Customer Reviews

Bleach Uncut Season 2 Box Set

5 star:		(41)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

While there are several other reviews regarding the show itself, I'm going to focus primarily on the technical aspects of the box set. After all, I figure if you're looking for season 2, you already know what the show is about.

The box set itself is sharp looking and made the same as the first season. It's made in 'book' format, which, in my opinion, is a lot more easy to handle than the usual fold-out box sets. While the first season had a poster of Ichigo with character reference sketches on the back of it, this Ichigo poster is blank on the back. There is no inclusion of a paper with the episode titles, which I wish they did. While all you see on the screen are episode numbers, each one does, indeed, have an official title that would make locating favorite episodes much easier.

The special on this set focuses on four voice actors: Michelle Ruff (Rukia), Wally Wingert (Renji), Spike Spencer (Hanataro), and Dan Woren (Byakuya). They discuss their opinions on their characters, as well as voice acting itself. I'm not sure how long it was, but it was long enough to enjoy.

If you are looking for good subtitles, these are mediocre. They pretty much keep to the dubbing 'rules'. For example, they don't keep character names as the Japanese VA says them, but always their first name. Chad is always put as 'Chad', even if Ichigo is not the one speaking. They also leave off any honorifics (-kun, -san, -chan, etc) in the subs. If you're picky about that (as I am), it can be pretty irritating. Viz releases always seem to be this way, however.
They sub the opening and ending themes as well.

While they claim the episodes are uncut, and the main body of the episodes are indeed whole, they do not include the Shinigami Golden shorts. I'm not sure if the Japanese DVD releases have them, but I know that they've started by now, even if all these particular episodes only are character introductory ones. I only hope that when they actually are little side stories, Viz includes them on the DVDs. This complaint is particularly confusing as they even dubbed Kon's announcement that they would start soon in one of the episode previews.

All that aside, $40 (as of today) is a fantastic price for an entire season of a great anime.

after ichigo and co hone their abilities in the world of the living with the help of urahara and yoruichi, they embark on their mission to save rukia before her execution.

in my point of view, the beginning of the second season begins much like the first season. whereas we are already well acquainted with ichigo and his troupe, we are now introduced to allies and enemies in the soul society each with their own interesting pasts. the only down side is that introductions are sometimes so quick that you sometimes can't remember who a character is (especially if you are unaccustomed to hearing japanese names). these introductions really seem to keep the plot line at a stand still for nearly five episodes until the rescue actually begins.

after about the first four or five episodes, however, we are dropped right into the action. ichigo and co are divided while entering the sereitei and are forced the fight for their lives while the members of the thirteen court guard squads attempt to hunt them down.

in contrast to the first season that has a really even pace, the second season accelerates very quickly by dropping us into the action as each of ichigo's troupe is forced to face off against the soul reapers, and later even the captains of the thirteen court guard squads. the only problem i have with this is that much of the action is balanced by unnecessary dialogue. in at least two instances one fight may stretch over two episodes which leaves you feeling if you had gotten your money's worth. action is also interrupted by semi-relevent or irrelevent back story, such as the explanation of chad's loyalty to ichigo and the karakura superheroes respectively.

as for the tone, despite the greater degree of action, the second season is much like the first. we are given our dose of action, humor and even sentimentality over the course of the season creating a very solid anime.

though the second season seems to really take off after the first few episodes, the uneven pacing can become rather annoying as unnecessary dialogue interrupts action. even so, the content and plot make-up for this small downfall.

The first season of "Bleach" ended with Ichigo, Uryu, Chad, Orihime and the cat Yoruichi leaving the living world for the Soul Society, intent on saving Rukia.

But getting there isn't the least of their problems. The second major arc of the "Bleach" series -- called "The Entry" -- continues our heroes' quest to rescue Rukia from a death sentence, but they run into a new set of obstacles. It's pretty divided between action, slapstick and exposition, as well as a series of mysteries and conspiracies -- and a lot of likable new characters.

