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[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/pic_witchblade.jpg]]

->''"Wars are not caused by weapons. Mankind has fought since prehistoric times. Humans will never be free from war."''
-->-- '''Reiji Takayama'''

''Witchblade'' is an anime series based on the American comic book [[Comicbook/{{Witchblade}} of the same name]]. It is an all-new story using the premise of the original with an all-new character and setting. The series centers around Masane Amaha, who was found at ground zero of a catastrophe that destroyed Tokyo with an infant in her arms, a jewel on her wrist, and [[LaserGuidedAmnesia no memory]].

Years later, Masane is on the run from Child Services with her daughter Rihoko. With no one to turn to and nowhere left to hide, she has no choice but to accept when corporate executive Takayama offers her protection and a salary in return for her services in hunting down a series of escaped semi-sentient weapons designed by his company, a task made considerably easier by the bracelet on her wrist, the symbiotic Witchblade.

Of course, this does complicate her personal life a bit...
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!!''Witchblade'' provides examples of:
%%* ActionMom: Masane, [[spoiler:Reina]].
* AffablyEvil: Father is so polite and friendly that you'd almost forget that he has no trouble at all subjecting many young women to treatments that end in all but certain death in order to achieve his goal.
%% * AuthorAppeal: If you're wondering why most of the females in the anime put the comic book one's to shame, look up Uno Makoto.
* AlienBlood: Transformed Witchblade and Cloneblade users bleed clear crystalline blood.
%% * AmbiguouslyGay: Segawa could practically be an {{Expy}} for [[WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons Waylon Smithers.]]
* AnimeHair: Generally pretty reasonable, but Maria has some sort of "hair halo" that either requires wires for support or a ''crazy'' amount of hairspray to maintain.
%%* AnyoneCanDie
* ArmorPiercingQuestion:
--> '''[[OnlySaneMan Asagi]]''': Power is a means, not a goal... in the end, what do you want?
%% * ArtisticLicenseBiology: Father's plan in general. As was clear even for his own laboratory workers.
%% * AxCrazy: Shiori, due to PhlebotinumBreakdown, as well as any man who attempts to wear one of Wadou's modified Cloneblades.
%% * BadassNormal:
%% ** Reiji Takyama.
%% ** Hiroki Segawa, who isn't afraid to join his boss in a dangerous shootout.
%% ** Also Masane BEFORE she could activate the Witchblade.
%%* BattleButler: Segawa, Shiori, Nora.
%%* BeachEpisode:
* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler:The Witchblade ultimately breaks down and slowly destroys Masane's body until she goes out in a blaze of glory to [[HeroicSacrifice protect Rihoko]], while Rihoko herself has Takayama to take over Masane's surrogate parent role.]]
* BladeBelowTheShoulder: Blade users have [[RetractableWeapon extendable/retractable]] blades attached to their arms. Masane has one, while those with [[spoiler: upgraded Cloneblades]] have two. [[spoiler: Masane acquires another one after learning to increase her power using the Witchblade]]
%% * BloodLust: During the early episodes, Masane very explicitly demonstrated this, complete with LickingTheBlade. And her lips. [[FingerLickinEvil And her fingers.]]
%% * BlushSticker: Masane gets the "[[HardDrinkingPartyGirl blitzed]]" version. Riho gets the "cute little kid" version
%%* CassetteCraze: Reina Sohou.
* CentralTheme: "The true nature of love and family, especially parent and child".
%%* CheerfulChild: Riko.
* ChildrenDoTheHousework: Masane is an unemployed single mother and constant slacker who often wakes up late, with her six-year-old daughter Rihoko usually seen performing domestic tasks like cleaning, washing and making breakfast.
%% * ChildrenRaiseYou: Masane may be Rihoko's mother, but their roles are more or less reversed.
%%* ChronicBackstabbingDisorder: Segawa.
* ClingyMacGuffin: Masane tries to get rid of the Witchblade, even using power tools in the ways that could cost her half of the arm. [[spoiler: It doesn't work.]]
* ClothingDamage: Subverted in an odd way: in the first few times Masane transforms, the Witchblade's armor visibly ''covers'' her body - and anything she was wearing at the time - with featureless, colorless material, before shifting into [[{{Stripperiffic}} the infamously-skimpy 'armor'.]] Cloneblade wielders also transform into similarly-scandalous attire - and all revert without any harm done to their outfits underneath. It's interesting to note that there are a few instances where a weapon (blade, anti-tank shell) visibly strikes the [=Witchblade/Cloneblade=] wielder in an 'exposed' area. Instead of the wielder being sliced [=open/exploding=] into a fine paste, all the audience would notice is the sound of metal grinding against metal, as if said weapon struck armor...
