Witchblade - anime

A new series that started this month, I think. Apparently Gonzo have now made a 26 episode series based on the American TOP COW comics' title, simply entitled Witchblade.

Brief summary by ANN:

Quote:

Plot Summary: In 22nd-Century Japan, Police Officer Masane Amou becomes the latest in an ancient line of women-only warriors to wield the mysterious sentient weapon known only throughout history as "the Witchblade" in a fight against the forces of evil.

Okay......not that much information (pretty similar to the US version anyway....) in terms of initial plot, but hopefully things will get a bit better as more information gets released. The character design looks pretty cool and there seems to be quite a bit of blood so it might be for the more mature audiences. The main protaganist is quite stacked though, and even though the "witchblade" armor covers a lot more of her body than her American counterpart, she looks pretty sexy. From the trailer, it may look like the witchblade actually takes control when it's activated, though I'm not too sure about that.

Check out the trailer here.

The main website is here. (Apparently, the website supports an English version of the site, though it is still under construction)

I see from Tokyo Toshokan that the raw for episode 4 is already out, and no one seems interested in fansubbing it. Kind'a sucks so I hope someone gets around to doing this series soon.

Any thoughts?



EDIT: Some pics:

Masane and her daughter Rihoko (or Riko as her Mom calls her):


Masane after the Witchblade has activated:


Masane from the ED theme:






Jam it back in, in the dark.

It looks good from what I've seen from the trailer. I haven't read the comic or anything, though.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

The first ep was quite good. It kinda reminds me of Blood+, like how the main character has some unknown power inside her similar to Saya. let's hope it doesn't jump the shark in a few episodes.

oh and the main character is a MILF

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Originally Posted by ms-07

The first ep was quite good. It kinda reminds me of Blood+, like how the main character has some unknown power inside her similar to Saya. let's hope it doesn't jump the shark in a few episodes.

oh and the main character is a MILF

I didn't realize the little girl was her daughter, I thought she was her little sister at first...... >_>

Does she wear the Witchblade as a bracelet like Sara Pezzini in the US comic, or is it like a tattoo or something? I couldn't see clearly in the trailer.

I really hope someone subs this.





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http://weedy.1.vg:8394/torrents/%5BB...bb8cd074ae63e8

Subbed version is out, I'll give it a download later since the trailer seemed interesting
EDIT: It's an MKV version

I was speaking idiomatically.

After watching the trailer, I really wanted to watch the first episode if it had come out.

Thanks for the torrent but I guess mkv files will just never work on my computer.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Why don't MKV files not work?
I hear VLC Media Player can handle all sorts of media formats, including the more obscure .mkv and .ape formats.

Also, this does look very interesting. I find it a bit bothersome however that the Witchblade seems to cause a full-body change right off the bat. From what I remember, initially the Witchblade was very subtle at first, only being a gauntlet.
Having not read the original comic strips though, I cannot say for certain how it evolves.

How ya doing, buddy?

Ugh....mkv..... >_<

Well, not the friendliest of video formats, but I suppose I can download and force my computer to play it (though I know there will be the usual jumps, skips and freeze frames...... >_> )

I hope someone's planning on releasing an avi version soon?


This is a must-see so I will download now.





What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

Huh I never imagined that gonzo would take witchblade and produce it. Though I did like reading the comics and with all of your comments i'm actually looking forward to seeing the first episode.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Originally Posted by Shenlon

http://weedy.1.vg:8394/torrents/%5BB...bb8cd074ae63e8

Subbed version is out, I'll give it a download later since the trailer seemed interesting
EDIT: It's an MKV version

Is it just me and my ultra bad connection or are there no seeds for that torrent?

Broken torrents make Yume sad.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

It seemed to work okay for me, less than 20 minutes to download and I'm still seeding (for about an hour 1/2 now).

Well, about the episode, all I can say is crappy, crappy, crappy, CRAPPY!!

I know I would've enjoyed it a lot more if it wasn't for the fact the sound completely ruined it for me. This is why I hate fucking mkv files!! The sound doesn't match the video and sometimes just totally turns off in some places, no matter what updated codec I use (even CCCP couldn't help me here). VLC can only play sound, no video. MPC skips, WMP and zoomplayer both have the aforementioned audio/video synch problems.

Fuck mkv files. Fuck 'em.

Otherwise, I liked the style and how the story starts out.