Ichigo and Co. narrowly make it into the Soul Society, almost losing Uryu along the way. And unfortunately -- between lethal captains and a building-sized Gatekeeper -- it's almost impossible to get inside the Soul Reapers' fortress, the Seireitei. Their only way inside is to ask an eccentric friend of Yoruichi's, a fireworks expert called Kukaku Shiba, to blast them (and her rough-edged brother Ganju) inside the Seireitei from the sky.

But surprisingly, being shot into orbit with a giant cannon isn't the worst thing that happens. The little group gets split apart -- and Ichigo finds himself facing an increasingly strong series of opponents, including the enraged Renji Abarai and the battle-hungry Captain Zaraki. Facing defeat and death, Ichigo is forced to call upon an ally he never knew he had -- and face a horrible inner enemy.

When a murder is committed in the Seireitei, the Soul Reapers are thrown into chaos, as they automatically blame the "ryoka" intruders for the death of one of their own. Orihime, Chad and Uryu are trying to fight their way in, but it's Ganju and the timid Soul Reaper medic Hanataro who make it to Rukia's cell -- only to reveal a horrifying secret from her past.

If the first season of "Bleach" was all about introducing the main characters and the concept of Soul Reapers, then the second season is all about Ichigo and Co. causing as much mayhem as possible in the Soul Society. Well, the Soul Society is not as pleasant and peaceful as Rukia led us to believe -- in fact, it has even more weirdos than Ichigo's hometown.

And while the storytelling is well-balanced, the second season is much more violent -- there's floods of blood, massive near-fatal injuries, and Byakuya Kuchiki's ability to shred opponents from a distance with tiny "cherry blossom" pieces of metal. And the storyline takes an unexpected twist halfway through, when a character is apparently murdered and the lieutenants start turning against each other. And since there are hints of a conspiracy involving Rukia, it's pretty obvious that something is rotten in the state of the Soul Society. Just what it is remains to be seen, but it promises to cause even more chaos in the Seireitei.

But not all is doom and blood in the second "Bleach" season -- it's still liberally peppered with funny dialogue ("That's a pretty cute name for someone who takes himself so seriously." "MY NAME IS NOT CUTE!") and physical goofery (Yoruichi's true form is revealed to Ichigo). Though our heroes spend a lot of time running around causing mayhem, they also create a lot of humor as well -- such as when Ichigo screams for Ganju, only to realize that he just alerted several off-duty Soul Reapers to his location.

Ichigo has to learn a bunch of new skills in this season, including getting closer to his inner, um, sword. Uryu's chivalrous side gets a workout when Orihime is threatened. And Chad's history is finally revealed in full, such as how this gentle giant became determined never to fight for his own sake, and how he became fast friends with Ichigo.

There are a couple of new characters too: we get to see Renji's miserable youth with Rukia, and why he's hellbent on defeating Ichigo. And our heroes team up with an adorably timid Soul Reaper medic named Hanataro, who serves as tour guide/comic relief for much of the season ("See how full of life and energy and vitality I am?") as well as the boar-riding Ganju.

While most of the Soul Reapers aren't fleshed out, they are given enough quirks and personality to seem very realistic -- narcissists, child prodigies, bookworms, battle-o-philes, bombshells and little creepy girls with pink hair. Two particular standouts are a laid-back, sake-chugging captain named Shunsui Kyoraku, and Rukia's captain, a sickly hunk named Ukitake.

The second "Bleach" season takes our heroes straight into the heart of the Soul Society, and a lot of new trouble as well. Definitely worth checking out -- but expect one heckuva cliffhanger.

I have to remember to kick my nephew's butt. He came over to my house and was parked in front of the tube watching Bleach. You know how you kinda are half watching something and you get roped into it? Well that's what happened to me. We'd missed some of the first season, so I bought it on DVD. I've actually watched through the third season on Youtube, but I started buying the DVDs. I WILL HAVE THEM ALL!!!

I don't go into technical details about the quality of the DVD or the extras. Truth be told, outside of the trailers, I don't watch any DVD extras at all. I like the English dub because I don't want to spend the entire show squinting at subtitles. All I can say is that it's a show that needs to be enjoyed as it is. Don't try to read too much into it. It's an adventure story about young heroes, and it's filled with everything that it entails. Ichigo, Chad, Orihime and Uryu are headed to Soul to rescue Rukia. You know, from the first season I thought it was just going to open with a few episodes to get her back then on to something else. Boy was I wrong!

