The lead character, who is the wielder of the Witchblade, is a woman named Masane Amaha. She is a kind-hearted woman who is rather clumsy and not good around the house. Masane lost her memory during "The Great Quake" that rattled Tokyo six years prior to the start of the series. Masane, who was holding a baby in her arms, was found unscathed in the phenomenon's "ground zero."
At the beginning of the first episode, Masane and the child, Rihoko (who Masane believes is her daughter), return to Tokyo. Masane wants to get her life in order, get a job, and provide for Rihoko. However, Masane and Rihoko are being pursued by the NSWF's Child Welfare Division.
The Child Welfare Division wants to take Rihoko, because Masane has no means of income to provide for the child, and they think there is a possibility to Masane may not really be Rihoko's mother. During the first episode, the Child Welfare Division catches up to the two, and they convince Masane to hand Rihoko over. However, after hearing Rihoko calling for her, Masane commandeers a police vehicle and tries to get Rihoko back. The Child Welfare Division van forces the police car off the road, and Masane is arrested and taken to jail.
At the Child Welfare Division office, Rihoko says she needs to use the bathroom, and she crawls out of the window and escapes. She finds a photographer, who has been taking pictures of grisly crime scenes that are murders of Child Welfare Division officers. Rihoko convinces the photographer to help her, and they head to the jail.
Meanwhile, at the jail, Masane discovers that the mysterious jewel attached to her right wrist is actually the Witchblade; this is triggered when one of the other prisoners escapes and comes to her cell to kill her. When the Witchblade is activated, Masane goes through a transformation that changes not only her physical appearance, but she also gains an ability to defend herself and kill her opponent.
When Masane goes through her physical transformation, her hair changes color, and she only has a minimal amount of clothing to cover herself; however, the clothing does nothing to cover her derriere, so there is some nudity in the series when she is in this form. There is also some blood that is shown in the fight in the first episode. Outside of this, I have to say there is actually some quality animation that is employed in Witchblade.
Between the violence, the brief nudity, and the storytelling being employed in the series, it is definitely not being aimed at a younger audience. Since FUNimation has given Witchblade a rating of TV-MA, I can only recommend this series to anime viewers who are 18 years of age and older.
| Witchblade | 24 | 2006 | Yoshimitsu Ohashi | Gonzo | FUNimation Entertainment |
