Bleach

Title:Bleach
ブリーチ (Japanese)
Overall:Rent
Keywords: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Notables: MIKI Shinichirou
NODA Junko
ORIKASA Fumiko
R1 License - Viz Media (Shopro)
SANADA Asami

Kurosaki Ichigo is not your ordinary 15 year old, because he has always had the ability to see and interact with those spirits and ghosts that remained behind and are hidden to ordinary people. And one fateful day, a female Shinigami (soul reaper) named Kuchiki Rukia appears before him as she is hunting for an evil spirit. During the confrontation with the daemon, both Ichigo and Rukia are seriously injured, and Rukia has to transfer her powers to Ichigo to assist him in defeating the evil Hollow. But in doing so, she loses all of her power and she now expects Ichigo to continue in her task of fighting and defeating those fallen spirits whom she calls Hollows, who exist only to devour other innocent souls.


[290+ TV episodes (a/o August 2007) based on the manga of the same title. Licensed by VIZ for R1. License announced on 3-15-2006.]

Scheduled to air on the (US-Cable) Cartoon Network-Adult Swim

2005 BEST ANIME ACTION Series Award from AnimeReactor Community

VIZ Media has posted some-80+ (English dubbed) episodes to HULU.
click here to link to HULU and see the first episode (again)

[edit] The ↗Bleach franchise:
Episode Details 
7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 998, 999
OverallArtAnimationCharacter Design MusicSeries StoryEpisode StoryReviewer
Rent 7 7 9 8 Big Fire [series:862#2441]
Seems like there is alot of opinions on Bleach, and I have got plenty of takes on this subject, but instead of talking about the series as a whole, I will try to address the different arcs. (please note, I will be adding my opinion on the different arcs until completion)

The Agent of the Shinigami Arc(Episodes 1-20) This Arc was pretty good, but the beginning was bad, so bad that I almost dropped the series bad. I thought this was going to be about some kid fighting evil beings. Yes it sort of is like that, but it was more once the Shinigami's started showing up, this is when things get interesting and I was hooked for good.

The Soul Society: The Sneak Entry Arc(Episodes 21-41) This is when things get real good. Ichigo goes into the Soul Society to save Rukia. These episodes start revealing "bad" guys that Ichigo must go through to save Rukia, and being a huge Big Fire fan, I am a sucker for "bad" guys with cool powers. Note: "Bad" is used based on Ichigo's perspective...

The Soul Society: The Rescue Arc(Episodes 42-63) This is probably one of the better arcs in Bleach, in fact this opens up new bad guys, and brings an end to the Rukiya must die story line. The Bankai comes out in this Arc, and I have to admit the swords second levels are kinda cool. Too bad Kenpachi cannot achieve Bankai, he would probably be the strongest in the Bleach world if he could.

The Bount Arc(Episodes 64-91) I HATED this ARC. It was so bad that I fast forwarded to the next ARC, it did nothing for the question where the F(*&@#$ is Izan and when can I expect a super cool battle. I mean if I wanted to watch Ichigo versus Vampire esque people, I would watch a Vampire Anime. What makes it worse is that there is another arc regarding Bounts...UGH!!!


more to come later


Last updated Saturday, March 13 2010. Created Thursday, March 11 2010.
Avoid 6 5 8 1 7 4 manganime [series:862#1633]
It is beyond me why and how this series remains so popular, after watching approx 255eps full of useless fillers and a dying (sometime luducris) story I still can't understand how this is so overrated when most anime fans agree that Bleach has been downhill ever since the first arc. Is there something new in Bleach that hasn't already been seen before? Is it that original? I personally feel Bleach slowly manifests into your typical mediocre Shounen anime. Its mediocre in every aspect, the art, the story, the animation, the music, but the humuor plain sucks, the only good point is the character designs (although the characters themselves are plain or just plain annoying!)

After a dragging story, recycled jokes, a bunch of idiocity that doesn't even make sense and a barrage of fillers, Bleach becomes a chore to watch for those who are familiar to the genre and are looking for something with more of an edge. If you are new to anime or looking for a bit of fun without much thinking and don't mind some annoying characters give Bleach a watch (but at least skip the fillers) but if you are looking for something more innovative and have seen your fairshare of Shounen I suggest look elsewhere.

FINAL ANALYSIS AFTER WATCHING 310 EPS: I still agree with everything I wrote before about this series and right down to what many people would label the 'actual-end' of the series (end of Arrancar Arc-First 310eps!!!) - Bleach proved to be all style but no substance. Don't get me wrong, Bleach surely has it's moments- especially early on but that does die quickly and it seemed Tite Kubo really struggled in order to conclude the so-called first part of the series as the ending is pitiful as expected. I am unsure how he plans to continue Bleach but I guess I won't know since this is the first anime I have ever officially dropped! I have changed my overall rating from Watch to Avoid since the bad easily outweighs the good here and there is so much better anime you could spend your time watching.

