Let the fan service BEGIN!

I must say, this is a very good review. You address alot of the issues I had with the series while also promoting the here and there positive aspects.

I also was not a fan of the mother/daughter relationship for the simple fact that it's the kinda of relationship that can destroy a child by having the person who should be a provider as nothing but a burden.

I am not a big fan of fan service, at least not in excess. I prefer an outfit to at least have pants, instead of Not-Pants levels I haven't seen since Daphne in the Brilliant Blue.

I look forward to your next review of Ergo Proxy and the weirdness it contains.

As for guy crushes, I have a few. But, they aren't the pretty boys that will most likley dominate the list. So I'm unsure if I should even bother to submit them fearing the domination of Bishi, who all start to look the same to me and therefore boring, likely to stem from this.

You should submit them. If there are enough like-minded people, you just might turn the tables.

All the more reason to! Let's get some diversity in this list. If a certain irresponsible captain gets on the list I will be quite surprised, but I'm still voting for him.

Hmmm, very well. I shall submit them. Also, I wish to give Honorable Mention to Auron. The only reason he won't be on my list is because he's a video game character, but still my biggest man-crush to come out of Japan's entertainment industry.

Geez, you really meant "Grand Theft Auto"

Qué?

Well JO, this review has probably caused some people to start writing fan-fics involving your "streaking" to job interviews right about now.

Wow, this show has a lot of fan-service!
"The Witchblade has tongue-stud powers?"
hahaha :D

Nash likes Pepperidge Farm cookies? D'awww!

There are a lot of birds outside your house..

Ass ass ass ass.

NSWF? More like NSFW!

I never watched Witchblade before, or even heard of it, so I am tuning in to get some basic gist of the anime and not be out of the loop when hearing my friends talk about it.


LMAO! I just chuckled at the beginning. Nash must be the luckiest man on the face on the earth. :)

Just think, Madam. If Yancy Butler wasn't a big career-self-immolating lush, we might not have gotten this at all! ^_^

That beginning had me loling throughout the first few minutes of the review. Speaking of which, good work! Knew that raging wouldn't be involved :P

awesome i love your reviews.

at 7:45... oh god, it's like her boobs are reaching out to grasp the shell.

For some reason I can't see JO's videos, I can see everyone else's, no problem, but her's always cuts off after a few seconds.

This didn't used to happen...

So did you get the job?

I can't talk about the 'comic relief' scenes, but I do find the excessive jiggle f*cking hilarious

Whoa! U got nekid? Ohh... you were only teasing! XD Love the reviews as always and await your upcoming vids.

Hottest anime guys? This one's a toughie, there are too many to choose! But I'll be able to reduce my selections to three like you asked. I'll refrain from including characters from shows like Hetalia since that would cause unfair advantage.

The intro had me in tears. Just hilarious.

First off this show is not a prequel to the comics it's the other way around.
Secondly I am a huge fan of the comics, and I loved the show. The blade's connection to the trinity or the other 13 artifacts for that matter is not explained because it doesn't need to be. Furthermore the reason the witchblade behaves differently than it would normally is explained in the show. In my opinion it is a great chapter of the witchblade story and a great story by it's self because it is about a strong, charismatic female heroine and the changes that the artifact makes in her life. Also the clone blade thing is not bs because they are not as strong as the witchblade, Mesane can hold back two at once, and she doesn't know how to use it properly. Lastly nobody should check out the manga. It is poorly written, the art is gross, not sexy, and has strong anti-American sentiments that I found odd for something based on an American comic book. By the way I do love the title card.

Another who read the manga!

Yes, I noticed only *after* I'd rendered out the review that I goofed there. XD The Witchblade anime is a *sequel* to the comics. My bad.

It still makes no sense in reference to original Withchblade series. I say this as a casual fan of the series.

So be it a prequel or sequel, it just isn't equal.

I enjoy the anime as well, and I did read somewhere that Masane's story takes place in an unspecified period of time after Sara's time as the wielder is over. The cloneblade wielders was a great idea, much more interesting than the mindless EX-Cons. Though personally I think Shiori would have made a better main antagonist than Maria (Shiori's SCARY crazy and powerful!), & wish Masane had fought more battles against the neogenes. The show's not for everyone, but overall I find it to be an entertaining show that blends fanservice with real story telling, as opposed to other fanservice series that have ONLY fanservice and little to no plot.

This is one of the few anime I never finished watching just because I found it so boring. I have gotten through more boring series (Divergence Eve) but I just never felt any urge to watch Witchblade.

Also, I did find the mother-daughter relationship hilarious just because of how horrifying the implications are.

Still, it's not the worst thing this particular group of gonzo workers did...*shudder*Dragonaut* shudder*

As for the American comic...I read a few issues and I think it just comes from how steeped in the 90s "EXTREME" it still is...or at least that was my impression.

