Witchblade, the anime, is the bestselling anime of the year, “According to analysis of Nielsen VideoScan data after its September 25th release date…” Well, if what made volume one a success was its “sexy protagonist and antagonists dueling each other”, then Volume Two will blow its predecessor out of the water since it has triple the x-tion, I mean action, of Witchblade Volume One.
plot summary
Masane encounters two Cloneblades on one of her missions for Douji Group Industries. These two women are the bearers of powers similar to the Witchblade and are actually wearing Witchblade clones, hence, Cloneblades. Masane is put to a brutal test of strength with one of the seasoned Cloneblades, Shiori. Still new to her powers, Masane barely survives the battle and is nursed back to health by her keepers.
Unbeknown to Masane, her nosy, freelance reporter neighbor, Yusuke Tozawa, has been following her and captures the fight on film. He confronts a befuddled Masane for answers so he can sell the Witchblade story to the highest bidder. Before he can do that, however, an ex-con attacks the duo. Now Masane must hone her powers and balance life as Witchblade and mother.
review
Yikes. I’m still confused as to what this series is trying to be, but I’m leaning towards hentai. After watching nine episodes toe the line between sexual and softcore hentai, I’m as yet unsure what the general focus of the anime is. Is Masane jiggling for a reason, is there a purpose for her heaving meatbags? Or is it, like the equally scantily-clad, “eager” Cloneblades, fanservice times XXX?
I managed to eke out a few facts between the boob and booty shots:
- Masane works for Douji Industries because she loves her daughter Rihoko.
- The Cloneblades want to destroy Masane.
- Masane as Witchblade loves to fight and fights the Cloneblades.
- The Cloneblades are unstable but seasoned and powerful.
- Tozawa is opportunistic scum who wants to exploit Masane.
Needless to say the story got lost once again between Masane’s ample, GGG cleavage. Every time anything resembling concrete plot reared its head, it was buried beneath T&A shots and other, not-suitable-for-this-site “occurrences” involving bio-mechanical creatures with white “ooze” for bodily fluids. What plot did manage to escape the vortex of flesh that is the Witchblade was only slightly interesting and considerably underdeveloped:
Character Development
Tozawa is an absolute dirt bag with only one thing on his mind: money. He tries to extort Masane for the Witchblade story but finds it difficult to accomplish in part because Masane’s so stubborn and so stupid. Masane’s character comes across as dumb, dumb, dumb, and annoying. Rihoko has eons more sense than her mother and is the only character which I sympathize with thus far in the series. There’s “history” between Takayama and Reina which explains how the Witchblade was lost to the Douji Group. The Cloneblades are a scientific wonder but are still inferior to their original.
But the plot that should be front and center in all serious anime is noticeably missing from the spotlight. In its stead is a parade of female anatomy which randomly pops up to distract even the most dedicated viewer.
The Cloneblades are themselves an interesting addition, but any screen time they get is spent in compromising positions. Once again, it’s difficult to get into this story when it switches gears from sci-fi action to sci-fi action hentai.
Production
The packaging for Witchblade is once again shiny and alluring, with cover art done by Top Cow artist Eric Basaldua. The DVD covers and inserts are top notch with plenty of graphics and tantalizing text. Too bad the anime hasn’t lived up it’s packaging…
I’m irked this anime is still randomly floating around sans plot. It seems it’s relying on its massive amount of fanservice to drum up an audience. I’d like to be able to say that ploy will only get a series so far, but we all know fanservice sells, and Witchblade has thus far been flying off the shelves. However, I can honestly say that ploy will only get an anime so far with me, and Witchblade hasn’t impressed me at all yet.
Rating
Witchblade, Volume Two gets 1 outta 4 Hammies!
Additional Reading
If you haven’t read it yet, check out my Witchblade Anime, Volume One review!
