Witchblade

So I finished up the Witchblade anime this evening, and also finally got through vol 1 of The Complete Witchblade hardcover editions of the original comic. I have to say this is a really great watch. And the read is good too. Though the stories are unrelated (they take place in the same universe), they are both really good. And I definitely miss comics and anime that harken back to a time when the "edges" weren't rounded off of all media and everything made "safe". Not only does this series (and the comic books) have a good story, they also have plenty of titilation and ... edginess, that has kinda been lost in most media these days. So much media these days lacks good original story, is afraid of being sexy, and lacks any kind of edge. While I wouldn't exactly describe this anime as a "masterpiece", it's definitely leagues better in terms of originality and storytelling than 99% of the derivative anime that gets released these days.

What's really nice about it too, is not only is it sexy, but the main characters have a real feminine strength. Masane draws her strength from being a mom, and wanting to protect her kid. (A source of strength many women can relate to, and something some of the best heroines like Sarah Connor from Terminator 2, and Ripley from Aliens drew upon as sources of their own strength.) And when she transforms her character is not afraid to be sensual and sexy. It's a very primal, and raw form of feminine power that reminds me a lot of Dakinis in tantric Buddhism. If you're tired of just endlessly canned, derivative, isekai anime that are only slightly different from one another: and want to watch something truly original: you could do a lot worse than checking Witchblade out. I'd give it an 8 out of 10.

Not a series for the faint-hearted. This has mountainous heaps of violence and fan service that were over the top even for the era. The artwork was not typical for anime of the day, as this was based off an underground American comic. The MC remains the same but they kind of Japanized the daughter. This didn't get a big time budget, The action scenes were very well done, but they had to make concessions for the other scenes as a result.

The story was kind of a mess. Violent shonenistic sci-fi on one hand, and something of SoL concerning the mother-daughter relationship. I didn't ... think it meshed very well, just way too much contrasting motivations to make the whole cohesive, It falls flat in the long run. The story starts off strong but slides as the episodes come out. As others have noted, the ending is rushed. Definitely appears the producers expected a longer run, then had to pack half a season in the last couple episodes. It wasn't satisfying at all.

I only saw a dub of this back in the day. The VA for the MC was also an odd contrast. Her scenes with the daughter were emotionally spot on, but otherwise the overacting was annoying, The VA doing the daughter did an exceptional job, though.

The other characters? Meh you could have plucked them from any of dozens of other anime of the era.

No need to continue slashing this title with a blade though. If I was to grade it today it would get 72/100 for a C-. But back in the day it would have been more like a B. Sadly, time has drained this witch of her magic. I won't recommend it, but if the premise seems interesting, I won't dissuade anyone from giving it a try.

✪ 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.