Queen's Blade: Rurou no Senshi

Title:Queen's Blade: Rurou no Senshi
Queen's Blade
Queens Blade
クイーンズブレイド (Japanese)
Overall:Rent
Keywords: , , , , , , , , , , ,
Notables: Animation - ARMS
Production - GENCO, Inc.
R1 License - Media Blasters
In 4 years time the competition that will decide who the next Queen shall be will start. The strongest warrior will continue to rule the country according to tradition and expand it. The contestants need only be older than 12 years. They need not be human, intelligent or even of that country. The rules for the tournament are simple: the final winner takes all in a contest in which murder is allowed, any weapon can be chosen and any tactics used. The winner is decided when one of the participants flees or can't move anymore. And the various battles are broadcast through a crystal sphere by the court's magic teacher for all population to see and enjoy. (Source: ANN)
12 episodes (~24 min), based on a long-running computer-based 'visual combat novel'.
[edit] The ↗Queen's Blade franchise:
Episode Details 
01, 02
OverallArtAnimationCharacter Design MusicSeries StoryEpisode StoryReviewer
Watch 7 6 6 6 5 5 Ggultra2764 [series:2007#1552]
(Watch-/ Avoid+)

This series is mostly an excuse to show off fetish-themed and well-endowed characters go at one another with a number of characters having their particular perverted quirk that makes them stick out like Nowa's lack of undergarments, Echidna being fond of women and literally using a living snake for a thong, and Cattleya's ridiculously huge boobs being on prominent display. It looked like this season's main purpose was to introduce the characters who would be competing in the Queen's Blade tournament, considering it doesn't even start up at all within this season. While enough is told about the characters to know their purposes of competing in the Queen's Blade tournament, I could care less about their motives thanks to their cut-out personalities and the title's greater emphasis on getting as many T&A shots and sexual humor from the cast as possible. Only diehard fans of the ecchi genre who care more for sexual overemphasis than engaging plot should bother to waste their time on this.

Last updated Saturday, August 03 2013. Created Saturday, August 03 2013.
Watch 9 9 9 7 8 8 Dreamer [series:2007#2279]
With lots of big boobs and butts, this is a guys dream anime.

Art, Animation & Character Designs
Artwork and Animation was outstanding. Backgrounds were richly detailed and colors were vibrant. Character designs were just top notch. Each character were illustrated unique, with a high level of details and richness.... and not to mention well "endowed" if must say.

Music
The OP was pretty good with lot's of dramatic cords. The soundtrack is surprisingly ok. Lots of dramatic pieces and especially during fight scenes.

Series and Episode Story
Normally, i try to avoid series like this.... where the emphasis is on the breasts rather than the plot or story. However, after reading the synopsis and a few reviews, I decided to pick it up anyhow. I'm glad I did because the plot itself turned out pretty good. It wasn't amazing but rather simple... but even then, the episodes leading to the finale is what makes it really fun to watch.... and the super large and always perfect breasts? Well, they were simply added bonuses. The battle scenes were pretty good and well done.

Okay, now for the gripes. All the boobs were just too perfect and too big. Now, I love breasts as much as the next guy but c'mon people! Must they all be Double-Ds and flawlessly perfect in shape? Second, I didn't feel any of the battles were serious. I mean, who really died?

Overall, it turned out better than I expected and there actually was some semblance of a plot. Guys, you'll probably enjoy this since it's mostly a boobfest, and girls, if you can appreciate the female form displayed every 2 seconds, then you'll probably enjoy this too.

Last updated Monday, November 30 2009. Created Monday, November 30 2009.
Unevaluated Stretch [series:2007#628]
(Nine episodes watched):

After the death of a close friend, a proud female warrior declares:

"I have been avoiding meaningless battles as one bestowed on an important mission. However, in this foreign land so far from my home, to come face-to-face with the person responsible for the deaths of those dearest to me, I cannot write it off as a coincidence. No, I would say that heaven has led me here. For the sake of justice, I challenge you to Queens Blade!"

Stirring words--except for the fact that she is stark naked as she talks, and giving us the full monty. Now you know what to expect from Queens Blade!

Sometimes reviewers fervently hating a new show has exactly the opposite effect that they would like, in that it makes people curious if the show in question could really be as appalling as they say. Such was the case for me with Queen's Blade. What I hoped was that the show might have a silly spirit to it and had only been despised because of gratuitous nudity; what I feared was that it would be the sort of sleazy show which left me feeling dirty after watching. The truth came out somewhere inbetween. Although the characters did not behave in an excessively perverted manner, the whole idea behind the show seemed to be to display as much toplessness as possible. They could have at least tried to offer a half-hearted excuse for all the nudity; instead it felt like I was reading an artbook. This should have been campy; instead, it's as if the fanservice had priority over the story. The end result was that it was pretty boring; the characters seemed wooden, flashing their breasts every chance they got but lacking personality. There were a few of what I call "Oh God" jokes, ones where fanservice is taken to such an absurd extreme that they become genuinely funny and I can't help using the aforementioned expletive. But all-in-all, too many ordinary* boobs and not enough of the "Oh God" ones.

