Review of Bleach: Series 1 Part 1 (3 Discs)

Introduction

What can you do about Manga Entertainment? When they get it wrong, they get it spectacularly wrong, but on the other hand they are still a major name in anime distribution, and have been responsible for some of the most memorable titles to come to our shores. 2007 has been a particularly infuriating year, with this reviewer losing more than a few strands of hair, and head-desking myself to within an inch of unconsciousness. We`ve had the best part of a year of dubtitles, painful at the best of times, and Manga`s release strategy won`t have made them any friends, with the individual volume releases of Tokko and Noein halted halfway to be completed with boxsets instead.

But then… the stunning Ghost In The Shell Stand Alone Complex movie made its UK debut, and with it came the welcome return of translated subtitles, and Manga finally, after nearly two years delay (and through no fault of their own) completed the release of Karas. It also looks as if Manga have finally found a release strategy that works best for them, the half season boxset. Tactics was released relatively painlessly in two halves, and the Naruto releases continue apace with significant success. It really looks as if they have found an economic and popular way to release anime, especially those long running series that just don`t work on a 4-episode per volume basis.

Spooks and spectres offer a great deal of entertainment in anime, maybe even more than ninja do, and there are plenty of long running series to choose from. While Yu Yu Hakusho got a full release in the US, in the UK it barely got past disc 5 before interest waned and the series faded into obscurity. But with the boxset format, there maybe a chance to establish such a show, and buoyed by Naruto`s success, Manga bring the next big thing from Japan to UK shop shelves. Bleach makes its debut with a 12-episode boxset, and ghost and ghouls abound once more. With the series reaching around 150 episodes in Japan, and with no signs of abating, they may be abounding for quite a while if fan interest permits. The 20-episode 1st season has been split in two by Manga, and we get the first 12 episodes on three discs here.

Ichigo Kurasaki has the old 6th Sense. For as far back as he can remember, he`s been able to see spirits, and now that he has turned 15, it`s getting worse. His family runs a medical clinic, where his father specialises in paediatrics and tough love for his son. His younger sisters Karin and Yuzu help in the clinic, and while Yuzu has a slight sensitivity to the spirit realm, Karin would rather not believe. Their mother has been dead for several years, following an accident that has affected Ichigo strongly. His world changes when a spirit monster appears, apparently targeting the ghost of a local girl. That monster is repulsed by the appearance of a sword wielding spirit girl that only Ichigo can see. Rukia Kuchiki is a Shinigami, a Soul Reaper; her mission is to guide forlorn spirits known as Wholes to the Soul Society, and protect them and the living from Hollows, perverted spirits that have become monsters that prey on other souls, living or dead. It turns out that the ghostly girl was just an innocent bystander, and the Hollow`s target is Ichigo himself, who has remarkably strong spirit energy for a human. Rukia sacrifices herself to protect Ichigo, but the only way that Ichigo can survive is if he takes Rukia`s power and becomes a Soul Reaper himself.

And so begins Ichigo`s new life, High School student by day and Shinigami when called. Rukia may have lost her powers, but she`s taken on the form of a gigai, a temporary body that allows her to blend in at school, and teach Ichigo everything he needs to know about reaping souls. Only technically she isn`t meant to spend so much time in the human realm.

Video

Bleach gets a 4:3 transfer that, other than the usual NTSC-PAL conversion issues, is unproblematic. The image is clear enough, the colours strong and vibrant, and the picture is as sharp as you would expect. It`s a fun, colourful animation, hefty on the primary colours, and the character and world designs universally appealing. Given that it is a long running show, you wouldn`t expect a great deal of detail and frippery, but though the animation is simple, it`s also very dynamic, especially in the action sequences. At this point there is no sign of a carefully rationed budget, in the form of static scenes or repeated animation.

Audio

Surprisingly this isn`t one of Manga`s soundtrack overload releases. You get a choice of DD 2.0 English or Japanese with a sole translated subtitle track to accompany them. The dialogue is clear, the show has some nice music, and it is all presented as vibrantly and competently as you would expect from stereo soundtracks. The only quibble is that there aren`t subtitles translating the on screen text, either with the subtitles or on a separate track, and at more than one point in the show, I was left at a loss when it came to some possibly significant plot points.

Features

Manga appear to have opted for the expedience of presenting the Australian Madman discs without significantly remastering them (hence the low soundtrack count), and other than the addition of some Manga trailers and the logo on the front end, there doesn`t seem to be any significant alterations. Indeed, the menus on all three discs read Volumes 1, 2, and 3, instead of 1:1 hinting at the series original single disc releases in Australia and in America prior. Incidentally, making a change from the usual Manga discs, the various logos that assail us when we insert them are all skippable.

All three discs have the textless closing, Disc 1 has 20 line images in a Production Art gallery, Disc 2 has 23 images (as well as the usual Manga trailers and trailers for a Bleach videogame), and Disc 3 has 26 images in its gallery.

There may be additional goodies in the packaging, but having received the review discs only, I cannot say.

