Bleach Review

 

Synopsis

 

A fifteen year old boy, Kurosaki Ichigo, has the ability to see ghosts. However, this brings him trouble as one day when he meets a Death God named Kuchiki Rukia, who destroys Hollows, malevolent beings created from dead humans whose spirits remain on Earth. In a fight against a Hollow, Rukia injures herself and in an attempt to save herself and Ichigo’s family, she transfers her Death God powers to Ichigo, making him a Death God. As mysterious new characters appear, Ichigo learns that Hollows aren’t his only enemy, and to defeat them he must learn more about being a Death God.

 

Review

 

I’m sure that anyone who has never seen this series and first hears the name of it, is going to be wondering if it’s an anime series about washing laundry? It’s definitely nothing like that at all. Bleach is an action packed series, with some really good comedy, and is topped off with some great characters. Almost every episode ends on a cliffhanger and will always leave you with wanting more.

 

I think the story for this series is well done. Ichigo, with the help of Rukia, is getting used to being a Death God and protecting others from Hollows. More characters are introduced, each with their own agendas. Eventually, the story ends up in the actual Soul Society itself where Ichigo is fighting to save someone important to him, though I won’t dwell into that any further, as to not spoil the story. There are people out there who do deem that Bleach copies things from Dragon Ball Z and Yu Yu Hakusho, for obvious reasons, though I would consider that Bleach just by coincidence decided to incorporate those things into it’s plot. Even if there are similarities, I still think Bleach is very original in its story. Especially compared to Dragon Ball Z.

 

Even though the action in this series is one of its key points, the characters themselves really drive the story on. The characters in this series are great. Each of them are unique in their own way with their own personalites. From the rebellious and likeable Ichigo, to the cute and ditzy Inoue, to the mysterious Ishida, to the silent and strong Chad, all the characters are unique in their own special way. Not just the main characters either. Even the bad guys and minor characters, though I won’t get into it as to not spoil anything, each have their own uniqueness to them. All in all, a lot of the characters in this series are very likeable and you can really relate to at least one of them if not all of them.

 

To simply put it, the animation in this series is great. I love the character designs and I don’t think I’ve ever once felt there were any flaws regarding the animation in this series. It’s definitely top-notch for being a TV series. If you need any more justification, just check out the screencaps below this review.

 

The music in this series is excellent. The background music is very fitting for the show’s action packed and dramatic moments to its happy and funny moments. To be blunt, I really enjoyed the background music. I also really like the opening and ending themes in this series. I was surprised to hear the first opening and second ending themes and realized they were Japanese Hip-Hop. I’d never though I’d enjoy that kind of music, but Asterisk by Orange Range and Thank You! by HOME MADE KAZOKU are both really good songs and I listen to them frequently. All the opening and ending themes in this series are great in my opinion. My personal favorites being Asterisk, D-tecnolife, Thank You!, and Houki Boshi.

 

Of course, the voice acting in this series is superb. Each voice actor did a great job of fitting the attitude and personality of their character. From Masakazu Morita as Ichigo to Yuki Matsuoka as Inoue, all the voice actors have done a great job fitting into their characters.

 

My final thought is that overall it’s a great series. Without a doubt it has the potential to be one of the best shounen series there is. It has the perfect mix of action and comedy. There is never too much or too little of either. Like I said, the creator blended the action and comedy together in this series extremely well. The characters are also another thing that makes this series as great as it is. Each with their own unique personality and motivations for doing what they do, which really helps keep the story fresh and entertaining. All in all, Bleach is excellent and everyone should take time out of his or her schedule at some point to watch this series.

 

Bleach Rating:

 

For more information on this series, I’d suggest checking out the following link.

 

http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=4240

 

 

(This review was made by Mr Gundam)