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REVIEW: Queen's Blade: The Exiled Virgin DVD 3


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pachy_boy



Joined: 09 Mar 2006
Posts: 1340
PostPosted: Tue Apr 19, 2011 6:24 am Reply with quote
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As good as the series otherwise looks, the fight choreography in the big fight in episode 12 is a weak point.


The fight scenes through the series have always come across a little lax to me, not as intense or energetic as they could be.

Quote:
The dub, unfortunately, reverts to being fully hit-or-miss.


I was actually really surprised at how well this dub turned out overall.

After everything I heard about this series, I went in with zero expectations, and was ultimately surprised by it. It's trash, but it's entertaining trash. Sure, the fanservice is so ludricous and over-the-top, but in a strange way it really did add to the charm, a similar show I haven't seen since Girls Bravo. And I thought it was funny that Nanael would point out how ridiculous it is they keep meeting more big-breasted females. However, my biggest beef was definitely episode 9 with Cattleya, which was beyond vile and tasteless to me (there was absolutely nothing touching about her young crying son nuzzling against her bare--oh you know, and I just couldn't look [and dear god, there's no way in hell she should be able to stand up]).

Aside from that, I wouldn't have minded seeing the story continue in the second season. Now courtesy of Theron, I learn that Media Blasters is proceeding with that and the first volumes are available to pre-order on Right Stuf. Here's waiting for the complete set.

One thing I don't get--why is this season subtitled 'The Exiled Virgin'? To which character does this refer to? Certainly not Leina, who technically ran away.
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bravetailor



Joined: 30 May 2009
Posts: 817
PostPosted: Tue Apr 19, 2011 1:08 pm Reply with quote
I still think the main draw of this series--outside of the fan service-- is the design work. It's really quite gorgeous.

Storywise, I wish actually that it had just focused on one character from beginning to end. I wasn't too keen on the early to mid episode diversions away from Leina. Even if she isn't the most interesting character, in a series like this it's best to keep it focused and simple.

I'm sort of a closet fan of the "sex and swords and sorcery" genre. I love Frank Thorne's Ghita of Alizarr, for instance, which is a porn/swords and sorcery fantasy comic. I know what they're all about, and I don't expect taste of a "good" story, but I would prefer that they don't get too cute with the narrative.
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utawoutau



Joined: 27 Feb 2004
Posts: 210
PostPosted: Tue Apr 19, 2011 4:23 pm Reply with quote
This is the kind of series that I might enjoy watching for a laugh. But I despise cow tits. Despise!!
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pachy_boy



Joined: 09 Mar 2006
Posts: 1340
PostPosted: Tue Apr 19, 2011 5:03 pm Reply with quote
utawoutau wrote:
This is the kind of series that I might enjoy watching for a laugh. But I despise cow tits. Despise!!


Now that I think about it, how much of a coincidence is it that her name's Cattleya?
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jr240483



Joined: 24 Dec 2005
Posts: 4456
Location: New York City,New York,USA
PostPosted: Wed Apr 20, 2011 4:30 pm Reply with quote
that's definitely below the belt. Laughing


this is a fanservice ecchi series after all and it is being produced by ARMS who according to the reviewer for Vol 1 was also involved in some hentai titles , so I'm not susprised she was given that massive boob size.

Either way I'm definitely greatful that the review for the series is not getting treated like previous fanservice series Cause it is a good series,and I haven't seen a good storyline for this genere since Popotan.

Quote:
The dub, unfortunately, reverts to being fully hit-or-miss.


I wouldn't say that.

Sure it's no Strike Witches , but it's preety solid. Though the only weakness i see are of course Nanael and Leina's younger sister who both are annoying ( Though She's even worse than Nanael ) , Cattleya's son who sound like the VA was trying too hard to make him sound like a boy for his age, and especially that Troll that challanged Cattleya on Ep 9. She sounds way too much like a young boy,and a familiar one at best from another series though I can't remember where.

Other than that the dub is preety good with Claudette , Cattleya herself and Queen Aldra as the stand outs.

My grade :

Overall (dub) : B-
Overall (sub) : B-
Story : B+
Animation : A+
Art : A
Music : A
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Echo_City



Joined: 03 Apr 2011
Posts: 1236
PostPosted: Thu Apr 21, 2011 12:45 am Reply with quote
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I was actually really surprised at how well this dub turned out overall.
Media Blasters can do FAR, far better. After Genshiken and especially Bokusatsu Tenshi Dokuro-chan, I watched the dub of this expecting great things, and was treated to a dub that sounded atrocious. It was better than many Bandai dubs, but when you set the bar low, stepping over it fails to impress. This makes me fear for other Media Blasters dubs which are pending, such as Kashimashi, Dai Mahou Touge (Punie-chan), and Strawberry Panic.

