Witchblade

I keep thinking that Witchblade is one of Marvel’s titles and kept wondering why it didn’t make the cut in the MCU. Even if it was a lesser known title, was it because it got adapted into anime back in 2006? Turns out I was wrong. Although it had some sort of crossover in the Marvel and DC comics, it was actually published by Top Cow Productions which was part of the Image Comics (third largest comic book publisher after Marvel and DC). Anyway, the only reason why I’m watching a retro western comic book turned Japanese anime series is because, wait for it, Mamiko Noto helming the titular character! Oh boy. My favourite seiyuu in a main character role. This means more lines to hear from her. Hooray!

Episode 1
Masane Amaha and her daughter, Rihoko are taking a boat to Tokyo. The irony that Rihoko is acting more grown up than Masane. But Masane is proud of her and thus the boatman tells her to take good care of her since after that incident supposedly caused by Child Welfare Agency (CWA), children are scarce now. Meanwhile a detective investigates some corpse splitting incident. It’s the 4th case and some nearby drunkard claims he is the killer. But the detective thinks he is just drunk and has him lock up instead. Meanwhile Sakurai from CWA confronts Masane. She is given a talk to hand over Rihoko over to CWA. Even though she is her mother, the law has the right to take her away?! Masane claims they chased them out but she says a max of 6 years they can only live in some collective dorm. Masane and Rihoko were found alive at ground zero AKA Null Point of that incident 6 years ago. Masane lost her memories but thanks to her maternity passbook, she was determined the mother of Rihoko. But now things has changed. She has no job or house and that’s why CWA thinks they can provide for Rihoko. If she is her mom, think what is best for her. At that moment of weakness, Masane gives in. But after hearing Rihoko’s cries of not wanting to be separated, Masane tries to reclaim her daughter. Damn, police too weak to stop her as she steals their car! She gets desperate to chase them but crashes. Don’t worry. Still alive but thrown into the detention centre. Rihoko feigns going to toilet to escape from Sakurai. She bumps into journalist, Yuusuke Tozawa and forces him to take her to mama. Well, I guess he has to since he was illegally here waiting for some scoop. Don’t want to get caught now. As Masane sits in her cell, something in her right hand glows and causes her great pain. This attracts that drunkard a few cells away as he turns into some weird machine and kills all the police. He is going to have fun killing her too but she transforms into a sexy killing machine and easily kills him. She escapes as Tozawa snaps pics of this. Hiroki Segawa who works under Reiji Takayama sends a movie file of this scene. He confirms the Witchblade user has popped up. Since she was shot a tranquilizer, they’ll retrieve her shortly. Masane slowly loses consciousness as she reverts to normal with only Rihoko on her mind.

Episode 2
Once more, Rihoko trying to force Tozawa to help her mind mama at the detention centre. However with detective Akira Nakata hot on his tail because he is always on the scene before he does, Tozawa takes Rihoko back to his place for now. His landlord, Mariko Natsuki isn’t impressed. She will call CWA the first thing in the morning as she doesn’t want to be sued. But a scared Rihoko clings onto underneath the table and puts up a fight! Feisty! Okay. Suit yourself. Stay there if you want. Segawa reports to Takayama that Masane in their hands. He also has data about her past but they’re mostly created by the government since her actual past records were destroyed during the catastrophe. More interestingly, she was rescued at Null Point and it could be then and there she met Witchblade. Next morning, Mariko calls Sakurai to inform her about Rihoko and to send someone to pick her up. At the same time, Tatsuoki Furumizu, the chairman of NSWF Foundation who helped established those children laws and established CWA, leaves after inspecting the place. Looks like he is looking for Witchblade too. Tozawa develops his photos of the victims. Some victims were employed by NSWF and with Nakata on this case as well as monsters popping up, he wonders if they are all related. Later Mariko barges in to say Rihoko is gone. Yeah, not going to stick around to let those CWA assholes take her, right? Masane is taken to see Takayama who explains what is going on. That bracelet she has now is Witchblade, an ancient powerful weapon that could be the key to rule the world. For millennia, wars have been fought over it. The last owner was Douji Group but they lost it 6 years ago at Null Point. As for how she got it, she has to ask Witchblade herself. It seems only certain woman are chosen to activate its powers. Masane doesn’t want it and they can gladly have it back. Just take it off. They can’t. They’re still researching how. Lest she wants to cut off her hand. Nevertheless, since Witchblade is theirs, this means they own Masane and she will work for them. After all, she has nowhere to go and is on the run after breaking a slew of laws. Takayama takes her to his lab to test out Witchblade’s capabilities. Masane is forced to transform into Witchblade’s complete form. Now she’s a bloodthirsty killing machine.

Episode 3
Masane doesn’t know why but in this Witchblade form, all she wants is to kill! And she destroys that robot completely! Thankfully she passes out because otherwise the damage would not be confined to just the robot. When she recovers, she is still not amused with this and wants an explanation. Takayama already told her that she is a weapon and she already knows it. Because she started fighting without them even telling her what to do. Of course he shuts her up with the trump card: Rihoko. He gives her time to decide if she would join them. Do that and he will guarantee she can live with her daughter. Well, if only they know where Rihoko is. Speaking of her, she is trying to make her way to Tokyo Tower because that is where mama promised to meet if they get separated. Too bad she has no money since she got pickpocketed. Luckily that boatman gives her a free ride there. Rihoko calls out to momma but looks like she’s not here yet. That pickpocket gets fried by a weird fatty who turns into some microwave machine. Tozawa is threatened by Mariko to find Rihoko or else he has to pay up his rent. But I guess he is more interested in taking pictures of the crime scene of that murdered victim than finding Rihoko. Masane wants Takayama to explain the deal before she decides. So he explains about X-con. It is one of the weapon series his company makes but it was put on hold due to problems. However many went missing due to that catastrophe and they have been on a recovering mission. As you can tell, it is not easy because it is hard to tell X-con from humans as they look the same. Yup, those people who can transform into those machines are called X-con. There are 11 victims already. And as we all have guessed, only Witchblade has to power to defeat them. So you in? If it guarantees a life with Rihoko, she’s in. And so before that microwave X-con can claim another woman, here Witchblade is to distract him. He tries to fry her but nothing happens and she slices him. Easy recovery job. On the way back, they so happen to pass by Tokyo Tower. How the heck could Masane see a tiny girl sitting there?! Mother’s instincts?! Woah! Masane just jump off the helicopter to reunite with her daughter! And she’s fine! The power of motherly love for you!

Episode 4
Masane and Rihoko will temporarily be living in one of Takayama’s hotels until they find a place of their own. For now, I guess order all the great food and put it on his tab! Takayama is contacted by Reina Soho who offers her help to find Witchblade. He declines her offer and lies that he is still finding it. Of course he has no intention of letting NSWF or Douji get their hands on it. Masane and Rihoko head over to Mariko’s place to thank her for the time she took care of the little one. But she is not in and the only ones there now are this perverted old man, Cho Sato, a quiet giant, Michael and a meek fortune teller, Naomi. Cho mentions there is room for rent since an occupant left. The downside is that there is no bathroom. Immediately they want to rent this place. Reina sees Furumizu about trying to get the Witchblade and they can’t let Douji have it. He hopes she won’t repeat the same mistake that got many of her sisters killed. Mariko refuses to rent it to them and claims many have defaulted on their rental payments and will only rent out as office spaces. Despite Masane and Rihoko promising this and that, Mariko remains stubborn. This leads to an argument where both women start throwing things at each other! I think the whole building would’ve been demolished had the rest not stop them. Later it is revealed Mariko received a letter from the authority that they want to demolish and redevelop this place. Elsewhere, another woman falls victim to an X-con. Make that 3 same fatty microwave X-cons! Of course Masane is called for this job. She will know if she stumbles into an X-con as her Witchblade will detect it. Rihoko sneaks to Mariko’s place but as a customer. Masane is not happy about this. But as Mariko reveals some company has taken up her place, it seems that company is Jack Of All Trades Amaha. It’s mom’s company?! Uh huh. Sneaky little girl planned the whole thing. So with that loophole, they are able to stay here now. Of course Mariko warns them they only have a year because of that redevelopment thingy. Reina and her assistant, Shiori Tsuzuki bait those X-cons to come at them and easily defeats them in their Witchblade form. With Masane arriving at the scene, she is confused to see them and thinks they are X-cons.

