Customer Reviews

Bleach, Volume 1: The Substitute (Episodes 1-4)

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Yet another juggernaut has made its way across the Pacific - and this time, it has attitude. Another mega-hit manga adapted into a mega-hit Anime series, Bleach brings a whole new definition to the word "Action-Adventure" - and does it with style.

Young Anime artist Kubo Noriaki's (also known as "Kubotite") "Bleach" is the story of 15-year old Ichigo Kurosaki, who is ANYTHING but an ordinary high-school student. Possessing superhuman "Reiatsu" (loosely translated as "spirit force/ability"), he has the ability to see and communicate with Spirits of the recently deceased. However, Ichigo's life is changed forever when an evil-spirit, a "Hollow" threatens his family and friends. In the process, he encounters a young Soul Reaper named Rukia, who after being gravely wounded, entrusts Ichigo with her powers. Becoming a "substitute", Ichigo unwittingly receives the task of performing Rukia's duties on Earth, which include vanquishing Hollows, and "burying" good spirits by sending them to "Soul Society" (a kind of Japanese "Heaven"). And so begins the saga of Ichigo Kurosaki, Substitute Soul Reaper.

Considering the immense fan-base in the US, as well as Japan, it seemed as though it was only a matter of time that "Bleach" The Anime made it overseas. Already a major hit with internet viewers, as well as a best-selling translated-English manga, Bleach takes traditional Japanese culture and heritage and sends it smashing into bold, hip, modern style - and with surprisingly fantastic results. Almost every character in Bleach is interesting, developed, and well-defined. Writing is top-notch, and viewers will certainly find themselves gasping in awe one moment, and breaking out laughing the next.

Refreshing, original, and genre-defining, Bleach is a gem among 21st century Anime. Although a uniquely Japanese anime, this show should prove to win over even the most skeptical viewers in the States - as long as you remember not to judge a book by its bleached cover.

Other than Naruto and Fullmetal Alchemist, hardly any other series can contend for the best recently released anime straight from Japan. Though personally, I think Bleach is the FREAKIN' BEST!!! Naruto has been an incredible force in the anime crowd in America, but I think Bleach is better, when you compare all the arcs. (Naruto Fillers < Bleach Bountou Arc)

I am so buying this whole series, assuming the dubbing was well done. I haven't seen the Adult Swim version yet, so I don't actually know. I expect that they won't cut out the bloody scenes and the shorts >XD

When I was at Anime Expo in Anaheim back in '05 people were going nuts over the mention of the word Bleach. I really had no effing idea what they were on about, and frankly, I'm not too keen on crazily hyped up anime, since they NEVER live up to it. Then, early the next year, my friend and fellow anima freek and I saw it. Suffice to say we were utterly blown away. It really is a fun, action filled ad venture. And though some arcs have suspiciously Dragon Ball Z like figh sequences (going on for 20 epidones or something like it) it's made entertaining and fresh enough so one doesn't really notice it. And it's really a series of fights anyway. Really more like Yu Yu Hakusho with a better plot and characters. However, my friend says there is a later filler season (they're up to something around 172 episodes or something like that) where the manga has run out and needs to catch up, however it seems to pick up later on. ANyay, this is a worthwhile long haul action, adventure, and comedy stuffed ride which is worth the long term investment.

I have always been an anime fan as it was a natural progression from my Transformers and to a lesser extent Voltron days. Japanese anime seemed to be the next logical step. Maybe each year I go through one series or two series for my anime fix. And I admit that some series hasn't lasted more than 5 shows with me. To me anime is meant to show you some action that can't be done with film (like Gundam), imaginative (Evangelion or even the manga Death Note), or funny (Slam Dunk, Dragon Ball, 10 episodes out of like 200 for Naruto), and definitely have that note of suspense.

Bleach has everything in an absolutely brilliantly written plot line. It has more characters than any anime I have ever seen and the writer made it so well integrated with the story line that the story doesn't miss a beat or leave a moment of confusion. There is no other anime that can introduce a cast of so many characters without feeling any slowdown. The main character is firmly established, but the side characters add to the drama, suspense, action, and can be so funny that suffers of asthma should consult their doctors before watching or just hold your inhaler really close.