Episode two seemed to tone down the breast fetish angle a good deal; other than the OP sequence, we were 15 minutes into the show before anyone went topless front-on. This episode largely introduces two more contenders for the Queen's Blade honor, a Miko and a troublesome girl who seems to hang around the temple. The fight between the temple guardians and the giant monster was pretty wild. I would say this episode neither strengthens nor weakens the overall quality of QB; I'm hoping that the flagrant ecchi of the first episode was just an attention grabber and the remainder will have a more 'respectible' fanservice like this one. That is, boobs aren't shoved in our faces as if we were perverts ourselves, but nudity nevertheless comes about (or almost comes about) in a more-or-less plausible manner--I think the term is "chiralism". But I realize that without the distinctive naughtiness QB would be a rather uninteresting show altogether.

Episode three caused a curious thought to come to my mind: For all the flagrant near-nudity, or the cameras filming every possible angle of the female body, what really determines whether I am disturbed is the behavior of the characters themselves. If they are sleazy, perverted women, then no matter how sexy they are I wouldn't want to find myself in bed with them. This would be what's known as feeling "dirty" after watching. But the heroines of Queen's Blade are more-or-less respectable girls who just happen to be incredibly well endowed, so I can't help liking them, in more ways than one. For all their sexiness, the girls themselves aren't trying to seduce me--it's the cameramen, so to speak, who are doing that. So, I still feel "clean" afterwards. In other words, there's nudity and there's pornography, but having one doesn't necessarily mean you have the other. Just a thought, anyway.

I thought the incompetent Angel Nanael getting into trouble in episode seven was funny. The fantastically buxom weaponsmith Cattiliya in episode nine was amusing, too. Once an anime character's head has become smaller than either of her breasts it's hard to take her seriously, and I think the makers really were trying to kid us by granting her giant rubber bags grafted to her chest.

My favorite line: "Let's have everything be explained with battle!" --Nanael

*Of course when I use the term "ordinary boobs" I'm referring to what's ordinary in fanboy anime, not in the real world.

Last updated Friday, July 31 2009. Created Saturday, April 04 2009.
Unevaluated Jan-Chan [series:2007#967]
HUMMM ... lots of ecchi swordplay between half-naked 'fleshy' maidens - so let's assume some things....
  • (1) If you are a boy, then you are probably going to want to watch this one.
  • (2) If you are a serious anime fan, then you are going to want to flame this series.
  • (3) If you are girl, then how much silly, over-hyped and cheesy anime can you tolerate?
And after having seen six episodes, my only comment is ... OH PLEASE!!!

This series is a teen-boy's wet fantasies!! My question would be ... why do they bother to put their clothes back on? They're going to get ripped off again in the next fight. There is so much topless and yuri action going on, that we should probably call this series - Queen's Boobies.

Last updated Monday, May 11 2009. Created Friday, April 03 2009.
Buy 10 10 10 8 8 8 Xenoknight [series:2007#2967]
A tale of determined female warriors who embark on the sexiest adventure of their lives...

Now here is a title that shocked the world. Mostly everyone (99.9%) thought this title was just a ecchi fest with some action here and there, but boy was that the furthest thing from the truth. This anime featured a fairly sizable amount of action, a respectably decent story, and enough nudity to make your head spin. The extremely ecchi fan-service was only the icing on the cake for me. Meeting the new characters and watching Reina, the main female lead, evolve as a swordswoman as well as a person was what this series was all about. Revealing its purpose early on, this title never leads the viewer to believe otherwise.

The very foundation of this title can be found within the characters and each of their ecchi moments:

Nowa - the guardian of the forest - an agile fighter with a special monkey for a companion. Her moments all deal with her lack of understanding for wearing a certain undergarment.
Cattleya - a sword smithing giant - a powerhouse fighter with the fate of her family on the line. Her moments are anytime she is on the screen. She also performs a vulgar act that had me wishing for public distribution (its an inside joke, but you'll see what I mean).
Ymir - the steel princess - a formidable fighter that takes any challenge head-on. She loves to test her weapons against strong opponents and her moments had to deal with all the loli up-skirts you can handle. I found it interesting that her stature is a contradiction to the legend in which her ↗name derives from.
Echidna - a bounty hunter - a special fighter who can kill without a moments notice. She develops an unquenchable lust for one of the main heroines. Her moments deal with her choice in clothing and whenever she is alone with the heroine in question.
Elina - a royal princess - a determined fighter who isn't afraid to get her hands dirty. She swears to protect Reina at any cost. As Reina's little sister, she believes that she is the only one worthy to claim Reina for herself...

In the interest of length, I'll leave it at that. There are some other characters that aren't so ecchi and mainly serve to advance/improve the story.

