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R2 DVD Reviews
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Written by maehara
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Tuesday, 29 April 2008 16:00 |
 Ichigo Kurosaki wasnt particularly happy with even the ability to see ghosts now, thanks to a run-in with a Soul Reaper from the Soul Society, hes been handed the unenviable job of having to dispatch them to the other side as well. To add to his problems, malevolent souls called Hollows are on the lookout for tasty souls to devour and it just turns out that Ichigos own is top of the delicacy pile...
15-year-old Ichigo Kurosaki has an unusual talent - he's able to see ghosts. Not that that's a good thing - since the local ghosts figured out he could see them, they haven't been able to leave him alone. Thats a minor problem compared to what he saw today, though - a giant demonic creature, and a girl dressed in black: a Soul Reaper, tasked with slaying the demons. The demons (or Hollows, as the Reaper calls them) have a taste for the souls of both living and dead - and it seems that Ichigo's soul is particularly tasty. When a Hollow attacks Ichigo's home, threatening his sisters, the Soul Reaper is badly wounded, so in order to protect his family, Ichigo must take her place and become a Soul Reaper himself.
While hes just meant to be a substitute Soul Reaper, Ichigo actually gets into the role quite quickly, and it soon becomes apparent that hes got a natural talent for the job and with Rukias recovery taking longer than expected, he becomes the shows main Hollow-slayer. There are probably no surprises for guessing that hell be filling this role for a while at time of writing, Bleach was up to over 150 episodes in Japan and still going strong. Of course, how many of them will make it to the UK is another thing.
While Rukia and Ichigo make a good pairing, theres also a lot of fun to be had from the supporting cast Ichigos sisters Karin (who shares his ability to see spirits) and Yuzu (who refuses to believe that such things exist); his over-the-top father wholl never make do with using words when physical abuse will do (in the lightest, most comic possible way, of course); potential love-interest Orihime and her friend Tatsuki, who both seem to find themselves in harms way a little too often for their health; strong & silent type Chad, who towers above everyone else in the series and who is showing signs by the end of the disc of being someone who has some Soul Reaper-esque qualities of his own; and more besides. Theyre all genuinely enjoyable to watch, each with their own little personality quirks that make them endearing or funny, and everyone introduced has their own little part to play in the story. Later episodes see the addition of some potential villains - Rukia's "brother", Byakuya, who seems as though he'd be quite happy to be rid of his sibling (although there are hints that there relationship may not be as simple as brother and sister we'll see); Byakuya's second-in-command Renji, who's a little more easy-going but still dedicated to following his orders; and silver-haired Ichimaru, who only appears here briefly but who look likely to be a thorn in Byakuya's side.
While theres a lot of comedy and character work in Bleach, at its heart its a shounen action series, so theres a lot of emphasis on the fighting. Im not a huge fan of fighting shows, to be honest, but Bleach handles it quite well while the Hollows arent the most visually impressive creatures around and theres the usual padding out of fights with speeches and whatnot, they dont go on overly long, and are usually broken up with scenes showing whats going on elsewhere meaning you dont get the chance to get bored with them. After watching fights in other series that go on for 7-8 episodes without a break (Naruto, anyone?), the combat in Bleach was almost a joy, and with at least some combat in every episode, action junkies are well catered for.
Highlight of the set? Episode 10, and the appearance of TV exorcist Don Kanonji. Bwa-ha-ha-ha! Hes possibly one of the most over-the-top characters Ive ever seen, and great fun to watch especially the way he interacts with Ichigo. So far hes just made the one appearance, but I really hope he gets more screentime later it would just be too much of a shame to let such a great characters go.
My natural bias against shounen fighting shows meant that I wasnt expecting too much from Bleach, but I have to admit Ive been pleasantly surprised the show has a large fan following, and for once I can see why. Theres a great cast of characters, and each episode is split well enough between character and action scenes that theres something for almost everyone to enjoy here. Manga have also been quite generous with the episode count for this volume, so youre getting good value for money as well. Overall, this is one release thats definitely worth a look.
For full episode summaries and screenshots, check out our reviews of the original releases:
» Season One #1
» Season One #2
Watch the Trailer | Promo Clip #1 | Promo Clip #2 | Promo Clip #3 | Promo Clip #4
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