Anime Bleach

[QuincyArcher]

just watched ep. 5, best one so far in my opinion. lots of great action. and from the preview [spoiler]it looks like kon and urahara will show up in the next episode.[/spoiler]

[Dan Rugh]

I watched episode 5 yesterday morning and I was very pleased. That little bird is so cute when he talks, especially when he calls Chad "Oji-chan."

The plot that unfolded in this episode was very interesting: [spoiler]the hollow was actually a serial killer that killed Yuuichi's mother and now haunts her son after death. It was sad that Yuuichi died even though he never actually "died."[/spoiler] So... now that the kid has been [spoiler]sent to Soul Society, what's gonna happen to the bird? Does Chad keep him for the rest of the series?[/spoiler]

[QuincyArcher]

[quote name='Dan Rugh] So... now that the kid has been [spoiler']sent to Soul Society, what's gonna happen to the bird? Does Chad keep him for the rest of the series?[/spoiler][/quote]

you never see it again in the manga, but could be different for the tv series.

[Dan Rugh]

I just finished reading the manga up to where the story is in the anime. I was surprised that they changed the part about [spoiler]Karin getting sick. Did she actually have diarrhea or was something else happening and I'm just dumb? On the other hand, the change that was made when Oushima the bully came to pick on Ichigo at school[/spoiler] worked out better, in my opinion. It made the scene mean more to me. I think Kubotite is making these changes himself because I don't see any reason that the animators would feel it needed to be changed.

I can't believe that they have already used up 12 chapters of the manga for only 5 episodes.

[COLOR=Navy][SIZE=1]Added spoiler tags. These are pretty minor, but it doesn't hurt to be cautious, ne?

~Dagger~[/SIZE][/COLOR]

[Dagger]

I also thought episode 5 was the best thus far. I want to see more of the [spoiler]cockatiel boy, darnit! The aural transition from his higher-pitched bird voice to his normal-sounding spirit voice[/spoiler] was actually surprisingly well handled.

The next episode looks as though it will lean more toward comedy than action, although I'm not wholly inclined to place a lot of faith in fifteen-second promos. It was pretty clever of the scriptwriters to make the previews be narrated by characters who have not yet been introduced... I'm curious about the guy who's taken care of the past two previews, not to mention that bizarre plushie/animal/thing which appears in the opening animation.

EDIT: It would be interesting if Kubotite was indeed behind those alterations, Dan. I like the idea of a manga-ka being able to streamline and otherwise improve his work as it undergoes the transition from page to screen.

~Dagger~

[QuincyArcher]

[quote name='Dan Rugh'] I think Kubotite is making these changes himself because I don't see any reason that the animators would feel it needed to be changed. [/quote]

actually in the credits Kubotite is only listed for the Original concept and the voice of Kon. so its whoever the director is thats making the changes

[Dagger]

[quote name='QuincyArcher']actually in the credits Kubotite is only listed for the Original concept and the voice of Kon. so its whoever the director is thats making the changes[/quote]

According to [url=http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=4240]ANN[/url], the director of Bleach is Noriyuki Abe. He has also directed [B]Yu Yu Hakusho[/B], Great Teacher Onizuka, Tantei Gakuen Q, Tokyo Mew Mew and Gakkou no Kaiden.

Wow... that's quite a resume, and definitely food for thought. Until I looked this up, I had no idea that the director of Bleach had also been in charge of Yu Yu Hakusho! Maybe this explains a) why his name sounds so familiar, and b) why I instantly took a liking to Bleach. Great Teacher Onizuka and Tokyo Mew Mew are both fan favorites. In a pleasant sort of coincidence, I'm currently on the fifteenth or sixteenth episode of Tantei Gakuen Q, otherwise known as Detective Anime Q. It's surprisingly addictive and well-made.

Yu Yu Hakusho is one of the few super-long shounen action anime with almost no filler and a satisfying ending, so knowing that Bleach has the same director gives me a lot of hope for the future of the anime.

~Dagger~

[QuincyArcher]

i get most of my anime from the good ol' intarweb, its free but near impossible if you dont have broadband. if i like the series i go out and by the dvd's when they release. if they get licensed that is. i really don't care for the stuff that airs on cartoon network/adult swim because the english dubs are always such poor quality IMO.

btw, just watched ep. 6 and the series is getting better and better, im loving it. though they really overplayed the initial encouter with ichigo and kon more than they did in the manga. but i think it turned out for the best.