A few thoughts about the source material:

The quality of the Witchblade comics has really varied over the years depending on who they bring on board to write it. I mean REALLY varied. Most of the early years (the cheesecakey fanservice years where pretty much all your examples of the comic art came from) ranged from acceptable to atrocious, but the creative team that was on it for the last few years (about 50% of the series' run, now that I think about it) really did a bang up job with it, putting an actual focus on character development and almost entirely removing the fanservice (not entirely removing it because well... it sorta makes sense in the story's context; The Witchblade is a sharp, pointy parasite that lives on the wearer's skin, so it frankly makes sense for the occasional sleeve or pant leg to tear when it activates)

So if anyone is actually interested in looking into the comics, start with the Ron Marz run on the book (I believe it starts around issue 80) and then if you really want to delve into earlier storylines, eh, stick with the one's written by David Wohl. They're hit or miss, but he's one of the few early writers who actually tried to write the book as a legitimate story with characters and plots, rather than as a T&A delivery service.

As for this anime adaptation, I want to enjoy it but... its just so lackluster. I really get the feeling that Gonzo didn't care much about the project and it was pretty much only a "for the money" job with no heart in it. Even at the comic's lowest points, it at least managed to be bombastic and over-the-top to keep the entertainment factor up but this... its just meh.

I know about the American Witchblade comics, but I didn't know it got an anime.

Ouran Host Dubb! Hiss!!!!!

Mary Sue = Exactly what Ryoko will be renamed if this gets an abridged series.

Queen of the Damned??? One of my most hated movie adaptations of all time!

Hmmm...Hottest anime guys....The sexiest things a man can have are a floor length head of hair, a slim body, & a face that gives the straightest men boners. The hottest things a woman can have are red hair, big boobs, & a menacing attitude.

"a face that gives the straightest men boners."

I don't think you understand how this works... What you're describing sounds like a bishounen, and those never appeal to straight men, only gay ones and women (straight or lesbian, doesn't really matter). I know a lot of fangirls out there want to turn the entire male population of the earth gay, but I'm here to tell you it ain't happening. Either that, or they just believe all men are gay already and simply in denial about it (even if they have a girlfriend/wife, who they have sex with, they're still gay somehow...). I'll tell you right now that it's completely untrue. We're not in denial, we don't harbor some secret feelings, we are honestly and truthfully not attracted to men. And contrary to what you believe, making a man look feminine, as a lot of shoujo anime do, doesn't make them more universally attractive. In fact, it can make the revulsion we feel towards them even stronger...

Now, if you're looking for someone who gives even straight men boners, think about someone like Sean Connery or Big Boss from MGS. That's more like it... :P

Except, y'know, different people have different tastes so some straight guys may find bishonen attractive, and not bear-like guys. You don't speak for them all.

I am male and straight as an arrow, but for some reason Brad Pitt gives me some very confusing feelings. And the comedian Louis CK has this bit in his comedy routine about Ewan MacGregor.

"a face that gives the straightest men boners"

*snrk* Yeah, what Raj Sivad said.
Good luck trying to find one because even if you do, there's no way that another straight dude will be attracted to him.

Whew, it's been a while watching Witchblade. I still like it for the action. However, I knew there was some flaws in it aside from the fan service it was flaunting around with. Heck, even the daughter/mom vibe from this show was off. Good thing you pointed that out plus more. Overall, good review.

Was JO was listening to "Its a Yinky dinky doo da morning!" before running to the job interview?

I heard of Witchblade, but for some reason, I thought it was based off a video game. But oh well. This looked pretty "sexy", but it didn't really appeal to me though. And yea for fanservice, but you're right about it: it's not repulsive or anything, it just exists. Not like that abomination of fanservce Eiken.

Oh hai Nash. ;) Love those cookies too.

Can't wait to see the fan girls give their takes on the hottest guys of anime. I'm really curious to see what the demographic of anime fan girls love.

The anime and the manga are sequels to the original comic.

Timeline:
Witchblade comic
Witchblade: Takeru manga
Witchblade: Lost Generation novel
Witchblade anime

However, I find the anime...OK. I have heard many mixed reviews of the series. Some say the first half of the anime is a huge fanservice set, while the last part has the core plot. Others say the meat of the series is the action of the first half, while the anime slows to a boring crawl in the last half. I like it simply because it combines Eros and Thanatos in an awesome way, similar to Claymore, and the designs are rather interesting.
I was rather worried about you reviewing this, as I do hold this series close to my heart, but I am glad you did it justice.
Thank you, JesuOtaku.

Honestly I usually like this kind of schlock anime, but for whatever reason I could not force myself to watch more than 12 episodes of this series.

The fights were okay, nothing amazing or groundbreaking. Some of the visuals were pretty (no i'm not referring to the horrifying boob physics...shudder)and I actually kind of liked the music. I think the problem was that I just didn't care about the characters or their struggles, and if I don't care for the characters i'm not as invested in the fight scenes because there's no tension in it for me.

Top 3 anime guys huh? In spite of my real life tastes, Bishonen anime characters have never really appealed to me. Give me a badass man like GARcher or psychotic like Ladd Russo any day.

That last paragraph... all of my yes.

