Audience reviews
20 · Sample from the first available page, separate from the total number of ratings.
Recynon
You wouldn't know it from the ecchi parts, but the tone and writing are relatively grounded and immersive here, which gives it a strong foundation for its poignant moments to actually land. And there are a lot of poignant moments stemming from the mother daughter relationship it focuses on. Characters for the most part don't feel like anime characters. For instance, Rihoko is ostensibly a cute girl, but she's not moe; they've managed to balance her characterization such that the cuteness feels natural and she's got enough spunk, competence, and intelligence on her own aside from the cuteness as well. The writing knows how to show and not tell, and what it's showing is frequently a non-simple character motivation and/or reaction. It balances various groups that themselves have individuals w…
Read at the sourceJizzyBizzy
First, I need to start with some basic background information for a series like this.
Witchblade is a 1993 comic by Top Cow Productions, an imprint of Image comics - my favorite comic book publication and one that I respect far more than Marvel or DC, which infamously screw over their artists. Batman's creator died a janitor, for instance. In my opinion, Witchblade is one of the best comics ever made, especially amongst independent comics (which pretty much means other than DC/Marvel). It is mostly just surpassed by other long-running Image series like Spawn. The time period that it came out in (early years of Image) both boosted its popularity and simultaneously cursed it into never getting a PROPER adaptation, despite how good it is, as comic books at the time were not treated as serious…
Read at the sourcekedruss
Whilst the show tries in earnest to balance the titulation (or as much as you can get away with for an animated IP intended for a teenage male demographic) of its 90s comic book source material with some wholesome family drama that results in some tonal whiplash, it never achieves much success delivering in either. The threadbare world-building, one-note and rote characters, the laughably shallow corporate political intrigue in the backdrop, the clunky and ironically unappealing (again, considering how the source material's infamous reputation for featuring unapologetically "sexy" art) character/monster/Witchblade design does little to make up for these shortcomings.
Overall an incredibly disappointing, uneven show that fails to deliver even the most base goods.
Read at the sourcecyber_coupe_benz
Surprisingly good, honestly. Sure, at first glance it seems to be gratuitous with fanservice or whatever, but that's maybe 10% of the show, there is a (relatively) layered plot with criss-crossing faction alliances and grey character motives. At its core it's really a story about a mother who will go to great lengths for her daughter, over all others. Also, a decent and original story for what is supposed to be a loose adaptation of a Top Cow IP. It doesn't seem to have much in common with its American counterpart besides the titular Witchblade artifact itself. Maybe the artstyle is somewhat dated, but not jarring enough to take away from the show. Worth the watch overall.
Read at the sourceSara_Isayama
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 "master…
Read at the sourcejoemaamah
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 note…
Read at the sourceArichan66
I don't understand why Masane and Takayama formed an alliance. All the misfortunes that befall him are the fault of his weapons company. Takayama forces Masane to fight, and that puts his life in danger.
The clone witch sword and the real witch sword should have joined forces against Doji and his father.
I don't understand why Masane and Takayama formed an alliance. All the misfortunes that befall him are the fault of his weapons company. Takayama forces Masane to fight, and that puts his life in danger.
The clone witch sword and the real witch sword should have joined forces against Doji and his father.
Read at the sourceOneFaintingRobin
My friend's recommendation of this to me came with the phrase 'it is way more than just ass and tits'. That is absolutely true. Because there is a lot of both of those things, to be very clear, but given words like 'mature' and 'adult' tend to conjure up images of mostly just that, this has a lot more to offer.
'Witchblade' is absolutely an adult show, because it's absolutely a story about adult lives, adult relationships, adult issues. Central protagonist Masane is the core of this, a character who can definitely be immature at times, but who also grapples with the pressures of being a parent, especially one who can't, at least at the start, rely on anyone else. She worries about money, and holding down her admittedly abnormal job, and deals with adult relationship dynamics. As the stor…
Read at the sourceTheRedLine
If you take away one thing from this anime it will be its music, GIVE ME YOUR XTC! It has been over 10 years since I last saw the anime but I still remember and listen to all of the music, more specifically the Opening, Ending, and the OST Sexual Panic.
At first glance the big fucking tiddies make this anime seem like it's some ecchi trash, but then you notice that it has 24 episodes.
This Anime may have massive boobs but its characters outshine the boobah. Witchblade is 10% action 80% Characters and setting and 10% blood and death.
Witchblade is about a woman and her daughter who after a major disaster end up as one of the few survivors. As life goes on the woman is constantly harassed by child protection as she is not able to hold a job and properly support her daughter. One day CP ca…
Read at the sourceThe_Namer
The Witchblade anime is a story with an identity crisis. This might not be apparent from the early episodes, which follow a monster-of-the-week action formula. In order to make enough money to stay with her daughter, homeless young mother Masane does cleanup work for a shady weapons manufacturer, transforming into her hyper-sexualised Witchblade alter ego to dispatch the company's escaped cybernetic weapons, a series of utterly bizarre creations that look like something out of a Shinya Tsukamoto movie.
What you might not expect from this show at a glance is how it develops later. The weird cyborgs become less frequent around the halfway point (though there's still plenty of action), and instead we have an ongoing story that focuses on different facets of parent/child relationships. It's h…
Read at the sourceConnoisseur5910
WELL An interesting Anime Experience. I have never seen anything like it.
The story was very good, especially in the Enjoyment department. The story line is quite straightforward, events happen one after another, no unexpected plot twist, which change you mood to worse. If you want an Anime which don't make you tense and in instead relax when watching, this is one of the best choices. The Art is outstanding especially the female characters, very attractive. It sometimes makes you want this was some kind of Harem/Ecchi Anime, if not Hentai.