Conclusion

Manga Entertainment have another hit property on their hands, and as long as they treat it well, it should flourish. Bleach is one of those anime shows that is entertaining and accessible to broad audiences. A large cast of likeable characters, a format that allows for a wide spectrum of stories, and a blend of comedy and action all contribute to making it the long running hit that it is, and will no doubt appeal to a broad section of the anime buying public in the UK. In that respect it`s very much like its stable mate Naruto.

There are fundamental differences too, which have led me to develop an immediate preference for Bleach. Obviously the basic story is one, with ghostbusting instead of ninja action, but Bleach has a zanier tinge to it, the comedy is rawer and the wit drier. Most impressive is the pace of the show, the economy of the writing. Naruto is renowned for its filler, there is a whole section of the show created when the manga was in hiatus that fans care little for, and even the earlier seasons rely on flashbacks, repetition and stretching out fight sequences over several episodes. There is none of that in the first twelve episodes of Bleach. Each section of the story is told with a degree of efficiency and directness that means at no point are you tempted to skip forward through an episode. Even the multi-part episodes that are here deserve to be that way because of the material, not through any filler.

If there were any negatives in comparison to Naruto, I`d say that the characters aren`t as instantly accessible. Ichigo most prominently is certainly not happy-go-lucky. Life has dealt him some dismal cards, and when we meet him he`s morose and introverted, and prone to anger. Rukia also takes a little getting used to, although she has a quirky habit of explaining things with the aid of poorly drawn flashcards that invites a giggle. Also Bleach isn`t as hot on world building, not least because it is set in `our universe`, but it doles out information in drips and drabs, and like Ichigo, we are expected to pick up these things as the story progresses. It isn`t spelt out for you as explicitly in Naruto.

The shows premise is established pretty quickly in the first two episodes, and the subsequent ten offer some more stories, as well as introducing more of the supporting characters and establishing the world of Bleach. We learn early on that Ichigo isn`t the only spirit sensitive around, with his sisters displaying aptitudes in that area as well. Ichigo`s spirit energy and actions draw more Hollows to him, and his family and his classmates also wind up involved. As the series progresses, more and more of them get involved in his battles. His first major mission is to help fellow classmate Orihime Inoue, whose dead brother can`t leave her and move on from this plane. Following that is a two-part episode, in which a tall, taciturn classmate of Ichigo`s named Chad comes into the possession of a parakeet. The bird hosts the spirit of a young boy that is being blackmailed by a Hollow into providing more victims.

We meet the Mod Soul in the next two-part episode. Apparently the Soul Society modified souls to combat Hollows, and then discarded them when they realised that it was unethical. One such soul escaped dissolution by hiding in a pill. There`s a shop that sells spirit supplies useful for Soul Reapers and their ilk, run by a disreputable figure named Uruhara, To unleash Ichigo`s inner reaper, Rukia usually has to punch him, leaving his body vacant while his soul does the reaping. A pill containing a temporary soul would be less suspicious, but it turns out to be the fugitive soul instead, leaving Ichigo having to battle himself. This story introduces the show`s comic relief, Kon.

The next story takes us into Ichigo`s past, and the tragic circumstances surrounding his mother`s death. He`s always blamed himself for his mother`s loss, but when the Hollow that was truly responsible appears, he finds a reason to cement his path as a Soul Reaper. We also get an indication that Rukia is breaking some strict rules by staying in the human world to coach Ichigo, when a bounty hunter from the Soul Society arrives to take her back at any cost. This is followed by a moment of utter farce when Ichigo is dragged to a famous psychic medium show. Don Kan`onji is the exorcist extraordinaire, flamboyant to the point of annoying, who actually has no idea that he makes matters worse when he tries to deal with mournful spirits. He still manages to upstage Ichigo though.

We end the set with a cliffhanger of course, as we are introduced to another significant character. Soul Reapers aren`t the only ones to deal with Hollows, as there once was a human tribe that developed spirit powers to utterly destroy Hollows. Uryu Ishida who is in Ichigo`s class is heir to this legacy, and as a "Quincy" he finds Soul Reapers abominable. He cannot fathom why they seek to purify and redeem the Hollows instead of just wiping them out. He challenges Ichigo to a contest to see who can get rid of the most Hollows, but his irresponsible methods unleash an army of the demons upon the town, all looking for a spiritual banquet from the likes of Ichigo.

Aside from the final story, none of the tales exceeds two episodes in length, although the stories do blend into one continuity. They are fast paced, entertaining and well written, with some interesting characters being introduced at this early stage. It`s a very attractive proposition, if the idea of sitting around for five or six episodes while a fight is resolved doesn`t appeal. Bleach occupies the same sort of story ground that Yu Yu Hakusho did ten or more years ago, but the characters are more rounded and develop over the course of the story, and there is a little more complexity and intelligence to the writing. This is a show that focuses on the characters and their motivations, and there are more than a few `piece of grit in the eye` moments. Bleach is strictly middle of the road anime though, with something to appeal to everyone with its blend of drama, action and comedy. Entry level anime rarely get this appealing, and it`s well worth a look if you wondering what all the fuss is about with all these foreign cartoons. If Manga Entertainment can maintain consistency with the releases, then they should be onto a sure thing.

However I still have no idea what that title is about.