Good review, but I have to disagree. I don't deny that the show had some glaring issues, particularly during the last half, but I felt that the mother/daughter relationship was truly moving. Upon reflection, perhaps that is by and large due to the voice acting, but it was the first anime to really touch me emotionally since FMA's funeral scene.

If I had to complain about anything though, it would be the second opening theme, and the final episode. The theme was so far from where the show was focused I found it annoyingly distracting. As for the final episode, well, let's not mince words. They ripped it directly from Akira. Yes, Akira had a breathtaking ending, but that doesn't give them carte blanche to use it.

That said, I did greatly enjoy the series. Would I watch it again? Probably not, but I can count the number if series I would rewatch on one hand, so that doesn't say much. Anyway, just thought I'd throw in my two cents.

edit: Oh, and before I forget, I've heard that whatever fans think of the anime, they absolutely HATE the manga. That is all.

I think we've found out where DC Comics got the inspiration for Harley Quinn's new look!

One of my dad's favorite anime shows.

I actually like this anime adaptation a lot! It's not perfect but I like it and really want it all on DVD! I only own like the 1st 4-5 episodes DVD but my cousin owns all of them!
Well the Manga I do own both books and it's completely unrelated to this anime and is closer to the Image/Top Cow comic but not cannon with it either. In it it's a school age girl who''s living in a temple with like her adoptive aunt or mother-figure of some sort where they guard the Witchblade as the arm off of an old demon that was slain like 2000 years ago... and I know for a fact in the American comics it's had a wielder in that time frame but as of that manga it's been hidden away in a Japanese temple since the time of freaking Jesus! Also the enemies in it are demons wanting it back and the government wanting it as a weapon including the US government in Japan! Also, it would be considered a lot more "sexist": than anything in the anime and the American comic! (Fun Fact: I find it funny the comic creator actually had to make a list of things he didn't want them to do in the anime like show direct nudity, rape the lead or any female character, and no tentacles... I just find it funny he had to write that down for them) Like the lead basically pulls a sword formed by the Witchblade out of her crotch... soooo, it looks like she'd grown a Futa cock until she pulls the blade from inside her! Also the gore levels are much higher with full on dismemberment and disembowelment! Also a lovely scene of a girl pissing herself when she witnesses demons killing and eating people! Also a female demon bathing in the "juices" from a girl being crushed to death inside a giant press like Elizabeth Bathory!
Also the Witchblade killing it's wearer is in the American comic but from what I understand it only kills them if it thinks they've deviated from their goals... you see it seeks women with strong wills like Joan of Ark or the lead who's a cop. Now if she'd given up on her goals of Justice and whatever it'd kill her and move on to a new host.
You're curious of why she's still around? Why is Vamperella, Lady Death, Red Sonya all still around!? XP

Actually, for the past couple of years the bare skin has been pretty sparse in the Witchblade comics (at least compared to the early years). Stjepan Sejic, who did the art for quite a few issues, depicts the Witchblade more like full body armor with almost no bare skin. The lead character still has a body to die for, but almost all comic book heroines do. I think a good part of what's kept Witchblade around so long is the improvement in writing, story, and character development. Fans grow up, and they need more than just boobies to keep them interested. Well, not all fans grow up, and that's the other part of what keeps it around

Good review.

Yeah whatever, Surprised that Linkara didn't help out with the back story for the Witchblade comic. But Nash's reaction was just as good if not better. Good work JO, stay classy.

Good review.

I like how (unlike the Sage) you DO bother with the Japanese audio. I watch all my Anime on Japanese, since most of the time, unlike the engdubbers, they actually put some effort into it, plus it's the original language the series has been writen on.

Really well written and produced review!

Big props!

Great review. And watching your review I finally figured out why I didn't like Witchblade the Anime: IT IS A LOW-RENT VERSION OF DEVIL LADY!

It wanted to have everything that Devil Lady had but couldn't even compare. Hell even the leads look alike when all transformed up.

Thought I was the only person who's seen that

I wouldn't call Witchblade a low-rent version of Devil LAdy. It's an insult to both. Witchblade's got a lot more plot and depth than Devil Lady, if you ask me, Devil Lady just handles said plot and depth a bit better.

The reason I say its a low-rent version would be because Devil Lady had a lot more depth and plot compared while yes it did have fan service, it felt more natural than Witchblade. But its all a matter of opinion, so we can agree to disagree. My ego wins out so you're wrong. Just kidding!

I rightfully agree with you and I enjoy both series for what they're worth.

I found the intro deeply disturbing. I mean, someone... eating Burger King. ::faints from horror::

1:49 To paraphrase "The Simpsons"; This just shows the never-give-up and never-think-things- through spirit of our fair heroine!

3:37 Oh, "completed form" my... nevermind.

16:41 So, similar to a 6-year-old daughter version of Alfred Pennyworth. Wouldn't see that coming.

19:13 There are several sitcoms that the writer of that dialogue would be perfect for. Did I mention that I hate those sitcoms?

Pretty good review, but I was hoping for a Guyver comparison: Does anyone else imagine the Witchblade as a broken Guyver Unit?