Last updated Monday, July 11 2011. Created Wednesday, March 10 2010.
Buy 10 10 9 9 8 8 Puremikeity [series:862#3075]
Excellent Anime. I grew up with animes such as Love Hina and Cowboy Bebop, so an abrupt change in values was something I was interested in. This is one of the few animes I watch now that I wait every Tuesday to watch subbed, and I enjoy every minute and get pissed every time it ends. Through the series there are a few side stories that don't correlate with the original manga, but nevertheless, make a good story. Great animation with awesome battle sequences makes this anime a for sure in the top 10 of my favorite animes. Definite must see. And if you think the beginning is slow, it is a little, but the wait is well worth it when you get to some of the later episodes.

Last updated Tuesday, January 13 2009. Created Tuesday, January 13 2009.
Buy 10 10 10 10 10 10 Xenoknight [series:862#2967]
HONORABLE MENTION ANIME WINNER - Among the Most Epic of Titles

watching now... 299 eps watched...

This series is

"Never-Ending"!



Ichigo just keeps getting stronger and stronger:



There is nothing much else to say except this title is one of those rare "on-going" legends to be remembered for all time!

Another title of this "epic caliber" would have to be Naruto and it's sequel Naruto Shippuuden (TV).

Check out my award list to see some of the best anime titles in the world!

Never forget Xenosaga.

Last updated Wednesday, December 01 2010. Created Monday, October 20 2008.
Buy 9 9 9 9 9 9 lucy-san [series:862#2510]
This is a very interesting and humorous series.

The truth is the first episode didn't catch me. I found it very boring. But i'm glad that i had gave it a second chance and now i can't stop watching it. lol.

The story is still continuing with episodes comming out each week. (i dunnoe what to do when i watched all the ones that are out!)

The opening songs are good. Especially Rolling Star.

Watch it! You will not be dissapointed.

Edit: up to episode 138 now, this anime is moving really slow. i've changed this anime to a buy from a rent, it's getting really interesting.

Last updated Saturday, September 01 2007. Created Saturday, April 14 2007.
Buy 10 10 10 10 10 10 Violet D [series:862#1393]
Starting on Adult Swim Saturdays. For all you anime and manga fans a definite plus. I can hardly wait till saturday again. I loved the characterization and the animation. I enjoyed all of it. This time Rukia if fighting a hollow who was even evil when they were alive. Ichigo doesn't show up till later but wins the battle and sends the hollow to the Dark world Yay. This is a good one to watch and the scenes never get boring. I enjoy every Saturday or I should say early Sunday morning when they play this one, Eureka 7 and Trinity Blood. Adult Swim is really showing some good ones. After reading some of the other reviews I agree this one has some excellent ideas and the theme never gets boring. Last Saturday Ichigo got in a contest with a Quincy. Quincys are beings who Kill Hollows and the Soul Reaper is their enemy. So this Quincy calls all these Hollows and tells Ichigo they will have a contest on how many are destroyed. However there is a problem with the pan the Quincy hasn't considered and that is when he calls all these Hollows, he is putting other humans in danger Duh! Thank goodness we have ichigo who tries to clear up this mess. More this comming Saturday. You have got to watch this one! Ichigo to going to the Soul Society to rescue Rukia from execution and surprise surprise he is not going alone. Three others are going to join him. The catch is they only have 4 min. to enter and get out. That is going to be this comming Saturday Intense Don't miss this one. OK so here goes. Last Saturday I watched Ichigo kick the tar out of the head bounce. So they returned back to the world of the living and Ichigo can still see spirits who need to find away home. But he wonders to himself is there more that needs to be done and is this the end of fighting Hollows or other bad stuff out there. Towards the end of the episode. This new Shimigami shows up and says I think I will like it here. So now I have to wait till Saturday to find out who this guy is. Bleach is an excellent series and I never get tired watching it. Episode 117 too funny. Ichigos highschool friend is going to get his sister a juice. All he can talk about is people seeing ghosts and she should have gotten her own juice. then who should appear but a soul reaper and a arrancar who is after him. the soul Reaper sees him and asks if he can stay at his house and he will take care of the Arancar. Ichigos' friend screams and says OK. I love Ichigos friend, he acts so typical teen guy. I love this episode and have watched it on You Tube three times. Watch it you will just love it. Bleach I never grow tired of it. They have been showing what happened in the past and how Urahara was at first. This has been showing on Adult swim and I really like these episodes.

Last updated Monday, June 27 2011. Created Monday, September 11 2006.
Unevaluated AstroNerdBoy [series:862#436]

Through 1 episode...

Shounen fare through and through, however like many shounen titles, it has an interesting, action-packed intro. Certainly this will be something I'll be interested in seeing more of. More later.

Last updated Wednesday, August 16 2006. Created Wednesday, August 16 2006.

