime seem like it's some ecchi trash, but then you notice that it has 24 episodes.

This Anime may have massive boobs but its characters outshine the boobah. Witchblade is 10% action 80% Characters and setting and 10% blood and death.

Witchblade is about a woman and her ... daughter who after a major disaster end up as one of the few survivors. As life goes on the woman is constantly harassed by child protection as she is not able to hold a job and properly support her daughter. One day CP catches up to them and takes her away and the resulting stress (alone with some odd killer robots) brings about the Witchblade, which transforms the woman into what you see on the front cover.

Story:
This anime touches on topics that are hardly addressed in any media let alone an anime. I have not seen the show on which it is based on some I only base it on its own merits. You really feel for all of the main characters and care about them by the end.

Art:
Decent mid-2000s hand-drawn in widescreen. No CGI here baby!

Music:
All of the music in this is excellent! XTC is great! the Endings beginning makes you feel as if you are coming out of your shell in a creepy dark sense. The OST is very unique and you will know when you hear only playing in the background.

Characters:
Melony is a shining example of a strong female character, not in the terms of men but as a woman, with emotional strength. You will absolutely love her daughter too who is just such a cutie, yet is also a very strong young lady.

Enjoyment:
When I watched this anime for the first time I was young and I loved it, probably the boobs and sexy fighting more than the story but I still remember the music and the two main characters all these years later fondly.

This is a good but not must-watch anime. This anime is of a higher caliber than that of modern anime that has become mainstream and standardized.

If you like Claymore/Elfen Lied/Violet Evergarden/Vivy you'll probably like this as well.

Witchblade, based on an American comic, is ok. I say what brings it down more in my eyes is its very similar set up to Blassreiter. Witchblade had an awesome start and hit the brakes when it was getting good to develop characters and never really picked up again. The characters were likable enough, but were rather one dimensional and I felt I had seen most the characters before and done better. I still had fun watching the characters, but it was B movie fun, not Oscar-winning, LOTR fun. This is a series that could have done with 50 episode budget to develop both characters ... and plot. I would liken it to a shortened Bleach with girls as the only fighters, and the ending being Rukia getting taken away, the end. Wish they would do a better remake, and have more seasons.