Forum - View topicREVIEW: Witchblade DVD 6
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Big Hed
 Posts: 1607 Location: Melbourne, Australia |
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Yeah, I agree; I just watched the final volume a couple days ago, and this series turned out a lot better than I had expected it would. I'm glad I picked it up (almost on impulse, to be honest -- damn shiny art box).
In a way, the conclusion was typical Gonzo, but it still packed a lot of punch and left me feeling satisfied, thus avoiding the normal pitfalls of a typical Gonzo conclusion. Solid dub, good action (although I admit to not noticing the Tokyo 2040 rip, despite having seen the show previously), and most importantly, good character interactions. Also, I'm thankful Gonzo came to its senses for the last episode and switched the OP to XTC. |
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MorwenLaicoriel
 Posts: 1617 Location: Colorado |
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...You know, I'm really surprised at how your reviews make me want to really, really see this, Key. I never would've even considered touching a show like this before.
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Randall Miyashiro
 Posts: 2451 Location: A block away from Golden Gate Park |
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Originally I was a bit skeptic since this series didn't even break the top 1000 list here on ANN. Considering that Speed Grapher (which I enjoyed) hovers around #500 with Solty Rei just below it I assumed that Witchblade would be a very weak effort by Gonzo in attempting something similar. After finishing the series I do agree that it is a worthy successor to previous Gonzo titles which appeal to us older fans who are at the point of our lives where holding onto a job and taking care of our family are bigger priorities than first kisses and passing school tests.
This series is definitely amongst my list of favorites that don't break the top 1000 best anime titles here. I've seen a good number of positive comments here and wonder why it is ranked so low. |
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CaptainAvatar
 Posts: 381 Location: Saint Louis, MO |
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While I felt the conclusion could have been better, overall this was better than some other Gonzo shows I've seen. The dub was quite good, and regardless of language, the audiophile in me is finding it increasingly difficult to watch a series in plain stereo when a 5.1 mix is available. Although the character designs could turn off some, ultimately the heart of this show is the relationship between Rihoko and Masane - surprising considering the source material is a Western superhero comic. The Top Cow interview extras really made this a great release from Funimation - they definitely made for some interesting extra exposition into the world of the Witchblade!
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Goodpenguin
Posts: 457 Location: Hunt Valley, MD |
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snl67 wrote:
It certainly runs circles around 'Speed Grapher', which seems to be the Gonzo show it's put up against. A big improvement over the painfully adolescent trappings of said title, people expecting a T&A romp/action vehicle will find something different (good or bad depending or perspective). Randall Miyashiro wrote:
Just speaking for myself, 'Witchblade' was a bit of a miss owing to the fact (to me) it pulled the old 'Half and Half' routine. It combined a bit of throw-back, 'mature' sexy/action stylings, and mixed it with some better-than-average (for anime) emotional drama. Trouble is I never felts those parts equaled a greater whole, especially for fans of the former. I understand modern anime fandom is extremely hostile to old-school, male-oriented action/T&A shenanigans, but there are still some old 'Go Nagi' era fans kicking around, and 'Witchblade' pulls a pretty big 'bait-and-switch' with it's premise. A show with a framework of 'Stylized action featuring busty femme-fatales who battle it out in skimpy, orgasm-inducing costumes' doesn't necessarily cry out for long periods of derivative sci-fi exposition and angsty family drama. Some fans will be pleasantly surprised by that narrative choice, others not so much. |
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Vortextk
 Posts: 892 Location: Orlando, Fl |
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It seems I'm in agreement with Goodpenguin and guess for once, I sit in the minority. The visuals dropped off, questions were left unanswered, the entire aspect of the costumes could've been changed to power ranger types for all I care; they were hardly used for their original intended effect.
