Product Details

• Actors: Romi Pak
• Directors: *
• Format: Animated, Color, DVD, Full Screen, NTSC, Subtitled
• Language: English, Japanese
• Subtitles: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: Unrated
• Studio: Viz Video
• DVD Release Date: January 30, 2007
• Run Time: 100 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B000JVT286
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #62,032 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "Bleach, Volume 2: The Substitute (Episodes 5-8)" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

Studio: Viz Media Llc Release Date: 01/30/2007

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Cockatiels and talking pills, November 24, 2008

By 

E. A Solinas "ea_solinas" (MD USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Bleach, Volume 2: The Substitute (Episodes 5-8) (DVD)

Poor Ichigo -- if it isn't one tiny life-form causing trouble for him, it's another.

And the second volume of "Bleach" is full of such troubles for our scrappy hero and his fiery Soul Reaper ally. First the anime finishes off a gruesome, heartrending story about a particularly nasty Hollow. Then we head to more comedic but still touching story about Rukia getting the wrong pill. It also introduces a hilariously oddballish new bunch of supporting characters in a run-down little shop.

While Ichigo rushes his sister home, Rukia takes on the Hollow alone -- and is unexpectedly aided by Chad, who can't see the Hollow but whose giant fists are still able to damage it. But when Ichigo arrives, they also learn the reason the Hollow has been pursuing the parakeet all along -- and the ghastly crimes it committed even before becoming a Hollow. And a very special fate awaits Hollows who have done such things...

After all that, Rukia makes a trip to a store with some very special supplies -- including a Pez dispenser with "temporary souls" inside, so Ichigo's body won't lie around when he leaves it. Unfortunately it turns out that the little pill insider is a specially modified soul that doesn't intend to give Ichigo's body up -- and causes quite a bit of mayhem on its own.

But the slapstick leaves off as the anniversary of Ichigo's mother's death rolls around, and the Kurosakis pay a visit to her grave. But Rukia (and elsewhere, Orihime) learn that his mother's death changed Ichigo forever, since he believes himself responsible. But there's more to her death than meets the eye -- especially when a very familiar Hollow appears at the graveyard.

"Bleach" is one of those series that juggles serious and silly in equal measure, and the second volume has the series really hitting its stride. The storylines are still rather small in scope but are rapidly expanding, especially since Hollow-slaying has become a more personal duty for Ichigo. Oh yeah, and a new Soul Reaper enters the scene looking for Rukia.

The first half is a flurry of exploding leechfrogs, savage fight scenes with Chad bludgeoning the Hollow with a telephone pole, and Ichigo showing how nasty he can be in a fight. Yet these episodes pluck the heartstrings as few animes can -- we get a full look at the poor little parakeet/boy's backstory, as well as the truly heartrending look at what happened to Ichigo's mom.

Fortunately there are lighter moments as well -- the Urahara shop's kooky inhabitants, Rukia's bunny obsession ("HOW DARE YOU MOCK ME, YOU IMBECILE!") and the slapsticky modsoul Kon, who likes to kiss the girls in Ichigo's body ("This SUUUCKS! Don't say that! My life is over!" Ichigo laments).

Every hero needs a trauma, and Ichigo's is laid out in all its bloody pain here -- his mother's death, his feelings of guilt, and how it turned him from a happy crybaby into a lonely tough-guy. And we're introduced to the lecherous stuffed lion Kon, as well as the gang at the Urahara shop -- a cornrowed giant, a timid little girl and a bullying little boy. And of course, there's Urahara himself -- a stoner-esque bucket-hatted guy who is clearly more than he appears.

The second volume of "Bleach" is a winning mix of poignant character development, slapstick and slam-bag action, and it only promises to improve further on.

5.0 out of 5 stars Bleach frikin ROCKS my face off!, September 3, 2007

By 

James Michael Sleep - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Bleach, Volume 2: The Substitute (Episodes 5-8) (DVD)

Since your looking ot buy this series anyway, I'll assume that you've already watched this, so I won't go into the story line. One of the top anime series ever made, this anime will be a long one. This is at 139 episodes so far with no end in sight, with about 60 or so episodes dubbed in english so far (and continuing) and I must say, Bleach has the best sounding english dub I've ever heard. I enjoy the english cast tremendously, with Ichigo's voice and Kenpachi's voice being among the best. As a hard core fan of Bleach, this series has been a hugely popular series along with Naruto in the US, and has been one of the top favorites on Cartoon Networks "Adult Swim". (Heh, Naruto's not on adult swim, but Naruto Shippuden will be, from what I've seen in the manga!) I can't wait that long for each box series to come out, so I have been buying them each individually. It's going turn into a huge investment once all the episodes are released, but as a collector of anime and manga, it will be well worth it. I must say though, they could do a hell of a lot better than 4 episodes per DVD. Anyway, if your looking to get your friends into anime somehow, this would be a great starter. With a killer storyline, tons of sweet characters, and the perfect underdog becomes big dog cliche, BLEACH just rocks my frikin face off! Phhht, I'm out pimps....

5.0 out of 5 stars EXCELLENT!!!, March 8, 2007

By 

Adam Sergeant "Substitute Soul Reaper" - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Bleach, Volume 2: The Substitute (Episodes 5-8) (DVD)

Im very glad that VIS media bought the rights to this show and released in it to the US in with English Voice overs, Story is compelling and keeps you wanting to watch one more epsode. Voice overs were pretty good as well, unlike some japanese anime voice overs the actors are top notch in their portrayal of the characters. I would recomend this to any anime fan, and even the casual shopper looking to see what the fuss is with anime.