[Dan Rugh]

I couldn't wait any longer on ANBU/AKeep for episode 6 so I got Lunar for now.

I was very happy to see more characters introduced. The two kids, Jinta and Ururu look like they could be at the center of a lot of mischief going on in future episodes. We also got to see Urahara, [spoiler]the shop owner. Exactly what kind of shop is that anyway if they have Shinigami stuff for sale? I guess Urahara, Tessai, Jinta and Ururu have spiritual powers also. The soul candy that Rukia bought there was hilarious, but too bad she couldn't get the kind with the bunny head on top. T_T I thought the whole ordeal with the Mod-Soul Ichigo was very amusing. Is that supposed to be the little bear guy, Kon?[/spoiler]

[QuincyArcher]

[quote name='Dan Rugh] [spoiler']the shop owner. Exactly what kind of shop is that anyway if they have Shinigami stuff for sale? I guess Urahara, Tessai, Jinta and Ururu have spiritual powers also.[/spoiler][/quote]

i doubt the series will get far enough within the first season to go into their backgrounds, but [spoiler] Urahara is actually an ex-high ranking shinigami, they really dont go into much detail about his shop but i assume he smuggles items from soul society and sells them. they really don't give much info on the others either but they all have pretty significant spritual powers[/spoiler]

[Dagger]

Oh, man... episode six was stellar. I'm excited about discovering how things will play out in terms of [spoiler]Ichigo no longer being able to control his body. The mod-soul (does he have a name?) is a very interesting character--I think he's motivated more by fear than malice, despite appearances, and I love the mischievous, playful aspects of his personality. It's amazing how the animators took Ichigo's character design and made the mod-soul Ichigo look remarkably different simply by using different "default" facial expressions.

I also enjoyed spending more time with Ichigo's classmates--the girl who was hitting on Inoue is awesome, haha. That entire sequence with the mod-soul first checking out the girls, then beating up Ichigo, was absolutely priceless.[/spoiler] I simply can't to see what happens in episode seven.

The new characters are interesting and well-drawn, although I personally feel that the shop owner looks rather suspicious.

~Dagger~

[JazzLady22]

Oh wow, I took my sweet time posting in this thread. *Laughs*

Anyways, I've been a Bleach fan for a few months now, and I've read up until about chapter 142 now (including a few raws)... oh, I love this series to death.

I love the way they're doing things so far! And I'm thrilled that [spoiler]Urahara (the shop-owner) and Kon (the mod-soul) have shown up already![/spoiler] I've noticed that they made some changes so far, including [spoiler] the aforementioned Karin/Yuzu switch in the first episode, the way in which Orihime's brother became a hollow, and Kon's personality, to an extent - he wasn't quite so violent in the manga! I did love the scene with Ichigo fighting him, though... heh.[/spoiler] Said changes don't really bother me, though, seeing as most of them were probably sanctioned by Kubo Tite (the mangaka) himself; he's actually voicing one of the characters!

Six was my personal favorite episode so far (mostly due to Urahara, since he's a favorite of mine... but the preview with Chad was pretty classic, too) but I think all the episodes have done a fabulous job thus far!

Quick question for everyone: Do any of you know how many episodes Bleach is slotted for?

[QuincyArcher]

i assume they'll do the standard 12-13 episode initial season. and if it goes well we'll get another.

btw, manga-rain just released chapter 143.

--------

[size=1][color=navy]Here's your second post.

-Dag[/size][/color]

has anyone been able to find episode 7 yet? neither lunar or anbu have released it yet. i found one by a group called shiranai, but that ended up being in spanish.

[Dagger]

Please don't double-post, QuincyArcher. I'm going to combine your two replies. In the future, if you'd like to bump a thread and/or say something new please just delete your last post (you can always copy its contents into your new reply so nothing will be lost) and make a new one. Also, bear in mind that this topic is intended to be a place where people can talk about the [i]content[/i] of Bleach--if you want information about when a specific episode will be released on fansub or whatnot, you'd be better off PMing a member who you have good reason to think is generally on top of these sorts of things (i.e. Dan Rugh).

~Dagger~

[QuincyArcher]

Just watched ep 7 (many thanks to Dan Rugh for informing me) and it was ok. Though the "memories in the rain" chapter from the manga was one of my favorites and it was almost completely cut from the show except for a tiny bit of it. hopefully they will cover all of it in the next episode. and the end of the episode kinda blew me away [spoiler]i have no idea who this new shinigami being sent to "investigate" Rukia is, he never showed up in the manga. it was actually Renji and Byakuya who show up later in the series to investigate Rukia's whereabouts [/spoiler] so im wondering how that will effect the outcome of the show.

