Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
I'm a soul reaper, 25 Mar 2008
Ichigo Kurosaki is just your average teenage boy... except that he can see spirits.
So it's not exactly surprising that he gets involved in wild, dangerous adventures, in the first season of the hilarious, action-packed "Bleach." It starts off a bit slow, but rapidly winds into a thrilling, expansive adventure story, with lots of big swords, roaring monsters, and TV psychics.
One night a strange girl appears in Ichigo's bedroom, and is shocked when he can see her. She explains that she's a Soul Reaper, who helps the dead pass on to the Soul Society, and destroys evil spirits called Hollows.
But when Rukia is injured in a fight with a Hollow, all her powers are transferred to Ichigo -- and with them, the responsibility of killing Hollows. Ichigo soon finds out that it isn't easy juggling his new responsibilities with his normal, everyday life -- especially since the powerless Rukia is now attending his school, and living in his closet.
Even more distressing, his new powers are attracting all sorts of trouble: the Hollow who murdered his mother, the now-monstrous brother of his ditzy friend Orihime, an outspoken "mod-soul," and classmate Uryu-- the last of the Quincys, sworn enemies of Soul Reapers. Moreover, Orihime and the gentle giant Chad start developing spiritual powers of their own.
But then two powerful Soul Reapers show up to arrest Rukia. Ichigo is left mortally wounded and robbed of his powers, while Rukia is taken back to the Soul Society to be executed. To rescue Rukia, Ichigo agrees to undergo a terribly training regimen that could leave him worse than dead... and the journey into the Soul Society may be even worse...
Most long-running series run out their welcome pretty quickly, or start following a formula. But "Bleach" has that magical mix of complex plot, kinetic action, likable characters and kooky comedy. Not only does it click, but the results are sort of a mad hybrid of "Yu Yu Hakusho" and "Inuyasha." Its biggest problem? The first season ends with a cliffhanger the size of the Grand Canyon.
To keep us entertained, there's lots of action, monsters, blood, giant magical swords, spirit arrows and even a skyscraper-sized Hollow. But the writers keep an eye on the characters, and the first arc is used to establish them -- we get to see their pasts, their motivations, and why they want to fight Hollows. Even if it's simply a desire to do what's right and protect others.
And just as important important -- comedy. Every episode of "Bleach" has some comedy, whether it's crazy friends and/or relatives, TV appearances, or the wacky dialogue ("OH NO! I'M FRIENDS WITH A NERD! Maybe you need some thick nerd glasses..."). Even Ichigo produces some hilarious moments, such as his bloodcurdling scream when he wakes in Urahara's house.
Ichigo himself is the pivot of the whole series -- like many a good anime hero, he is rough, brash, sensitive and fights for those he loves. And though he's incredibly powerful, he still has a lot of training, fighting and learning to do, though he tends to jump in without thinking about it.
And he's backed by a colourful squad of characters: the prickly Uryu, quiet Chad, ditzy love interest Orihime, and the mysterious "Mr. Hat and Clogs" who trains Ichigo to be a full-fledged Soul Reaper. Not to mention Kon, a living lion doll who provides plenty of comic relief, whether he's getting bounced around the room or dressed as Marie Antoinette.
"Bleach's" first season introduces viewers to a brilliant series, full of hilarity, tears, blood and big, bad monsters. Definitely a must-see, for anyone who likes any of the above.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Substitute Soul Reaper, 14 Nov 2008
Ichigo is a regular everyday school kid, however he has the ability to see ghosts. After an encounter with the soul reaper Rukia, Ichigo obtains Soul Reaper powers to send lost souls (known as wholes) to the soul society or to destroy evil souls (known as hollows).
I have owned this series 1 box set for some time, however it is only recently that I have been able to get into it. The main reason for this is the sheer amount of characters in the story. I often found myself losing track of the different characters, not knowing which ones were important and I sometimes ended up forgetting their names. However, once I became confortable with the characters, I found that they were all really likeable and unique. In fact, it is the characters that makes Bleach such an entertaining series.
Series 1 consists of 20 episodes, each coming in at around 22-25 minutes long. These early episodes mainly introduce the main character and themes for the series, while bringing forward an interesting story concept. From very early on, you can tell that Bleach is an anime fans best friend, with cool characters, buckets of blood, big monsters, big swords and big breasted ladies. The series also has some of the best humour I've seen in recent animes, with Ichigo's temper and rash nature, Orihime's ditziness and bizarre culinary skills, and the stuffed toy Kon just getting into as much mischief as possible. Also Ichigo's Dad and school friends provide loads of comic scenes which are absolutly hilarious. As well as this, Bleach contains a fair share of drama as it deals with different issues cocerning some of the characters pasts.
One thing that stands out with this series is the great fight scenes. Unlike other animes of this genre, the fights are short, sweet and to the point, so you won have to sit through single fight scenes that last for several episodes. The pacing of Bleach is just right as it goes about telling a gripping and interesting story that doesn't drag with overlong fights and lots of dialogue. Furthermore, many of these scenes are spiced up with plenty of emotionally charged fights.
Bleach is animated by the acclaimed studio pierrot who also do animation for the hit series Naruto and Tokyo Underground. And like these series, Bleach looks absolutely gorgeous. The series also has a decent soundtrack, with the incredibly catchy opening theme song 'asterisk' by Japanese rockers 'Orange Range'. There are also some nice tunes thorughout the episodes. One particularly nice piece is called 'will of the heart' which usually comes on at the sad or emotional scenes. It is a powerful piece of music and it goes really well with the spirit of the show.
The original Japanese language track is really good, but I mainly watch anime in its English adapations. If you are familiar with english dubs them you may recognise some of the voice actors here. The stand out voice actor is obviously the voice of Ichigo who is provided by Power Ranger turned voice actor Johnny Yong Bosch. The former black power ranger portrays the character of Ichigo perfectly! I can't honestly think of a better person who could of done it, he is simply awesome. Anime fans may recognise alot of the voices as many of the english voice actors of Bleach are also on animes such as Naruto, Mar and Buso Renkin. Overall, it is a good dub and is an excellent alternative for people who don't want to read subtitles.
Bleach series 1 is definetly an essential purchase for all fans of anime and for newcomers alike. It has all the ingredients for a classic anime, and does not seem cliched at all. It is one of those long running series that will get you hooked and leave you wanting more after each episode. and if you enjoy this set, you need to watch season two, as it is even better than this one.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Bleach - a good all-rounder, 30 Jul 2008
The first installment of the bleach series starts off at a slower pace to the second, but this time is spent developing the characters and giving you a peek at their background without blatantly giving everything away.
The action is mixed with good storylines, fleshed out characters and mixture of both humour and sorrow - the latter is hardly surprising considering the series deals with ghosts and as result death and loss. In my opinion, it is a good general all-rounder and I would say would suit both gender's tastes. It does contain a lot of action but in most cases this is backed up with a story, so even those who aren't action fans may like this. Also it's not packed with fanservice which can sometimes be seen in other titles and might put some people off.
I would definitely recommend this to anyone already interested in anime or just starting out as its easy to get to grips with. Also I'd recommend getting this boxset as although the separate volumes are also a good price, this complete series 1 boxset is a bargain - I only wish other anime series would have such good price tags.
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