Riko ... aishiteru.

I'm pleasantly surprised and quite pleased with how this collaboration between Top Cow and Gonzo turned out. While there's definitely alot of fanservice and great action scenes, it doesn't stop there. The story and plot is fairly simple, but is made stellar with solid art direction and well-planned pacing, thanks to director Yoshimitsu Ohashi. We get a decent amount of fight scenes, but there are also plenty of story-development scenes, with the occasional comedy bits thrown in to lighten the mood. This gives Witchblade a good progression rate that's easy to swallow. Questions raised get answered as the series progress. In addition to that, an incredibly well-casted bunch of characters makes the whole story even more intriguing. This is where Witchblade shines as well. Time is spent on fleshing out the cast, giving them history, personalities, roles, and progressive development. You eventually relate to the characters and care about what will happen next. The japanese seiyuus did an amazing job of delivering the essence of the characters, bringing life and energy to them. The music score is very fitting to the mood of the show, the sound effects are spot-on, and Uno Makoto's fantastic designs just makes the series even more appealing. Add in FUNimation's well-done efforts in the R1 DVD release (including the Top Cow covers), and there's very little to not like about Witchblade. While it's not the most mind-blowing show ever done (and some may find the ending to be anti-climatic), it's a very well-done and enjoyable anime adaptation of a western comic property. And that's what anime is all about: being enjoyed.