I also liked that Ishida made an appearance if only for 5 seconds.

[Dan Rugh]

I watched Bleach 7 a second time today because I couldn't really remember what happened enough to post.

Kon is hilarious. I was cracking up everytime they showed him. His voice is perfect too... Kubo Taito is doing an excellent job. Naisu Anguru!

I'm wondering what's going on in that flashback when Ichigo was laying in bed. Don't actually answer the following questions, Quincy. =P [spoiler]Who was that girl? Why was Ichigo's mom lying face down (presumably dead) all of a sudden?[/spoiler] Hmmmmmm.... And what's up with the [spoiler]Shinigami in Soul Society acting like they are bad guys?[/spoiler]

Episode 8 should be quite exciting. Too bad I won't be around a computer until Sunday, though, since I'm going home for Thanksgiving. REAL FOOD! :love:

[Dagger]

[quote name='Dan Rugh][spoiler]Hmmmmmm.... And what's up with the [spoiler']Shinigami in Soul Society acting like they are bad guys?[/spoiler][/quote]

Well, I sort of figured that the folks over at [spoiler]Soul Society[/spoiler] would end up being the primary villains in one arc or another, since [spoiler]to me it looks as though Ichigo is fighting a group of shinigami (as opposed to a bunch of Hollows)[/spoiler] in the show's OP animation. I didn't consider the possible significance of that until recently, but I also wasn't terribly surprised by the teaser scene you're talking about.

Anyway, while I liked episode 7 a lot, I feel really bad for Kon. [spoiler]I mean, [i]I[/i] wouldn't want to be stuck in a stuffed animal's body.[/spoiler] Maybe I'm overthinking this, but to me it seems as if he definitely got the short end of the stick. It would have been neat if Ichigo had decided to let Kon [spoiler]borrow his body once in a while, haha. I loved watching them simultaneously drop-kick that Hollow.[/spoiler]

~Dagger~

[Dark Sakura]

Bleach is a really good manga, though i'm not impressed with the anime. Like everyone else has said, the beginning is bad and the promo is just flat out disgusting! Anyway, who here knows who Renji is? My friends love this series, but when i told them about Renji and [spoiler]Rukia's brother[/spoiler], they practically had question marks above their heads. Oh yeah, don't forget to check me out. On the boards im Dark Sakura, on my otaku im Arisa! See Ya!!!!!! ;)

[QuincyArcher]

[quote name='Dark Sakura] Anyway, who here knows who Renji is? My friends love this series, but when i told them about Renji and [spoiler]Rukia's brother[/spoiler'], they practically had question marks above their heads. [/quote]

I've been reading the mangas for a little over 2 years now and have read up through mid volume 17. (as far as manga-rain has covered) and as for Renji, hes probably one of my favorite characters. he has one of the coolest swords in the series IMO, especially his [spoiler]ban kai[/spoiler]

[Dagger]

Episode 8 just HAD to end on a cliffhanger--and it looks as though episode 9 will be really important and serious, too, if the (uncharacteristically somber and dramatic) preview is anything to go by.

I love the [spoiler]new semi-crazy shinigami.[/spoiler] He seems like someone who would fit in perfectly in Samurai Champloo. Is he even in the manga? Anyway, I'm pleased that [spoiler]Kon got a chance to occupy Ichigo's body again. I found him calling Rukia "nee-san" to be unexpectedly endearing and cute.[/spoiler]

My only gripe with this episode is that the filters/CG effects used for the Hollow's invisible limbs didn't end up looking nearly as cool as those used for the vectors in Elfen Lied, but no matter. I just want to see the end of this fight! Actually, I also want to find out the true identity of the [spoiler]creepy suicidal spirit who Ichigo was chasing after when his mother died.[/spoiler] I was quite surprised to see her [spoiler](the spirit, not his mother--is it even female?) make an appearance in the next episode preview.[/spoiler]

By the way, could Ichigo's dad possibly get any weirder? :sweat:

~Dagger~

[QuincyArcher]

just watched episode 8 and im not sure i like where they're going with it. [spoiler] i don't understand the point of throwing in this new shinigami character. if anything it just seems like they're putting him to fill space in the episodes at the expense of tons of great scenes that were cut in the transition from manga to anime. [/spoiler] but its already starting to look like the outcome will be vastly different from the manga. which i guess isnt necessarily a bad thing, but we'll have to wait and see.

