is a Japanese anime television series loosely based on the American comic book of the same name. It was directed by Yoshimitsu Ōhashi, with Yasuko Kobayashi handling series scripts, Makoto Uno designing the characters, and Masa Takumi composing the music. The series was broadcast for 24 episodes on CBC and TBS from April to September 2006. A packaged version of the series in eight DVD volumes was released, followed by a DVD box version released in 2008.
The series sets up an entirely new storyline with all new characters, but in the same continuity as the original comic books.
Story The series follows Masane Amaha, a kindhearted, well-intentioned woman who is clumsy and awkward around the house. Having lost her memory during the Great Quake which ravaged Tokyo, Masane was found uninjured at the quake's ground zero with a baby in her arms. Six years later she returns to Tokyo with the child, whom she believes is her daughter, intending to live a peaceful life. Masane becomes entangled in a power struggle between a large corporation and a government agency, and discovers that a mysterious bracelet on her right wrist is the legendary Witchblade.
Characters Main characters
Masane is the bearer of the Witchblade. She became the Witchblade's bearer six years before the beginning of the series during an event that destroyed most of Tokyo, leaving her with amnesia and holding a baby girl. Masane is also an unemployed single mother, and is at odds with the NSWF's Child Welfare Division over issues concerning the custody of her adoptive daughter, Rihoko. When the Witchblade activates, her eyes turn demonically black and she dons a skimpy black armor with katana blades and claws extending from her arms and her hair, which was normally brown, but crimson upon transformation, can extend to tendrils that can lash or pierce her enemies. She also gains enhanced strength, speed, and endurance. She also gains a type of telepathic link to Rihoko, being able to sense when she is in danger. After unlocking new power in the Witchblade, her armor becomes red and she has a blade on both arms. When fighting, she is possessed by an almost uncontrollable desire for destruction, deriving an erotic like pleasure from battle. Prior to the Great Quake, her real name was , the name Masane Amaha given to her as part of a new I.D. created by the government due to her amnesia following the Great Quake.
Rihoko is Masane Amaha's adoptive daughter. Her biological mother is Reina Soho, and her biological father is Reiji Takayama. She was found as a newborn with an amnesiac young woman, who authorities believed to be her mother from a maternity diary found with them, at the epicenter of the Great Quake. Rihoko is apparently more compatible with the Witchblade than anyone else, and it was she who was responsible for Reina's initial high compatibility rating, because Reina was pregnant with Rihoko at the time. Rihoko is frequently praised for her good cooking capabilities. She is very mature for her age and is often noted for being more capable than Masane.
Yusuke Tozawa is a freelance photographer seeking information about the Witchblade for a story, since he believes that it is associated with certain serial killings. He eventually becomes Masane's friend. He is among the first ones to nickname Masane "Masamune" ("Melony" in the English dub), referring to her huge chest ("masa-mune" meaning "undefeatable breasts", and "Melony" referring to her breasts as melons). This is carried over in the anime, to the point that Tozawa only refers to Masane with this nickname.
Reiji Takayama is the Bureau Chief of Douji Group Industries and the biological father of Rihoko. He also is the one responsible for employing Masane to fight-off malfunctioning "Ex-cons", highly technological weapons developed by his own employers. Takayama is a stoic and very stern man who shows little to no expressions at all. He is usually accompanied by his assistant, Hiroki Segawa. Takayama seems to have a past relationship with Reina Soho, possibly a sexual one, as it is briefly discussed between himself, a point which he says is possible, which he later affirmed completely in Episode 19. They both had worked together before the ground-zero event in doing research on the Witchblade. Initially Takayama appears to be cynical and cold, but as the anime progresses this proves to be completely false as his relationship with Masane deepens. He and Masane later become romantically involved in episode 19. Masane later attempts to get him and Riko closer after learning he is her real father. He is last seen standing with Riko at the site of Masane's last fight, watching on as she sacrifices her life.
The most powerful of the First Generation Cloneblades and the biological mother of Rihoko. Reina Soho is a Neogene who works as a Forensics Medicine Specialist in the National Scientific Welfare Foundation (NSWF). She is a strong and intelligent woman. Nevertheless, she is quite self-centered. Unlike most of her First-Generation counterparts, Reina has come to terms with the fact that Furumizu views her and the rest of her Neogene sisters as nothing more than tools at his disposal. By the same token, however, she feels no obligation to answer to his every beck and call. Her nickname as a Cloneblade is "Lady". In her youth, she was found to be a potential bearer for the "true" Witchblade. Eager to test the limits of her genetic potential, Reina and her assistant, Shiori Tsuzuki, attempted to forcibly remove the Witchblade from Masane. It turns out that Reina's high compatibility with the Witchblade was due to the fact that she was carrying Rihoko at the time, and after giving birth, her compatibility dropped significantly. Of all the Cloneblades, Reina was regarded as the most advanced of her Neogene sisters. As a Cloneblade, Reina bore a huge blade on her left forearm, and had wing-like appendages that could transform into robust shields from blades. Reina considered herself and everyone around her as objects to be researched. She even went so far as to seize custody of Rihoko, in order to test how motherhood would affect her mentally. Much to her surprise, she began to develop maternal feelings for the girl. The full extent of her love for Rihoko is revealed when she sacrifices herself to protect her from the psychopathic Neogene, Maria. Her cloneblade armor is white and pink.