Spoiler:

Tokyo in the 22nd Century is a bit of a mess, hey? Apparently some cataclysmic event happened and much of Tokyo is under water. Enter Masane and her daughter Riko who want to start a new life and live together, but who are hounded by the Child Welfare Agency who want to take Riko away because they feel Masane doesn't have the means to look after her (no job and/or monetary income).

Looking forward to the next episode, but really wanting someone to release an avi version because mkv files fucking suck.





This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Gakido is most likely going to sub it using one of Anime-Kraze's translators. We've had a few internal problems lately so I don't know.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

Wasn't this a live action TV movie with a slightly different plot? (It was about a cop getting an ancient weapon, but it didn't take place in the 22nd century.) I remember seeing this on WB once.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0169514/

I was speaking idiomatically.

Originally Posted by Eleo

Wasn't this a live action TV movie with a slightly different plot? (It was about a cop getting an ancient weapon, but it didn't take place in the 22nd century.) I remember seeing this on WB once.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0169514/

Yes, a TV series starring Yancy Butler and Malcolm McDowell. It was more closely based on the original comic series by Top Cow. The origin happens to be pretty much the same:

From Wikipedia:

Spoiler:

Witchblade issue 1: Irons introduced, holding a tournament to find a wielder for the Witchblade. Sara Pezzini undercover against drug dealers. Drexler the dealer snitches about the tournament. Sara and Yee investigate. Ian Nottingham introduced. Murders by microwave killer announced. Witchblade introduced. Incorrect wielder loses arm. Yee is discovered, Sara leaps in front as he is shot by Nottingham, knocks Witchblade from pedestal and is shot too. Mortally wounded, she reaches out and the Witchblade crawls onto her hand, healing her. Witchblade kills everyone, Yee dies

Also according to the Wikipedia article, the TV series was cancelled after Yancy Butler was ordered to enter rehab for alcoholism.

I don't know why ANN mentions that Masane is a cop since it was never mentioned in the first episode.......




What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Originally Posted by hikarub

It seemed to work okay for me, less than 20 minutes to download and I'm still seeding (for about an hour 1/2 now).

Well, about the episode, all I can say is crappy, crappy, crappy, CRAPPY!!

I know I would've enjoyed it a lot more if it wasn't for the fact the sound completely ruined it for me. This is why I hate fucking mkv files!! The sound doesn't match the video and sometimes just totally turns off in some places, no matter what updated codec I use (even CCCP couldn't help me here). VLC can only play sound, no video. MPC skips, WMP and zoomplayer both have the aforementioned audio/video synch problems.

Fuck mkv files. Fuck 'em.

Otherwise, I liked the style and how the story starts out.

Spoiler:

Tokyo in the 22nd Century is a bit of a mess, hey? Apparently some cataclysmic event happened and much of Tokyo is under water. Enter Masane and her daughter Riko who want to start a new life and live together, but who are hounded by the Child Welfare Agency who want to take Riko away because they feel Masane doesn't have the means to look after her (no job and/or monetary income).

Looking forward to the next episode, but really wanting someone to release an avi version because mkv files fucking suck.

I second the motion to say that mkv files suck, why do certain fansub groups insist on using the mkv file format for encoding.

Guess I will have to watch it at my friends house since his computer seems to love mkv files, pity he's not into anime.

FELIPE NO

I dont seem to have any problem playing mkv files, community media pack + mpcplayer work just fine with them. Are your computers older?

How ya doing, buddy?

I watched the trailer. It was alright. I might give the show a watch, but there wasn't anything that grabbed my attention.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Seriously, what's the point of using *.mkv if the subs are hardcoded anyway?! I can kinda understand it when groups like KAA use the format plus softsubs that look just stunning on ... say, Media Player Classic (though I'd still prefer them to go for hardsubs), but this is ridiculous.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Originally Posted by Tokubetsu

I dont seem to have any problem playing mkv files, community media pack + mpcplayer work just fine with them. Are your computers older?

That might be it. I have a Sony Vaio that's about a gazillion years old now. Maybe the processor's on it's last legs?


:eyebrow:

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Originally Posted by hikarub

That might be it. I have a Sony Vaio that's about a gazillion years old now. Maybe the processor's on it's last legs?


:eyebrow:

that might be your problem, but can be other things. You might also want to see how many processes are running in the background while your trying to watch your shows and a sidenote, becareful of shows labeled H.264, they are very cpu intensive. In case you havent, Id reccomend getting/using this codec pack, and be sure to read their wiki as it really breaks down all the various file fromats etc:
http://www.cccp-project.net/

How ya doing, buddy?

