Witchblade Collector’s Edition [Blu-ray]

4 star exciting and action packed anime.

Witchblade is a Japanese animation series originally aired in 2006. Produced by Studio Gonzo, it is loosely based on the American comic book of the same name. Rather than a direct adaptation of the original it features new characters and a new setting of futuristic Tokyo. It is presented here in the UK on Collector’s Edition Blu-ray courtesy of MVM Entertainment.

“Sought by the greed of men since the dawn of Humankind, but only bestowed upon the woman whose fate it forever scars, The Witchblade.”

Witchblade is set in a world where Tokyo was ravaged by a “Great Quake”  and is now partially underwater. Returning to the city are Masane Amaha (Jamie Marchi – Tokyo Ghoul:Re) and her young daughter Rihoko (Carrie Savage – Guilty Crown). Masane was found at the epicentre of the Quake, alive and well and clutching the baby Rihoko. With no memories prior to that day, she only has her maternity diary to identify her.

The two of them are looking to make a fresh start, but they soon draw the attention of the Child Welfare services, who have evicted them from the shelter in which they were living and want to take Rihoko into custody. Meanwhile, a series of brutal murders are being investigated in the city, a story being chased by freelance photographer Tozawa (Robert McCollum – Attack on Titan).

When Masane is imprisoned, her presence triggers a fellow inmate, who changes into a ruthless killing machine and attacks her. Masane however is not what she seems either and his attack awakens an ancient force called the Witchblade, transforming her. and making her already unfeasibly large assets even more impressive.

She is taken by Takayama (Mark Stoddard – Moriarty the Patriot), the head of Douji Industries, who wants to control the Witchblade and sets her to work cleaning up his mess, the X-Cons who escaped from the laboratory during the Quake and are now terrorising the city. She is also sought by Furumisu (R. Bruce Elliot – Robotics;Notes), the leader of the NSWF and his Cloneblades.

“Kid, I’m done for the night, it’s beer thirty. Cops all over the place, go and bug them for help.”

Witchblade is a very enjoyable watch. I found this adaptation very good, the characters are well written and well rounded, the story is good and makes sense and the animation is beautiful, smooth and easy to watch.

Although inherently a very violent story, this anime has enough heart to keep you interested in the characters and their fates (you may want to have a box of tissues handy for the ending).

Great to see it released on Blu-ray and well worth adding to your collection.

“You are one strange woman, you know that? Here you are, snared by this bizarre weapon called the Witchblade. Drawn into deadly battle night after night. Yet you neither cry nor shout about the lot you’ve been given.”

Witchblade is available to buy now on Collector’s Edition Blu-ray.