I just don't see it. But, if the sales are doing as well as they did in the beginning, atleast an anime licensor is reaping some benefits with this one even with all the problems in the industry and sub only releases. |
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billyarnie
 Posts: 190 Location: San Antonio, TX |
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This geezer has always liked comics & cartoons... Western style. Only since Toonami in the late 90's have I been introduced to anime. I had seen some of the Witchblade comics & when Warner Bros./TNT announced a live-action adaptation, I expected just a little babealicious fanservice. Hell, I saw the Lynda Carter "Wonder Woman" & even "Xena" had some sex appeal. Yet Yancy Butler AKA Sara "Witchblade" Pezzini only had a belly shirt & in the pilot, FULL ARMOR?! WTF?!? Fortunately, Top Cow let Gonzo do the anime thing with their franchise & success... in more ways than one. The sexy transformations are the tease... but even if you're a guy, if you're honest, the mother/daughter relationship made it different from the beginning. Thanks to [adult swim] passing & IFC acquiring it, Witchblade is the 1st anime series I've ever collected. I HAVE to complete this! |
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v1cious
 Posts: 6235 Location: Houston, TX |
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so are you saying this gets good in the last 4 episodes? cause so far, what i've seen on IFC has been horrible.
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Dargonxtc
 Posts: 4463 Location: Nc5xd7+ スターダストの海洋 |
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I agree with the review. Including the B+ rating overall. I don't think it reaches into A territory, but anything less than a plus would seem too weak. However if there was a category for pure entertainment value alone, then I think this should get a solid A. He definitely gets it right with the balance between humanity and action. Something I was trying to hit on with my post on volume 5, but didn't say as well as Theron did here.
One thing I didn't notice, that everyone else seemed too, is the drop in animation quality. I will chalk that up to me being to much enthralled in other aspects to notice. That is something I will have to pay attention to more on a rewatch. Whenever that might be. I also liked all of the character designs, with my only complaint being we don't get to look at them as much as I would like. A smidgen more time with characters in their "suits" could have been mixed in without losing out on a lot of emotional content. I think that is part of what Goodpenguin is getting at, and on that aspect I agree with him. Though not so much to destroy the duality of the show, which I enjoyed. Overall I really like this show. And although the younger audience might not get as much out of it, it meet me with a very nice balance which was pleasing to watch. Before I end this there is a question I need to ask all of you whom have finished the series. It has been bugging me, big time. It's a pretty big spoiler so don't look unless you have finished it. spoiler[The slipcover jacket, volume 6. Go and open it.] spoiler[That person featured, is it not Rico??? Maybe I missed something, but we never see her Witchblade form in the animation. Although it is implied she will/does get it, I find it funny that the design would be put on the cover, and we never see her in motion. Was there an OVA made for Witchblade, or is there an easter egg on the disc? Anyway I just wanted to hear your thoughts on that.] |
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Key
Moderator
 Posts: 18498 Location: Indianapolis, IN (formerly Mimiho Valley) |
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EDIT: Fixed broken tag.
I had the exact same thought when I first saw that, but actually it's spoiler[Aoi, Maria's faithful assistant.]
I don't think it's so much "hostile" as "recognizing that a lot of them actually sucked." (Or do you really want to waste time convincing me that Kekko Kamen was actually a gem?) You still have some of those around these days, incidentally.
