Review for Bleach: Series 4 Part 3 (3 Discs) (UK)

Introduction

Another four-month delay, and the next volume of Bleach arrives on UK shores. It certainly isn't getting the rabid attention that another certain shonen property gets, which is a little surprising as at the time of writing Crunchyroll are putting together a petition to convince the Japanese studios that it would be worth their while to get Bleach streaming to the world via their website. After a while, all these Shonen Jump anime tend to blur into one, for me at any rate, so in case you're wondering Bleach is the edgier, grittier one about sword wielding soul reapers, and while the main character may not wear an orange shell suit, he does have orange hair.


You'd think that a teenager's life would be complicated enough if he could speak to ghosts. But that was only the beginning for Ichigo Kurasaki. When he literally bumped into a Shinigami named Rukia Kuchiki, he was introduced to a whole new world. The Shinigami's 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. They are not supposed to let the living know about this supernatural world, but not only does Ichigo see Rukia, circumstances force her to give him her powers, and train him to be a Shinigami while she regains her strength. Through their adventures, Ichigo learns that his classmates Orihime and Chad are similarly bestowed with spiritual abilities. He also meets Uryu Ishida, the last Quincy, heir to a tribe of spiritual warriors from the human world that once sought out and destroyed Hollows, before the Shinigami in turn eradicated them for disrupting the balance.


If you're wondering what happened in the previous volume, then you're in the same boat as me, almost. After this many months, and so many other DVDs, I can barely recall what happened myself. I do remember that there is this tribe of soul sucking Bounts (who are categorically not vampires. Not Vampires!), they are seeking more power, and have started sucking on the living instead of the dearly departed to maintain their youthful immortality. For that power, they need the last Quincy, Uryu Ishida, except that his Quincy powers have been in remission since the rescue Rukia arc. So instead, the Bount leader, Kariya, sacrificed one of his own, Yoshino (who Uryu had been sort of sweet on) to call forth a swarm of technologically advanced dolls. The Bounts fight with dolls at their side, animated lifeless objects with personalities that they wield in the same way that the Shinigami wield their Zanpakuto swords. So as we begin this volume, the Bounts are in hiding, their soul sucking mosquitoes are preying on the population, the Soul Society are sending more Soul Reapers to assess the situation, Ichigo and his friends have to regroup and come up with another plan, while Uryu has a bit of a manly moment of solitude after his loss (i.e. he sulks). Blimey, I remembered more than I thought!

The final twelve episodes of Season 4 are presented on three discs courtesy of Manga Entertainment.

Picture

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, heavy on the primary colours, and the character and world designs have universal appeal. 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.

Sound

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. I've also noticed that while there is only the single subtitle track, the on screen text continues to be translated, which is an improvement over the first season.

Extras

Each episode ends in an Illustrated Guide to Soul Reapers Golden comedy sketch.

Disc 1 has a textless closing sequence, along with 13 line-art images in a gallery.

Disc 2 also has a textless closing sequence, along with 7 line-art images in a gallery.

Disc 3 has the new closing sequence, and 7 line-art images in a gallery, as well as trailers for the Naruto movie, Bleach, and Death Note.

Conclusion

Hmmph! What was that…? I, whozit? What…? Sorry. I must have dropped off there. Where was I? Oh yeah… the Bleach review… You can probably guess which way this review is heading if I couldn't keep my eyes open for the duration. But you'd be wrong. As Bleach isn't actually that bad, or that dull. It's just that it's way past my demographic. I'm no longer 12 years old, I need more than the bare minimum shonen tropes to keep me entertained, and Bleach is a story that takes itself a little too seriously. It certainly doesn't have the same level of irony as Naruto, and at my age, I need that other level engaged to keep my attention fixed to the screen. So it is that I devoured this box of Bleach in small doses, splitting it up over six nights, hoping to stay awake, and mostly succeeding until the final disc. Ultimately, my disappointment came at the end of the collection, when it dawned on me that the fourth series may have concluded with these discs, but the Bount arc of filler hasn't. Well technically it has… This is the end of the Bount arc, what comes next is eighteen episodes of the Bount vs. The Soul Society Arc. So it's back to that part of the Bleach universe that had me nodding off for the better part of two seasons. This really isn't a series for me…


I may have hoped for an improvement over the previous instalment, but what we get here in these twelve episodes really is more of the same. It's a filler story stretched out till the seams start popping, and in the Bounts, the dullest characters to ever grace an anime series. What kept the first half of this arc ticking over was the odd relationship that developed between the rebel Bount Yoshino, and the Quincy Uryu Ishida. It promised some interesting character development, and at least gave an emotional heart to what really is just a typical shonen storyline. Alas, at the end of the previous volume, Yoshino departed this mortal coil, and Uryu was left bereft, to spend most of this collection moping, and eventually trying to find a way to get his Quincy mojo back. It's filler, remember? No character development allowed.


What we're left with is a series of battles between the Bounts and our heroes, interleaved with some comedy moments to vary the old routine. We start with an episode of pure comedy, with the four mod souls spending a day coming up with anti-Bount traps that wind up inconveniencing the good guys more than the bad, but from the next episode, where the Bounts' nefarious plan begins to be unveiled, the comedy takes a back seat to the action. We now have the Bitto, mosquito like dolls that go around sucking souls at random, and flying back to their masters to be 'milked'. It's a development that poses peril for the real world, and has even more Soul Reapers despatched to deal with the menace. With the Bounts now powered up on souls, and in some cases addicted to sucking souls as well, it becomes an insurmountable challenge for the good guys, and they have difficulty even keeping up.


The heroes split up to accomplish their respective tasks, and they wind up facing Bounts and their Dolls separately. Ichigo winds up facing a Mr T look-alike and his T1000 type Doll. Chad on the other hand has to face an old man Bount, and his whale-Doll that keeps phasing in and out of the space-time continuum. Orihime and Rukia have an even bigger problem with a female Bount and her talking weapons, and then a hoodlum Bount and his Doll of hypnosis that takes over the body of the victim and uses it against its former allies. The characters may not be interesting, but the dynamics of the fights certainly makes the show watchable at least.


The last four episodes take us to the conclusion of the arc, with the Bounts' secret hideout located, and about an hour of running around in underground tunnels, dodging a tarot playing Bount and his shadow Doll, until Ichigo makes it to the end of level Boss, a.k.a. Kariya, they have a whopping great battle, and as all stereotypical villains are bound to do, Kariya spills the plan, before Ishida shows up, a portal opens, and everyone goes to the Soul Society for round 2. At this point Bleach is dull and interesting at the same time. The characters are stagnant or monotonous, the story is mundane, but the animation remains slick, and the fight sequences hold the interest. Like all of Bleach since the second season, it really suffers from character overload. You can see from my recounting of the Bounts' antics, that I can't even recall their names. The sheer number of characters in this arc is excessive, and some aren't even used. Yoruichi is bouncing around someplace, but doesn't get a look in until the final scene. Ganju showed up early on, got a job in a convenience store, and was conveniently forgotten. You know it's extreme when that fact is even used as a punchline in one of the Illustrated Guide to Soul Reapers Golden skits. If you're a Bleach fan, you'll want this collection, but Bleach has been better. I just hope that it will be again some time soon.