Bleach, Vols. 2-6
Distributed by VIZ Media
Volume six of Bleach is now available on DVD, and the ongoing saga of Ichigo the substitute Soul Reaper continues. Quite a bit has happened since the first disc: Ichigo confronts his own inner demons, both figuratively and literally, more than once; Rukia grows to love the human world, and fears what forces may be after her for giving her powers to Ichigo; Chad and Orihime discover within themselves the means to fight Hollows; and Ichigo gains a new friend and rival in Uryu Ishida, the last of the Quincy tribe that uses spiritual power to combat supernatural threats.
Recent developments find our heroes on a journey in another world. We learn that Rukia has been declared a criminal by the Soul Society, and that Soul Reapers have been sent to apprehend her. Ichigo and Uryu attempt to intervene, but are taken down by the more experienced Soul Reapers and left for dead. They survive and, along with Chad and Orihime, resolve to grow stronger and invade the Soul Society to rescue their friend.
But there’s a problem: Ichigo seems to have lost the Soul Reaper powers that Rukia granted, and his own abnormally high reserves of spirit energy appear to have diminished. He learns from the spiritual merchant Hat n’ Clogs that Ichigo possessed the powers of a Soul Reaper all along, which is probably why, when he took over Rukia’s, it fit him like the proverbial glove. Putting his life on the line, testing the limits of his body and mind, Ichigo undergoes Hat n’ Clogs brutal training to unlock that power and become a Soul Reaper once again.
He succeeds. No longer a substitute, no longer working with borrowed power, he becomes a fully-fledged Soul Reaper in his own right. Soon after, accompanied by Uryu, Orihime, and Chad, Ichigo crosses into the Soul Society. What awaits him are new allies, massively powerful foes, and Rukia…
Those of you who read my review of volume one know that I was expecting to be disappointed by Bleach, only to end up being pleasantly surprised. And many of the same things I said about the first volume still apply today. Bleach’s premise is still rather hokey, but its likable characters work well within that premise without being shackled to it. Its visuals remain very stylish and sleek, the English voice work is superb (an amusing aside: Uryu is both voiced by the same guy who did Digimon’s Ken and happens to look like an adult version of that character, which tickles me to no end), and it succeeds in entertaining me (no easy task, rest assured).
Initially in this follow-up review, I wanted to give Bleach a slightly higher score. Specifically, I wanted to up my score from an A minus to a straight A. But then I thought about the show a little more. It isn’t perfect, not by a long shot, despite being far better than other similar, long-ongoing, combat-centric anime series like Naruto or the classic Dragon Ball Z.
Volumes five and six of Bleach exhibit some of the failings those other shows carry with them; a tendency to drag on uninteresting situations to the point of annoyance, while failing to get to the heart of the story or explore more enticing character interactions in a timely matter. An example is when protagonist Ichigo learns from Orihime that she and Chad now command spiritual powers; the conversation with Orihime happens off-screen, instead of showing it and giving us some insight into the platonic relationship these two important characters are developing. Similarly, take Ichigo’s never-ending battle with the Soul Society’s chatty gatekeeper; what should have been wrapped up in about two minutes instead ate up most of that episode.
It’s a damn shame that Bleach seems to want to gloss over the fact that these four comrades (Ichigo and his party), who barely know each other but share the desire to save their common friend Rukia, are developing a very dynamic relationship. In addition, it’s very clear that Ichigo has complex feelings towards Rukia, but he barely shows it, even in his private moments. Yes, Ichigo is a touch anti-social and the kind of person who rarely wears his emotions on his sleeve, but he’s grown enough to know full well that he just might have feelings for this girl. It’s a damn shame we never see him expressing it in more than just vague hints. Prior volumes, before Rukia’s capture, do a decent job of exploring what he thinks of her. Now that Ichigo has some time away from her for the first time since the first episode, I be seeing more into his feelings and confusion regarding Rukia.
Thankfully, at least Rukia is given time to develop in her isolation. Some praise both for the storytelling and visuals; her expression, tired and defeated, speaks volumes of how far she has fallen, and how much she misses Ichigo without needing to say anything. When she learns that he has entered the Soul Society to save her, her widening eyes and newfound, though cautious, optimism speaks volumes more than any words possibly could. It’s visually poetic, mentally captivating, and all-in-all just plain moving.
Considering Bleach’s pros and cons further, I think an A minus remains the appropriate score. There’s enough wrong with the show to deny raising its score higher than that, but plenty of good to rule out lowering it.
I expect good things from Bleach in the future. And while I’m aware that I’m about, oh, I don’t know, some one hundred or so episodes behind where Bleach currently is in Japan, I’m hoping that as more and more gets translated, Bleach fixes up some of its more glaring downfalls, while maintaining and improving upon its strengths. Until then, I remain hopeful that I’ll continue to enjoy the show… and that it won’t fall victim to its flaws.
PCS would like to thank Viz for providing a review copy of volume six. The first six Bleach DVDs are available now.
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