* ColorCodedForYourConvenience: Unlike the usual blue-good/red-evil schema, the Cloneblades have blue "eyes" and the Witchblade's "eye" is red.
%%* TheComicallySerious: Reiji.
* CorruptCorporateExecutive:
%%** SmugSnake Wadou.
** Subverted with Takayama. With his perpetually stern grimace, [[GoodScarsEvilScars scar over his right eye]], and the way he manipulates Masane into working for him with money at the start, never mind the fact that he's a corporate executive working for a rather shady company to begin with, and he looks like the second coming of Gendou Ikari. Turns out he's one of the more noble characters in the series.
* CursedWithAwesome: Masane tries to [[ClingyMacGuffin get rid of her symbiont]] by any means possible. It only notices when she's about to hurt herself. More importantly, hurt IT. When she's trying to gouge it out with a screwdriver or piece of metal, it does nothing. When she goes for more powerful tools that might actually WORK to get rid of it...
* DeadlyUpgrade: Witchblade (and, by extension, Cloneblade) users inevitably [[spoiler:become unstable and begin to suffer physical and mental deterioration, eventually disintegrating. However, their power increases exponentially during the breakdown]].
%%* DeadpanSnarker: Asagi.
%% * DefrostingIceQueen: Reina. Also a rare male example in Takayama.
* DepartmentOfChildDisservices: The Department of Welfare Services. Not only are they aggressive {{Obstructive Bureaucrat}}s, but are apparently [[spoiler: infiltrated and controlled by NSWF and serve only to further Father's agenda]], at least in Tokyo. They also catalyzed the entire plot.
** Not entirely. [[spoiler: It was established by the NSWF, and is rumored to be used for Father's agenda, but we don't actually SEE him taking kids for his nefarious purposes or anything. In fact his GOAL rules out using the genes of strangers, now doesn't it?]]
*** It also functions in the typical procedures of Child Services. Who would of course be called into action when a child was living with a homeless woman, or [[spoiler: the biological mother showed up.]]
%% * DiagonalCut: Well, a vertical cut, anyway.
* DigitalBikini: A strange variant. Witchblade users ordinarily display an inordinate amount of flesh, but in the ''Japanese'' release, said flesh is colored black in order to give the impression of a bodysuit. But only in the actual TV airings. In the DVD releases, you see more flesh than you probably see in an actual Witchblade ''comic''.
%%* DirtyOldMan: Chou.
%%* DisappearsIntoLight: [[spoiler: Masane.]]
%% * DrinkingContest: Between Takayama and Wadou.
%% * EmotionlessGirl: Reina. She gets better after a while [[spoiler: just in time to sacrifice herself protecting Rihoko from a berserk Maria.]]
* EvilKnockoff: The Cloneblades are mass produced copies of the Witchblade.
%% * EvilLaugh: By the ''protagonist''.
* FacingTheBulletsOneLiner: Masane has one just before she uses her powers [[spoiler:to destroy the I-Weapons]] at the cost of her own life.
-->'''Masane''': Let's blow some shit up!
%%* {{Fanservice}}: ''Buckets'' of it.
%% * FauxActionGirl: The X-Cons' preferred victims are all Cloneblade bearers. One assumes they would be perfectly capable of putting up a fight, but they don't even ''try''.
%% * FreudianExcuse: Father. Just... okay, let's start with the fact that he calls himself FATHER, and [[JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope jump off the slippery]] {{Squick}} [[JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope slope]] from there.
%% * ForgottenChildhoodFriend: Wadou and Takayama towards each other.
%% * FullFrontalAssault: Maria when transformed with a Cloneblade
* FunWithAcronyms: As established from the first episode, NSWF is rather {{NSFW}}. [[LudicrousGibs Literally]].
* GlowingEyesOfDoom: Blade users. Masane temporarily gets ProphetEyes when an X-Con or Cloneblade user is near.
%%* GoingForTheBigScoop: Yusuke Tozawa.
%% * GoodScarsEvilScars: Takayama has one badass scar.
%% * GratuitousEnglish: Chou sometimes lapses into terrible English for no apparent reason. Which they actually kept in the German dub. It still sounds the same though.
* HalfTheManHeUsedToBe: Ultimateblade after Masane's CleanCut, and right before falling into crystal powder.
%%* HardDrinkingPartyGirl: Masane.
* HarmfulToMinors: One of Masane's greatest concerns is that seeing her while transformed may scare or alienate Rihoko. [[spoiler:And then Riko reacts to her battle form no differently than she would to new clothes or make-up, and when asked she ''fails to understand why'' it could disturb her at all.]]