Episode 5
Reina and Shiori just confirm her as the wielder of Witchblade and then leave. When Masane returns, Takayama explains they are Cloneblades. More accurately, Neogenes who are humans created and chosen by NSWF to wield Cloneblades. Long ago Douji and NSWF cooperated on this technology but stopped 6 years ago. He also warns her about Furumizu because he wants the Witchblade because when a superior Neogene equips it, rumour has it this will make the strongest human alive. Hence CWA is a pawn for NSWF to select candidates for Neogene so don’t cooperate with them. Now you know why they’re targeting children, eh? Masane then tries to negotiate with Takayama about her salary. Then why refuse this living expenses? Masane and Rihoko move into their new place. Mariko ups the rent but Cho has bought a few stuffs for them as their welcome party. He even suggests they go to the public bath together. Intentions very clear… Too bad he won’t get to see anything… Tozawa has been released after spending a night in cell. He returns to Mariko’s place and learns Rihoko and her mom living here. He tries to bug Masane for a story because he believes she has seen something while in her cell. She claims she knows nothing. Rihoko and mama go shopping but Rihoko is like the mature adult and making the decisions. Weird… Tozawa still won’t give up and tries to bug Masane, showing her a photo of Witchblade. She still maintains her stand she knows nothing. Takayama is forced to attend some charity party and looks like Furumizu is also here. Of course they talk about Witchblade and Furumizu believes Takayama has it. Takayama claims those are lies and reminds him that it was his daughter who lost it. As there can only be 1 Witchblade and it choses its wielder, he thinks Takayama is releasing X-cons in fear of Witchblade trying to change hands since it will go to those who are worthy. Masane gets a call to hunt down an X-con. After easily defeating it, she has to face off with Neogene Shiori. Just in time because killing the X-con didn’t satisfy her enough. They fight and Tozawa is shocked to learn Masane is indeed Witchblade.

Episode 6
The babes fight, even hinting some yuri. Unfortunately Masane gets pounded although she’s showing signs she’s a masochist. Eventually Takayama’s men intercepts and takes a deeply wounded Masane into their van. Shiori chases. Reina chases. Tozawa chases. The van ploughs through the traffic jam on the bridge and then use smokescreen to hide their cover as they deliver Masane to Takayama’s cruiser beneath. For now, it is safer to stay on the ocean. Shiori wants to continue chasing but is stopped by Reina. Tozawa might have lost his lead but he is confident this story will come up big. So he tries to bug Rihoko about Masane’s work but she is reluctant to tell anything to this jerk. Believing that some big company is backing Masane, that’s where he’ll start first. Masane wakes up and her wounds all healed. The after effects of using Witchblade is that she is very hungry and starts eating anything they serve. She is shocked to learn she is in the middle of the ocean and won’t be back on land for a while. If she is worried about Rihoko, just call her. Masane realizes Segawa changed her bandages and especially the wound right across her chest. I suppose there aren’t any other female staffs on this cruiser? Reina checks on Shiori. Her wound did not heal although she feels no pain on it. Then some corpse is found on their compound and Reina orders to dispose it. She wonders if it is an X-con because if it was, why did she not sense it? Takayama wonders if Masane cannot understand her situation because despite being Witchblade’s wielder, she is being cool about it. Well, no use agonizing over it since her priority is taking care of Rihoko. Then she asks if insurance covers this since she got hurt during her job. He just calls her an idiot. I guess that means it’s not covered! Back in her room, she spots a photo of Takayama and Reina together. Reina is analysing Shiori’s brain pattern and notes her change in behaviour. Too late because Shiori has gone berserk and kills nurse.

Episode 7
Shiori is in shock when she sees all the blood. But as Reina tries to calm her down, Shiori breaks free and escapes. Masane demands an explanation from Takayama. This photo of him and Shiori. Time for a short flashback. A time when Douji and NSWF were working together on Witchblade, NSWF sent one of their staffs (Reina) to work with them. But one day she disappeared with Witchblade. At first he thought she was under orders from NSWF but realized she could want Witchblade for herself. This also came when talks about not letting Reina wield it just because she is from NSWF. It is unknown how Masane ended up with Witchblade but it is certain that they met. When both sides were having war with each other, Shiori was caught in the crossfire that caused the incident of Null Point. Reina went back to work with NSWF since she is a valuable and closest candidate for Witchblade. Can’t give her up that easily. Tozawa requests Cho’s help to find the location of the boat. Damn old geezer makes contact with some super hacker to get the job done! Just get the mixer with hot babes ready for him! Rihoko thinks Tozawa is still after her mom so she’s going with him to keep an eye on him. Shiori has gone berserk and finds her way to Masane to satisfy herself. Takayama and Segawa support Masane with their guns with special armour piercing bullets. Because Masane isn’t completely healed, she is weaker and soon Shiori loses interest. Shiori is interested in Takayama but before this weird rape scene can happen, her Cloneblade breaks and she turns into dust. When they dock, Reina is here to get her assistant. Well, here’s all that’s left of her and the Cloneblade. Masane is also surprised Rihoko is here. Courtesy of you know who. Tozawa wants her to introduce him to the owner of the boat. She will but wants him to take them home first. Takayama and Reina talk about wielders of Witchblade might end up like Shiori. Cloneblade is after all a clone of Witchblade. Even more so as Witchblade is high performance and has a higher chance of destroying its wielder. The only time it will come off is when its wielder dies.

Episode 8
Masane drinks with Mariko and talks about how she can’t remember anything before the catastrophe. She is surprised to learn Tozawa was once a great photographer but decided to go chase after silly scoop stories to earn a living. The party is just getting started when Cho wants everyone to drink. Yup, Masane getting all drunk and everybody forcing Tozawa to drink too. It is no surprise the next morning, Masane has a big hangover so Rihoko has to be a responsible ‘mom’ and go buy some medicine. Tozawa is also having hangover but wants Masane to tell her story. When both of them are sober, Masane claims she doesn’t know what he is talking about and this Witchblade in the photo is not her. He insists. She insists. Maybe next time. Soon, Tozawa hears another murder case and wants Masane to help out. He will pay her of course. Masane watches him take photos of the crime scene from a hidden spot as she wonders if he likes doing this kind of job. He asks her the same question but she feigns she doesn’t know. Tozawa is then confronted by some punk who wants payback of a photo he published of his bodyguard and some woman. Tozawa the smooth operator acts like he is going to pay him off but drives off. As they lie low, he continues to bug Masane about the photo. No matter how he looks at it, this Witchblade is her. He could sell this to a magazine so Masane pleads him not to. She doesn’t want Rihoko to know. Then they talk about Tozawa’s photography. He claims he blew it all on photography when he was young and naïve. But then the grim side of life had him start taking photos of reality instead. Suddenly they are attacked by an X-con. Strangely, Masane can’t transform. Cornered, she wants to make a deal. She wants Tozawa not to tell Rihoko about all this as she wants to tell her first. And also to hold out telling anybody else for a year. With that, Masane transforms and fights the X-con. However the X-con feels afraid and doesn’t want to die and flees. Rihoko is done shopping and stumbles into Reina. Why she keep looking at the loli?! Rihoko returns to Masane and they’re back being the usual happy mother and daughter.