This show took fanservice to a ridiculous level, if this floats your boat, why not just watch actual pr0n? Seriously, the fanservice takes anatomy to impossible levels, it's cheesy beyond belief, and there is no payoff for dealing with that. There is no real story, no real point, and no humor...besides laughing at how horrendously BAD the show is, channeling the late MST3K.

Dokuro-chan, Dai Mahou Touge (Punie-chan), and even Grenadier had ridiculous fanservice and cheesiness but the payoff was worth it. The first 2 were hilarious, and the 3rd was hilarious and had a halfway decent story to boot. There's nothing here.
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configspace



Joined: 16 Aug 2008
Posts: 3717
PostPosted: Thu Apr 21, 2011 7:44 am Reply with quote
Pretty much with the agree with the review, though I'd grade it a bit higher. I enjoyed it and also thought the dub a very hit or miss, mostly miss.

pachy_boy wrote:
However, my biggest beef was definitely episode 9 with Cattleya, which was beyond vile and tasteless to me (there was absolutely nothing touching about her young crying son nuzzling against her bare--oh you know, and I just couldn't look [and dear god, there's no way in hell she should be able to stand up]).

utawoutau wrote:
This is the kind of series that I might enjoy watching for a laugh. But I despise cow tits. Despise!!

obviously the ANN crowd is not this series' audience. Cattleya is "huge" hit with fans (and thighs and buttocks and belly, somehow without any cottage cheese adds to her charms) Laughing as countless fan art and doujinshi can attest to

Echo_City wrote:

This show took fanservice to a ridiculous level, if this floats your boat, why not just watch actual pr0n? Seriously, the fanservice takes anatomy to impossible levels, it's cheesy beyond belief, and there is no payoff for dealing with that.

well, actual porn i.e. real ero anime, aka real hentai, is FAR beyond this, so this is stll quite aways from "actual prOn"

Quote:
In my opinion there is no real story, no real point, and no humor...besides laughing at how horrendously BAD the show is, channeling the late MST3K.

There. Fixed for accuracy

Quote:

Dokuro-chan, Dai Mahou Touge (Punie-chan), and even Grenadier had ridiculous fanservice and cheesiness but the payoff was worth it. The first 2 were hilarious, and the 3rd was hilarious and had a halfway decent story to boot. There's nothing here.

Of those, I've only seen Grenadier which I also enjoyed. But its "fanservice" was barely a service, so hardly anything ridiculous. Heck not even nudity. Her boob reload technique was really more like a plot device, a cool but useful signature move with a wink to the male fans but that's it. So comparisons fail. If anything, Queens Blade as well as a few other shows is fanservice done right Wink
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Key
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Joined: 03 Nov 2003
Posts: 18454
Location: Indianapolis, IN (formerly Mimiho Valley)
PostPosted: Thu Apr 21, 2011 11:43 am Reply with quote
configspace wrote:
obviously the ANN crowd is not this series' audience.


I am very much the "target audience" for fare like this (hell, I watched and liked Seikon no Qwaser), and I still found Cattleya, and to a lesser extent Melpha, to be off-putting. But I've never been a fan of grossly oversized boobs in any medium, so. . .
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BalmungHHQ



Joined: 11 Feb 2006
Posts: 445
PostPosted: Thu Apr 21, 2011 5:45 pm Reply with quote
Hey now, I thought the dub was pretty good. The voices all fit for the most part and the acting was good!

As for Cattleya... yeah, not fond of her character design. But she is a pretty well-written character... so I guess it's a case of "well-written poorly-drawn"?
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Jedi Master



Joined: 28 Nov 2008
Posts: 400
PostPosted: Thu Apr 21, 2011 11:05 pm Reply with quote
Queen's Blade fan here... but I'm no Cattleya fan.

jr0904 wrote:
this is a fanservice ecchi series after all and it is being produced by ARMS who according to the reviewer for Vol 1 was also involved in some hentai titles , so I'm not susprised she was given that massive boob size.


All the main characters were originally designed for the fighting-game books. To broaden the appeal of the game they used a variety of artists, some of whom had very distinct styles. I've heard it described as a "pick your fetish" marketing strategy.

Echo_City wrote:
other Media Blasters dubs which are pending, such as Kashimashi, Dai Mahou Touge (Punie-chan), and Strawberry Panic.


