Line #12 Headscratchers/Witchblade


1	* Still highly bittersweet as it seemed built up to be leading to a point where either Maria turned and found a 'true mother', or Maria went crazy and got killed for being power-mad, allowing her subordinates to turn by being shocked at what she'd become. In fact, neither option happened. This troper is still MASSIVELY pissed, and that Asagi did not even get to lift a finger too. It felt as badly rushed as the Outlaw Star ending with all its 7-second fights. And Nishida dying was an incompetent cop-out and absolute cheat. Tearjerker? SandInMyEyes? Fah! The way it was [[FanonDiscontinuity all handled]] turned it into a BerserkButton. Should you encounter a 6'3 German boy at a convention or anime club with a wiry yet decidedly un-agile body, electrical-socket hair (or so my mum says), wearing Zeerust-y 16th century fashions with a steampunk twist, do NOT [[ToThePain mention this ending as being canon]] or bad things will happen mang, very bad things. To make matters worse one of those who died was incredibly GenreSavvy, which built the path even more towards that direction. Thankfully, one high note was it seemed like Wadou may have been able to pass the blame once again and pull a KarmaHoudini, but did not manage it, winding up imprisoned. Too good if you ask me.
2	** It's not something that could get HappilyEverAfter or turned this way at any point. With others, there are in-'verse reasons. Nishida's death was slightly stretched, but otherwise, it's a result of her obsession: first, she was quick to jump toward the trouble; second, if her attention wasn't mostly elsewhere, she would react in time and do something. Asagi was near-doomed ''twice'', despite her reasonable attitude and not being action-hungry. First, there's no good reason to think the new stereo-Cloneblade is any more stable than the old mono (if anything, more power throughput is likely to make it even less reliable); second, she just hung around obviously insane and murderous Maria poking fingers into her haywire internals, so it was only a matter of time until she would touch something connected to BerserkButton. Wadou's going to drool in a cell with soft walls, and even if he'll leave it, everyone will just say he looked normal until the last moment, and here's more than enough of crap for a life-term however he'd wriggle. The ending is obviously too rushed but still isn't quite bad. As to CanonDiscontinuity, I consider it... sort of... cliffhanger, with its great unresolved line ([[WMG/WitchBlade Riko]]) and potentially InferredSurvival. If it didn't cliff-hung for so long this wouldn't be so annoying.
3	** The ending itself wouldn't be too bad, had the show slavishly followed the comic it's based on. Unfortunately, the douchebags who wrote the scripts said ScrewTheRulesIMakeThem, and decided to chuck canon aside to milk the drama (admittedly well written, but still against canon). Nishida's death was a result of her own stupidity (not to mention insanity), which I'm fine with. Maria was messed up, period, going after the Witch Blade, because, let's face it, she needed something to latch onto after her primary reasons for being disappeared, otherwise she didn't have any point in breathing. Tragic, but at that point, she was NOT sane by any definition. I agree the dual Clone Blades were even more unstable, but then again, try telling a bunch of insane {{Tyke Bomb}}s that. Asagi's death, despite her being the closest thing to sane, is rather appropriate, given that she willingly did something stupid despite the warning flags. Intelligence doesn't always mean its bearer uses it efficiently or at all. Lots of smart people have done stupid shit, just to see what would happen, which is why I have no problem with her death. As for the fact that the Witch Blade was a DeadlyUpgrade MacGuffin, I could've been down with that, had they given one fucking good reason WHY that was true. My theory (had the show followed the comic), was that the creators of the Witch Blade, Angelus and Darkness, got pissed because people were Xeroxing their kid, they didn't like it, and decided to fuck them up as payback. You could still play most of the anime out the same way, but with that one minor change, the ending makes a hell of a lot more sense. Shit, given Masane actually followed the rules concerning the Witchblade's power, maybe her death could have been averted, or maybe the aforementioned creators could've thrown her a bone, and revived her. Would've actually agreed with the canon, not to mention be a LOT better than what we got.
4	** There are reasons why it's too hard for Masane to pull despite her being chosen by Witchblade. First, she was apparently chosen in great haste, so she may be far from an ideal as a host, just the best of present candidates. Especially if the [[WMG/WitchBlade Rihoko hypothesis]] is true. Second, the act of making (and surviving) TheTokyoFireball knocked out the Witchblade itself so hard it went dormant ("tattoo" form) for years, and to Masane it caused at least amnesia-inducing shock and who knows what else -- it was too much for them both. So while Witchblade was able to wake up early to save her from immediate danger, this does not mean otherwise it wouldn't be healthier to sleep one more year. Or ten more years. If viewed as "they both started in a badly drained condition and proceeded to overload themselves (and ultimately it all falls on Masane) further and further without a good rest" the result makes a lot more sense. As to Witchblade's apparent disappearance with Masane's death, it's sort of NeverFoundTheBody anyway and as such [[WMG/WitchBlade could be reinterpreted]]. And there were good {{Sequel Hook}}s, so maybe it was even ''intended'' to. e.g. It would be all too convenient to open SecretLegacy path with [[WMG/WitchBlade Rihoko hypothesis]]: even if Masane is sort of revived, after this she's obviously barely alive, so not only Witchblade's force is out of play, but it's still a big beacon and Rihoko with ''her'' symbiont would have to guard their parents, using more brains or talent than raw power.
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6	* Which Witchblade wielders are still alive in the present day?
7	** I know Sara, Dani, Ian, Gerald, and Katarina are still alive but is there anyone else?
8	** [[spoiler: Katarina has now been KilledOffForReal, so she isn't one of the Witchblade wielders alive in the present day.]]
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10	* So does Masane's first Witchblade outfit utilize a c-string or is her ass left completely bare?

Context Headscratchers / Witchblade