Episode 9
Another murder from that X-con. That makes it 3 nights in a row. Of course with Tozawa being the hard worker and ‘smarter’ than any police officer, he realizes there is a connection between all these murders. They all happen at around 11.45pm and near broadcasting centres. With Masane, they go interrogate a witness who saw that murder. He describes what happened but he is left shaken in fear. Wow. Tozawa even doing the police’s job now?! Our hardworking Rihoko is also doing some shopping. She meets Reina again but they part soon. Then Rihoko meets that X-con in the streets. It’s like they become strange acquaintances as Rihoko hears him talk about his girlfriend and the home he would like to buy. They promise to meet again here tomorrow and this time she’ll make him lunch. That night, Tozawa and Masane lie in wait for the murder to happen. Masane senses an X-con nearby and goes into action. The woman is saved but the X-con once again flees. The duo then use the public info at the police station to look up data on this X-con, Takeshi Muraki. It seems he was a police officer and he died in the line of duty. WTF Nakata tells them to stop looking into this?! If he had only done his job! Then we see Rihoko hanging out with Muraki same time same place. Wow. Such a nice guy. Same time same place tomorrow too. And with lunch provided. Later Nakata talks to the duo that Muraki was his subordinate. The true story was that he committed suicide. He was a fan of this radio star named Sakura. He protected her from a deranged fan but she mistook him for a stalker and sued him. Muraki couldn’t take it and subsequently jumped off the building. Sakura later died in the catastrophe. The duo’s task is to ask Muraki himself. So that night as Masane intercepts him again, this time he is full of regrets and thinks he shouldn’t have come back alive. In order to force her to kill him, he attacks Tozawa. Masane is forced to protect him and deals the fatal blow. She is left puzzle to what X-cons are. Next day, Rihoko waits for Muraki but he never showed up. Must be busy. Oh well, at least she got mama to return to.

Episode 10
Tozawa has dug up some articles on Douji and it seems there are many parties trying to force their way to associate with them. That’s because they have the permit to create and export weapons. Now, it wouldn’t be so much of a story to that. But if those weapons are actually humans, then that’s something. Masane will try to ask Takayama about this while Tozawa will try looking into Neogenes from NSWF. Takayama notices that Masaya Wadou of the biotech division is organizing a party because he won some international science award. But he isn’t invited. What’s this about the invitation needs a partner too? Speaking of which, here Masane comes to ask about X-cons. Are they humans? Takayama doesn’t bat an eyelid to admit they are. Rather, they were. Dead humans turned into weapons. So isn’t that bad because it’ll cause war? Takayama reasons that weapons aren’t the cause of war. War will never end so they’re just trying to use ex-humans to save more lives and end the wars. Can’t say he is entirely wrong… Takayama also knows a reporter sneaking around with her. Being the bad liar she is, now that Tozawa’s existence is known, don’t worry, Takayama won’t kill to silence him. So he doesn’t mind a pesky bug snooping around? Of course. But Masane must pay a penalty and be his company to the party. Or would she rather pay a fine? And so he takes Masane to shop for some dress. Are they serious? Because it feels more like a cosplay try out. But we all know this elegant stunner is going to be the one. And with a little makeup and hair styling, OMFG, Masane could be Miss Universe! And so they gate crash the party and with Masane so stunning, you bet Wadou is letting this slide. Until you see her being excited with all the food! Takayama also notices the former Prime Minister here and connects the dots that Wadou has been sending funds to him. How else could he have won this award, right? With Masane so excited, she bumps and crashes into the trophy! Oh dear. Broken. How will she pay? Oh, she’ll pay. Wadou doesn’t think so but Takayama will help her. He will know the cost once he asks a certain man. With this being embarrassing, Wadou drops the monetary compensation to save face. But Takayama must settle this via vodka! It’s their way of settling things during their student years. Record has it that Wadou can hold his liquor so Takayama is at a disadvantage. But in the end, it is Wadou who collapses. After leaving, Masane can tell Takayama is actually drunk. Poker face did the trick. So they just sleep out there right in the park?

Episode 11
Maria kills another colleague during training. Yup, the fifth one. She is a Witchblade candidate and who knows what she’ll be capable of once she wears the Cloneblade. Takayama wakes up in Masane’s room. Rihoko being the real adult and treating him nicely. Oh Rihoko, she thinks Takayama makes a better husband for mommy than Tozawa! They should get married! Now the kid is a matchmaker?! I hope it’s not because of the money… Takayama calls Segawa about being late for today but the latter says not to come in because Wadou is here and he is pretty adamant in asking about Witchblade. Segawa hopes to avoid any sort of confrontation. Since Wadou can’t wait the whole day, he eventually leaves. As Rihoko goes out to do more errands, suddenly she collapses at the market. When Masane received word about this, she rushes out! Barefoot! And she doesn’t even know where the hospital is! Thanks to Takayama, he manages to summon a taxi to bring her there. It is believed a passing doctor manage to treat her before sending Rihoko to the hospital. She is diagnosed with some mile stomach inflammation so she’ll be staying here for at least a day for observations. Later Masane could sense a Neogene nearby and she is lusting to fight her. Takayama wonders why she is so eager and thought she was afraid of her Witchblade. She still is but she wants to leave something for Rihoko before she goes even if it means taking on jobs to fight Neogenes. So does she know? Masane fights Nora who is Furumizu’s secretary. The latter wants her to come with her to meet Furumizu but since Masane will not, hence they start fighting. Not sure why Takayama calls for backup to support Masane because they can’t even do jack sh*t! Eventually Masane loses and Nora kidnaps her. Tozawa has infiltrated NSWF as a researcher and to his shock, sees an unconscious and injured Masane being wheeled into a room. Rihoko sleeps at the hospital… Being stalked by Reina?!

Episode 12
Maria goes to see Furumizu who is her grandpa. However she throws a tantrum thinking he hates her because he isn’t paying attention to her. Well, between this spoilt brat and Rie Nishida doing important data extraction on Witchblade, what do you think? So Nora has to babysit her and take her out shopping. But she too throws a tantrum and almost kills a kid just because she took a plushie she wanted to buy! Nora threatens to kill Maria if she doesn’t restrain her behaviour! Segawa gets a call from Wadou who knows Takayama has lost Witchblade. He views this his failure and will bring it up at the next executive meaning. Stumped at how Wadou knows about Witchblade, Takayama has no choice but to resort to his next action. Nishida extracts Witchblade’s data and tells Furumizu some important details like Masane’s circumstances as well as the shocking data that Reina is no longer a match for the Witchblade. This has Furumizu think that Witchblade isn’t completed yet for choosing a plain woman. Nishida also notes they are completing Cloneblade with this data and it will soon be a more powerful weapon that surpasses the original. Tozawa tries to sneak in via dumpster but look who is there? Segawa! He is impersonating as the security and he too has plans of sneaking in. Of course not like Tozawa. He is glad Tozawa is here because if anything goes wrong, he can blame him! Tozawa manages to get into Masane’s room. But she is too weak to move. He tries to play the Rihoko card but that didn’t do much. All that screaming of course attracted the security. As told by Segawa, Tozawa says Douji will give her a million yen if she gets out here. And just like that she powers up and busts out! Oh man… Money > daughter?! She owns the security but when surrounded, that is when Takayama’s force surrounds them. A courtesy call by Takayama to Furumizu about his lie that he didn’t have Witchblade. Otherwise this could have been avoided or would he like another Null Point incident? Furumizu gives up and lets Masane walk. With that, Wadou is mad the meeting is cancelled and curses Takayama’s luck. With Rihoko discharged and reuniting with mommy, this calls for double celebration! But this is ruined when Sakurai shows up. No, she’s not here to take Rihoko away. Rather, she throws them a DNA report. It proves Masane and Rihoko are not genetically related! GASP!

