Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Entry into the Soul Society, 14 Nov 2008
Things really pick up pace in Bleach season 2 as it excels in everything that made the firsts series great. Ichigo and his friends have infiltrated the soul society and with the goal of rescuing the soul Reaper Rukia. After the events of the previous series, Rukia is being held captive by her fellow soul Reapers and is condemned to die. Her crime - giving Ichigo Kurosaki her soul Reaper powers and therefore betraying the rules of the soul society. Unable to let his friend die at the hands of the soul reapers, Ichigo, Orihime, Chad, Uryu and Yoruichi stop at nothing to save their beloved comrade.
For all you action anime junkies out there, this is just the series for you. Bleach is a character driven action adventure shonen (boys) anime that has been growing in popularity for some time now. This DVD set sees the release of season 2 and the next 21 epsiodes (21-41). If you have seen the previous series then you will notice that this second installment is way more action packed and intense. The fight scenes are simply incredible and I feel lost for words when I think about them. There is loads of action flying about all over the place i this season but the main focus frequently shifts to major battles mainly between spiky haired protagonist Ichigo and a soul Reaper. Fights to look out for are the fantastic rematch between Ichigo and Renji Abarai, and the edge-of-your-seat fight against the unbreakable powerhouse Kenpachi Zaraki.
With this series comes a plethora of brand new characters, mostly in the form of soul reapers. Some stand out characters Ganju Shiba (who accompanies Ichigo and co on their mission), and Ikkaku Madarame, a bald headed soul reaper who creates some great comic moments. This character is simply superb and is definetly one of the best new characters to enter the fray in season 2. In the english dub he is voiced by Vic Mignogna who is a prolific and well known voice actor and singer. One of his better known roles being the tragic protagonist Edward Elric in Fullmetal Alchemist.
You will notice hat throughout this season, many of the secondary and tertiary characters that we grew to love in the first season do not appear as much in this outing. Characters such as the grouchy teddy bear Kon, the tomboyish Tatsuki and Kisuke Urahara do not get much screen time at all. In fact, most of the season focuses on Ichigo, Ganju and a load of new soul Reapers. Even primary characters like Chad, Orihime and Uryu arn't seen as much as they were in the previous season. Personally, this didn't really bother me because I was too busy being blown away by the great action, story and suspense, but fans of these characters may not enjoy this season as much as the last one. I have to be honest that I initially found it hard to keep up with all the new characters; especially all the new soul reapers, but as all the characters are so likeable (...well most of them) and unique in their own ways, it is hard to forget them.
Once again, the animation is up to a high standard, as it is done by the studio behind Naruto, Tokyo Underground and E's Otherwise. The unique Pierrot style is what makes Bleach look as beautiful as it does. Most of the music found in the episodes remains the same, with the excpetion of a few new tunes, however there is a new opening theme song...and it is awesome. Japanese electronic rock band UVERworld produce a fantastic song entitled D-TechnoLife that goes well with the opening credits of Bleach season 2 and has been on repeat on my laptop for weeks.
Japanese and English language tracks continue to be superb, However I mainly watched Bleach in the English dub. The reason behind this is because it has such a great vocal cast. Johnny Yong Bosch from the popular kids program Power Rangers provides an exceptional voice for the hero Ichigo, and Kyle Herbert who was the narrator in the funimation dub of DragonBall Z voices Ganju.
Bleach is a series that needs to be watched by all anime fans. The action and suspense of season 2 will keep you on the edge of your seat. The journey of the entertaining and lovable characters really grows on viewer and ultimately makes Bleach a series that you will want to see right through to the end. Bleach season 2 is where the story really begins to get good and from what I've seen, there are no signs of it losing momentum in the next season.
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4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Entryways, 28 Jun 2008
The first season of "Bleach" ended with Ichigo, Uryu, Chad, Orihime and the cat Yoruichi leaving the living world for the Soul Society, intent on saving Rukia.
But getting there isn't the least of their problems. The second major arc of the "Bleach" series -- called "The Entry" -- continues our heroes' quest to rescue Rukia from a death sentence, but they run into a new set of obstacles. It's pretty divided between action, slapstick and exposition, as well as a series of mysteries and conspiracies -- and a lot of likable new characters.
