Witchblade (Japanese: ウィッチブレイド, Hepburn: Uitchibureido) is an anime series loosely based on the American comic book of the same name. Not an adaptation of the original story, the series has a new setting and characters. However, the anime version is considered controversial by some fans because GONZO has announced that the main character of the anime is of Japanese ethnicity but is not Itagaki, Shiori, or Yuka, one of the previous bearers of the Witchblade. Instead, it is a new character named Masane. Although this series sets up an entirely new story with all new characters, it is set in the same continuity as the comic book.