Episode 13
Masane can’t accept this even with this proof. What’s this? Even Masane’s name is assumed? Well, she lost her memories, right? The irony is that Sakurai tried to separate them when they were a family. Now they are not, she is still trying to do the same thing. Sakurai wants her to think about Rihoko’s happiness and will return to get her tomorrow. After she leaves, Rihoko suggests they run away again. Good. Cho will help. Meanwhile Maria is throwing another tantrum and she doesn’t want to study. Hence Furumizu will reward her with what she wants if she becomes a perfect human. She wants mama, believing she will be loved by her. Okay. Whatever you say princess. She starts studying and this is just a ploy by Furumizu because he claims anybody can just be her mama. When Sakurai returns to take Rihoko, she is not impressed that everyone is playing dumb and not knowing where she went. The mother and daughter are seeking refuge on the boatman’s boat. He is Cho’s friend. Meanwhile Segawa has got info that Rihoko and Masane are not related. The real mother is… Reina! Why am I not surprised? As Masane goes to town to get money, she ponders what is best for Rihoko. Rihoko writes a letter for Cho and has the boatman’s dog to go deliver it. Unknown to them, Nora has been tailing to dog so it leads her right to the boat. She uses a gas to put everyone to sleep. But as she is about to take Rihoko, Reina comes to fight her. In the end, Nora loses and dies. Just in time when Masane returns to learn Reina is the real mother. Reina thinks Masane doesn’t care much about Rihoko and that is why she often exposes her to danger. Even during that day when she collapsed in town with a cold. Yes, it was Reina who sent her to the hospital. Although Rihoko is clinging onto Masane, the latter suddenly has a change of heart. She tells Rihoko to go with Reina and says the most hurtful things like how she is a bother and that she can do whatever she wants if she has no child to raise. Rihoko ‘understands’ and goes with Reina. A heart breaking parting and of course Masane cries after that. Rihoko being the smart girl did what she had to do because she knows as long as she is with Masane, mama cannot be free. Yeah, both kind-hearted people trying to be considerate to each other and nobody’s happy.

Episode 14
Rihoko is amazed with her new home. So spacious! Reina has bought her everything from toys to clothes. Feel free to have fun and play to your heart’s content. Even so, there seems to be a very strict separation of duties. Whenever Rihoko wants to help out, Reina declines her because it is not a kid’s job to do such things and that Reina can do it herself. No fun. But Rihoko being the obedient kid just does as she is told. Reina also keeps a log of being a mother. Nothing much happens until one day she starts to feel the pain in her hand. She knows that it has begun, Witchblade is destroying her. As Maria is making good progress and now even donning the Cloneblade, she now wants to about mama. Furumizu makes good his promise and gives details about Reina. Maria earnestly believes this is her mom. Tozawa and Cho are doing some hacking as they discover Neogenes all have the same father but different mothers. That is why they are referred to as sisters. Of course Tozawa sees Reina profile. With Masane sulking and not wanting to do anything anymore, Takayama reminds her of her contract. She doesn’t care too. Feel free to take back Witchblade and cut off her hand if you wish. Since this won’t do, he drags her into his car and will bring her back to her real hometown. Meanwhile Segawa calls him to inform that Wadou has called for a meeting and claims he will be successful with the Witchblade project. Takayama isn’t worried. He has failed once and there is nothing more he can do. My, confident is he? Takayama brings Masane to this orphanage where she was raised. He asks if he remembers the name Yasuko Oohara. Nope. That’s supposed to be her real name. Masane cannot remember anything at all from here. Oh look, that group photo. That must be her, right? I’m pretty confident it’s those boobs… Masane then asks about his family. It’s a concept alien to him since his mom died young and his father was always at work, leaving him alone. Hence when he saw Masane and Rihoko, he thought they were a real family. It makes Masane happy because Rihoko was everything she has. Time to troll us as they both embrace and comfort each other. Reina on the other hand starts to feel strange and tears start strolling down her eyes. Uhm, is this what is called motherly love?

Episode 15
Tozawa calls Masane to take Rihoko back as he explains Reina and the other sisters of NSWF are basically from the same father who is no other than Furumizu. Yeah, all the women are his wives, daughters and granddaughters. However Masane is reluctant seeing that she views herself as a monster. And if you compare Reina who is rich and a doctor, not to mention she saved Rihoko twice, what else does Masane have? Maria decides to go see Reina. Damn, this girl using her brute force to open the locked door?! I guess she never learnt about knocking. Her happiness in seeing her mama is short-lived since she sees Rihoko. Who this b*tch?! Technically, Rihoko should be Maria’s older sister! Reina can tell Maria is very dangerous and could be the next generation of Neogenes since her Cloneblade is unrecognizable. Reina trolls Maria to wait in the room while she escapes with Rihoko. But then Maria starts to get mad just thinking about Rihoko. That b*tch gonna die! So mad she transforms and starts her hunt. So powerful that it starts awakening and attracting several X-cons. Not sure where the f*ck Reina is driving too but her car gets stuck in the mud. She tells Rihoko to stay put while she goes to settle things. Luckily for Rihoko, Tozawa saw them driving by and has Rihoko jump into his car. Too bad, that is short-lived too as he crashes when a huge X-con blocks his way. As Masane senses a great bloodlust, she transforms and makes her way to Rihoko (does she know where to find her?) but has to slash all the X-cons along the way. Reina and Maria fight. Maria thinks mama hates her too and will kill her. Damn, this girl sure has personality problems. Although Reina is dealt a fatal blow, she manages to injure Maria. Great timing as NSWF is here to retrieve Maria. Seeing Reina has not much time left, they just leave her. Tozawa calms Rihoko down as he explains how Masane has been doing everything for her all the time. That is why he is certain she will come. And that’s the magic word as Rihoko hears mama calling for her and both mother and daughter emotionally reunite and embrace. Takayama sees Reina dying. She talks about the irony of all the research she has done her whole but yet understood nothing. But this last battle she fought, she felt satisfied. Though, unsure if it is because she is dying or because she protected Rihoko as a mother. Well, time’s up. Bye Reina :’(.