Season two has them in the afterworld, or Soul Society, trying to find and rescue their friend. The plot isn't as simple as that. The Soul Society's 13 guard squads are determined to stop them. Add to that a mystery and a potential traitor in the squad's midst had me on the edge of my seat. It's a complex storyline and they aren't afraid to delve into the personalities of all the characters --no matter how minor they might be. Leave it to Tite Kubo to lay out a fantastic story!

Parents: If you are opposed to cartoon bloodshed, then you probably should watch this first and see if the level of violence is acceptable to you. This isn't American television --it's not edited for content. The heroes get hurt. They bleed. And yes they fail. I actually prefer it because it's in a sense much more realistic than American cartoons which seem to gloss over that fact. Superman and Batman never bleed on Justice League --You ever notice that?

It's a really good show, and I enjoy it thoroughly. I don't really have anything negative to say about it. It's one of my favorite shows.

What I fdind consistantly entertaining and fascinating about this series is the seemingling endless umbers of extremely intreresting charters and they are well developed even you don't know it yet yu get sense that eac has an extensive backstory. In fact I have found myself getting as engrossed with the backstories of Renji and Rukia and Momo as I am with the main plot of saving Rukia.

The fight scenes are excellent as epic and well executed as one could hope. And Ichigo's growth as a warrior and as a person is brilliantly executed, and on their ow would make this series on not to be missed.

But it's the bredth and depth of this world and its immense variety of characters that really make this series particularly great.

Picture and sound quality are excellent. There's a nice featurette introducing the English voice cast and this really is the best way to buy these. Not only is it muh easier on the wallet, but you dont really want to have to wait two or three weeks between sets of episodes. The way this series runs, you really want to go on to the next epiode after the previous one is done.

Very well presented in a tight compact 5disc set that takes up no more soom than 3normal sized dvd cases. brilliant artwork on front cover and on disc trays themselves. Exceeded my expectations and well worth the buy for any tru BLEACH fann

Bleach is a great show. I love it to pieces. Episodes 21-41 deal with Ichigo, Chad, Uryu and Orihime entering the Soul Society to rescue Rukia Kuchki from execution. All the episodes are well done, the animation is fantastic. I love all the sword fights, it's just entertaining to watch.

As for the Japanese audio and English subs, I have to criticize all the so-called "fans" who just watch fansubs and have no intention of buying this set:

You're not a real fan unless you actually buy something to contribute to the original creator. If someone downloads a fansub and doesn't buy this DVD, they're only hurting the people who make the show. Sure, hate on the dub all you want, but if you like the Japanese language so much go take classes and become fluent so you can watch the DVDs without the subs, and to the reviewer who said that the English subs are similar to the English Dub, I'd say you're wrong, it's a WHOLE lot different than the dub, there's dialogue that wasn't even in the English version on the subs.

Yes, they say "Soul Reapers" instead of "Death Gods", but there is is a lot of dialogue that is not included in the English Dub, but the subs are professional, not those stupid inaccurate, clique-ish fansubs, it's still very good though, if you want to truly support Bleach and keep the DVDs coming, buy the DVD sets, I just did and I love it. But I prefer the dub because I, unlike a lot of these fans, do like shows in English. The average, non-die-hard person just getting into anime is not going to want to watch it in Japanese, they want to watch it in English, so hence, the REASON for English dubbing in the first place.

On another note, Bleach is not for young children, there's profanity, but not any more than a LOST episode. There's lots of blood, people get hurt and die in this show, so this is not meant for anyone under at least 12 or 13. Anyone younger should watch with a parent.

Bleach is awesome, can't wait for the next season.

this season picks up where the first ended. ichigo and friends are along the unstable tunel that conectst the land of the living to the land of the dead. this season leaves off with Mr. (actualy Ms) yourichi's true form revealed, and ichigo trying to save rukia.

I bought this as a gift and the price was much lower that others I looked at; free shipping was a big plus too.

I bought this set for my son for Christmas.

I know nothing about it, but he LOVED it and was very happy with the gift.