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Witchblade Vol. 2 anime review

by Chris   ⋅   November 27, 2007   ⋅   Comment now   ⋅    RSS

So, I’ve now seen Witchblade Volume 2. In my review of the previous disc I was a little nonplussed with the series, but intended to withhold judgment until I saw at least the second disc. And now that I have, does the future of Witchblade look any brighter?

Note: If you haven’t already, go back and check out that review here.

Second Note: I will be updating this article with screencaps shortly.

This second disc of Witchblade sees Masane taking on more tasks for Douji Group Industries (I didn’t mention these guys in the last review, since there were so little twists it could be considered a spoiler), taking care of rogue X-Cons as well as tussling with Cloneblades, fighters who wield cloned versions of the Witchblade. A pet project of the NSWF (National Scientific Welfare Foundation), these Cloneblades have powers comparable to the real Witchblade’s, but like even the best of knockoffs, they are plagued by some rather strange idiosyncrasies. Case in point: an apparent tendendency toward irrationality, insanity, and murderous rages.

You saw two of these Cloneblades at the end of episode four, on the previous disc, thogh the big battle that was hinted at doesn’t quite come to fruition until at least episode six (teased again!). But, when it does happen, it’s a lot more exciting than the previous battles with the lame-o X-Cons. In fact, they were, dare I say it, pretty decent actionwise. I won’t spoil anything for you, but things do eventually get bloody.

But, like the previous disc, the story of Witchblade has a lot more on its mind than action. Most of the time this go-round is spent on Masane’s learning more about the organization, its previous ties to the NSWF, and their development of the Cloneblades. In Rihoko’s corner, much time is spent getting to know their new neighbors, protecting her mother from (her perceived) advances by Tozawa, and exercising her cooking skills (French toast, yes!). In fact, there’s a fair amount of time demonstrating that young Rihoko is far more responsible than her mother, and is in fact the true caretaker in the relationship. Basically, if Child Services were to take her away, Masane would be left completely helpless (a possible plot twist at a later date?)

The series is still plagued by some overtly sexual aspects, including the quivering, pistoning X-Cons, the Witchblade’s animalistic panting and licking mid battle, and both her and the Cloneblades’ barely-there costumes and Gigantor-sized breasts. I mentioned it before, but I’d actually have liked Funimation to have abstained from “reversioning” the series and keep the original Television costume intact. Again, I believe this might have opened the series to a larger fanbase that it could currently receive (see: The Anime Blog’s empassioned protest here.) But Masane’s transformations are relatively few when compared to the larger scope of the series, and shouldn’t detract from the good stuff that’s actually going on there.

So, this second go round, things do seem to be getting better for the series. It’s definitely in the process of finding its footing, as well as what exactly it wants to be as a series, but is still plagued by some off-putting silliness and overtly juvenile hooter-gawking. On the whole, this is a far superior set of episodes from the first four, as the action sequences provide some legitimate thrills, and the characters themselves have become a bit more fleshed out (no pun intended). As of right now, I like the Witchblade. I’m not sure if I would recommend it wholeheartedly, but I have a feeling it’s going somewhere. Let’s just keep our fingers crossed it’s somewhere good.

The DVD.

Like the last disc, Funimation’s transfer of Witchblade Vol. 2 is exemplary. And, like the previous disc, so is the packaging. This time around the DVD features sleeve art by Top Cow artist, Eric Basaldua, as well as amray sleeve art featuring the blue Cloneblade reclining.

And, as with the last disc, the DVD contains an insert featuring production art and a lengthy text on other aspects of the Witchblade anime production process.

The disc itself contains a number of trailers for other Funimation releases (including Robotech, Burst Angel: Infinity, and Beck), and clean opening and closing animations. The real extras include interviews with the voice actors playing Rihoko and Tozawa, as well as a ~15-minute doc on the evolution of a Top Cow comic from script to comic rack. This last feature was actually pretty interesting, as I really had no idea of the work involved in putting out a finished comic.

All in all, Witchblade Vol. 2 is a decent disc. It’s quality is exactly on par with that of the previous disc, though the content is a bit more exciting. If you’re collecting these titles, there’s really no reason not to pick this one up.