Witchblade

Synopsis:

Masane Amaha happened to get caught in the middle of a cataclysmic natural disaster that destroyed most of Tokyo. However she came through unscathed with no recollection of anything that happened beforehand but she realizes that she now posses a bracelet that she is unable to remove. She was found amongst the rubble protecting her daughter Rihoko Amaha who was also unharmed by the disaster thanks to the protection from her frail mother Masane. After they recover both Masane and Rihoko set out into whats left of Tokyo to make a living for themselves, however, unable to provide a stable environment for her child the NSWF's Child Welfare Division take Rihoko away to a shelter as Masane puts up a fight for her child but is imprisoned instead. While awaiting trial for her actions, Masane is assaulted in her prison cell by a mysterious bio-engineered half-man half-machine weapon of destruction (called an X-con) that escaped from a large weapons manufacturer. As Masane is about to meet her death for reasons even unknown to her, the bracelet reacts to Masane's will to fight for her daughter and transforms her into ultimate fighting machine... the Witchblade. After disposing of the X-Con, Masane breaks out of prison and uses her newly discovered power to locate her daughter. With the Witchblades power finally awakened, there are others who are set in obtaining the power for themselves.


Reviewer: Endosanity
Number of episodes watched: 24


Review:

Here we have a woman who is down on her luck with no life to call her own but wants the best for her daughter. It's interesting to watch the lengths she will take to use the Witchblade to fight and protect her and also use it's powers to complete jobs for a large corporations as a bounty hunter of sorts. Witchblade isn't the dark gritty police drama that I remember, here it's centered around a group of friends that are really tight as one large family which makes from some unique characters that can make you laugh at times or cheer them on as they stand up for one another. Even once they discover that Masane is the Witchblade everyone helps her to protect her secret so she can provide the best life possible for Rihoko. Some might be put off thinking that it's a bunch of fluff, but it's presented very well within the series mainly because that direction isn't taken all that often with this type of show. Don't worry, there's still plenty of action from scantily clad big-breasted women fighting amonst each other... hey, that helps carry the series along too.

The animation here is above average and the characters, right down to the 6 year old Rihoko's motherly complex, are quite the bunch. I guess what really stood out for me is that even though the show had it's main character it mainly focused on the whole group of friends as the protagonists throughout the series not giving special treatment to just one person. Even though Masane was the Witchblade she held the same equal ground with everyone. Even the antagonists are quite the despicable bunch that you just enjoy hating in order to see them taken down one way or another. The only thing that disappointed me was the lack of backstory leaving alot of the Witchblade mystery unexplained which made for one very lame ending that ruined the overall series.

I do recommend Witchblade, whether it be for the decent story or just to see super powered babes attacking each other, it's a series that's easy to get hooked on.

Witchblade (opening)

Recommendation: |Above Average|

Online viewing: Available at FAILimations website -

Witchblade (subbed and a few dubbed episodes)

Media type: DVD
From: FAILimation Undertainment
Spoken languages: English;Japanese
Subtitles: English