You might want to catch up with my reviews of Witchblade, Volumes One and Two before reading my review of Volume Three!
Things get interesting as Masane proves she is dumber than a pile of rocks and the series finally takes a cold shower…
plot summary
Masane has tentatively teamed up with her neighbor and freelance journalist, Tozawa. Tozawa wants to exploit Masane and her work to turn both into a high-priced story, but he needs her help in doing so. Masane agrees to the deal; otherwise her daughter Rihoko would be exposed by Tozawa himself to her mother’s less than maternal doings.
The two scour the city for clues to the true nature of the I-Weapons. Masane eventually discovers the truth behind the weapons, and is disgusted by it and the Douji Group who manufactures them. She continues to work for her employer, however, despite her misgivings about the company.
I Weapons aren’t the only problem ahead of Masane; Cloneblade attacks are becoming more serious. The NSWF has been working on the Cloneblades ever since the Quake six years ago. But in order to truly perfect their work, they need the original Witchblade, and its host, to copy their ideas from.
Masane’s strength and will are severely tested again as the fight for possession of the Witchblade grows more violent.
review
This volume was more interesting than previous volumes. There’s some noteworthy additions in the way of a young, psychotic Cloneblade; a sympathetic (but short-lived) character; a look into Reiji Takayama’s past and personality; character development for Lady; and much more.
However, Masane is actually stupider in this volume than in any other. She’s louder, more sodden, more obnoxious, dumber, more uncouth, less diplomatic, and relies solely on brute force in her Witchblade incarnation. In short, Masane is a frat boy with boobs; gigantic mega-boobs.
She’s so stupid, I shudder when she opens her mouth. Her belligerent manner is irritating, and one would almost think she traded in all her chances at intelligence when she was endowed with her megalith breasts. And to top it off, she’s paired up with Tozawa; someone almost as dumb as she is.
This guy is supposed to be an investigative freelance journalist but has zero street smarts. Not only that, he has no morals and is one step above pond scum. Together, Masane and Tozawa are this melange of stupidity, lawlessness, and violence. Whenever either one of them talk, what they say is bound to be something stupid or selfish.
The other developments in the series have given Witchblade more depth, if not improved it. One improvement, though, was the absence of Masane’s over-excitement whenever she fights. The fight scenes in Volume Three were toned waaayyyy down and had actual choreography. This is a massive change from the first two volumes, in which the fights were very sexually charged, needlessly so. Minus these distractions made watching Witchblade less obnoxious, but still didn’t make up for Masane or the slow plot development.
However, there’s finally signs of plot progress! After three volumes, Witchblade has direction and if it sticks with it, the series might have a chance of being decent if not good.
Production
The DVD cover for Witchblade, Volume Three is done by artist Keu Cha. To date, it is the most vibrant and intense execution of Makoto Uno’s original character designs for the series. If Keu Cha had designed the anime, I think it would have looked far better than the hokey way it does now.
Witchblade Volume Three, has improved a bit by reshuffling the focus of the anime from Masane’s boobs to the story of the Witchblade. It finally has the feel as if someone is helming this series and may actually steer it towards a decent plot and story. Maybe Witchblade can be salvaged, at least a little instead of being the waste of time it’s been the past two volumes.
Rating
Witchblade, Volume Three gets 2 outtta 4 Hammies
