INSIDE BANDAI'S WITCHBLADE MANGA COLLECTIONS

[MattBrady]

by Benjamin Ong Pang Kean

Earlier this year, Bandai Entertainment announced that it was entering into an agreement with Top Cow Productions to publish a series of “manga-sized” digest essential collections of Tomb Raider and Witchblade.

The partnership between the two will soon see the publication of Witchblade Takeru, a manga version of Witchblade serialized in Japanese publisher Akita Shoten’s magazine, Champion Red.

For the uninitiated, Witchblade Takeru is not based on the anime series by Studio GONZO, which has seen FUNimation obtaining the North American broadcast rights to the series.

While in the American comic book continuity, other than Sara Pezzini, there’ve been other wielders of the mystical gauntlet through the ages such as Japanese blade-wielder Lady Shiori (Witchblade: Obakemono). On the other hand, the anime series stars Masane Amaha, a single mother who mysteriously survived a catastrophic event that ravaged Tokyo in a not too distant future. Both are, according to Top Cow Publisher Matt Hawkins, canon, as far as the Top Cow is concerned – at the recent WizardWorld Chicago, Hawkins expressed that, for sometime in the future, the Withcblade weilders will hail from Japan, which was fine by him.

So, who is Takeru?

“Takeru is the young heroine,” Bandai Entertainment’s Manga Editor Robert Place Napton explained to Newsarama. “She is your average Japanese High School girl being raised in a Buddhist Convent by nuns. Also hidden in the convent is the Witchblade, locked away in a box. Takeru dreams of the Witchblade—actually she has nightmares about it – it calls out to her. Finally circumstance force her into the Witchblade’s hands literally, and she becomes the bearer. It’s a very cool story.

“It’s a different character and scenario than the anime. This is typical of manga – the story often deviates in terms of design and feel, but it’s a very cool incarnation of the Japanese Witchblade – an extension of what GONZO did in the anime series. The writer of the manga is Kobayashi Yasuko who is also the head writer of the anime, so there will be obvious parallels and connections not apparent on the surface. The art by Sumita Kazasa is incredible, really, really suburb. I think this manga is going to be very well received by manga fans in the U.S.

“The series was produced in Japan by Akita Shoten on their Champion Red Line. Bandai Entertainment will be releasing the English language Japanese manga following the pattern of the manga volumes released in Japan in terms of content. In spite of the violent content of the manga, we won’t be censoring the manga in anyway, but it will likely be shrink wrapped for U.S. stores and carry a “mature” label.

“We are thrilled to have acquired this license,” he continued. “This entire project is history making – no American character has ever been given the real treatment by anime creators in Japan – being reinvented for the Japanese market and now we are part of the effort to import that original manga, in conjunction with the anime, back to the U.S. It’s truly revolutionary and I look forward to unleashing Witchblade Takeru on the U.S. manga community.”


At press time, no release date for the manga has been announced. “We want synergy with the Witchblade anime series which GONZO produced and FUNimation is releasing, so stayed tuned for that one,” he concluded.



All images are © Top Cow Productions Inc. 2006

[LunarDaydreamer]

I don't know much about Witchblade, but am a huge fan of Gonzo - so may well end up picking up the mahoosive Top Cow hardcover in a few months. The manga, although unrelated, looks very beautiful. I'll have a read when it comes out.

[Travel Exiter]

I guess sentai Spiderman and his giant robot doesnt count as reinvention

[smitch]

The front cover is nothing but sword blade and camel toe! Or is that the back cover...still!

[tiso_spencer]

Yeah, I think I needed to be reminded why I don't watch anime anymore or read as much manga now. Lovely.

[SeamusMcClernan]

Originally Posted by smitch

The front cover is nothing but sword blade and camel toe! Or is that the back cover...still!

You say that like it's a BAD thing.

[Arvandor]

Ha! And this when the regular Witchblade series is trying to get away from its t&a image.

And you just know this will outsell the American version by millions.

[AaronStC]

Originally Posted by smitch

The front cover is nothing but sword blade and camel toe! Or is that the back cover...still!

Actually, I think thats a magazine spread. Notice how it folds inward in the center.

Anyway, I used to be into Witchblade so I might check this and the anime out.

[AoD]

Originally Posted by AaronStC

Actually, I think thats a magazine spread. Notice how it folds inward in the center.

Anyway, I used to be into Witchblade so I might check this and the anime out.

Well the good new about the anime is that FUNimation got the rights to it so you at least know it won't be hacked up, edited and censored 'till there's no tomorrow. And yeah, I think its a magazine spread as well.

[Kusanagi]

Looks.....*looking for the right word*.....Interesting?
Anyway, the art's gorgeous, very detailed, and it's Witchblade,
so eventhough i haven't read it for ages, well, flipped though the pages at the shop...
Think i'll pick this little gem up.

[smitch]

Originally Posted by SeamusMcClernan

You say that like it's a BAD thing.

Nah, just a VERY wide eyed observation.

[Juss]

The interior art is gorgeous. I've only gotten into Witchblade recently, with Ron Marz's run. But now I'm interested in the manga version if it's going to look this good.

