I just saw episode one of
Witchblade today at the Gonzo Festa, and it certainly exceeded my expectations.
This is without any pior knowledge of the original American comic, therefore I neither have a sterotypical image of the anime, nor a basis for comparison. However, I believe that this can be enjoyed just as it is.
Spoiler for episode one:
Noto Mamiko, who plays a voluptuous mother named Masane, while maintaining her distictive voice, sets off to new territories with this role, in my opninion. Not only does she play the ditzy (perhaps not the appropriate terminology as she has amnesia) but caring mother, once her transformation takes place, she starts to kick ass!
Kanda Akemi, who plays the role of the daughter, sounds very cute and moe.
And the action scenes are brutal and brilliant.
Being in a apocalyptical setting, there's certainly more than meets the eye here, and episode one already has me hooked for more.
Unfortunately, they didn't show both of the songs today, but the opening and ending songs are performed by Psychic Lover and Noto Mamiko respectively, so it should be interesting.
At first, I wasn't much keen on following this title, but to me, it has better pacing than from what I've seen of
Ergo Proxy so far, where it has good potential to satisfy action craving fans.
For a report of the Gonzo Festa, including important information on
Black Cat please visit this
site.