Cool, I wasn't aware of this. I'll look forward to a couple of those dubs. The Queen's Blade dub was a mixed bag, but watchable in my opinion. It's certainly good enough served with beer and pretzels.

Echo_City wrote:
This show took fanservice to a ridiculous level, if this floats your boat, why not just watch actual pr0n?

Quote:
besides laughing at how horrendously BAD the show is, channeling the late MST3K.


That's actually part of the appeal for me. I can watch this with buddies. Porn/Hentai on the other hand, isn't something I'd feel comfortable bringing to anime/game night with my pals. Many good things come in different doses. Hot Sauce can be mild, medium, or scorching. Alcohol comes in beer, wine, and hard liquor. Sexuality in anime could also be measured out in doses of light, medium, and hentai.
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configspace



Joined: 16 Aug 2008
Posts: 3717
PostPosted: Fri Apr 22, 2011 2:59 am Reply with quote
Key wrote:
configspace wrote:
obviously the ANN crowd is not this series' audience.


I am very much the "target audience" for fare like this (hell, I watched and liked Seikon no Qwaser), and I still found Cattleya, and to a lesser extent Melpha, to be off-putting. But I've never been a fan of grossly oversized boobs in any medium, so. . .

heh, well for me, if Cattleya were a stick figure with such boobs (like a more exaggerated version of the female One Piece chars) I wouldn't have liked the design either. But the fact that she's truly amply proportioned everywhere else and that the bust size really does go along well with the rest of her body strikes my fancy Razz
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MaxSouth



Joined: 11 Oct 2008
Posts: 1363
PostPosted: Fri Apr 22, 2011 3:45 pm Reply with quote
key:

[sorry=offtopic]mentioning "Seikon no Qwaser"... could you please answer few related questions...

i have just checked and it turned out that now second series began to air this season... ANN rarely previews new "Xnd season" of the previous shows... it is not systematic and most of Xnd seasons go without fans even knowing that they exist and began to air...

1) will you review second season of "Seikon no Qwaser"?

2) it is possible for ANN to make an table attached to a season guides where all of new series for the season be listed?... not only that get previewed, but also which are not, and also series which are not new, but are continuations from the previous seasons (not of course non-interrupted ones like Naruto, but these which re-appear through a pause, like "Seikon no Qwaser")?...

3) why there is strange disclaimer at the top for Season's guide about certain anime series being licensed and thus there will be no previews for them?.. why is so?...
[/offtopic]
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jenthehen



Joined: 23 Dec 2008
Posts: 835
Location: Cincinnati, Ohio
PostPosted: Fri Apr 22, 2011 9:30 pm Reply with quote
I was actually surprised that the dub was as good as it was! I liked a lot of the voices, but even the worst are tolerable in the grand scheme of things. Granted, I've never seen the subs (except for in the OVA episodes on the disks!)

I really hope they do a complete series blu-ray release of the second season. Even though some of the fan-service is ridiculous, I love a lot of the characters, and the music and animation is gorgeous.


Annnnd - they might dub Strawberry Panic? I may have to re-buy that series for a dub :3
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Mad_Scientist
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Joined: 08 Apr 2008
Posts: 3013
PostPosted: Fri Apr 22, 2011 9:44 pm Reply with quote
On topic: Theron, if you reviewed both the first volumes again today, what story scores would they get? Vol 1 got a C+ and Vol 2 got a B- in your initial reviews. What prompted your reevaluation of the series' story merits, or lack thereof?


Off topic, in response to MaxSouth:

1) Key/Theron previewed it for the guide. ANN only gives full-fledged reviews to licensed series, though, so unless SnQ actually gets licensed, it won't happen.

2) Maybe. Usually before they do the preview for a new season, they also do a guide listing all the new shows/second seasons with a short summery of their premise, though sometimes shows get missed.

3) ANN doesn't use fansubs for its preview guides unless there are no announced legal options to view the series. In the case of X-Men, it's been licensed, so there will be legal way to see it: it's just that legal broadcast won't happen for a while, long past the point of the preview guide being relevant.
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bravetailor



Joined: 30 May 2009
Posts: 817
PostPosted: Fri Apr 22, 2011 10:38 pm Reply with quote
I find that U.S. voice actors tend not to get up for shows like this. I do often find sleazy and blatantly ecchi shows tend to be best watched in its original form, where Japanese VAs have no problems making non-so-subtle orgasmic line readings with relish ("Kyaaahhhh! Yaaaa! Yada yadaa!!"). Laughing

This is coming from someone who's otherwise very supportive of even the most mediocre of english dubs.
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