So addictive it makes you curse the speed at which your dvd player will open to put in the next disk or the fact that you have to wash your hands after you pee. And I thank god that for most of the episodes out so far there isn't that annoying 2-10 mins of flashbacks each episode so you DON'T feel like the story isn't moving fast enough and unlike other animes feel that the stupid producers were too lazy to make any real progress in the show. If anything sometimes I felt the story was moving too fast since I was hoping this series wouldn't end too soon.

Perhaps I am coming off as over zealous for a single series and a rabid ANIME fan. But the thing is I am not. I own probably about 1300 DVD's with only 12 of those 1300 dvd's anime dvd's. Out of those dvd's I probably only watch 100-200 movies multiple times. So far I have watched the first 90 episodes of Bleach two times as the author really broke the mold with this series by including everything, the action, the suspense of reality, the comedy, the tear jerking moments, and a storyline that has some serious ambition to finally take down the traditional powerhouses that stand today (sadly I must admit I am watching the series the third time to show my girlfriend's brother, but now I just seem to marvel at the story line and anticipate the moments I know are coming.)

And I admit that I am even maybe a closet anime fan as I normally don't tell the girls I date I watch the stuff, but this was so good I got my girlfriend who has never watched an anime before in her life because of the "dork" factor addicted to Bleach.

My only complaint is the current story arc (around the last 20 episodes) seems to just be dragging out the story to milk the air time and profit for a series that hopefully ends with the bang the first 90 started. (has a total of 114 episodes released to date in Japan)

First off, my title and rating are not a reflection of the show, but of the American release. If I had to rate the show on a scale of 1 to 5, it'd be a 9. It has a great balance of drama, comedy, action, and all the little quirks that make us anime fans jump off the couch, throwing our dorito stained hands into the air with glee while the rest of the world looks on in horror. Despite the quirks, though, it remains accessible to everyone, and has turned many of my friends to anime where other series failed to do so.

Hell, even the filler arc of the show (you know, filler: that thing that killed Naruto) gets better toward its second half and has you waiting on the edge of your seat just like the rest of the show. It's all fabulous.

As for the DVD, there is absolutely nothing wrong with it. Some will argue that certain instances of profanity have been cut and replaced with more "suitable" material, but that all just depends on who your Japanese interpreter is. As has already been said by other reviewers, if you don't like the English dub of the series, just switch back to Japanese. Simple as that.

My only beefs with the whole thing are economic and aesthetic. Bleach is a loooong series with no sign of stopping any time soon, so throwing on 5+ episodes per disc instead of 4 or less would have been nice on the wallet of those few and devoted who will actually end up buying the whole series over time. Also, though nothing has been cut out of this release, I would still like to see Bleach get the Naruto treatment here with longer, multiple disc box sets that cover larger or whole portions of a story arc. It cuts down on shipping/packaging costs and resources, looks a hell of a lot nicer, and won't take up an entire attic when the series is all wrapped up.

Oh, and Kenpachi rocks almost TOO hard.

Pretty darn good if you ask me...when I first the trailers, advertisements(whatever) on adult swim I really thought this was just another crap anime too cute for an older audience...well I was wrong. Watching the first episode I was intrigued as to what the story was about..pretty much you get the idea that Rukia is some kind of "death" that gives souls peace (in other words to move on)..sounds interesting right? Well, it is. From then on it goes into more detail on the whole shebang about the soul society, hollows, etc..it will get you hooked for sure..heck even the huge filler Bount arc was pretty darn good! Even though it's not done yet (currently on 131 episodes) there is a lot more to come for sure, I just hope that bleach doesn't fall into too much filler, as that can ruin a good show..just watch Inuyasha and Naruto..if you want to know what I mean. Good show recommend it to pretty much everyone (no nudity or stuff (maybe fanservice, but nothing major)..there is blood and stuff..but nothing on the level of Elfen Lied or Gantz..so it's good enough for even 8yr olds.