Antagonists
The leader of the NSWF. He is known as "Father" by his Neogene "daughters" and the orphans in his care. While a brilliant scholar and influential philanthropist in his prime, Furimizu has all but withdrawn from public life by the story's present in his obsessive pursuit of the Witchblade. Despite exuberating charm and paternal warmth when interacting with the public and his "children", he is in reality an unrepentantly cruel narcissist, who has no regard for the physical and emotional well-being of those who serve him. Throughout most of the plot, Furimizu and the NSWF devote their resources to hunting down the current Witchblade bearer, Masane Amaha. In the midst of tracking down Masane, he oversees the creation and training of numerous genetically-engineered women called "Neogenes" who are equipped with artificial replicas of the Witchblade (i.e. "Cloneblades"). Once he obtains the Witchblade, Furimizu plots to equip the strongest of his Neogenes with the supernatural weapon under the pretext of facilitating the next stage of human evolution. It is later revealed that the Neogenes are all in fact his biological daughters whom he is breeding to become the "perfect mother" for his own rebirth. After learning of his sordid plans for her and her sisters, an extremely powerful yet dangerously unstable Neogene, Maria, brutally murders Furimizu and assumes control of the NSWF in his place.
A powerful Second-Generation Cloneblade. As the strongest of the Second generation "sisters" engineered by the NSWF, she is the first to be equipped with a Dual Cloneblade. Her cloneblade armor is purple and red. She appears much older than she truly is which suggests that the sisters age rapidly. Maria undergoes many changes throughout the series. She starts out as a hyper, immature, and mentally unstable adolescent with an extreme inferiority complex. While extremely strong and dangerous, she is little more than an insecure child desperate for attention and a mother to call her own. This changes when her actual mother, Reina, rejects her. After killing Reina in a rage, her personality becomes almost catatonic. She also changes her appearance to match the deceased Reina's. After hearing of Furumizu's plans to use her as a surrogate mother for his "perfect" clone, her disgust transforms her into a ruthless megalomaniac who seeks power at all costs. She brutally kills Furumizu and seizes control of the NSWF. She pledges to transform the NSWF into an army that will secure power for herself as well as the Neogene "chosen ones". After sensing the immense power coming from the original Witchblade, she becomes determined to take it for herself. In truth, however, Maria is the leader of the organization in name only. With no clear goal other than to obtain power at all costs, Maria becomes even more secretive and reclusive than her late "father". With the exception of Aoi, cloneblades such as Asagi view her as an insecure child trying to "act tough". As Maria drifts aimlessly, Nishida effectively runs the entire organization and continues to use its resources to hunt for the Witchblade. Her Cloneblade form is not quite as heavily armored as the others. Nevertheless, it is by far the strongest. In her cloneblade form she is able to extend her fingers and impale her victims multiple times. The extent of her power can be seen when she pierces Reina's armor blades with ease. In the end, Maria meets her demise while fantasizing despairingly about her mother. In her final moments, she remorsefully asks the hallucination of her mother if "she still loved her". Maria barely has the chance to finish her sentence as she turns to crystal dust.
Nora is a Neogene who serves as Tatsuoki Furumizu's assistant. She is one of Furimuzu's most loyal and reliable subordinates. Coolly arrogant and blunt in her interactions with others, she is very competitive with her sisters and is prone to jealousy. After watching Furimuzu reward Maria's tantrum with a trip to the toy store, Nora roughly manhandles her and confines her to a hotel room after the mentally unstable Neogene loses her temper in public. With the exception of Furumizu himself, she considers everyone and everything around her as a tool for her advancement. She is also a very powerful cloneblade. Unlike Masane and Shiori, she is able to effectively control her carnal impulses while transformed' much like Reina. Her nickname as a cloneblade is "Spider", she has the ability to shoot needles and entrap her opponents with strands from her hair and three rapier like blades on her left arm. She battled Masane and was able to capture her to have the Witchblade removed from her. She later is assigned by Nishida to obtain Rihoko for experimentation, but is stopped by Reina, the child's biological mother. Seeing this as an opportunity to finally have it out with her biggest rival, she takes on Reina, whom ultimately proves to be the better of the two after using the shield blades on her hair to impale and kill Nora. Her cloneblade armor is orange and green.