Witchblade Collection
Bouncing its way to your shelves…
» May, 2010
Witchblade Collection
It’s some time in the future, not too far out, but just far enough for subtle differences to exist; the world has suffered a huge trauma. It would appear that some form of new warfare or some hideous “act of god” has destroyed a large part of Japan. As a result there are a large number of people who are now refugees and naturally there are some new law enforcement agencies around to try and ensure that everyone is “safe”. Of course, these agencies don’t really know what they are doing and in the opening episode of Witchblade, this new agency tries to separate a loving mother from her doting daughter.
Yes, that’s right, the daughter has to dote on the mother as she has no memory of anything prior to the incident that shook the world and wiped her of her memory. She just appeared as a lone survivor in the rubble with a baby in her arms. It doesn’t take long to find out why she was the lone survivor in a disaster that killed all else – she’s more than just a human. Masane Amaha is a Witchblade, which is a form of weapon that changes the very character and power of a human being and transforms them into the perfect weapon. With her daughter, Ryoko, she runs from the law in the first few episodes before she is discovered by Reiji Takayama of Douji Group Industries where she is employed to fight malfunctioned Witchblades.
During all of this a relationship starts to blossom between Masane and a photographer who helps save Ryoko in the earlier episodes of the seires. There’s a lot of death from the word go and some of the deaths in the middle episodes are very poignant as the characters are somewhat believable and it’s easy to connect with them. Then there’s the huge twist mid-way through which reveals something that is only hinted to a few times early on in the series. This clears the path for an emotional rollercoaster for the lead characters and creates just a small bit of tension.
None of this plotline is earth shattering, in fact, in many respects its little more than standard anime fare. With the end of the world just happened, or in this case, an end of a very localised world, law enforcement agencies that are either evil or just corrupt and a lone protagonist who has to save the world. Yes, Witchblade ticks all of the boxes that makes it nothing special. Then there’s the plentiful fanservice. Although tame in comparison to Daphne in the Brilliant Blue, where the lead characters wear next to nothing and then in battle wear even less, there’s still enough of it to keep any young male salivating. Fortunately Witchblade does not take itself too seriously and makes fun out of the lead characters impossibly large breasts when she’s in her “human” form. When she’s battling as the Witchblade, well, there’s jiggling a-plenty as the “enemy” Witchblades also have impossibly large boobs and tiny wastes.
Yet, what makes Witchblade stand out from the crowd are the characters. Yes, aside from the somewhat clichéd plot at times and the amount of fanservice that shouldn’t interest anyone over the age of 16, the characters are what really make this show worthwhile. There’s a fair amount of character development from the entire cast, not just the main three or four but the supporting cast members seem to evolve by the end of the series. The relationship between Mother and Daughter, between man and woman become apparent and watching relationships blossom and die, amongst copious amounts of death, destruction and sci-fi action puts Witchblade above a mere average anime.
The animation is very good on Witchblade, with characters moving at the same time, clear and distinct colours and with the odd nod to some cyberpunk and Bubblegum Crisis references here and there. The backgrounds are all distinct and at no point does the show feel like it’s recycling different backdrops to save money. The characters themselves are all very distinct and clear, even though a lot of the characters wear few clothes and have huge breasts; it’s easy to distinguish one from the other. The supporting cast for the most part look good and individual as well. The dubbing is a little off, with the Ryoko’s voice feeling off compared to the Japanese cast, but that’s by-the-by as the acting from each cast member is of a good quality and there’s only a few lines of dialogue that sound awkward.
» Final Score
7
Witchblade is a solid show that’s clearly had a lot of love and affection thrown at it; however, it’s let down by the need to over fanservice the characters and by a somewhat clichéd plot. A touch more originality here and there and a sprinkling of maturity rather than aiming at the teenage boy market would really set this show apart from other’s in it’s genre.
Terratag’s Bank Holiday Sale!
WHAAM available at ASOS.com designed by Terratag.com
Terratag, the place for brilliant and unique clothes is continuing the happy May spirit by offering all customers a huge discount if they order by the 10th May 2010.
TO keep that bank holiday spirit going, if your order comes to over £60GBP then you’ll get 25% off of your total order price and you’ll get an awesome tote bag to go along with your purchase.
To put this into perspective, if you buy a hoodie and a t-shirt, you’ll get money off. So strike whilst the iron is hot and buy some clothes from Terratag before their sale runs out!
You can find Terratag’s website here.
Sky Movie’s 50 Anime You Must See
Sky Movies recently published a list of 50 Anime Films You Must See, I’m guessing that they can’t say before I die, just in case it affects their stock. Anyway, more importantly than that, the list is actually a very comprehensive list of interesting and varied anime from across the years. From the usual Studio Ghibli fare, straight through to Angel Egg and Tekkonkinkreet.
The list is available here.