Bleach is probably one of the hardest anime premier DVD releases I've had to review and it's because it's the first anime I've seen where I read the manga first. Yes that may sound crazy but I just started getting into manga just a little bit ago and I wanted to avoid problems like this because I'm more of a visual person. The manga is definitely better; I think my reasons are similar to any other person who reads the manga first. Even though I say the manga is better please believe it's because I got to the manga first because the anime follows the manga faithfully. So far I haven't see any flaws of any kind or changes from the manga so that will probably make a lot of fans happy. The animation is pretty good and the voice actors do a good job too, they don't stray from the original script. Plus the actor's voices hit almost dead on to what you imagine Ichigo and his buddies sound like. I think I like Bleach most because it uses the demon and demon killers concept but its used with its own style and mysterious characters, like I can't wait to see what's up with Chad's bird. This is the beginning of what should be a great series that won't fail fans but for right now I'll stick with the manga, it's cheaper and more addictive.

Ichigo "Strawberry" 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 volume of the hilarious, action-packed anime "Bleach." While the first few episodes are mostly about introducing the cast -- and turning Tite Kubo's grumpy hero into a Soul Reaper -- they're still a pretty entertaining ride, with plenty of comedy, tragedy and big monster-slaying swords.

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 (a sort of afterlife... thing), and purifies 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 all over his town. Ichigo soon finds out that it isn't easy juggling his new responsibilities with his everyday life -- especially since the powerless Rukia is now attending his school in a fake body, and living in his closet.

And even worse, his involvement with Soul Reapers and Hollows is leaking over to his friends and classmates. First the likably flaky Orihime is stalked by a Hollow she is very familiar with, leading Ichigo to make a terrible choice. And Ichigo's enormous, mostly-silent pal Chad is given a "cursed parakeet," and immediately dangerous things start happening to him. What is the parakeet's "curse," why is a Hollow pursing Chad, and why does his new pet seem to be intelligent?

Some anime series deviate wildly from their source material, but thankfully "Bleach" is not one of those. Instead, the first few episodes are almost exactly like those of Tite Kubo's manga, and the fourth episode even ends in roughly the same spot. And all this basically exists to start the story: turning Ichigo into a Soul Reaper, introducing the cast, and the whole worldview of the series.

Things get much more complex later on, but at this point it's all just the groundwork, so nothing much has happened just yet, except a few minor skirmishes with the ghost-devouring Hollows. But that groundwork is laid pretty rapidly -- most of the explanations and big developments are dealt with in the first half hour, with rapid-fire explanations so we can get right to the Hollow-slaying, and the unique dilemmas of Orihime and Chad.

Primarily this is an action anime, with lots of monster-slaying with swords (in Ichigo's case, the freakishly huge one). But there's a lot of comedy (Rukia's terrible drawing skills, Ichigo's intensely oddball family), and hilarious dialogue ("SIIILENCEEEE! Oh, so it's the ghost's fault now, is it?") some moments of intense poignancy, such as when Orihime recognizes the Hollow that has attacked her, Ichigo and her best friend.

This is our first introduction to the various characters, but Ichigo is a pretty good hero, albeit in the mold of most action-anime heroes -- rough, determinedly lonerish, but very good-hearted ("COME ON! Is that any way to treat your son after he risked his life to help a spirit find PEACE?!"). The prickly Rukia and likably flaky Orihime add a feminine edge to the story, although gentle giant Chad hasn't been explored much yet.

The adventures of Ichigo Kurosaki the "Substitute" are only starting in the first volume of "Bleach," but the anime promises to get far more intriguing. And boy, does it ever.

I never received the product, nor did I get an answer regarding why. You bill my credit card and then don't deliver. I'll never fall for that scam again.

This is a great product. I just started watching Bleach but sometimes i cant stay up late enough to watch it on TV so i buy the DVD instead. I ordered this DVD with no problems. VERY VERY fast shipping and processing. Great seller. Keep up the good work!!