[Dood Lee]

Originally Posted by LunarDaydreamer

I don't know much about Witchblade, but am a huge fan of Gonzo - so may well end up picking up the mahoosive Top Cow hardcover in a few months.

There is a Witchblade hardcover coming out?

[xomanowarfan]

Originally Posted by smitch

The front cover is nothing but sword blade and camel toe! Or is that the back cover...still!

this article needs a mature warning...

[Celaeno]

Seen it, not interested. Already really shakey on Witchblade as a comic right now (dissapointed with issue 100, VERY much so) although the animated series has been interesting enough.
But this, this is so damn close to hentai that if there's a plot in there anywhere I'll be stunned enough to turn to stone. It may outsell the American version my millions (and will considering the population density and manga-love in Japan) but I don't think I'd want to meet any of those fans.

[Charlie Hustle]

Aw, poor prudish comic book fans defending the viewing eyes of all the poor impressionable youth who visit newsarama in between marathon bouts of porn downloading. Keep fighting the good fight.

[Celaeno]

Originally Posted by Charlie Hustle

Aw, poor prudish comic book fans defending the viewing eyes of all the poor impressionable youth who visit newsarama in between marathon bouts of porn downloading. Keep fighting the good fight.

The good fight?

The comic just looks BAD, and if it's really all that story oriented, I'll eat my hat. Ive seen the pages and so far it can be summed up as "traditional school girl archetype becomes tentacled bladed exhibitionist."
And since nowhere have any official releases deemed to tell us a more detailed plot than "Japanese schoolgirl gets the Witchblade," I have no reason to believe otherwise.

[Comicstein]

I dumped Witchblade back around issue 86, after collecting every issue to that point, due to poor art and worse storytelling. but after seeing this manga version, I am certain that I will be picking up the English language version of this when it is released in this country. I love the art and look forward to seeing what can be done if the story is given a true manga treatment.
Color me on board until they screw it up.

[Kolimar]

I saw that and my mind went ***** for a few seconds while my eyes went I swallowed a little saliva and I thought "wow". Gorgeous art. I love it.

[sammuraiblad]

Originally Posted by Celaeno

But this, this is so damn close to hentai that if there's a plot in there anywhere I'll be stunned enough to turn to stone. It may outsell the American version my millions (and will considering the population density and manga-love in Japan) but I don't think I'd want to meet any of those fans.

Whats ironic is that the artist did a hentai manga called "Flower Claw" After looking at his previous work, i look forward to this manga with excitement...

[Frankfurt]

I just hope we get all the cool extras (print, audio and video) they have in Japan. There are already three soundtrack CDs and one audio Drama CD for the Witchblade anime, plus nice packages with alternate covers for the special edition DVDs, plus interviews, you name it!

Funimation has been doing a good job with their DVDs recently, they even had the Burst Angel Drama CDs as extras in the DVDs (with subtitles) (which i hope they do again for Witchblade)!

Also, Top Cow has to bring the typical artbooks and guidebooks anime get in Japan. They're always gorgeous. I have no problem with importing from Japan (i often do), but it would be nice to see this stuff in the US also.

Originally Posted by Celaeno

The good fight?

The comic just looks BAD, and if it's really all that story oriented, I'll eat my hat. Ive seen the pages and so far it can be summed up as "traditional school girl archetype becomes tentacled bladed exhibitionist."
And since nowhere have any official releases deemed to tell us a more detailed plot than "Japanese schoolgirl gets the Witchblade," I have no reason to believe otherwise.

The anime (see image below) has a LOT of T&A also (pretty much every image released has butt shots), and could easily be summed up as "MILF and her daughter run from evil corporation" or something like that, but guess what? The plot and character development is actually better than 90% of the american comics people discuss daily here at Newsarama.



So judging from pictures isn't smart at all.

[Celaeno]

Originally Posted by Frankfurt

The anime (see image below) has a LOT of T&A also (pretty much every image released has butt shots), and could easily be summed up as "MILF and her daughter run from evil corporation" or something like that, but guess what? The plot and character development is actually better than 90% of the american comics people discuss daily here at Newsarama.

So judging from pictures isn't smart at all.

1. It's not the T&A count. I've seen more pages than have been posted here (thank you Scan Daily), and it's a lot of tentacles and squishy things and pulling of blades from very painful orifices. Many pages of that. So unless people compeltely cut out the plot pages (and I've seen a few of said girl at school, so that's unlikely)...
I watch the Witchblade animated series. I like it. There's a story (a story summery was also released with the announcement, whereas here, not so much), the animation is decent, the soundtrack is good.

2. You missed the part where I've said I've read some of it.

Edit: my bad, guess I forgot to add that I'd read about 15-20 pages of it...

[FIG]

The art looks beautiful

[beta-ray]

Nice... spread.

I need to meet more women like that. Haha

[350z]

I collected the first year or so of Witchblade, and I have occasionally looked through the issues over the years. This is the best version of the character that I have seen; it's better than anything that has been American pages, and I am not that big of a manga fan per se.