Episode 16
As promised, Tozawa has set up a few hot girls for Cho. That’s right, he is going on a beach vacation with them. However, to avoid Mariko’s pestering to pay up his rent, he invites everyone to come along and he’ll buy anything they want! Meanwhile Masane sees Takayama to get her dues but is then told a dark secret that she too may end up like Neogenes. Dead. He doesn’t want her to use it too much and go into battles too often. Because if she dies, Rihoko will be alone and she’s the only mother she’s got. That is when Segawa also reveals if she dies, Rihoko will become the next wielder of Witchblade. When Reina was pregnant, she showed high compatibility with it. That compatibility drastically reduced after she gave birth, proving that Rihoko is the one. Hence Masane is just warming up the seat until Rihoko is ready. Masane of course will not allow that and will kill anyone who dares touch Rihoko! Oh sh*t, did she just use Witchblade’s power?! But forget all that because now it’s time for some fun at the beach! Yeah! Beach episode! What’s this? A few girls trying to get Cho’s attention?! For real?! Not sure what they heard about being some rich hacker-cum-real estate-cum-athletic-cum-whatever other cool jobs. I think they’re all lies! But Cho in seventh heaven the way they’re all fighting over this old cock! Of course these girls are the colleagues of Kyouko Sasaki who is the editor in chief and Tozawa’s boss. Cho obviously going to have fun with these ladies but I guess nothing beats that dynamite body of Masane! YEAH! Don’t make those girls jealous… But soon, those ladies notice something amiss because if he is that rich, why doesn’t he have a yacht or own this hotel? Scammed? Then they notice Michael and realize he is the famous one. Hey, if he is that famous, why did they not recognize him in the first place?! So what is Michael famous for?! Well, they claim if you don’t know about him, you’re uncool! Just like that, Cho loses all the girls. Ah well, easy come, easy go. Yeah, the only girl he can count on his Rihoko! I hope he doesn’t turn into a lolicon! That night, everybody enjoys their own spectacular fireworks show.

Episode 17
Masane confronts Tozawa as she thinks he revealed her dangerous job to Rihoko. He assures he didn’t mention about her transformation so Rihoko might think she is working with the cops. He reminds her that he is sticking to his promise of not publishing tons of details on all this. But for now he is interested in Furumizu because of his obsession in using his genes on Neogenes. Masane doesn’t care, though. As long as he doesn’t touch Rihoko. Maria is now the obedient girl undergoing regular check-ups from the research. While it makes things much easier for Nishida, she thinks this project will hit a dead end since things will likely remain the same. She is stumped in why Furumizu is using his genes for this project because if he wanted to clone himself, he would’ve just done so. Ah yes, we need to be reminded again as we see Furumizu adoring his perfect father and he hints despising being born by his imperfect mother. As Tozawa researches on Furumizu, he realizes nothing is mentioned about his mom. He meets up with the autobiography author to ask why and is told his mom didn’t like the spotlight. All photos of her has been disposed except for 1 that was carelessly not. Tozawa then heads to the location in this photo to get his answers. Wadou holds a meeting with his executives to present his ultimate Witchblade called… Ultimateblade! Yeah. How special is it? Now men can wield it! Gender equality! He claims their profit will go up as much 150% but Takayama pours cold water on it. He might be able to sell 1 or 2 units and that’s about it. Because clients now want weapons that are powerful but to minimize casualties. People nowadays aren’t weapon enthusiasts and this is just academic foolishness. With Wadou losing again, you bet his office is going to be trashed hard. Tozawa returns to tell Masane about details on Furumizu’s mom. Apparently Furumizu hates his mom. Although his father was an exemplary scientist, his mom was a carefree person. It took his strict family 10 years to recognize this. Furumizu lived under the care of his mom and it is only when he became an adult his hatred started to show. In short, Furumizu’s body father any children. To him, this is like denying his existence. Hence that is why he is going to have Maria to become the perfect mother. She will give birth to a new corrected him that will leave behind descendants! Sick! So isn’t this some sort of mother complex too? Later Masane feels the presence of X-cons and calls Takayama about it. He senses something is wrong because all X-cons have been dealt with during Reina’s last moments. Maria looks like she sounds like she is going to start a rebellion. After all, they Neogenes are the chosen ones, right?

Episode 18
Nakata is investigating another murder site. He finds parts and traces them back to Douji. He confronts Takayama about this but he lacks the evidence to prosecute him. Meanwhile we see Masane splurging the cash on Rihoko, buying her stuffs. No money is wasted if it’s spent on her! On the other hand, Maria is now kinder and gives advices to her other sisters. Wow. She sure matured. Are you sure this is the same Maria? While Furumizu is pleased, Nishida isn’t because this is not what she wanted and the research will soon hit a dead end. Nakata receives an anonymous disc that shows a couple of people picking up pieces of the weapons in the aftermath. This same footage is now played all over the airwaves. He has his team analyse the data and even obtain a search warrant. It seems this info leak is made by Wadou’s department. It is his intention to pin it all on Takayama. When Nakata has gotten what he needs, he confronts Takayama again. This time his team confiscating any assets they deem appropriate as evidence. There is also a large protest outside. As Masane cannot contact Takayama, she is going to see him. Eh? Why is she worried for him? I see, can’t spend money on Rihoko if her source is cut off, huh? Douji’s executives meet and wonder how Takayama will take responsibility. Don’t worry, he has planned for all this. After Tozawa talks to Nakata, he realizes that nobody realizes the weapons originated from humans. This means he still has the edge in the scoop but notes Masane is in danger. When Masane arrives at Douji, she is brought to Wadou. Where’s Takayama? No longer around. He just gave a press conference that he is solely responsible for all this and immediately resigns. This means Masane’s new boss is Wadou. Segawa is now under him too. But Masane doesn’t like it. So she prefers Takayama? I think I can guess why. She tries to leave but Segawa reminds her that Rihoko will be in trouble if she cut ties with that. Yeah. It’s that buzzword. Although Takayama is taken away, Nakata is left frustrated because of a loophole in the law, with Takayama taking all the blame, the company is spared. Masane returns home and promises to always protect Rihoko. She sounds serious and why does this sound like a death flag?!

Episode 19
Masane in a suit and rushing to work? This makes Rihoko worry since mama looks like she doesn’t care about Takayama anymore. After all, Rihoko likes Takayama as he is a nice man. Wadou is relishing that he has finally defeated Takayama. He has his position, his secretary and even his woman. Perfect victory! Tozawa gives Masane a ride home and it seems this was requested by Rihoko. Kyouko is also here because she intends to do an interview on Takayama. She wants to find out what others think about him first. Masane may be a bit drunk as she talks a lot about his good points and his bad too. Wow. She awfully knows a lot about him. This makes Rihoko happy that she still cares for him. This means mama likes him, right? With Masane denying that, this descends into a quarrel and once again, it’s that time where their relationship is strained and won’t talk to each other. Yeah, 2 children fighting… Kyouko then talks to Masane how she was once like her too, putting everything for her daughter although it’s just one way street. Sometimes it’s okay to let your child pamper you. So Masane for that rare moment becomes an adult and talks to Rihoko that she wants to go see Takayama. While this might cause her to be fired, Rihoko thinks they can get by if they sell bento. Kyouko has an idea where Takayama is now so Tozawa drives Masane there to see him. Well, obviously he is depressed after being fired from a company he worked so long. The usual quarrel. She tries to leave but he won’t let her. Kiss. Another kiss! Must be so romantic kissing in the rain? Because Segawa has been giving weird advice, Wadou fears that Takayama might return. Hence he is going to send his previous secretary, Yagi (who is now experimented on as an X-con) to eliminate the threat. Next morning, Masane can tell Takayama is Rihoko’s father. But he will not reveal it to his daughter as it would be awkward at this point. Masane then detects a threat and protects Takayama. She changes into Witchblade to fight Yagi. However he is too powerful and has her cornered. Wishing for more power, she becomes Super Saiyan with extra power and extra speed to kill Yagi. She realizes her Witchblade is cracking but pretends it is nothing. Furumizu has another successful operation to take his genes for the next generation of sisters. He wants to thank Maria and will give her anything. In that case, she wants power. She stabs him and kills off the other researchers! Furumizu thinks he will be reborn again but Nishida reveals she didn’t use his genes. He is shocked and becomes unsightly in trying to take back his gene samples but Maria kills him for good. Maria lets Nishida live since she still has uses. Nishida believes Maria is already perfect.

