Bleach - Series 1 Part 1 [2007] [DVD]

This DvD contains Episodes 1-12 (first half of the first season) the first few episodes start slow but when it gets going its great i love it and i cant wait for the rest : )

After a massive following over the net, Manga Entertainment has bought the distribution rights for Tite Kubo's character focused anime series.

BLEACH centers around the world of Kurosaki Ichigo, a fifteen year old high-school kid who lives in Karakura Town. Ichigo is as average as the next kid... but he can also see hear and speak to ghosts.

When coming across 'Shinigami' (as in Death God) Kuchiki Rukia in his bedroom, he learns about the world of the Shinigami and Soul Society: where all souls are destined to go... thats if they've been good. When Ichigo's family is attacked by a 'Hollow' (a soul which is consumed by loneliness and builds a connection with evil) Rukia is injured and offers to give Ichigo a small amount of her Shinigami powers to slay the Hollow. Being a highly spirit-powered person, Ichigo consumes all of Rukia's power. So now Rukia must stay with Ichigo on Earth till her powers are recovered, while Ichigo must carry out Rukia's Shinigami duties.

Unlike other anime series, 'Bleach' is more character focused, as the anime progresses we learn many new things about the main characters, and their connection with other people and past experiences which help draw out their personalities. The animation is absolutely stunning; though in the first few episodes it does seem quite unfinished. But as the series goes on the story will improve as will the animation. What also strikes me is the dark themes used which are uncommon in anime series but this is aimed at an older audience than the popular series 'Naruto' or 'Pokemon'. I don't want to carry on as I may spoil the suspense. But I highly recommend this series, I will be purchasing my DVD as soon as it's released, but I hope we shall get a japanese track with subtitiles with the package.

Hearing about Bleach coming to the UK, I was pleased. I'd been watching the series since 2005 through fansubs and had quickly grasped the series as being entertaining and rememorable.

I received this as a Xmas gift, and I'm quite pleased. The quality of these episodes is top notch. I even tried the DVD on a DVD Player upscaler to 720p/1080p and it still looked fabulous. The audio is crisp and clear, with both the English and Japanese voice tracks. As much as I like the original Japanese, the English dub is highly recommended. Great selection of voices to match the characters.

As for the subtitles...I was actually impressed. Manga Entertainment had screwed up the previous two Naruto releases, and I feared it wasn't going to be correct. And to my surprise, the subtitles were absolutly perfect. The minor phrase had it's occassional stutter/difference from what I watched in fansubs way back, but apart from that, it was perfect.

I'll sum it up: Bleach blends a great dose of both action and comedy, the characters are easily rememberable, and the story (even though a bit slow-paced at first) evolves into shear brilliance. Hats up to M.E for the next volume!