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R2 DVD Reviews
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Written by maehara
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Thursday, 03 July 2008 16:00 |
 The more she fights, the more Masane begins to learn about the unsavoury goings-on of her employers - but with the care of Rihoko being her main concern, she's having to put her other concerns behind her. But even after surviving a number of attacks that would have killed anyone else, she's about to face the greatest shock of all...
9 - Sadness
Another night, another X-Con killing - that's three nights in a row, and with the police still clueless about the truth behind the killings they're really getting worried. It's the sort of job that Masane should really be dealing with - except she's spending most of her time in the apartment bed, blind drunk. Yusuke eventually manages to pull her to one side and talk some sense into her and get her to look into the killings - and along with some evidence he's been able to gather himself, they're soon on the trail. Riko, meanwhile, is about to find that her usual friendliness could be her undoing...
10 - Interaction
Masane's got some difficult questions for her boss after learning that the X-Cons are human - she's had facts held from her, and know she want to know the truth. They're human all right, but dead humans - people who agreed to become part of the program before their deaths, or whose families gave permission - and being integrated into Douji Group's weapons makes them more powerful than any conventional weapon. Powerful enough to be a deterrent - and that's a good thing, surely? The price for learning that truth could well be considered a fate worse than death - an evening out with the boss, who's having to diplomatically keep a rival in his place...
11 - Danger
Maria is in training for NSWF's Neo-Gene program, and even without one of the Cloneblade devices she's showing enormous promise - if killing five of your training partners can be considered promise, anyway. Back at Masane's place, Takayama's just woken up to find himself with a major hangover. Riko immediately takes a liking to her mom's boss, and is soon taking on the role of nursemaid. It's enough to keep him away from the office - a good thing, as Wadou is raising all sorts of hell about the party incident, and asking awkward questions about the Witchblade. Meanwhile, Riko herself is taken ill, while another Neo-Gene comes looking for Masane...
12 - Prisoner
Masane is now in NSWF's hands. At least they don't seem to want her dead - the medic's orders are to give her first aid and restrain her, but that's all. It'll give them a chance to analyse the Witchblade with minimal risk. When Wadou hears that Takayama has "lost" the Witchblade, he sees his opportunity to ruin his rival - if he can just take advantage of the situation. That means Takayama needs to get Masane back, and quickly...
The biggest surprise of this volume comes from the Rihoko side of the story - with her daughter being the only thing that really keeps her on the straight-and-narrow, anything that comes between Masane and Riko can only spell trouble, but that's what we get at the end of the disc when their relationship looks set to be turned on its head, through no fault of Masane's. Without giving away the details, it's a biggie and the one point of the disc that really caught me unawares.
Most of this volume, though, is about Masane, and her scenes are fairly equally split between her having to deal with the twin threats of X-Cons and the Cloneblades, and with the relationship that seems to be beginning to spark into life between her and Takayama. Her night out at a formal event with her boss is simply a recipe for disaster (did Takayama really expect her to behave herself?), but there's some fun to be had from seeing just how out-of-hand she can get - and from seeing Takayama dealing with Wadou's suggested method of evening the score.
There's more serious stuff as well, as the rivalry between Douji Group and NSWF over the Witchblade technology steps up a gear. As well as the inevitable battles that this produces - and let's be honest, that's the show's main draw at the end of the day - there are some good snippets of background information given out, along with the introduction of spoilt brat Maria. She's the "pet" of NSWF's leader - even without being fitted with a Cloneblade she's deadly, but she seems to have the petulance of a five-year-old - along with a lack of respect for life that looks set to see her become a real rival for Masane. The two haven't met yet, but I'd bet on there being some serious fireworks when they do.
The mix of storylines is handled really well, with the pacing being spot on - even sitting through all four episodes in one sitting, I never got bored or found the story tricky to follow. Witchblade has managed to strike the sweet spot where there's enough story that you can't just call it an action series, but not so much that you need to think too much to take it all in - it's just fun to watch, which is all you could want from a series.
This volume of Witchblade has several different strands to it - some serious, some less so - and manages to juggle them all to good effect. The end result is a very enjoyable batch of episodes that won't tax the brain, while there are enough surprises thrown in to keep you wanting more. Well worth a look.
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