Claudette - The Lightening General - a fighter that can tear the very skies asunder. She is Reina's onee-sama (big sister) and she harbors a dark emotion that will test her very reason for living. Her past with Reina will play a tremendous role in this title.
Nanael - a heavenly angel - far more laid-back than any normal angel, she gets in trouble all the time. As the earth representative, she is responsible for overseeing the tournament and watching over the combatants. Nanael served me well in the comedy department. I hated her at first, but I was happy she was who she was and enjoyed her role in the story.
Tomoe - A miko kunoichi (shrine maiden ninja) - a graceful fighter that has the fate of her clan on the line. I still believe her reasons for fighting outshined all the others. She was very kind and thoughtful throughout the series and I enjoyed her maturity. She was like the motherly figure, although she could cleave you in two if you forced her hand.

A character that deserves mention apart from the rest is Melona, the assassin of one thousand faces, who turned out to be the most original ecchi character in anime history as far as I'm concerned. I can never forget her first appearance in the story let alone her role throughout the series. The person responsible for her must be very proud. Who in the world would've thought of a shape-shifting monster who has a pair of hands to support her feminine prowess, which also double by using her assets as weapons in combat? Yeah - she uses her mammary glands to fire blasts of acidic lactation at her foes! I guess Melona really believes in the saying, "use what your mama gave you". She was always interesting to watch as well as visually pleasing to the eyes. Her team who consisted of two other demons, Airi and Menace (the false queen), worked directly under the swamp witch who was just your typical run-of-the-mill "destroy the world" type entity that never makes an actual appearance. Melona's grudge with Reina was a strong driving force for her character development as she hated Reina more than anything in the world and she went to extreme lengths to prove it. As a constant and ever-renewing reward to the viewers, Melona gave us solid action, favorable fan-service, memorable ecchi moments, and a lasting impression to last a lifetime. To top all that off even further, her VA is Rie Kugimiya, the same VA that voices Louise Valliere and Taiga. I think that is enough reason to appreciate Melona all the more. She was one of the many reasons this title was such a success as well as being an anime character that required recognition within her own right. I'll never forget her...

This title's specs are all among the highest caliber. The art/animation/design was done with meticulous attention to detail. It was undeniable: gorgeously vibrant colors, beautiful facial designs, the voluptuous female anatomy (that is an art form all to itself), stunning artwork, top-of-the-line animation, appreciative backgrounds/environments, and an overall polish that made me debate whether this anime was the new standard for future titles to strive for!!! (Alas, I think that medal is being reserved for another title.) The music was flawless. The end credits in particular gave off an epic-orchestral feel and was very "soothing", like something from a dream. The intro gave off a faster pace to "pump" the viewer up for more Queen's Blade brilliance. Overall, I couldn't find a single fault and was blown away with this title's astounding presentation.

The action was fair in this title, especially in the last episode (no surprise there). The series itself was peppered with battles while meeting new people and learning of their struggles and desires as well as their reasons to die for their many beliefs. I mainly saw the action as a means in which to advance the story, not that there is anything wrong with that. The story was there and all, but the action is what most people would bet on along with its overall premise. Watching Reina learn the ways of the blade in episode 10 was a memorable moment and was one of my favorite scenes in the entire series. The last ep was filled (and I mean to the brim) with non-stop action. I was completely enthralled in the beauty that is the Queen's Blade universe. As if the action wasn't good enough, the writer's introduced a new story element that hints that this series was just a warm-up for our heroines and that the real battle has yet to begin!

In summation, this title is one that any mature adult can just watch, laugh, and enjoy a story of ridiculous proportions (and I use that term quite literally). I never hoped to get this much enjoyment from a story of the ecchi-fest genre other than the visual side of things. Towards the middle-to-end portion of the series, the question became, "how desensitized have you become to the nudity?" rather than "how much more nudity can they throw at you?" At that point, everything this title used as ecchi material didn't even warrant a reaction from me. All it did was cause a giggle here and there. I loved this series and can't see myself regretting a damn thing about it. As if to further expand it's spectrum of male-pleasing experiences, we are promised another estrogen-filled adventure that is already in the works!!! The new sequel looks like a more extreme version of this series that will introduce a true one-on-one no holds bard elimination style tournament. I can't wait to see just how far everyone can advance with their fighting forms and who will merit the title of Queen for the next four years. What more can you ask for really? This title surprised the entire world and proved it had enough quality story elements to hang with the big dogs in this respective genre. I can easily say that this was a series filled with dubious entertainment (^_^) that will not soon be forgotten by any means. As for an ecchi comparison, try the Ikki Tousen series. Think of that as a lesser, but still incredibly powerful series that ran for three seasons straight along with some ecchi OVAs! That will easily fill your ecchi fighting needs.

See you in the next tournament...

Check out my award list to see some of the best anime titles in the world!

Never forget Xenosaga.

Last updated Tuesday, May 04 2010. Created Thursday, February 05 2009.

Other Sites
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Official Japanese Website http://queensblade.tv/

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