Episode 20
Maria has taken over the top of NSWF with Aoi as her aide. Of course, in order to secure full power, she will eliminate all those she perceives as a threat and that includes the first generation of sisters. Nishida reports that she has made it known that Furumizu died in an explosion. She knows she must not slip up or Maria will have her head. Then a panic call from Wadou because his Ultimateblade has been defeated. He fears Takayama will come for his head. Nishida isn’t panicking yet and thinks of using this in her favour. Looks like Takayama has changed his mind and decides to be Rihoko’s father. Hence Masane happily tells Rihoko that daddy has a special arrangement for 3 of them tomorrow. Oh Cho, he is sad because he wanted to become Rihoko’s father???!!! Next day, only Rihoko turns up and passes a letter from mama to Takayama. She claims she has an urgent job but from the letter, he can tell it’s just a ploy to leave him alone with his daughter. Have fun. So the only way a rich guy knows how to treat a kid is to let her ride in his private speedboat, shop at an expensive boutique and dine at a fancy high class restaurant. Money not a problem. Takayama’s poker face coming in handy because he feels he doesn’t know how to handle this. Similarly, Rihoko thinks he is mad. But when she learns the truth, she is relieved and teaches him how to smile! What. The. Heck? Masane who has been spying on them all day has been busted. The trio then have fun together in this family outing. On the way back, Masane is confident of leaving Rihoko to him. Suddenly an Ultimateblade attacks. It is trying to pry Witchblade from her. Because Witchblade is trying to get Rihoko, Masane will not allow this and claims she can fight. Hence she transforms into Witchblade and finishes off her opponent. Though, cracks all over her are now obvious. Rihoko has seen all this but she is not scared of her. Because mama is still mama. Nishida watching this is not pleased that Witchblade possesses more power than her Ultimateblade. It sounds like a death flag as Masane wants Takayama to take care of Rihoko before collapsing.

Episode 21
Masane is hospitalized and she claims she is okay and wants to go home. Takayama knows that the effects of the Witchblade are starting to kill her. Wadou is not pleased with Nishida’s failure although she manages to recover some data on Witchblade. Wadou will seek the government’s intervention and this will allow them to hunt for Witchblade open in public. Masane returns home so the rest decides to prepare a party for her to recover. Tozawa knows something is wrong with Masane and tries to bug Takayama about it but he isn’t saying anything. Heck, he even lets the reporter follow him around and do what he wishes. They return to Douji since Takayama wants to get data on Witchblade. Damn, this research place no security?! Takayama meets a few staffs who was dismissed. It seems the weapons Douji sold started malfunctioning. They wanted to recall to investigate but higher ups refused to listen. Looking at the data, Takayama notices the time of malfunction is similar to when Witchblade was in action. As both are connected, this means the more Masane uses Witchblade, the faster she’ll die. Tozawa learns this and is not happy. Is there a way to take it off? Well, if there was a way, it should have been off by now. The only way out is death. Meanwhile Masane tries to force and pry off Witchblade. Nothing works. Damn, even the crusher machine fell apart!!! I don’t know if I should laugh! Well, if she was really that desperate, she could cut off her hand… Masane realizes that Witchblade will still be around if she dies. This means Rihoko will be next. Her plan is to take Witchblade with her. As Takayama is going to stay back and do some detailed analysis, he wants Tozawa to take care of the women. So heads back just in time as everyone beings their party. Better hurry or Masane will eat everything up! Since Tozawa has learnt the truth, is he in any mood to party? Oh well, can’t be a spoil sport. He joins in as Masane suggests taking group photos. This one will last forever, right?

Episode 22
Aoi is making all the sisters fight each other intensely. Because the strongest one is then chosen for the next mission. Yup, always have to be the crazy looking one. Asagi is introduced to Maria who then gives her the permission to wield Cloneblade. Tozawa talks to Masane and learns about her impending death. But she isn’t afraid because she knows Rihoko will be in the safe hands of her real father. I don’t think that’s the answer Tozawa is looking for. Takayama has found the source in X-cons that makes them abnormally react to Witchblade. He has his team scramble to disable this feature. Wadou and Nishida are blaming each other. Both have the same idea that once they get the Witchblade, they’ll eliminate the other. Masane takes Rihoko to the park and they have a lovely picnic. But damn, this feels like Masane’s death flag as she starts talking about heaven! Rihoko not really understanding this but then it gets worse as Masane hugs her and claims she won’t see her anymore. However she’ll still be around and hopes she won’t forget her. At the same time, the news reports that a few X-cons have escaped from the facility. The police is ordering everyone to evacuate. Tozawa sees through this as he knows this is just a ploy to hunt down Witchblade. He stops Masane from trying to go into battle alone. Yeah, she was telling Rihoko to go home herself! However Masane can’t resist the temptation to fight. She transforms into Witchblade and heads off to do X-cons massacre. This is when Rihoko starts to see the picture. Realizing mama will die, she starts to scream in sadness. Tozawa can only carry her back. Witchblade causing so much damage, you’d think a war just happened! Meanwhile Wadou is in despair. With this failure, he thinks his position is done for. Yup, that’s all he cares about. Masane in the aftermath, still has thoughts on Rihoko as she makes her slow trek back home.

Episode 23
As Masane makes her way back, some cops thinks she is an X-con. Damn, are they gonna die? Wadou has pressed the panic button as he is screaming at Nishida to send more units. She is against the idea but looks like the guy has lost it. When Masane reaches back, everyone gets the biggest scare out of their lives thinking Witchblade has come for them. But after seeing Rihoko welcome her mama back and she reverts back to her human form, the residents are in shock that Witchblade is Masane. More woes for Wadou as the I-Weapons he sold to some Middle Eastern nation has gone berserk and are coming back to Tokyo on their own. If this happens, this will be a bigger scandal than this X-cons one. He is so desperate to get Takayama back and reinstate him if he must. He goes to even see that guy himself and to beg and do something about it. Okay. If you say so. But they’ll have to use Wadou’s name since he is the one in charge. Yeah, anything that happens they can just blame him, right? And just like that, Segawa also switches back to his old boss. Masane wakes up just in time to receive Takayama’s call. He tells about the 3800 I-Weapons heading towards Tokyo because they’re attracted to Witchblade. She too can tell since that feeling of Witchblade has been growing inside of her. Takayama and his team will do all they can with the lab units to help trim the numbers. All that’s left is for Masane is to spend some quality time with Rihoko first before she joins the rest of the apartment dwellers to evacuate the city. Masane leaves her with her bank account and a phone that contains Takayama’s number. In return, Rihoko gives her own handmade bottle pendant. Then it’s off to fight those robots. War has begun.