* HeroicBSOD: A truly heartbreaking one when Masane discovers [[spoiler:she isn't Rihoko's biological mother]]. Not so much from the discovery, so much as [[spoiler: her Biological Mother requesting her return. And accepting the fact that making her go with Reina probably IS the best thing for Rihoko. The fact of the matter barely fazes her, family is more than just genes. It's the actual absence of Rihoko that reduces Masane to frightening levels of gloominess. Though the way Rihoko charms everyone and their mother within about five minutes of meeting her, she should be labeled a cocaine-level Weapons-Grade Adorable.]]
%% * HotterAndSexier: The DVD versions manage to be this compared to even the comics.
* HumanResources: [[spoiler:Corpse + Cloneblade = I-Weapon. X-Cons even retain traces of their former personalities]].
* IAmAHumanitarian: During the first transformations, Masane under Witchblade influence licks a strange substance that oozes from X-Cons and I-Weapons. They're both the result of Witchblade research, so this amounts to eating one's own cloned tissue. In later episodes, she gains control of these urges. [[spoiler:Counts twice, considering another [[HumanResources component]] of X-Cons and I-Weapons.]]
* IdiotHair: Masane's pronounced cowlick. Maria has one that looks like a halo, [[{{yandere}} ironically]].
%%* IJustWantToBeNormal: Masane.
* InferredSurvival: [[spoiler: Masane]]. Due to the fact the ending conflicts with ''Comicbook/{{Witchblade}}'' canon (yet is recognized as canon), it's possible that the [[spoiler: HeroicSacrifice]] could be reversed.
%% * InspectorLestrade: Inspector Nakata. And introduced while investigating [[spoiler:an X-Con rampage and dismissing as a random drunk the perpetrator who ''surrendered'']].
* InTheBlood: "Sisters" are obviously obsessive (Reina: self-exploration, Shiori: Reina, Rie: Witchblade research; Maria: her mother, then world domination, Aoi: Maria). Not so surprising, given their ancestry.
%%* IntrepidReporter: Tozawa.
%%* KarmicDeath: [[spoiler: Father dies at Maria's hands]]
%%* KilledMidSentence: [[spoiler:Maria]].
%%* LadyOfWar: Reina Sohou.
%% * LightningBruiser: Masane and other main/supporting characters with Cloneblades.
%%* LovableSexManiac: Chou.
%% * LukeIAmYourFather: [[spoiler: Rihoko]] with ''both'' parents.
%% ** [[spoiler: Hardly a shocker. She's a GenerationXerox of her mother. And once you've figured out who Mom is, it's a short hop to who Dad is.]]
%%* MagicPants
%%* MagneticPlotDevice
* MagicalGirlWarrior: although a downplayed variant, the blade-bearers are all transforming female characters with superpowers, technically also fighting X-Cons.
%% * MamaBear: Masane. She defies all comers, and the Witchblade itself, to protect Rihoko.
%% * ManipulativeBastard: Father. The manner in which he plays upon the emotions of his impressionable Neogene children while insuring their deaths obliterates the MoralEventHorizon.
%%* MementoMacGuffin: [[spoiler:Masane's clamshell.]]
* MonsterMisogyny: Justified, in that the monsters in question are biologically compelled to hunt Witchblade and Cloneblade users (who are all women).
%% * MostCommonSuperpower: See AuthorAppeal.
%% * NinjaPirateZombieRobot: More specifically, [[spoiler:robot zombie tanks]]. ItMakesSenseInContext.
%% * NotOfThisEarth: The Witchblade - maybe.
%% * NotSoStoic: [[spoiler: Takayama kisses Masane after she visits him following his forced resignation from Doji.]]
%% * OnlySaneMan: Even if Asagi kept her finger in the mouth most time we saw her, she was the most balanced Sister. The little punk also saw Maria for what she is, even if has not enough good sense to steer clear of mad people's berserk buttons.
* OrganicTechnology: The titular Witchblade and its Cloneblade knockoffs.
%% * OrgasmicCombat: Masane moans in combat mode. A lot. And that's not even counting the gratuitous use of words like "throbbing" and "satisfied." And she's not half as bad as Shiori.
%%* PerpetualFrowner: Reiji
%% * PleaseWakeUp: Both Riko and Takayama to Masane at the end of ep 20. She's only unconscious.
%%* PrehensileHair: Masane, Nora, Maria.
%% * PsychoLesbian: Shiori. Made worse by her PhlebotinumBreakdown, during which she even tries to [[spoiler:rape Takayama, Reina's former lover.]]
%%* PunchClockHero: Masane.