Well, it's been nearly 2 weeks and still no episode 2 subbed by anyone. It also looks like Conclave and Bakakozou (who did episode 1) aren't planning on releasing episodes in the more user-friendly .avi format.

Totally sucks.

So much that I have decided to try and download and watch episode 2 raw. I'll try and post some pics later and any thoughts I might have about the episode. I'm still wondering about those characters who were seen at the end of episode 1. Like to know more, but that'll be tough getting anything out of a raw version.........

Oh, why won't someone sub this? In .avi at least?

I was speaking idiomatically.

Where is the first episode that was subbed?

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Originally Posted by Fjordor

Where is the first episode that was subbed?

http://a.scarywater.net/conclave/[Bakakozou_-_Conclave]Witchblade_-_01[H264][35C12DFB].mkv

I think this is the second torrent link that they posted since the first one stopped working or something.

All other links can be found at Tokyo Toshokan. Just do a search for "Witchblade".

http://www.tokyotosho.com/index.php





EDIT: Okay, the above link for Bakakozou - Conclave's sub of episode 1 is not working. The "Witchblade" link on Conclave's projects page is also not working....


wtf.....

FELIPE NO

I got the first episode a while ago, too bad that BakaKozou and Conclave haven't actually released anything more than that.

I never really heard of Witchblade until this series came along, so the plot's totally fresh to me. That said, it looks like it'll be fairly entertaining. I like both Mamiko Noto and Akemi Kanda and the music's done by Kazunori Miyake, so it can't be bad.

Looks like there've been 5 episodes released so far... hopefully Baka/Conclave steps up the pace a bit. ;(

How ya doing, buddy?

Okay, I had a look at the raw version of episode 2 (sweet, sweet .avi....)

Obviously I have more questions than answers due to not understanding Japanese, but this is what I could figure out:

Spoiler:

Yuusuke (the camera man who reluctantly takes Riko from the Child Welfare Agency) is unable to locate her mother, due to being occupied with taking pictures of the mysterious woman and the slaughtered police officers inside the station. Since she has nowhere to go, he takes Riko to where he stays, a bar and restaurant called "Mary's" which is run by a woman who I guess is called Mary (actually the name on the shop front is "Marry's" but I guess it's just engrish).

Despite Riko's protests, Mary decides to call the Child Welfare Agency to come and pick her up. Yuusuke goes to his room to sort through his latest pictures. Meanwhile, the shadowy person has already picked up the unconcious Masane and delivered her to the headquarters of Reiji Takayama, who seems to be the chief of some heavy industries company. (The official website seems to mention weapons development but I don't know for sure). When she wakes up she is confused about what happened to her the night before, but before she can even begin to understand, she is taken on a heli ride to some factory. On the way, Reiji explains to her about the Witchblade she now wears as a bracelet on her right wrist. Try as she might, she cannot remove it. The Witchblade may even be related to the cataclysm 6 years ago.

While waiting for the Child Welfare Agency to pick her up, Riko manages to catch a news report on the TV, regarding the police station the night before. She becomes convinced that her mother has escaped police custody.

After touching down at the factory, Masane is seperated from the other occupants of the heli and sent deep underground to a city-like setting complete with buildings and streets. Some machines are activated and the Witchblade, probably sensing a threat, activates. As it takes over, Masane thinks of Riko.

Elsewhere, Mary (though she is now referred to as Mariko-san by Yuusuke) suddenly crashes into Yuusuke's room with a note from Riko. Riko has left. Outside on the bustling streets, Riko is determined to make her way to the Tokyo Tower, where she and her mother promised to meet if they ever become seperated.

Damn, so much talk about the Witchblade and I don't know what's going on!! And some introduction to 2 new characters, one of whom is featured in the OP with similar powers to the Witchblade......

Some pics from episode 2:

Spoiler:

R: "Where's my Mom?"
Y: "......uh...."


Masane taken away


"Mary" / "Marry" / "Mariko"? I don't know.....


2 new characters, the man seems popular with children, the woman is featured in the OP.


"What the hell is this thing?!"


Riko is gone....


Masane: "......wtf......"


Activation


Anticipation

Well, do I wait a little longer for someone to sub the others or should I just download episodes 3, 4 and 5?

.....oh boy.....

Jam it back in, in the dark.