 | | ▪ | RELEASED BY: | | VIZ MEDIA | | | ▪ | ASPECT RATIO: | | 4:3 FULL SCREEN | | | ▪ | AUDIO: | | ENGLISH AND JAPANESE DD 2.0 | | | ▪ | RUNNING TIME: | | 525 MIN | | | ▪ | RATING: | | T | | | ▪ | RELEASE DATE: | | 08//19/2008 | | | ▪ | REVIEW DATE: | | 08/17/2008 | | | ▪ | REVIEWED BY: | | HOLLY ELLINGWOOD |
SYNOPSIS:
Ichigo and his Friends make the perilous journey to the Soul Society and are promptly set upon by the guardians of the spirit world. As they dodge one foe after another, they gradually draw nearer their goal: to rescue Rukia from the tower cell where she awaits her death sentence. But their presence threatens the very order of the Soul Society itself, and they must face the ultimate opponents – the captains of the guard squads whose Spiritual Pressure is unmatched, even by Ichigo himself! Contains episodes 21 to 41 of the series on five discs.
REVIEW:
The attention-grabbing action series sees Ichigo and his friends in battles that will test their very mettle and put their lives on the line! It’s an incredible journey into the Spirit World and the Soul Society that will offer unparalleled challenges so far to the heroes in their above and beyond effort to rescue Rukia from the chopping block. This box set spans the entire “Entry” arc in the Viz DVD releases and gives fans an unmatched series of duels, confrontations and danger in this ongoing adventure that rivals all others! Ichigo along with Uryu, Orihime and Chad enter the Spirit World in order to save Rukia from her death sentence by the Soul Society. This endeavor will see them challenged at every turn with danger around each corner. The first obstacle is the Gate to enter. There they will have to battle behemoths and end up making unexpected allies with the fiery Kukaku and her ox-like brother Ganju. With Ganju along for the ride, they use a canon to shoot themselves into the compound of the Soul Society past its considerable shield. It is there that the true battle begins and it is one grueling, gripping duel after another between our heroes and the Squads of Soul Reapers out to destroy them. There are several battles but the stand outs have to be Ichigo’s. First is his rematch with Renji. It is adrenalin pumping and emotionally laden. All the fights are exciting and suspenseful with jaw-dropping animation. But Renji’s involves the background of his childhood with Rukia, his reasons for becoming a Soul Reaper, and a fateful choice he makes during his battle with Rukia’s would-be rescuer. The second highlighted duel is with the greatly feared captain Kenpachi. Even more fearsome is Ichigo’s violent confrontation with the powerful captain of Squad 8 Zaraki. Ichigo will have to bond even deeper with his Zanpak-to in order to unleash his full spiritual powers if he hopes to defeat those standing between him and his goal to save Rukia in time. Other battles tug at the heart strings as well as revving up the tension. Chad goes one-on-one with Squad captain Kyoraku. During the brutal battle, Chad’s background is revealed along with a touching scene in his past between him and Ichigo. It shows Chad’s motivation as well as the steadfastness of his loyal heart. And he’s not the only group member to get some show time. Although Ganju is the newest member, he sees a lot of air time. He may provide a great deal of the comedic relief in this arc, but he also provides one of the most dramatic moments when he is one of the first to reach Rukia and the meeting leads to a shocking discovery. The arc ends with the only way into the tower holding Rukia being a bridge and it is barred by none other than her brother, the dreaded swordsman Byakuya. If Ichigo wants to save her, he’ll have to defeat her brother to do it! The anime has all the action Bleach fans could dream of and more. It also has its share of mystery. The Soul Society has other problems than Ichigo and his friends running amuck. Someone is murdering them and it seems one of their own may be doing the sinister deeds! But to what purpose? And why does one of the Soul Reapers seem to recognize Ichigo with great dismay? Something is happening beneath the currents of the action and it can’t bode well for anyone on either side of this battle. The incredible animation is matched by a fast paced opening theme song called “D-Technolife”. The ending theme “Houkiboshi” shows interesting dynamics by ever changing. Each ending features one of the Soul Society Squads and there is a round that features Ichigo and his team. By episode 39, a new ending theme is introduced called “Happy People”. The show feature a great score and the animation is vivid and successfully ambitious in all its scenes whether they be supernatural, action laden, dramatic, or all of the above.
EXTRAS:
Bonus features include a production at gallery, clean opening and ending animation, trailers of other Viz anime titles, and exclusive to this box set - a Behind the Scenes of Bleach feature which contains one on one video interviews with the English voice actors Michelle Ruff (Rukia), Wally Wingert (Renji), Dan Woren (Byakuya), Spike Spencer (Hanataro) and ADR Director Wendee Lee (also the voice of Tatsuki). The feature also shows the dubbing process in action. Exclusive to this box set is a fold-out poster of Ichigo and an Ichigo sticker commemorating Shonen Jump’s 40th anniversary. The limited edition’s main attraction to this appealing brick red box set has got to be the large and detailed figure of Ichigo in his Reaper outfit carrying his Zanpak-to. The figure is articulated at the waist and both shoulders. He has two Zanpak-to versions. He can be placed on his stand with it wrapped on his back, or one that can be held in his hand with the wrappings weaving around his arm.
IN SUMMARY:
The second set of Bleach sees Ichigo and his friends enter the Soul Society to save Rukia and facing off with Soul Reapers and a greater pending mystery! It’s amazing suspenseful action that keeps on thrilling! |
