Witchblade

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 Amaha (天羽 雅音, Amaha Masane)

Voiced by: Mamiko Noto (Japanese); Jamie Marchi (English)

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 Yasuka Ohara (大原 寧夏, Ōhara Yasuka), 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 Amaha (天羽 梨穂子, Amaha Rihoko)

Voiced by: Akemi Kanda (Japanese); Carrie Savage (English)

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 (斗沢 祐介, Tōzawa Yūsuke)

Voiced by: Masaya Matsukaze (Japanese); Robert McCollum (English)

Antagonists

Tatsuoki Furumizu (古水 達興, Furumizu Tatsuoki)

Voiced by: Shinji Ogawa (Japanese); R. Bruce Elliott (English)

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.

Maria (まりあ)

Voiced by: Nana Mizuki (Japanese); Monica Rial (English)

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.

Minor characters

Hiroki Segawa (瀬川 弘樹, Segawa Hiroki)

Voiced by: Kenichi Suzumura (Japanese); Christopher Bevins (English)

Segawa Hiroki is Reiji Takayama's assistant and right hand man. He is always prepared and is a very capable assistant. He is the kind of person who loves power and his loyalty lies with who ever is stronger. He describes himself as a person who loves to follow those who have power, and demonstrates it by switching sides with whoever wields the most powerful position within Dohji Industries. He is last seen standing with the Dohji recovery team on a bridge wishing Takayama good luck.

Mariko Natsuki (奈月マリ子, Natsuki Mariko)

Voiced by: Maiko Itou (Japanese); Laurie Steele (English)

Owner of the Natsuki Building where Masane and Rihoko live. She is also the proprietress of the Marry's Gallery bar on the first floor. She is brash and sharp tongued, but is a kindhearted person who has a soft spot for Rihoko.

Mr. Cho (チョーさん, Chō-san)

Voiced by: Shouto Kashii (Japanese); Jerry Russell (English)

A wacky old man, who is a Natsuki Building fixture. A master of IT related matters, he is famous in the world of hackers. He is quite perverted, often known for trying to peek in the woman's baths but is really a good person who looks out for Rihoko and is frequently seen chatting with and supporting her.

Naomi (ナォミ, Naōmi)

Voiced by: Mika Itou (Japanese); Cherami Leigh (English)

A fortune teller who sets up shop in the Natsuki Building, but her extreme shyness around strangers and her sensitivity hurts her business. She is often the object of Mr. Cho's teasing.

Release

Produced by Gonzo and directed by Yoshimitsu Ohashi, Witchblade was broadcast from April 6 to September 21, 2006, on CBC and TBS. From episodes 1–13 and 24, the first opening theme song is "XTC" by Psychic Lover. From episodes 14–23 the second opening theme is "Dear Bob", by Koologi. From episodes 1–12, the first ending theme is "Ashita no Te" (あしたの手) by Mamiko Noto. From episodes 13–23, the second ending theme is "Kutsuhimo" (靴ひも) by Asami Yamamoto. For episode 24, the ending theme is "Kodō: Get Closer" (鼓動 -get closer-) by Psychic Lover.

In North America, the series was licensed by Funimation (later Crunchyroll, LLC). They release the series on six DVD sets from September 25, 2007, to April 29, 2008. A Blu-ray box set was released on November 3, 2009. In the United Kingdom, the series was licensed by MVM Films, with six DVD sets released from February 4 to December 15, 2008. A Collector's Blu-ray edition was released on March 13, 2023. In the United States, the series was broadcast on the cable network IFC from January 4 to June 13, 2008. In South Africa, the series was broadcast on Animax. Crunchyroll added the series to their catalog in February 2018, streaming it in its original Japanese language with English subtitles. Following the announcement that Funimation would be unified under the Crunchyroll brand, the English dubbed episodes were added to the platform in February 2023.