[Dagger]

[spoiler]The new shinigami seems to be temporarily out of the picture. I wonder if he's going to become a recurring character? I mean, the fact that he didn't die would seem to point toward that, but I don't really know. I liked episode 9, although I don't understand how the shinigami work, per se--obviously they can sustain incredible injuries and still keep going. Are they able to regenerate at all, or are they just, uh, unusally tough? I'm assuming that the new shinigami's miraculous recovery, coupled with Ichigo's ability to fight the Hollow after having multiple parts of his body impaled, means that shinigami in general are more resilient than humans.

Anyway, the Grand Fisher is [i]insanely[/i] creepy. I actually thought the scene with Ichigo's mom could have been handled a little better, but then I'm not a big fan of such things. Kon had some good comedy moments in this episode, and all of a sudden Rukia's eyes have acquired about twice as many highlights... interesting. ^_^;; I hope her tantalizing flashback will be revisited soon, rather than left to simmer on the back burner for a while.[/spoiler]

How long do you think the Grand Fisher arc will be in the anime?

~Dagger~

[QuincyArcher]

Well when i said the outcome will probably be vastly different from the manga, i was right for the most part. I really dont like how the anime handled the situation with [spoiler]ichigo's mom as well as how the fight with grand fisher ended. and i still don't get that new shinigami character either. (most of what he says and does contradicts a lot of things relating to the shinigami as well as some very major events that happen later in the series.) [/spoiler]but i think most of the events from this episode played out much better in the manga.

Though one thing i really did like was how they portrayed [spoiler] grand fisher's character, they did a great job of making him appear very evil and creepy like you said dagger. [/spoiler]

[JazzLady22]

I agree with QuincyArcher... this episode was portrayed very differently than it's corresponding chapter. *MANGA SPOILER* [spoiler]I mean, the whole thing with this Shinigami guy risking his life for Karin... that DOES sort of contradict everything else we learn about the Shinigami as a whole in the Soul Society arc. That's why it was such a big deal that Rukia risked her life to protect Ichigo in the first episode.[/spoiler]

Also, I liked it better when [spoiler]Ichigo managed the "victory" against Grand Fisher on his own, without the appearance of his mother.[/spoiler]

However. I think the scene between [spoiler]Ichigo and his father[/spoiler] was handled absolutely beautifully. [spoiler]The, "Live life to the fullest, Ichigo" speech gets me everytime... it's just a really nice moment.[/spoiler]

The anime is definitely taking liberties with the material, but I don't think the anime will stray too far from the main plotline. After all, we're getting the [spoiler]Don Kanonoji[/spoiler] arc is next! Which, in my opinion, is the most hilarious arc in the series.

[Dagger]

So I gather that Kanonoji (Kan'onji?) is going to stick around for a while? Hm... that's both good news and bad news. On the one hand, I'm glad episode 10 has some purpose in terms of the larger storyline, since--at least when I watched it--it felt like total filler. On the other hand, the episode as a whole kind of annoyed me (although it had some good aspects), and I'd be rather worried if the remainder of the upcoming arc is going to reflect it in terms of atmosphere, humor and so forth.

The action in episode 10 is pretty much flawless, considering the show's budget and the standard it has set for itself so far. I watched most of the fight sequences a couple of times but couldn't find anything to nit-pick, which is pretty rare for me. Additionally, [spoiler]the Hollow transformation[/spoiler] was [i]very[/i] well done, with some really striking visuals. Even Rukia's explanation cards seemed unusually eerie.

I have to admit, the [spoiler]Kan'on Ball[/spoiler] joke made me double over laughing. The comedy throughout the episode was surprisingly uneven and at times overkill, but that one gag nearly made up for it.

It seems as though [spoiler]Quincy... or, uh, whatever he's called...[/spoiler] will show up in episode 11! I know absolutely nothing about him, aside from the fact that he's an important member of the cast. Oh, yeah, and his character design is quite intriguing--it brings to mind Itsuki from RahXephon and Jin from Samurai Champloo (as I think Dan Rugh already mentioned). I'm more than happy to get excited about the arrival of someone who looks very much like two of my favorite male characters. :p

~Dagger~