The greatest movie ever made..!

recommended

True to its essence, the characters remain on the same line and manage to entertain the viewer, each highlighting their own distinctive qualities or touches.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

This series, loosely based on a US comic of the same name, takes place in Japan six years after a devastating earthquake. Protagonist Masane Amaha woke up after the quake without any memory and with a strange amulet on her wrist; she was with a girl she assumed to be her daughter; Rihoko. Now she is moving to Tokyo so she can better support Rihoko. Around the same time there has been a series of brutal murders; it turns out the killers are malfunctioning creations of the Doujo Corporation and they are drawn to Masane's amulet… the legendary Witchblade of the title.Soon Masane comes to the attention of Doujo's bureau chief Reiji Takayama and finds herself working for him. She is employed to destroy the companies creations; in doing so she meets others similar to herself; the Cloneblades. These wear devices based on the Witchblade but inevitably aren't quite as powerful. When she isn't fighting Masane and Rihoko live with an amusing bunch of characters including a freelance photographer who discovers her secret when he photographs her as she fights one of the Cloneblades.I nearly didn't buy this series as the DVD box art suggests it is going to be fan service heavy and involve demonic women fighting… it isn't really like that at all though. When Masane and the various Cloneblades fight they do transform and their costumes leave little to the imagination but for the most part Masane is dressed normally and looks like an ordinary woman; the only think about her that could be considered fan-service are her rather large breasts and they are a cause for occasional humour and are usually well covered. The story has a good plot and likable protagonists; the relationship between Masane and Rihoko is beautifully portrayed and quite emotional at times; especially when it looks as if they might be separated. The villains are suitably dangerous but even they have some sympathetic characteristics which make them more interesting. I liked the character designs; they were fairly distinctive meaning it isn't likely that one would confuse them with each other. Over all I'd heartily recommend this to anybody wanting a series with plenty of action and a good emotional core… don't be put off by the box art!These comments are based on watching the series in Japanese with English subtitles.

This series is on par with HBO's Spawn:Animated series. The story is well told, the relationships of the characters are strong. The central mother/daughter theme is simple, powerful, and elegant. I enjoyed all the characters, and the changes they go through, because of a mother's love. For me, most anime is almost senseless, due to my ignorance of Asian culture. I don't care much for giant robots they crush cities and everybody seems to be fine with it. That silly mech. But the machines in this series are relevant, if cannon fodder. The fights were often anti- climatic, ending too soon in one way or another, but easily over-looked when taken into context. No sex, lots of bulbous bosoms (yay!), not much violence against humans and what little there is, is shown off screen or implied in some way. Anyway, worth watching.

This is a solidly entertaining sequel/re-imagining of the American comic book series, Witchblade, created by Top Cow. I'm a big Witchblade reader myself (she's probably my favorite super-heroine, or is it Painkiller Jane? I really can't decide), so I know that when I heard there was a Japanese animation show titled "Witchblade," I just had to see what Japan had to offer on a cult-classic comic book title.Top Cow did have a hand in this Japanese production of their most famed supernatural super-heroine, but "Witchblade" somehow or another remains a uniquely Japanese production that contains a lot of the usual elements of most animation from Japan, not limited to sexy females, troublesome, hard-to-follow story, and big corrupt corporations.Set in Tokyo six years after a catastrophic earthquake, well-endowed single-mom Masane Amaha returns to the city with her cute six-year-old daughter Rihoko. Masane is well-meaning but somewhat childish and immature, so Rihoko often seems like the mother, cooking, cleaning, shopping, taking care of the house, and is otherwise taking care of her mother instead of the other way around. For the longest time, it's just been the two of them, but child-welfare services has been after Masane for some time now, since she has no job, no income, and no way to care for Rihoko.If this is starting to sound like some Lifetime family stuff, hang on for just a minute longer because I'm getting into the meat of the story. Masane is also the wielder of the mystical Witchblade, a powerful sentient artifact of extraterrestrial origin that grants her a vast array of supernatural powers that she uses to slice-and-dice the rogue Ex-Cons (shape-changing humans who have the ability to morph into killer machines) that have been responsible for several mysterious murders around the Tokyo area. In the meantime, Masane, of course, keeps her double life as a monster-smashing super-heroine secret from her daughter, fighting to protect her at all costs, even her own life.As I said before, while "Witchblade" bears the name of the American comic book super-heroine, the Japanese have their own spin on the material that differs greatly from its source material. Pretty much, the only elements that remain the same from its American counterpart are the title, the fact that the protagonist is a woman (a well-endowed woman, at that) who understands little to nothing about what it is she has gotten herself into, and that the Witchblade always chooses a female as its host. In "Witchblade," many of the supernatural themes, fantasy and horror elements of the American comic have been largely done away with, replaced with the typical aforementioned elements of Japanese animation and science fiction. The most significant addition, I think, are the Clone-blades, which as they might sound like, are cloned versions of the Witchblade. They are also in abundance and prove to be more-than-worthy adversaries.But many of these changes work. In addition, there is also some crazy comedy here and there, and touching family scenes between Masane and Rihoko that make them really stand out and you believe that they're mother and daughter. More characters are in abundance, like the residents of the apartment building Masane and Rihoko come to live in, none of whom are cardboard cut-outs but add a lot of dimension, drama, and humor to the story. In essence, these societal losers are the perfect family!However, about halfway through the series things suddenly take a much darker and more somber tone as we come to realize that mother and daughter may not be mother and daughter, and the fact that the mother may not live to see this thing through, and the series ends on a note of pessimism as it is. That's really tragic since you've sat through 24 episodes of seeing these two together only to realize that they may not live happily ever after with one another. Also, the confusing back-story (as is typical of most Japanese animation) tends to be a bit of a unwarranted distraction in a series that at least manages to keep you watching.Anyway, "Witchblade" is a more-than-suitable addition to a great supernatural comic book mythology. I still question whether or not this will see a second season, though.(Americans can see "Witchblade" on IFC at 11:30 p.m. on Friday nights.)9/10

This anime is just beautiful! The animation is very clear and smooth. It is a joy to watch the characters walking around in this anime. Also there are a lot of likable characters in this series. I promise you will laugh. The relationship between Masane (the woman who carries the witchblade) and Rihoko (Masana's daughter) is a special one. It is obvious that they love each other very much! And it seems that Rihiko takes care of the mother who is a bit of a wild one (maybe as a consequence of the witchblade,we don't know). And at the end we are witness of some change in Masana's character. She has to mature in order to provide the best care for her daughter. It is touching to see how strong the bond is and that it doesn't matter what obstruction and misery comes their way. Because of their love for each other they will overcome it. Maybe it sounds too much like a soap opera. But in my opinion there is nothing wrong with a bit of drama now and then. Especially when it's done like in this anime. This show doesn't contain as much action as one would think. But that is primarily because this is a plot based anime with some action in it. The action scenes that are shown are fun but not real special. Only the sexy outfit,the big boobs and other features keep popping up to add some flavor. Probably done to tease the male viewer (I think). The last episode gives enough closure,although we never get to learn about the origin of the Witchblade and how it chooses it's wielder. But since the focus wasn't about the Witchblade it doesn't matter that much. Overall this is a nice, fast paced anime with beautiful animation and great characterization.