Review - Bleach Vol. 1 - The Substitute
Reviewed by Mikey Dowling on 12.16.2006.
Score: 9/10
Bleach is the story of Ichigo Kurosaki, your average 15 year-old Japanese kid. Well, average until you factor in his orange hair and his ability to see ghosts and spirits. And while the ability to see ghosts and spirits may freak some people out, Ichigo doesn't seem to have too big of a problem with it. He actually seems to enjoy trying to help them, as the series opens up him with him beating up some punks who knocked over a vase with flowers in it that was set up for a girl who died in that spot.
The ability seems to run in the family as when he gets home (after getting into a comical fight with his father) you discover that one of his younger sisters, Yuzu, can feel the presence of ghosts and the other, Karin (pronounced Kah-ren) can see them with no trouble at all. Yet, Karin doesn't believe in them, she says she's in permanent denial. Bleach covers humor of all types it seems.
The story picks up the next day as Ichigo is walking to school. He's bringing new flowers for the ghost of the little girl from earlier when there is an explosion in the city. He runs to the source to find a huge monster chasing after the spirit girl. While they both try to figure out who it is, the girl clad all in black from the opening of the episode jumps to the scene and defeats the monster then leaves. The people around around them didn't see the monster at all, and try to find reasons for the explosions. Ichigo is left wondering what exactly happened.
That night while in his room the girl in black jumps in through his window. Ichigo, startled, asks her what she's doing but ends up getting ignored. That is, until he kicks her in the back. It turns out that the girl in black is called a Soul Reaper sent from the Soul Society to hunt down various souls and send them to their final destination. It is also her job to kill what are called Hollows, souls who have been corrupted (the monster she defeated earlier was one such creature). It doesn't take too long before another Hollow attacks and ends up going after Ichigo's family.
The Soul Reaper goes after the Hollow but not before she realizes the spiritual energy that is within Ichigo. It seems that he was able to know the Hollow was coming before she could, and his spiritual energy was able to inhibit her own. Basically, Ichigo is a badass.
During the fight with the Hollow, Ichigo gets involved and the Soul Reaper has to get in the way to protect him. This causes the Soul Reaper to take a big deal of damage, and it is then up to Ichigo to take on the Hollow. But in order for that to happen, he must borrow the Soul Reaper's powers and become a Soul Reaper himself. When this happens we learn that the girl's name is Rukia Kuchiki; her powers are then passed to Ichigo. Yet while he was only supposed to take enough to be a Soul Reaper for a short time, he ends up taking them all and quickly dispatches the Hollow.
All of this, and it's only been the first episode.
The hitch with Rukia giving Ichigo her powers becomes apparent in episode two. It seems that Rukia is unable to go back to the Soul Society until she gets her powers back. This also makes it so Ichigo must take up the reigns as Soul Reaper until she can do so herself. Although reluctant at first, Ichigo succumbs to his new responsibility and takes on Hollows when they pose a threat.
The rest of the disc is a very standard first volume affair. Most of the series' main characters are introduced with character building stories. One of the main female leads, Inoue Orihime, is introduced in a two-part episode that has her dealing with the Hollow that used to be her brother. The disc ends with the first part of a two-part episode that introduces Sado "Chad" Yasutora, closing on a pretty good cliffhanger that will bring you back for the second volume.
For a first volume Bleach does the job well. It sets up its premise rather effectively, and the characters are highly likable. The music is really good, and the color pallet is a personal favorite. Another thing that sets Bleach apart from most other animes is that the characters don't always wear the same outfit all the time. They have uniforms for school, and the Soul Reaper outfit is always the same. But when they're just out and about town the rarely wear the same clothing. It's small but rather cool.
Bleach is set to be a very popular series and it is off to a wonderful start on its first domestic outing.
Dub Quality
The English dub for Bleach isn't bad, but it isn't great either. Ichigo, played by Trigun's Vash the Stampede's Johnny Young Bosch does a much better job as Ichigo than he did as Vash. And the voice actors for Orihime and Chad are rather good, too. But the one that falters the most is Rukia's voice actress. There are times where she'll sound really off, though not all the time. The Japanese is preferred, but the English is passable.
Special Features
· Clean Ending
· Production Art
· Collector's Art Stickers
