Witch Blade DVD

A massive earthquake devastated Tokyo six years ago. Masane Amaha survived it with no memory of who she was before, found at ground zero with a baby girl in her arms. The baby is Rihoko — now six years old, fiercely attached to her mother, and in the eyes of the city's Child Welfare Bureau, potentially at risk in the care of someone without a verified identity. When the Bureau attempts to separate them, Masane and Rihoko flee back to Tokyo. There, a chance encounter with the Doji Group — a weapons corporation searching for the ancient artifact recovered from the earthquake site — triggers the Witchblade. The relic bonds to Masane's wrist, transforming her into an armored, blade-wielding warrior of extraordinary destructive power. Now conscripted into Doji's service as a weapon against rival factions and rogue Gigi weapons, Masane fights to keep Rihoko safe — while the NSWF, the government's counter-weapons task force, hunts her down.

Witchblade is a 24-episode series produced by Gonzo — the studio behind Vandread, Gate Keepers, Burst Angel, and Last Exile — directed by Yoshimitsu Ohashi, written by Yasuko Kobayashi (Claymore, Attack on Titan, Sword of the Stranger), and scored by Masa Takumi. Rather than adapting the original Top Cow comic, the Japanese-American co-production between Gonzo and Top Cow created an entirely new story and cast in the same continuity.

 The English dub premiered on the U.S. cable network IFC in January 2008. Region 1 individual DVDs were released by FUNimation in six separate volumes beginning September 2007. Witchblade had the best first-week DVD sales of any U.S. anime release in 2007. The series was also released as a complete 5-disc DVD box set (October 28, 2008), a Blu-ray Complete Series (November 3, 2009), and later in Viridian Collection and Anime Classics editions.

Notable Staff & Voice Talent

Director: Yoshimitsu Ohashi
Series Composition: Yasuko Kobayashi (Claymore, Attack on Titan, JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, Sword of the Stranger)
Original Franchise: Top Cow Productions (Marc Silvestri — creator of Witchblade comic)
Character Design: Makoto Uno (Love Hina TV)
Studio: Gonzo (Vandread, Gate Keepers, Burst Angel, Last Exile, Hellsing)
Music: Masa Takumi (Claymore)

Japanese Cast:
- Yoshiaki Fujiwara as Masane Amaha
- Nana Mizuki as Rihoko Amaha (Vandread, Gate Keepers 21, Hyper Speed GranDoll, El Cazador de la Bruja — Nadie, Familiar of Zero — Tabitha)
- Takehito Koyasu as Reiji Takayama (Slayers, Escaflowne, Gate Keepers, Fushigi Yugi, Z.O.E. Dolores I, Spriggan)
- Unsho Ishizuka as Hiroki Segawa (éX-Driver, Z.O.E. Dolores I, Mahoromatic, Ghost in the Shell: SAC, Berserk The Advent — Skull Knight)
- Akio Otsuka as Tatsuoki Furumizu (Hyper Police, Night Warriors, WXIII Patlabor, Inuyasha films, Ghost in the Shell: SAC, Claymore additional cast)

English Dub Cast (FUNimation — Texas):
- Kelly Collins Lintz as Masane Amaha
- Brina Palencia as Rihoko Amaha (Claymore — Teresa, Burst Angel — Amy)
- Chris Rager as Reiji Takayama
- R. Bruce Elliott as Hiroki Segawa (Claymore — Organization Handler)
- Chuck Huber as additional cast

DVD Features (Individual Volumes — 6 Volumes, FUNimation)

- Volumes 1–6: 4 Episodes per Volume (eps 1–4, 5–8, 9–12, 13–16, 17–20, 21–24)
- Japanese Cast Interviews (across volumes)
- Promotional Video & Japanese TV Spots
- Tour of Top Cow Studios with Marc Silvestri
- How to Create a Comic Book the Top Cow Way
- The Witchblade Forged (Parts 1–3)
- Top Cow Studio Tour Outtakes
- Coloring a Comic Book Page
- The Early Days of Image Comics
- Textless Opening & Closing Songs
- Trailers
- FUNimation Previews
- Note: Vol. 1 artbox included with first edition; complete series later available as 5-disc DVD box set (October 28, 2008)

Spoken Languages: English & Japanese Audio, English Subtitles

Edition Details

Japanese Title: ウィッチブレイド (Uitchibureido / Witchblade)
Runtime: ~600 Minutes (Complete Series, 24 Episodes, 6 Individual DVD Volumes)
Director: Yoshimitsu Ohashi
Original Broadcast Date (Japan): April 6 – September 21, 2006 (CBC / TBS)
Publisher: FUNimation Entertainment
Rating: 17+
Region: Region 1 (U.S. / Canada)
Note: Best first-week DVD sales of any U.S. anime release in 2007. Original story — not an adaptation of the Top Cow comic. English dub premiered on IFC January 2008. Individual volumes include extensive Top Cow behind-the-scenes bonus content not present on all later releases.
Genre: Action, Supernatural, Sci-Fi
Themes: Ancient Weapon, Mother-Daughter Bond, Post-Earthquake Tokyo, Top Cow Co-Production

Media assumed VG+ unless otherwise noted.