Ichigo and Co. narrowly make it into the Soul Society, almost losing Uryu along the way. And unfortunately -- between lethal captains and a building-sized Gatekeeper -- it's almost impossible to get inside the Soul Reapers' fortress, the Seireitei. Their only way inside is to ask an eccentric friend of Yoruichi's, a fireworks expert called Kukaku Shiba, to blast them (and her rough-edged brother Ganju) inside the Seireitei from the sky.
But surprisingly, being shot into orbit with a giant cannon isn't the worst thing that happens. The little group gets split apart -- and Ichigo finds himself facing an increasingly strong series of opponents, including the enraged Renji Abarai and the battle-hungry Captain Zaraki. Facing defeat and death, Ichigo is forced to call upon an ally he never knew he had -- and face a horrible inner enemy.
When a murder is committed in the Seireitei, the Soul Reapers are thrown into chaos, as they automatically blame the "ryoka" intruders for the death of one of their own. Orihime, Chad and Uryu are trying to fight their way in, but it's Ganju and the timid Soul Reaper medic Hanataro who make it to Rukia's cell -- only to reveal a horrifying secret from her past.
If the first season of "Bleach" was all about introducing the main characters and the concept of Soul Reapers, then the second season is all about Ichigo and Co. causing as much mayhem as possible in the Soul Society. Well, the Soul Society is not as pleasant and peaceful as Rukia led us to believe -- in fact, it has even more weirdos than Ichigo's hometown.
And while the storytelling is well-balanced, the second season is much more violent -- there's floods of blood, massive near-fatal injuries, and Byakuya Kuchiki's ability to shred opponents from a distance with tiny "cherry blossom" pieces of metal. And the storyline takes an unexpected twist halfway through, when a character is apparently murdered and the lieutenants start turning against each other. And since there are hints of a conspiracy involving Rukia, it's pretty obvious that something is rotten in the state of the Soul Society. Just what it is remains to be seen, but it promises to cause even more chaos in the Seireitei.
But not all is doom and blood in the second "Bleach" season -- it's still liberally peppered with funny dialogue ("That's a pretty cute name for someone who takes himself so seriously." "MY NAME IS NOT CUTE!") and physical goofery (Yoruichi's true form is revealed to Ichigo). Though our heroes spend a lot of time running around causing mayhem, they also create a lot of humor as well -- such as when Ichigo screams for Ganju, only to realize that he just alerted several off-duty Soul Reapers to his location.
Ichigo has to learn a bunch of new skills in this season, including getting closer to his inner, um, sword. Uryu's chivalrous side gets a workout when Orihime is threatened. And Chad's history is finally revealed in full, such as how this gentle giant became determined never to fight for his own sake, and how he became fast friends with Ichigo.
There are a couple of new characters too: we get to see Renji's miserable youth with Rukia, and why he's hellbent on defeating Ichigo. And our heroes team up with an adorably timid Soul Reaper medic named Hanataro, who serves as tour guide/comic relief for much of the season ("See how full of life and energy and vitality I am?") as well as the boar-riding Ganju.
While most of the Soul Reapers aren't fleshed out, they are given enough quirks and personality to seem very realistic -- narcissists, child prodigies, bookworms, battle-o-philes, bombshells and little creepy girls with pink hair. Two particular standouts are a laid-back, sake-chugging captain named Shunsui Kyoraku, and Rukia's captain, a sickly hunk named Ukitake.
The second "Bleach" season takes our heroes straight into the heart of the Soul Society, and a lot of new trouble as well. Definitely worth checking out -- but expect one heckuva cliffhanger.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A great buy, 7 Jun 2009
I bought this almost a month ago now and I'm very satisfied with the product, when I bought it I was afraid it might only be in Japanese or in English dubs but I was very pleased to find you can choose from Japanese, Eng dubs AND Eng subs and change it as you please, it's a very high quality dvd picture and it's nicely packaged and presented, overall it's well worth the buy if your a fan of the Bleach series!
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