In a bizarre twist, Volume Four in the Witchblade anime manages to turn the series on its head by being thoughtful, engaging, and good. Weird.

plot summary

Masane has recently learned Rihoko is not her biological daughter. The Cloneblade known as Lady is the woman who gave birth to Masane’s charge, and Lady wants Rihoko back.

Riko and Masane, however, want to stick together and run away, yet again, with some help from their neighbors. But Father sends one of his Cloneblades to collect Rihoko for his own sinister purposes. Lady’s maternal instincts kick into overdrive and she intercepts the would-be kidnapper, saving her offspring from a mysterious fate.

Masane now sees she isn’t fit to raise Riko, and reluctantly gives her over to her true mother. Lady’s reunion with Riko doesn’t go as expected, though, as another of her brood shows up unannounced and unwanted.

Now, Reiji is faced with the prospect of having a defunct Witchblade, since Masane is too depressed to fight the X-cons. In an attempt to cheer her, he takes her on a tour of her past.

In the fleeting moments of her past, Masane learns to relish the present, and becomes determined to fight for her daughter for their future together.

review

Is this the same anime? Is this the same sexually charged, softcore porn-ish series which started off on the absolutely wrong foot? I couldn’t believe this was the same series after watching this volume. If I hadn’t put the DVD in the player myself, I’d of sworn this wasn’t the same Witchblade.

I’ve so loathed this series so far, I couldn’t stand the prospect of watching another episode filled with boobs and white stuff. But this volume didn’t have a ton of fanservice. Instead, each episode actually built on the former to create sympathy for Masane and the Cloneblades.

Character Development

Masane’s character is finally given some insight as to why she acts the way she does. Reina, aka, Lady is also fleshed out and defined. The psychotic, but extremely interesting Maria, has some backstory and explanation of motives as well. Almost every character, except for a few of the minor ones, are given a fair amount of attention in this volume and it’s about time!

The entire focus of the series has finally shifted away from Masane’s boobs and onto the story of the Cloneblades. The Cloneblades are the main thrust in this volume, even though they’re nothing more than inferior copies of the Witchblade. So far, there’s still no explanation of what the Witchblade really is or where it came from. The Cloneblades, however, are given some background and are explained as to how they exist, if not exactly why.

Witchblade also has a different tone and feel to go with the different focus. It’s no longer as sexual or gratuitously violent. The series has seemingly morphed from a jiggly tit-fest into an anime about priorities, family ties, and the bonds we artificially create for ourselves.

Music

Everything about Witchblade is different this Volume, including the OP and ED. The new OP, “Dear Bob” is actually way better than the former one. Even the graphics for the OP are better. “Kutsuhimo” is the new ED, but the bad English interjected in the lyrics makes the ED worse than the former ED.

Production

This volume’s artwork is inked by Stejepan Sejic. It’s interesting, to say the least, but I don’t think I like this cover as much as some of the previous ones.

I’m confused as to why this massive sea change took three volumes to kick in. I have a theory that there’s only three volumes worth of actual story in the series and the three volumes prior to this one were fanservice fluff meant to extend the series. I am glad this change did finally take place; the anime now has its direction and drive and feels as if the promise of a good plot is finally coming to the light.

Rating

Witchblade, Volume Four gets 3 outta 4 Hammies!

Retail Info

• Publisher: Funimation
• Release Date: January 29, 2008
• Retail Price: $29.98
• Number of discs:1
• Episodes: 13-16
• Run Time: 100 minutes
• Rating: TV-MA
• Language: English, Japanese
• Aspect Ratio: 1.77:1
• Format: Animated, Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen