Let's be real. Some anime is just made for the boys. I can not consider myself an otaku by any means. I love my anime, I love my manga, but I am not obsessed with it. I have many interests. Anime and manga just happen to be high on the list, however, it does not feel my every waking moment. This is not a dig at otaku, perish the thought. That's just the way I happen to be. But if you read this blog, you already know that I am a huge fan of anime and manga and I have my favorites. I will watch anime that grabs my interest such as Attack on Titan or Black Blood Brothers because anime can be cute or funny or just downright good. But every now and then, I will come across an anime that is just......weird. Queen's Blade: Rebellion is just one of those anime.
I happened to come across Rebellion on Hulu. It was late, I was bored, I needed a new anime. So I scrolled through the Anime Network channel on Hulu and saw Queen's Blade: Rebellion. I already seen Queen's Blade about two years ago and I had to admit that I was upset with the way it ended. True, I could already see the hentai parodies as I watched Blade, but as an anime fan, I sat through it. If you are not familiar with Queen's Blade, to give you a basic rundown, there is a tournament called the Queen's Blade where female warriors (usually the big-boobed, skimpy clothing wearing type) fight each other every four years for the throne of Queen. Blade centered around a warrior named Leina, who was next in line for the throne, but still had to defeat the current Queen, Aldra. Rebellion centers around a half demon warrior knight named Annelotte and the fact that there is no longer a Queen's Blade. The Queen is Claudette, who gained the throne after her half-sister, Leina, refused it. As most stories go, it wasn't a bad plot. Rebellion is only 12 episodes which isn't unusual for a lot of anime series and there are other Queen's Blade OVAs out there, but let me get back to my original point. By the time I was finished with Rebellion, I felt a little cheated and I also felt that I was watching an anime made mainly for guys. Why? Most of the characters are female, go around in high heeled sandals or thigh high boots, wear next to nothing and Rebellion's heavy sexual overtones can be just slightly overwhelming at times. I do not always agree that 12 episodes is enough for a story (I feel that way about High School of the Dead), seriously.....I could have done with a lot less boobage and more storyline. Rebellion is weird that way, focusing on more of the woman's body and censoring panty shots and topless scenes like clockwork. I felt cheated because you obviously had some strong female characters, but the back stories on them weren't even touched up. The main character, Annelotte, has this crazy transformation by the middle of the series, but I got no explanation at all as to why.
All in all, I suppose that at this point, I will have to track down the rest of the Blade series and continue watching, hoping for more of a story. I'm not sure if I'm selling out or just being an anime fan. The crazy sexualized references aren't my thing, but I have come to accept that of anime, that yes, at times it will get a little crazy, a little weird, a little...booby. Oh well. Bring on the OVA Prologue and Queen's Blade: Beautiful Fighters!
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