Boob-tastic. That’s the word. For those of you not in the know, Queen’s Blade is a card game turned cultural phenomenon known for lots of scantily clad ladies fighting each other for control of a kingdom. There’s art books, figures, and now, an anime series. It just started airing in Japan, so I can’t give a full series review, but I figured I should say a few words as this is the next Ikki Tousen, only better because it’s not based on what is to most of us westerners obscure Chinese history. I have seen the first episode and some of the second, and odds are if you were even slightly intrigued by my opening word, you are going to want to watch this series. You may have to wait until it hits stateside, as some distribution companies are already sending out cease and desist letters to fansubbers for this series. I suppose they’re trying to keep a lid on it until it can reach the US.

Anyway, about the actual show: Queen’s Blade, as I mentioned, is a medieval style tournament show where the prize is leading the kingdom. From what I’ve seen, most of or the entirety of the cast is female and either scantily clad or um, beaten naked. Unlike Ikki Tousen, the clothing doesn’t just magically shatter or anything, it just gets damaged. Or melted by that pink blobby girl with the acid shooting boobs. Yes, you read that right, acid shooting boobs. See, what I thoroughly enjoyed while watching this show was not the copious amounts of nudity (your first boob is like three minutes in) but the writer’s ability to not take it too seriously. Blobby girl (who is made of pink and sometimes transparent jello but is really skinny and buxom) is defeated when our heroine Reina gives her a bear hug so her armor prevents Blobby girl from squirting her acid until she explodes. It is both hilarious and ecchi. I have to say I appreciate the fact that they don’t tease us with the nudity, instead just putting it all out there and letting the inherent sexiness of the series speak for itself.

Queen’s Blade isn’t all fluff and boobs, though, there’s a real story behind it. Since I’ve only seen 1.5 episodes, I can’t say too much, but it’s interesting enough that I’ll actually keep watching it. It’s shaping up to be a fun romp with enough character development and plot to keep it from suffering the fate of other terrible fan service series. There’s angels, demons, and humans all in the fight for power. The approach the creators have to this series really pleases me because it sounds like they are in it for the same reason I am, to have some fun while telling a story. I have a couple worries, though.

Queen’s Blade has a couple obstacles to overcome, but I think they can manage. The animation in the first episode was a bit rough at points, but from what I’ve seen of the second episode they cleaned it up. I just hope they can keep it up during the series. Speaking of keeping it up during the series, I hope they don’t lose sight of the story or the fanservice; they are aiming to walk a fine line here but it’s like hanging a pair of shoes from a wire by the laces. Lastly, while this isn’t a concern per se, this series is going to be pretty dirty. As I say that remember this is Japan, home of the tentacle monster. By the end of the first episode our main character wets herself in fear, blobby girl’s boobs explode, and in an earlier fight our main character is stripped naked in battle and left helpless. In other words, this series is probably just on the other side of good taste. I suppose I should say that this series has something for everyone in the 17+ crowd, either that or try not to let your parents catch you watching it.

~Whim

PS - To try and show that I’m not horrendously outdated, and possibly as a cynical attempt at getting more readers, I have written this review of one episode. One measly little episode. This series is going to be big, though, just you wait and see.
PS2 - I still can’t figure out if I actually want to watch this series…