Witchblade takes the time to look at family – the bonds between a mother and her child, the difficult choices that must be made in a child's best interests, and whether genetics are the only thing that can decide who it's best to deal with. With Riko being Masane reason for living, she's got some tough decisions to make…
What They Say
Sought by the greed of Men since the dawn of Humankind, but only bestowed upon the woman whose fate it forever scars - The Witchblade. Is it the Righteous Sword Of God, or the Hand of the Devil Himself? Now a new bearer has been chosen and she must discover the answers for herself. As she stands on the brink of destiny, she is forced to seek the balance between ecstacy and ruin...
An unsteady family painstakingly built will crumble at the whim of unyielding authority, this time leaving Masane alone and frozen by the harsh results of their icy grip. Little Rihoko's become a pawn in an experiment to dissect love. But four walls do not make a home, and shared blood must be weighed against the bonds of real life. When the twisted saga of the Witchblade takes a brutal turn, both mothers will rise to the challenge, unspoken 'goodbyes' on bruised and bloodied lips. Reunion, release, redemption and wrath... The destiny of Witchblade continues.
Episodes Comprise
13 – Separation
14 – Family
15 – Bonds
16 – Relaxation
The Review!
Audio:
Audio is provided in Japanese 2.0 and English 5.1 versions - I listened to the Japanese track for this review. Sound is clan and clear, with some good use of direction and a decent amount of oomph in the action scenes. There were no apparent problems.
Video:
Video is presented in 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen format, and as you'd expect from most things GONZO a lot of effort seems to have been spent on making it look good - from character designs to backgrounds, the look & feel of the show is just right. Fortunately, the transfer does justice to that effort, with very little in the way of visible encoding problems.
Packaging:
No packaging was provided with our review copy.
Menu:
The main screen features an image of one of the Cloneblades draped across the screen, with the various options on a banner running across them and a series of clips from the show playing in the background (although they're so heavily obscured by the menu art you'll have a hard time making them out). Options are provided for Play All, Episodes, Setup & Extras. There are no transition animations, so it's all quick and easy enough to use.
Extras:
Along with the usual creditless versions of the opening and closing sequences, there's the second part of a live-action feature looking at the creation of the original comic, The Witchblade Forged, and an interview with the Japanese VA for Reina Sohou.
Content: (please note that content portions of a review will contain spoilers)
DNA tests - perhaps suspiciously carried out by NSWF - show that Rihoko has no genetic connection to Masane, meaning that there's no way they can be related. The official explanation is that something happened to bring them together during the Great Quake, and with neither having any memories from before the quake it was simply assumed they were together - but now that the truth is out, and with Masane deemed an unfit guardian, NSWF seem determined to separate them. They're given a day to say their goodbyes to each other before Riko will be taken away - is that long enough for them to find another solution to the problem? Meanwhile, Wadou seems to be up to something, attempting to disrupt Takayama's work again, while Maria continues to be a problem to her handlers...
The story arc dealing with Riko's separation from Masane takes up three of the four episodes on this disc, and there's quite a lot of territory covered in them – from Masane's feelings of inadequacy that lead to her giving up Riko without a fight, through Reina's unravelling and revelations about Riko's own potential, to her unexpected connection with Maria, it's an arc that's far more focussed on the show's personalities and on explaining how their world works than it is on high-energy action – although there's enough of that thrown in to make sure that anyone watching Witchblade for that side of things shouldn't be disappointed.
While Riko's key to the story, though, she's more used as the tool that brings the feelings of Masane, Reina and Maria to the surface, rather than being the focus of attention herself. These three are all the victim of dysfunctional relationships in one way or another – Masane through having Riko taken away from her, Reina through being essentially emotionless and struggling to deal with the feelings that Riko's presence eventually brings to the surface, and Maria, having been raised as an NSWF tool with no family life, discovering her "big sister" Riko living the life she always wanted and never had.
It's Maria's reaction to her feelings – the temper tantrums of a toddler arising in a body that's capable of ultra-violence – that provide the disc's action sequences. The shame here is that, while you get the distinct feeling that you're supposed to feel sorry for Maria because of what she's been denied, she's just such an unlikeable character that there's no chance of any sympathy developing.
Reina's a different story, though. She may work for NSWF, but her character has a lot more shades of grey about her than any other of the cloneblades, and seeing her handle the dual issues of Riko and and her own deterioration is intriguing.
On top of all that, there's also a growing closeness between Takayama and Masane, more hints about Riko's past and her future potential, further revelations about what NSWF has been up to, and Wadou's continued efforts to undermine Takayama. You certainly can't claim that Withblade is lacking in substance.
The volume rounds out with a break from the main story for what is essentially a beach fanservice episode, as Chou wins a trip to a beach resort and decides to surround himself with beautiful women while he's there. After all that happens in the previous episodes, this is a welcome break from the action that allows both characters and viewers to wind down a little before the show starts ramping up towards its climax.
In summary:
Witchblade is another of those shows that, on the intial description, wouldn't be "my kinda thing", but the more I watch it the more I get hooked by it. This volume strikes and almost perfect balance between action and story, and makes for very entertaining viewing. Well worth seeing.
Features
Japanese Language 2.0, English Language 5.1, English Subtitles, The Witchblade Forged, Part II, Japanese Cast Interview - Voice of Reina Sohou, Textless Songs
Review Equipment
Toshiba 37X3030DB 37" widescreen HDTV; Sony PS3 Blu-ray player (via HDMI, upscaled to 1080p); Acoustic Solutions DS-222 5.1 speaker system.
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