* RunningGag: Several characters getting hung over and having to puke at inconvenient times at Masane's place.
* SenseLossSadness: [[spoiler:As the Witchblade's breakdown of her body continues, Masane loses her sense of taste. Her reaction to this is short, but nonetheless powerful because of what follows after: [[TearJerker she would go on to have her last meal with her daughter moments later, forcing herself to act as if nothing was wrong.]]]]
%% * SequelHook: Several, and [[WMG/{{Witchblade}} large]] ones. It's quite surprising there's no sequel.
%% * SexyDiscretionShot: A later episode heavily implies that [[spoiler:Masane and Reiji]] slept together.
%% * SexySecretary: Shiori, Nora. Masane later on.
%% * SexyShirtSwitch: Masane after spending the night with [[spoiler: Takayama]]. Before it gets blown off by her [[ClothingDamage clothing-shredding transformation]].
%% * SheCleansUpNicely: Masane gets dolled up to accompany Takayama to a dinner. Her manners don't clean up nicely, though.
%% * ShipperOnDeck: In episode 18, Rihoko is shipping hard for Masane/Takayama. [[spoiler: Without even knowing that he's her father.]]
%% * ShoutOut: [[http://www.amazon.co.uk/Little-Rubber-Ducks-Eric-Carle/dp/0007202423/ Little Rubber Ducks]]. Yes, [[http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/06/28/doomed_ducks_sail_oceans_for_all_eternity/ these]] plastic ducks.
%%* ShrinkingViolet: Naomi.
%% * SleepCute: Cute in the case of Rihoko, Sleep Funny in the case of Masane and Takayama.
%%* SleepMask: Tozawa
%%* SmugSnake: Wadou.
* SoundtrackDissonance: The beginning and ending themes change partway through the series, and they ''really'' don't match the progressively darker subject material.
** The OP sounds more like Masane's about to get involved in a [[{{OAR}} crazy game of poker.]]
%% * StepfordSmiler: Masane, at first.
* TheStoic: Michael. Even when he's ''drunk'' he barely changes expressions.
%% * {{Stripperiffic}}:
%% ** In particular, the buttocks are a vulnerable region in every super-powered female's outfit.
%% ** Also, Maria's normal outfit.
* SuperMode: [[spoiler: Masane gets one when fighting Ultimateblade. Her hair turns white and her armor red.]] Also counts as DeadlyUpgrade, since it [[spoiler: accelerates the degradation the Witchblade causes]].
%% * SuperPowerMeltdown: The Cloneblades. It's not pretty.
%%* TheTokyoFireball: Happens before the story.
* TomboyAndGirlyGirl: [[spoiler: Rihoko's two mothers can be seen as the adult version of this trope. Masane's more "sporty" and outgoing compared to the more "ladylike" and reserved Reina.]]
* TooDumbToLive: Despite her extremely high intellect when it comes to science and technology, [[spoiler:Rie Nishida obsession with researching and gaining knowledge about the Witchblade is what ironically leads to her rather anticlimactic death. She ends up being so distracted by the amount of power the Witchblade could potentially unleash that she didn't even bother to look ahead of her to see the giant I-Weapon barreling directly on top of her.]]
%% * TragicMonster: Arguably all the X-Cons, but especially the mosquito-man. Also, Shiori and Maria.
%% * TrueCompanions: Masane, Tozawa and the other lodgers at the restaurant.
%%* {{Tykebomb}}: The Sisters.
%% * VillainousBreakdown: Played straight with Wadou and Father. Inverted with Maria, who is introduced as a bundle of vicious childish impulses but later becomes a stone cold megalomaniac.
%%* TheVoiceless: Michael.
%% * WackyParentSeriousChild: Rihoko and Masane could practically be called the TropeCodifier.
%%* WeHardlyKnewYe: Shiori.
%% * WhatIsThisThingYouCallLove: Happens to Reina with Riko when [[spoiler:Riko wants her to talk to her more as her daughter.]]
* WhatMeasureIsANonHuman: Several variants. First of all, Takayama specifically said that their [[NinjaPirateZombieRobot dubious creations]] were made because they're more expendable than human soldiers. Reina in her self-exploration reveals her own inability to relate to "normal" humans, and Masane fears her daughter will see her as less human as a result of her symbiosis with the Witchblade. [[spoiler: She needn't have worried.]]
%% * WiseBeyondTheirYears: Riko, in contrast to ManChild poster-woman Masane.
%%* {{Yandere}}: Maria.
%% * YoungerThanTheyLook: Due to being a [[ArtificialHuman clone]], Maria is actually younger than Rihoko.
%%* YourDaysAreNumbered: [[spoiler: Masane.]]

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