Episode 24
Masane aggressively takes out I-Weapons after I-Weapons. This also prompts Maria and her groupie to go out and fight the mindless waves of drones. Meanwhile Tozawa goes to see Kyouko to tell her the biggest scoop he has. No point keeping it a secret now, right? Rihoko escapes the evacuation centre so as to go see her mama. Damn, security not doing their job! Takayama and his men are using their remaining X-cons to blow up the next incoming wave of I-Weapons. Well, they did what they can. The rest is all up to Masane. Takayama is shocked to get a call from Masane. Turns out to be Rihoko. Know where mama is? He tries to tell the kid to get back to safety but after hearing explosions in the background, the worried father goes to look for her. Does he even know where? Masane now stumbles into Maria and co. Do they have time to fight each other? You bet. Because Maria wants her Witchblade. As Masane wounds Maria, Aoi gets upset and goes all out to kill Masane. Too bad her recklessness causes her to get killed. With Asagi mocking how empty everybody is, Maria kills her off. HUH?! Now Masane and Maria can fight to their heart’s content. Rihoko is hiding away from those I-Weapons. Why the f*ck are they targeting a loli?! Aren’t they supposed to be drawn to Witchblade?! Ah, but great timing because Masane could sense her daughter in danger and uses some power to draw them away. Now all the I-Weapons are gathering at the Tokyo Tower where Masane and Maria’s fight is taking place. Nishida who is so engrossed in watching all this gets run over by an I-Weapon! Good riddance. Wadou? Looks like he has regressed into a child. Maria still hell bent on taking Witchblade when she suddenly sees visions of Reina in Masane. Mama, do you love me? Was that all she wanted? This distraction allows Masane to kill her off. With all the I-Weapons gathering here, Masane does the ultimate sacrifice to take them all out with her. Sure, one last glimpse of Rihoko calling out to her. Don’t worry, Takayama is with her. In the end, it’s raining light seeds but Rihoko is happy as she catches mama’s seashell. Always keep smiling.

Bloodlust: The Lyin’, The Witchboobs & The War Dopes
Uhm, that’s it? It just ends like that? Oh well, at least it didn’t cause another great disaster and the second Null Point. But now I’ve got to ask if the Witchblade has been completely destroyed because if it wasn’t, Rihoko is screwed! If it was, it only shows that it wasn’t unbreakable after all. Imagine an explosion that is way less than the atomic bomb did the job in destroying the cursed gauntlet and saved future girls from becoming its bearer. So people, if you wanna destroy the Infinite Gauntlet, make sure it’s not a crusher machine but a mini explosion. Sure, you lose your life but think about all the lives you’ll be saving! Yeah.

Can’t say that I’m impressed with the storyline because it feels generic and not really that exciting. We just have a bearer of Witchblade trying to come to terms with her power as well as dealing with it and other parties who really want to take that away from her and at the same time trying to be a good mother and protect her most precious one. It’s nothing really special if you ask me and sometimes the whole story feels like one big wild goose chase because interested parties want to steal the Witchblade but ultimately they fail. Then they wait for a while before trying another attempt which also doesn’t yield their desired results. Are these people serious in getting the Witchblade or not? Oh right. They care about their public image more so I guess that’s that. In the meantime, Masane trying to bond with her daughter more than ever.

I read that one of the controversies surrounding this anime adaptation was the introduction of Masane as a new character. From what I read and understand, the anime adaptation is completely original from the manga adaptation of the same name. Although with the seemingly new story and new characters, it is still set in the same Witchblade universe. Not that I can tell anyway since I don’t even read the original comics. Hence Masane became a controversy to fans of the series because they created a new character to wield the Witchblade instead of one that has been established. From what I know, Shiori was one of the original characters from the manga and she has been reduced to a side character here and even killed off subsequently. Yeah, what a short-lived appearance to say the least. Not sure what happened to the controversy after that because I wasn’t interested to know more about it seeing that all I know is that this anime wasn’t really that good anyway so that’s the end of that.

As for the characters, I think most of them are miss than hits. Seeing that Masane also holds the moniker as the titular character, it is obvious that she is going to be the main character. I feel that half of the entire series tries to play out the mother and daughter role and perhaps pull our heartstrings into seeing Masane trying her best to provide the best (albeit not perfect) mother for her only child. Even if it is later revealed that they are not blood related, it shows that their bonding has been so strong that they’re as good as a real mother and child. One of those moments where blood isn’t necessarily thicker than water because as we’ve seen for a short period of time when Rihoko returned to her real mom, they were like freaking strangers. Uh huh. It’s like Reina doesn’t actually understand the real concept of what being a mother is and it just feels strange she is acting like a dummy. Yup. Got Rihoko back as my daughter. Plays motherly role strictly as per the book says. Like, WTF?! No wonder this mother and daughter combo was really forgettable and we’re more inclined to think that Masane and Rihoko play that role way better and made us forget that they’re not even blood related.

Of course the funny part watching the dynamism between Masane and Rihoko is that the roles are actually reversed. Rihoko despite being a loli is actually more responsible and mature compared to Masane who is clumsier and more carefree in her attitude. Makes you wonder who takes care of who, huh? The irony that we are actually more worried about Masane than Rihoko! Oh, that little girl will be fine by herself. Even if she goes into a dangerous alley alone and unarmed. But Masane, oh she’s a different case altogether. You’ll worry if she can make it out of her bathroom in one piece! Yeah. Sounds exaggerated but that’s our main sentiment for her. But at the end of the day even if Masane isn’t anywhere near capable as Rihoko, their mother and daughter relationship also pulls some heartstrings since at the back of our minds we’ll be having grim thoughts that one day all this will come to an end. And that’s why both are living their lives out as they want. More of that as you see the next episode preview is either narrated by Masane or Rihoko, writing to each other and pouring out their heartfelt feelings and thoughts.

The only thing that boggles me was how Masane and Rihoko became a pair. If Masane was said to have a different persona before the incident, and that she lost her memories and her current identity was given by the government, how did Rihoko ended up as her daughter anyway? How did Reina who was pregnant with Rihoko, lost her daughter in the first place? Sure, the maternity passbook said so but I believe that is all made up, right? By how? Why? The government can’t be so stupid to assign them together and then try to separate them, right? Or maybe they are. And how did Rihoko ended up with that Amaha surname if it was supposed to be Takayama, her real father? Given that fake name to hide her or what? Because it is only much later they found out that Witchblade is waiting for Rihoko to become ready so it can’t be somebody having such foresight in the earlier parts of the anime. Or was it somebody’s devilish scheme to pair Rihoko with Masane the Witchblade wielder because once the latter dies, the former will be immediately be ripe for the picking. Don’t see any character that fits this role anywhere here! Am I missing something somewhere? The plot twist here sure feels confusing now that I am thinking too much about it!

Having said that, there isn’t anything much about the Witchblade itself. What I mean is that I was expecting this Witchblade gauntlet thingy to have at least more prominence but it just doesn’t feel so. Perhaps they don’t want to bore those who are already familiar with the lore and other settings pertaining to the Witchblade. So this Witchblade feels like whenever the scene needs that obligatory action and fanservice combo, hence the activation to turn Masane into some dark vampire empress or something. Heh. It’s just here to make Masane do some conscious weighing options of either choosing ecstasy or ruin with it. And here I thought it would finally gain a sentient mind of its own and speak to the puny humans how it was going to destroy all of mankind. Heh. It’s a good thing I wasn’t the scriptwriter!

Takayama, this guy is very capable beneath that stoic and poker face he puts up. Not sure if he was born with that kind of face or it froze up while he was growing up. Sometimes I feel that at the end, he’s just like the insurance and consolation trophy that Masane leaves for her daughter. That’s why those cheesy romantic scenes of Masane with Takayama. Uh huh. Just feeling weird when you have very different characters put together. I know opposite attracts but they don’t even as hell click together. Only by the basis that they are employer-employee status. So yeah, their moment together feels weird and forced just to lead up to the finale. Even weirder when I start thinking if Rihoko is going to call Takayama as papa or continue by his surname. Imagine calling your daddy that. Both equally weird. And what’s this about Tozawa being the third wheel in the love triangle? Man, actually I didn’t even feel it that way even though I had a hunch he would have a crush on her. He certainly doesn’t show it either so I’m thinking he is helping her so much not because he wants to get the scoop but because he also likes her. But like I said, I never felt all that from him and hence no such obvious romance factor. In the final, it’s like he is trying to redeem himself by telling all the misunderstood people that Masane is not a monster. Her tits yes but not her character. Okay, jokes aside, I feel this didn’t even really matter or help his case because it’s not like I see the people around care anyway.

