Witchblade--Anime

"Sought by the greed of men since the dawn of human kind, but only bestowed upon the women whose fate it forever scars... The Witchblade. Is it the righteous sword of God? Or hand of the Devil himself? Now a new bearer has been chosen. And she must discover the answers for herself. As she stands on the brink of destiny, she is forced to seek the balance between ecstasy and ruin."--Witchblade

BOOBIES! No, seriously,  boobies!

Check out Masane's boobs! They are powerful!
RAAARRR! BOOBIES!

Any of you, Dear Readers, who are fans of the original Witchblade comic series from the mid-90s, or the television series of the same name, might find yourself confused by  the futuristic boobosity of the anime reincarnation (good word...punny) of Witchblade. The only connecting factor between the different retellings of the Witchblade's story is the insistance on the witchblade itself and its dubious history. The witchblade, a gauntlet-type cuff when not in use, transforms into a symbiotic weapon that is both blade and armor for the woman who weilds it.  It, and the female warrior who carries/bonds to the blade, has capabilities for both good and evil. I think the "history" of the witchblade (as a dispenser of justice passed down from female to female in a line extending through time) is interesting, as is its insistance on bonding ONLY with strong, female characters...but that's the comic book and tv series, not the anime.

It isn't that I don't like the anime, I actually do think it is interesting, bit just isn't what might be expected in terms of evolving from the pro-feminist mythos of the other series. The main character of the anime series is a clumsy, goofy, single mother living in a post-apocolyptic Japan. As the series begins we realize that Masane has no recollection of her past, or the father of her child. She was found miraculously unharmed (and holding her newborn infant daughter) after the apocolyptic earthquake in what has come to be called Year Zero.  Once activiated the witchblade transforms Masane into a savage warrior, almost impervious to harm. The downside of the witchblade is that it takes control in this symbiotic relationship and ultimately burns through the life-force of the bearer, killiing them.

Couple this with an evil corporation intent on copying or cloning the blade (and a group of genetically engineered "bearers" with psychotic tendencies) and you have a very action-packed series...with a lot of boobies. Do not worry, butt fans, there are butts too! In fact, there was so much skin showing  on the bearers in their witchblade states that the Japanese censors blocked many of the scenes with those ubiquitous black bars. The American cable channel Chiller (does Chiller still exist?) however saw no problem with the prodigious ta-tas and bare-assed battles. Hooray, America!

Boobies aside (although they ARE a big, BIG part of the series), there are some things that make this series worth watching. The devotion Masane feels towards her daughter, her "fighting spirit," and her sense of right and wrong make her a sympathetic character, but the vascilation between horror and obligation she feels towards the witchblade and her duties as its bearer make her closer to tragic. Althought the plot is far-fetched, the outfits are ridiculous, and the story-line is sometimes convoluted to an extreme, it is the small moments when the characters interact with one another that kept me watching. That and trying to figure out exactly how she was keeping that outfit on...seriously. Baffling.