Here I must entirely disagree. 24 episodes of nothing but T&A and action would, quite frankly, have been boring. Series which emphasize that approach are usually either much shorter or OVAs, and with good reason. Besides, that was always the aspect of this series that impressed me least; I believe I've been quite clear in how little I like the designs of the battle armor for Masane and the various Cloneblade wearers. I don't agree with the "bait-and-switch" in this case, either. Sure, the advertising and cover art emphasizes the series' sexy side, but the importance of the family connection and character relations got established from the first episode and always remained an integral part. Although the series did become more plot-focused in its later stages, it's not like the writers suddenly pulled some trick halfway through and said, "hey, we're going to entirely switch gears and concentrate on the characters now" or gave up completely on the action. And v1cious: If you have seen the entire series except for the last 4 episodes and still think it's horrible then no, you probably won't like the last four eps, either. If you are basing that opinion on less than most of the series than you may find the second half to get quite a bit better. Last edited by Key on Wed May 21, 2008 8:06 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Goodpenguin
Posts: 457 Location: Hunt Valley, MD |
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billyarnie wrote:
Said with humor, there's a bit of a suspicious ring to many of the 'I like fanservice as much as the next guy....' sayings round' these parts. A lot of these read to me like: "Hey, I love the beach. Just not a big fan of the heat. Or too much sun-shine. Also, never really cared for all that sand. Ocean doesn't do much for me either. But outside of that I love the beach!". Somehow I get the feeling the person is much less a 'fanservice booster' than advertised. Dargonxtc wrote:
You assign me more noble intentions then I'm due here. I hoped for this to be 100% old-school frenetic visual excess for the sake of excess, mixed with darkly tongue-in-cheek risque T&A humor. I didn't want to be able to find a plot outside the most basic 'here's why half-naked girls are doing stuff' in a 100 mile radius. That said, enjoyment is a matter of perspective, and many modern anime fans probably enjoy 'Witchblade' as is, more then if it was to my tastes. But for my view at a ripe ol' 30, with rare exception, I don't turn to anime for quality dramatics and engaging sci-f/fantasy/etc.. There's many outlets for sci-fi and drama that blow the doors off a show like 'Witchblade', but there are few places that I can enjoy engaging visual composition and 'Heavy Meta' era (magazine, not the music) T&A/action. 'Witchblade' starts with a frame work that's very heavily indebted to those sources (darkly humorous sexual undertones, risque designs, stylized fighting), but very much goes about playing those aspects down, and ends up a kind of typical sci-fi/drama anime happening. Note too, there's a difference between just arbitrarily wishing a show like 'Witch Hunter Robin' (which is in no way, shape or form designed for one to expect fanservice antics) had some more T&A content, and commenting a show like 'Witchblade' (which flings T&A appeal at the viewer like a 2-seam fastball) doesn't exactly move as advertised. As Vortextk put earlier, you almost wonder why they included certain elements if they weren't going to be utilized. Again, taken as a story driven sci-fi/drama, it has some unique touches that do make it stand out a bit from similar shows. Just on my personal preferences I found it to be a little 'bait and switch' with the framework, and I was looking forward to the 'bait' a heck of a lot more than what I got with the 'switch'. 
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leftbehindxp
 Posts: 142 |
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spoiler[I think that is Maria's assistant, or right hand man, Aoi. Yeah when I opened that up I was so confused, and I thought it was Rico as well. You know how they said that she was meant to get the witchblade and not Masane? My first thought was that Rico got it.] Overall with the review I am in agreement with. The music and voice talent are way above average, especially with the English track. But one thing that I have to disagree with a lot of people is with the visual aspect of it. I thought it was fantastic and unique. Also comparing it with other Gonzo titles, I thought the visuals could compete with the best of Gonzo or at least be up there. Especially scenes spoiler[when Masane explained to Rico how she was going to die soon in the garden scene, the fight scenes, and the last scene with Masane on top of the tower.] Whenever I picked up a copy at Best Buy with friends and from the cover they always said, "Fan service!". But it's so much more than just that though. Great series, great ending. |
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Jedi General
 Posts: 2485 Location: Tucson, AZ |
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Well, this is good to hear. I've been following the series on IFC and it will be reaching it's conclusion very soon. [Episode 21 will be airing this Friday.] It's really been getting good over the last few episodes.
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Mmsven
 Posts: 86 Location: British Columbia, Canada |
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I thought Witchblade was horrible all the way through. |
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billyarnie
Posts: 190 Location: San Antonio, TX |
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You're both entiled to your opinions. Obviously, Mmsven has bought ALL the DVD's, like I did today, and STILL thinks he/she got ripped off, or he/she downloaded ALL the fansubs & thinks he/she got ripped off. Memo: If you're looking for skin, buy the DVD's! Japanese TV, for a change, was embarrassed by Witchblade, so she was blacked off from the waist down on the Japanese broadcast. All the DVD's have fleshtones & nudity (where they can get away with it). There's a "bait" to start, but not a "switch"... It seems to start off as an ecchi, IMHO, but from the beginning, the mother/daughter relationship is the best.[/list] |
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