Wadou serves to be one of those loser antagonist because right from the start you can see how arrogant he is and the way he treats others. Thus whatever happens to him in the end is just desserts. A fate far worse than death. A character like him would definitely make us feel more supportive of Takayama than this douchebag, right? Then there is Furumizu whom I feel was just there for the uninspiring plot twist. His true goal feels like a side distraction that doesn’t matter and he died pathetically without even putting on a fight. Yeah, I was thinking he would turn into the Hulk or something for the final battle but they killed him off. Maybe for character, it is a good thing. At least he doesn’t have to further humiliate himself and be hated like Wadou. As for Segawa, I have this feeling that he could be a backstabber or double agent because sometimes they show his suspicious actions. Turns out nothing of that sort and he was just trying to be a good secretary. He manages to keep his cool and professionalism as we see him work for both a good and bad boss. This is what most of us hope to be when facing such bosses, right? No. Okay. Whatever.

Then there is Maria who also feels underutilized. I thought she was brought up so she would be the final antagonist for Masane to go head to head with. You know, Witchblade vs Cloneblade epic finale. And look how this turned out? Ever since that turning point of being disappointed with mommy Reina, she has mellowed down a lot. Even killing Furumizu by her own hands felt forced and then after that she’s just like quietly playing CEO of NSWF that don’t even matter to the rest of the story. Poor girl, all she wanted was just mama’s love and she thought Witchblade was her answer. Well, you get the love that you give. Even Aoi and Asagi feel underutilized and my guess is that they’re there just to make it look like Maria has got some lackeys of her own. Is it me or do I not see Asagi once in action?! Making this Neogene pretty redundant. Good thing they just unceremoniously killed her off.

Not sure if I should be feeling disappointed with some of the apartment residents but I can only blame myself for expecting too much. I understand Cho is a funny and interesting character because aside from being some sort of genius underground hacker, this old dude is actually the liveliest of the pack. He is funny in his own ways and it’s like despite his aging body, his soul is actually decades younger! My guess is that the apartment residents are there so that Masane and Rihoko won’t feel lonely and that not the entire world is against them. You have Naomi who is some sort of diviner but she only divines gloomy stuffs. There is all there is to her! Worse, I thought this Michael dude could be some X-con in disguise due to his large size but he’s just a character with no dialogue. Gentle giant. WTF is he even famous for?! There goes my own twist that they may be spies or X-cons. Mariko? Somebody needs to play the b*tch character. Although she is more brash and has a sharp tongue, she is actually kind-hearted beneath that chubby exterior.

If there is one thing I would like to complain about this series, it is its animation quality. Many times, there are scenes that just feel like they downgraded a lot until it all seems like low quality. Especially the action scenes. The quality takes a dip and it’s like they just want to do a quick job on it. Even more so in non-action scenes, the characters sometimes look funny and that is not in a good way. I’m sure they want to attract attention of a certain demographic viewers and that’s why Masane has such huge ungodly tits. I hope Null Point didn’t mutate them and made them grow bigger! And whenever she transforms into Witchblade mode, I find it weird that in this semi-naked form, her ass is exposed! It’s like she is fighting naked if you look at her from a certain angle. This anime is done by veteran anime studio Gonzo who probably had better animation quality in their other works like Samurai 7, Full Metal Panic, Rosario To Vampire, Gantz and Seto No Hanayome.

As for the action scenes, they just feel passable and nothing really that exciting. But as said, because of the animation quality, it makes the whole thing look inferior. Even more so when they make this Witchblade character so overpowered and that nothing can literally defeat her. Not even those Neogenes, Cloneblade, Ultimateblade or whatever they call it nowadays. Like as though they are there to be taken down by Witchblade and add to her body count. Heh. As compensation, here, have a look at her orgasmic face each time she gets her thrill of the blood.

I guess one of my only consolations is to hear the great Mamiko Noto helming the role of Masane. Like as though this has made up (sort of) for all the cameo and side character roles that she has been doing a lot lately. Therefore it’s nice to hear her in a consistent main character role and it’s good to know that she hasn’t lost her touch and sounded the same as she is now and as she was then. Oh wait… I just realized this… DID THEY KILL OFF ANOTHER MAMIKO NOTO CHARACTER!! AT THE VERY LAST MINUTE!!! OMFG!!! Sighs. Looks like I have to live with this trauma if I am ever going to watch all her featured series. Other recognizable seiyuus include Rikiya Koyama as Takayama, Nana Mizuki as Maria, Shizuka Itou as Shiori and Kenichi Suzumura as Segawa. The other casts include Akemi Kanda as Rihoko (Ryou in Clannad), Masaya Matsukaze as Tozawa (Ren in Jigoku Shoujo), Kazuhiro Nakata as Wadou (Ron in Outlaw Star), Shouto Kashii as Cho (Tadataka in Gunparade March), Maiko Itou as Mariko (Eldegard in Planets), Mie Sonozaki as Reina (Hazuki in Happy Lesson), Shinji Ogawa as Furumizu (Milch in Nodame Cantabile), Mika Itou as Naomi (Miki in Aishiteruze Baby) and Sakiko Tamagawa as Nishida (Natsumi in You’re Under Arrest).

The first opening theme, Psychic Lover by XTC is a high octane rock piece and although not really my favourite, but it fits the pace of the series. Because come the second opening, Dear Bob by Koologi sounds more like WTF!!!!!!! It really throws you off pace when you have lyrics that go, “Hey mama, father, walking down the street in a Babylon”. HUH???!!! Even the rock music feels so frantic and at a chaotic pace. Then they mash it up with scenes from the series especially from Masane, it makes it all one helluva weird experience. Does not match the series at all! Feels more like a joke than anything else. Truly, could be one of the weirdest anime songs I hear for the year! That’s why I feel that for the final episode, they reverted back to Psychic Lover so as not to make the last episode feel so out of place with this joker song. Thank goodness. The first ending theme is Ashita No Te by Mamiko Noto. Well, the song isn’t that bad and although my stereotype of Mamiko Noto is that she isn’t particularly a good singer, she doesn’t sound all that bad here. It just reminds me of Enma Ai singing, that’s all. Ironically, still better than the second ending theme, Kutsu Himo by Asami Yamamoto. This lively pop rock piece feels out of place. At least, not that I can imagine it fits this kind of genre. The final episode’s ending theme, Kodou ~Get Closer~ by Psychic Lover sounds more bearable as this slow rock gives the ending to the series a bittersweet taste.

Overall, this series just feels mediocre. I’m only here for Mamiko Noto and that’s the only factor that doesn’t really disappoint me as I leave this series for good. Otherwise, I’m sure fans of the Witchblade series will have something more negative to say about this adaptation and thus they bait you by having sexy Witchblade and other skimpily dressed female fighters in mediocre action. Hey, isn’t the original comic covers of Witchblade as sexy too? With this negative bias of mine, it is probably the biggest excuse for me not to go take a look at Marvel Disk Wars: The Avengers. Yup, Japan got that Marvel franchise animated too. And of course, Mamiko Noto not really in there so I’ll pass it up forever. Just like Rihoko moving on in life, I’ll be moving on to my next Mamiko Noto series… Is this my ecstasy or ruin?