(cut from an earlier response I made on QB)
Queen's Blade is epic in every sense of the word. It is by far the best ecchi fighting series I have ever seen.
Here is why I like it:
1. The character designs are extremely unique and nuanced. So many shows make all the females in the show look more or less the same, however QB is not afraid to show how women actually look. Some of the girls are atheletic, some are skinny, some are a bit tubby, but all are distinctive and beautiful.
2. The women in the show are empowered, individualistic, and driven by different motivations. Only one of thier motivations is to help a man (Cattleya who wants to reunite with her husband) The others are looking to help orphens or save a ninja clan or to prove the superiority of dwarven weapons or other things.. Every villainess is as well written and characteristic as the heroic girls. By the end some of the good girls have become bad, some of the bad girls have become good, some of the bad girls have become comic relief, and some of the comic relief have become heros. Every story flows beautifully, and it is amazing that they could keep this much character development with a cast as large as this.
3. There are almost no men in the show, and most of those are weak and ineffective. It is not that I think men should be protrayed as weak and ineffective, but most ecchi shows seem to put a soft headed, panty waist as the main character. Compare QB to Sekirei and notice that all the girls in Sekirei fight for only one purpose, to protect thier bland boy companion. By nearly eliminating male characters, each of the women stand on thier own. QB is almost feminist in showing strong females triumphing and standing tall as women. The only significant male characters are Count Vance who is the father of three of the girls (I always called him Lance Vance after Vice City) and Cattleya's son who is potentially a strong male character waiting to be developed in the future.
4. The animation is bold bright and spectacular. The fight sequences in particular are exceptionally drawn, but everything about QB looks pretty fantastic. A lot of care was put into the art and compositing and it shows.
5. The sound is magical. The soundtrack is filled with stirring dramatic music that makes you want to stand on your chair with your fist in the sky. However it also catches the sad, quiet moments as well. This is a beast of an anime soundtrack. The seiyuu are some of the best in the business. Ayako Kawasumi, Mamiko Noto, Yuko Goto, Rie Tanaka, and Aya Hirano, to name only a few of the voice actresses who make up a who's who list of seiyuus. Nanael is Aya Hirano at her most hilarious.. all the voices fit thier characters well. The english dub is really well voiced also, so either audio track works well.
6. Queen's Blade is successful as an ecchi series. Meaning that many shows of this type are extremely amusing or hilarious at times.. but don't exactly turn you on. QB is also, but when it tries to turn you on it succeeds.
Obviously opinions vary, but the characters in QB are ones that I am not likely to ever forget. |