The sound, well if we talk about OST, i haven't heard it :D . The Oppening songs were horrible. But you do not pay attention to that cause you don't get into the Anime a lot.
Character Development was very little, but in this particular Anime it is not s…
Read at the sourceKimmyBunny
This is my first review of a anime. So bare with me. But for this anime i'm glad it's my first.
Story 10/10
The story begins with a mother (Masane) and a daughter (Rihoko) trying to not break apart as a child protective services tries to take Rihoko away. As they end up doing so, Masane finds herself in a tied up in knot with a big corporation and a government agency. Where she learns about this mysterious bracelet on her wrist called the Witchblade. Which gives a very strong power, however using too much would eventually kill her.
Art 9/10
I personally think the art is really nice considering it's from 2006. It certainly aged well to this day. The outfits when Masane transformed gives the show some of a little ecchi for the boys. But it's subtle.
Sound 9/10
Although I haven't listen…
Read at the sourceREC3
Witchblade is one of the first anime series I saw. The art and character models are nice and detailed. The sound is engaging and the opening song is very good XTC. The story and characters are fair to good. The story and characters need more depth. The story and characters are interesting and enjoyable, but I feel as if there was wasted potential and that the ending was abrupt.
The art and sound are very good, especially the art and visuals. These two factors help the enjoyment factor, though the characters and story are just decent.
Overall, I thought the series was good and well deserving of a 7.0 or 7.5. I sometimes compare this series to the cartoon series Spawn, because both people are cursed, in pain physically and mentally, and have family they love. It's interesting to see how d…
Read at the sourceMr_Yaz
✪ 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 chara…
Read at the sourceGrayRealm
This is an odd mix of good, bad, awesome and mediocre which in the end - all things considered - averages somewhere in the middle.
So overall score of the title is either 5/10 or 6/10, and I'm unsure which.
At the beginning of the anime there are amazing fight scenes that are both creepy and at the same time charged... even sexually charged even. The design of protagonist is interesting as well, and protagonist - Masamune - is an extremely unusual archetype (a bit silly/foolish, but sincere and good hearted character...), that very rarely is shown in an adult form in anime. The anime also excels in a few slice of life scenes, where it shows human side of their characters....
However at the later half something odd happens, pacing breaks, the anime touches many different themes, drops s…
Read at the sourceApdo1
Witchblado. I guess that's how the japanese pronounced it, but the premise is pretty interesting thus far. I swear that I didn't pick to watch this anime simply because of the nudity that was involved in "witchblade's" clothing. I would've prefer a more clothed witchblade costume, or armor than this fucking bikini like armor. Like for real, how would an armor such as this protects you from anything aside from sexually arousing men to lust these characters. Or literally anyone that wear a bikini like armor that doesn't protects you efficiently.
That aside, this anime has alot of possibilities to be good. One of the few thing that irritates me when i watch this anime is our female MC's personalities, and train of thoughts. I mean, when she stood up while she was sitted in a helicopter (as…
Read at the source_zehel
Anime is usually based from the manga, but this one here is based from an american comic, so it's unique in it's own sense. I watched this show when I was very young (roughly 9 or 10) and this is one of the animes that made me cry real tears (and I mean REAL, not when you tear up, but when you actually CRY)
STORY - 7/10
The story is as told by the sypnosis (and I don't really want to explain it anymore), but it's not so often that you will come across a plot where the main character is a mother who has a daughter. It is "realistic" in a way where you can see mothers working hard for their children. People may describe it as a violent and ecchi show, but I swear it's something deeper than that, and you can really learn something from this anime.
The ending of the story is good, as it did…
Read at the sourcejman650
Review in Haiku: Witchblade
Anime made from
An american comic
So much fanservice
STORY:
Masane is an
Amnesiac with a weapon that's called the Witchblade.
It turns her into
A scantily-clad demon
Who kicks tons of ass.
She fights lots of shit
And she protects her daughter
Nine points out of ten.
ART:
Animation's good
Fluid, with excellent fights
It's got "aesthetic".
There is fanservice
So much goddamn fanservice
As thus, prudes beware.
I really enjoyed
The design of the Witchblades
Nine points out of ten.
SOUND:
The OP's rocking,
Slightly sexually charged
Like the dialogue.
There are lots of moans
Jesus christ, everyone moans
Don't watch on a bus.
The dub is OK
No real preference for me
Six points out of ten.
CHARACTER:
The best part, hands down
Characters are excellent
With…
Read at the sourcekassnicxo
For someone like me, I have a little harder of a time enjoying something, especially animated things when its a little bit older. It's snobbish I know, but I like what I like. However thats not the point here, since it was a little bit of an older anime, if your like me, you really have to get past the shotty artwork at times and pay attention to the story line.
It did take a while to get used to but once I did, minus the crazy amount of fan service, the storyline was actually pretty decent. Fair amounts of feels, and actions, and the character growth was actually done pretty well.
Read at the sourceWildNeptune
Witchblade is among the epitome of don't judge a book by its cover. Most probably know that the anime is one of many adaptations of the Witchblade comic (made in America), so just based on that you might not even watch it knowing the track rate of those shows.
While the cover art might make it seem like the show is a ecchi fighting anime, it's actually a show about how a mother is trying to protect her daughter. The Witchblade is the "Ultimate Weapon" and whoever is chosen by it has the urge to fight. Obviously several organizations want the Witchblade for themselves, and the other portion of the story is how these are dealt with.
I will say the pacing changes greatly in the later part where the show seems rather rushed at the end in contrast to the slow speed at the start. The ending al…
Read at the source
