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Bleach Series 15 Part 2 DVD Review
Recent months have seen the release schedule for Bleach become like buses on a rainy day. You wait hours for one only for several to come along at once. All of a sudden fans get two releases a month of the well-known anime. A trend that is looking to continue, with the next release due out in under a month.
But I digress, Series 15 Part 2 is the final part to the storyline that sees our heroes learning about the origins of the Mod-Souls whilst battling against super powered clones of themselves. It also sees our heroes battling impossible odds all whilst Ichigo is losing his soul reaper powers. Sounds familiar right? Well actually, in a way, it is.
The story does have some similarities to the origin story of Ichigo. When you consider that the show was celebrating its ten year anniversary when this arc was released, you have to wonder if this was an accident? It is not, as there are points in various episodes where the characters have flashbacks to earlier points in the series. Add to this the ten year anniversary homage to various characters and their development that makes up the end credits, and it is not hard to see where this story got its creative inspiration from. It is also interesting where the end of the story leaves Ichigo, as it appears that his character has come full circle. But how can this be when there are still another two releases for the series? Thankfully fans only have a short time to wait for an answer to this question.
That said the story itself is engaging as you find yourself somewhat intrigued to discover just what the mystery is behind this new menace to the Soul Society and what Nozomi’s Zanpakuto can do. This release wraps up the Invading Army arc and does so in the traditional Bleach method of building up a story for about 18 or 19 episodes, then resolving it in 2 or 3 episodes. This can be somewhat irritating, but here it is done well enough that fans will not feel cheated. There is also the fact that, for once, there are no pointless filler episodes to break up the flow, so both the story and the viewer are not disrupted with mindless fan service.
The animation is what fans have come to expect from the series and the voice acting is still as good as ever, with the only real standout performance being Quinton Flynn, who plays Kon in the series. This is because, for once, the character is given more to do and say than just yearning for women’s breasts, which still occasionally happens, but there are moments here when Kon shows some great self-awareness, being more than just a pervert and coming across as a more rounded character.
Bleach Series 15 Part 2 is a worthwhile purchase and certainly one that fans of the show will find to be both engaging and enjoyable.
Bleach Series 15 Part 2 will be available on 29 June here, courtesy of Manga Entertainment.
Bleach Series 14 Part 2 DVD Review
With the end of the current Fall of the Arrancar and the storyline surrounding Eizen looking set to be wrapped up, this latest Bleach release courtesy of Manga Entertainment promised to potentially be a must have purchase for both fans and casual viewers alike.
This season features episodes 304-316 and as mentioned, on paper, looks to be a must have DVD. However once you start watching it you begin to see that all may not be what you first thought and hoped. Whilst both the aforementioned storyline and story arc are wrapped up, you will be surprised to hear that it is all done in five episodes, leaving a total of eight episodes that are pure filler/fan service.
Yes, Bleach is well known for its filler/fan service episodes, and as pointed out in previous reviews, this can help when it fills in character background. Most of the eight filler episodes on this set however are just pointless.
Worse still is that the storyline that has taken up hundreds of episodes is seemingly wrapped up in five short episodes. The final battle itself, the one everyone has been waiting for, Ichigo v Aizen, lasts, unusually for Bleach, only two episodes! That’s right, the series that can sometimes eek a battle out for four or five episodes or more resolves the battle everyone was waiting for in what seems like a blink of an eye and as such leaves you feeling somewhat cheated. As if this point was not irritating enough, the sub-plot surrounding Ichigo learning his final Getsuga Tenshō is resolved through a flashback during the final battle with Aizen. What is odd about this is that in the past when he has been training the writers have taken their time to show Ichigo learning new powers. Here it seems as if they wrote the battle sequence and halfway through remembered that they had forgotten to resolve this point and so quickly wrote in something to cover it off.
There is also only one episode devoted to the aftermath of the battle and as such you are only shown what has happened to a handful of characters. Considering the sheer number of characters who were used in big ways throughout this arc, it leaves you wanting and reaching for the internet again to find out if your favourite lieutenant was killed or if that captain survived.
Add to this the somewhat casual mention of something or someone that could potentially be a huge story arc and something crucial to the whole world of the Soul Society, only for it to be left unanswered. You are left wondering whether the writers forgot everything that they had been taught about resolving plotlines and building intrigue when adapting this section of the manga.
Granted in the build up to the battle there are some interesting plot twists relating to some of the characters that will make you gasp, but sadly these are overwhelmed by the aforementioned points.
The rest of this release is fairly standard by now, in that the voice performances by all the cast are good and the anime quality is presented well. The disc menus too are still the same static picture background, but that again is no surprise. What is interesting is the cover art for the set that Manga Entertainment have chosen to use, for it is a huge spoiler, revealing the look for Ichigo when he achieves his final Getsuga Tenshō. In revealing this they actually show that Ichigo not only learns it, but that we will be seeing him use it in the episodes.
It is difficult to defend a release that promises much on the surface but then sadly fails to deliver. It is releases such as this that are enough to make the audience wish for the days when they could buy individual volumes so as to avoid episodes that they did not want to see. It might be difficult to justify spending the RRP of £30 here, unless you are a collector or a major fan of the series.
Bleach Series 14 Part 2 is available on DVD from April 6th courtesy of Manga Entertainment at the reduced price of £22.49.