Now the question begs to be asked, will Sky ever actually show any of these movies and if they have in the past, will they show them again? Angel Egg on national TV – I doubt it somehow.
DVD Releases This Week
“Tuesday? Tuesday? Shouldn’t this be update be on a Monday and come to think of it, where’ve you been for a month!? Not cool.”
If these thoughts are going around your brain as you read this, you’d be entirely correct in wondering what’s going on. Well, the past month has been a bit rough for me due to the volcanic ash cloud from the lovely Iceland but now I’m back at 100% so we can get back on track with the update and reviews. As for yesterday, well, it was a bank holiday and I was having fun doing other things.
So, for a round up of what we’ve missed in the past month, this is what’s come out:
12th April Releases:
- D.Gray-Man Series 1 Part 2
- The Slayers Next Box Set
19th April Releases:
- Naruto Unleashed Series 9: The Final Episodes
26th April Releases:
- Evangelion 1.11: You (Are) Not Alone – Standard Definition and Blu-Ray
- Witch Hunter Robin
- Gundam Seed Destiny Part 2
So that’s what you may have missed out on in the past few weeks. However, now that you know, start buying them!
This week’s releases are:
- Fate/Stay Night Volume 5 – £9.99 – Amazon/hmv, RRP £15.99 (hmv free shipping)
- Romeo x Juliet Volume 4 – £9.99 – Amazon/hmv, RRP £15.99 (hmv free shipping)
- Paranoia Agent Complete Collection – £17.99 – Amazon/hmv, RRP £29.99 (hmv free shipping)
So there’s a fair amount to be getting on with! As always for the latest release I’ve listed their RRP and the cheapest place I could find them available for brand new.
Gunparade March Volume 2
“The opening of the first few episodes gives a brief but detailed description of what is happening in a fictional world, where alien life forms known as the Genjyu have taken over control of the world and people have been living in fear of these creatures since the late 1940s. Rather than being intelligent life forms, the Genjyu are no more than parasites, spreading across the world at an incredible rate and leaving nothing but destruction in its wake. To try and battle these creatures, all modern forms of warfare have been employed and it would appear that not even a nuclear bomb is able to disperse the creatures and prevent full invasion. As such the use of these powerful weapons has left the planet poisoned with radiation. Yet the aliens continue to live on whilst the human race struggles to live ordinary lives alongside them”.
Continuing from Gunparade March Volume 1.
By the end of the first volume the story seems pretty much explained and the characters are somewhat developed. The first episode of the second volumes opens with a very light hearted beginning with the main characters creating and organising a puppet show for some of the younger students at their school. Considering that these older students are meant to be training to destroy the Genjyu in super, high powered, monster fighting robot machines to put on a puppet show is a gentle touch to show some humour. This is also a nice twist away from the generic alight fighting animes in the market that don’t contain so much as a giggle; however, this first episode is not without its bloodshed.
Within the first episode a few more Genjyu are introduced, bigger and more dangerous than before. This danger becomes even more apparent when one of the best student fighters is taken down by one of the Genjyu and has toxins enter their body through an open wound. This leads to some gruesome scenes and by this point the character’s relationships are developed and their concern is projected very well. By the end of the first episode, several students have died which truly impacts where this anime is prepared to go. Unlike a lot of anime, Gunparade March is not afraid to actually kill off some characters.
In the following episode, life tries to resume as normal, but student’s deaths are still on everyone mind which makes for a very depressing episode and rightly so. In this second episode, another new Genjyu is introduced which emphasises that just because lives have already been lost, doesn’t mean to say that these foul beasts rest. It reminds viewers that the war is still on going and it is seemingly never ending. This new Genjyu is also referred to as ‘The Brain’ and it soon becomes clear that other Genjyu are it’s spawn and if The Brain is destroyed it can no longer produce new Genjyu.
As to be expected with any new breed of anything, the new breed is tougher and not as easy to destroy especially as this one can multiply. The students find themselves having to withdraw temporarily thus making things a little more interesting, leaving the viewer eager to know what the next move is going to be and just how will it pan out.
The animation quality hasn’t improved at all since the first volume and although it’s not bad, it’s just standard. The same can be said for the voice acting for the English cast, just a little bland and forgettable. However, credit must go to the storyline which is fast moving and glides swiftly between more relaxed, humorous scenes to serious fighting scenes. Most viewers are likely to have worked out by the end of the first volume whether this anime is something that they would want to continue with and the second volume really does just carry on from where it left off.
» Final Score
6
It’s good and so far that’s all it is. It hits all the right buttons with regards to the viewers who enjoy weapons, aliens, blood shed, comedy and the occasional adult humour. The only thing that really lets this anime down, again, is the voice acting. They are often over-the-top, exaggerated, forced and feel as though the actors themselves lack experience. The anime itself might have received a 7 if the voice acting wasn’t embarrassingly bad.