Unevaluated Stretch [series:862#628]
At first this seemed an interesting show, but when it became clear that it would be a fight-and-fight-and-fight-again one, I quit watching. I was willing to watch it on Adult Swim, but never lifted much of a finger otherwise. When even the scheduling on AS became a nuisance, I moved on to something else without regret.

Last updated Wednesday, March 10 2010. Created Monday, March 06 2006.
Unevaluated Ileenka [series:862#669]
- 47 Episodes watched -

So far, this anime has been rated exceedingly high by A LOT of people. And after venturing into it, it does revolve rather nicely and has an original story and plot. However, I find the story of this series to be running a bit slow, which is a shame because there are far too many great characters to be explored. But considering the manga is still running at this point and the end of the anime is nowhere in sight, I still have hopes for this series to further develop.

On a sidenote, episode 33 was a total disappointment. I wasted 8 minutes watching it before dragging the progress bar to the end to skin through if there were any good bits. There were none.

Anyway. The essence of a good anime, in my opinion, are, one - characters of the anime, how interesting they are portrayed, how they develop as the series progress, and how they are able to capture the attention of the audience, two - actions and fights that are involved, the cool intensity and adrenaline rush is very much required, and three - the pace of the anime in accordance to the story. This series has a bad habit of deviating from the climax of an intense battle into a comic relief scene. It is VERY annoying.

In short, it's still moving too slow. That is why so far 55 episodes have been released and yet the whole thing is still basically dragging like a rickshaw with no finale in sight. COME ON, people!!!!

More on this series later.

Last updated Monday, October 31 2005. Created Sunday, October 30 2005.
Buy 9 9 6 9 7 8 Iceman_Aragorn [series:862#1517]
(After 40 episodes)

This is definately a well-done anime. With up-to-date art and animation, the action and plot go into high gear straight from episode one. Now, 28 episodes later, its still going strong. This anime has a bit of everything: A hero who doesn't want to be, but eventually gives in as he feels the need to save the girl who saved is life, a stoic death-god girl who's a REALLY good actor (enough to blend in with high school girls), a 15 year old who's the size of a world champion weight trainer, a girl who eats chocolate onion ramen and is a total ditz, a stand-offish bowman who hates death-gods, and a talking cat.

The thing is, Ichigo's spirit power is released, and also affects the other characters (Chad and Inoue) and releases their spirit abilities too. So the 3 of them plus the cat end up going to 'heaven' to save Rukia from death after she gets put on death row for being gone too long :P

The music is quite good, especially the intro which is very stylish, and the story has progressed between an anti-hero to a save the world, to a save the girl, to a power-training, to a multi-showdown style plot.

I wouldn't mind seeing more of Ichigo's dad too, he's great ;-)

Edit: Sept 20. The show has really gone into overdrive with the incursion into soul society as our heros face ever more powerful members of the 13 divisions, including some captains right off the bat. But if you think this is just another "face another super-bad-guy and be forced to get stronger by fighting him dbz-clone", you're dead wrong. Our heros are constantly ducking in and out of stealth mode in their attempt to save rukia, and there is even a major plot going on within soul society with the murder of a captain by someone other than one of our heros. While sometimes it seems to be far too often, there are many very interesting back-story flashbacks from the perspectives of many characters, hero and supposed 'bad guy' alike.

Lookin forward to more. (also, i've found this to be the best yet anime to show as an introductory anime to the uninitiated, since the action and pace of the show is on overdrive right from episode one)

Last updated Tuesday, September 20 2005. Created Tuesday, March 15 2005.
Unevaluated Buzze [series:862#1034]
So far I'm not too fond ot it, because the 'hollows' that appear are just more of the same. Slayers, Inuyasha, ... They're just there because one needs an enemy to fight.
But the story shows a lot of promise, and so do the characters and the humour. Ichigo is a great leading character, and his relation to his sisters and father ... I'm not going to spoil that.

Last updated Wednesday, October 27 2004. Created Wednesday, October 27 2004.
Unevaluated Jan-Chan [series:862#967]
In searching after Japanese Leeks (pls don’t ask why).. I came across something called Loituma Girl (which is Finnish for LEEK GIRL).... which sent me spinning.

If you are a Bleach Fan... then you will have to check this out!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nb_hG5q0OxQ

It appears that someone had too much time on their hands and took some Bleach footage of Orihime Inoue and paired it up with a Finnish nonsense folk song ..... (very clever!)

And popular!! It has spawned its own wikipage - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loituma_Girl

And then I found that Orihime has her own wikipage....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orihime_Inoue



Last updated Wednesday, February 03 2010. Created Tuesday, October 26 2004.

Other Sites
NameURL
TV Tokoyo (Japanese) Series Web Site http://www.tv-tokyo.co.jp/anime/bleach/
VIZ Media Series Web Site (English) http://www.viz.com/bleach/
Wikipedia entry for the manga series. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bleach_%28manga%29

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