Bleach Series 3 – Part 1 (eps 42-53)
Running time: 300 minutes (12 episodes spread over 3 discs)
Classification:12
Distributor: Manga Entertainment
Region: R2 PAL
Video: 4:3
Audio: Japanese 2.0, English 2.0.
Subtitles: English including karaoke and signage.
Release Date: 23rd March 2009
RRP: £24.99
Brief synopsis:
As the date of Rukia’s execution draws ever nearer, Ichigo’s group continue to fight their way rescue her through everything, and everyone, that Soul Society can throw in their way. Realizing they’ve got to up their game if they ever hope to save their friend, Ichigo and Renji train their bodies and souls in order to achieve Bankai, a Soul Reaper’s most powerful attack. What they need is an experienced teacher, someone who can help them bring out their ultimate technique and they find this person is not only right under their noses but also in the most unlikely of forms. Orihime and Uryu take on Mayuri Kurotsuchi, captain of the 12th Squad, but he seems less intent on killing them than he does on dissecting them for use in his grotesque experiments. Meanwhile, Rukia believes that she’s finally made her peace and is ready to meet her maker. But should she really just accept her fate or is there any hope that her friends will come through for her?
Comments:
The Bleach machine just keeps rolling on. Three more volumes are here collected in a great value for money box-set. The encode’s nice and solid on both sound and video, as to be expected for a series that’s only a few years old. The dub’s fairly good though it does suffer from a large number of mispronunciations when it comes to character’s names or indeed anything even remotely Japanese sounding. One thing I will say about this series is that it takes ages (the term “glacial” comes to mind) for the plot to actually get anywhere. What another series could have covered in a single episode takes Bleach at least three, maybe four. I guess that’s another reason why box-sets like this are so great as they give you the chance to zip through a half a dozen episodes or so in one easy sitting.
Extras:
Disappointingly sparse. There’s a textless version of the closing credits on each of the discs but unfortunately the first and second discs both have the same one. There’s also a production art gallery on each disc and a handful of trailers for the likes of Naruto and Death Note on the third disc.
Bleach Series 3 – Part 1 is available from Amazon
Review: Penfold
Solty Rei Vol 1
LABEL: MVM
RUNNING TIME: 150 minutes approx
RATING: 12
VIDEO FORMAT: 16:9
AUDIO FORMAT: English 5.1, Japanese 2.0
SUBTITLES: English
DVD REGION: 2
Gonzo, Gonzo, Gonzo. I could swoon over them all day. However, upon hearing this science fiction plot that I think I’ve heard before… cybernetics… a cataclysmic event… my quality-control sense was buzzing. Of course, it would be fine, wouldn’t it? Gonzo wouldn’t let me down, would they?
So I began with my eyes fixed on some Dirty Harry a-like… Roy Revant, voiced by proficient dub actor Christopher R. Sabat. You can kind of guess the character. A troubled past, an unforgiving attitude towards others.
Yet despite this correct presumption I was strangely surprised by the atmosphere. There was a charm, but it was beyond the noir atmosphere. It wasn’t until our other main character, Solty, arrived that I realised what it was. I should have remembered from Witchblade.
Once again, like that particular show, we have this interesting amalgam of action and slice-of-life, with comedy thrown in. The balance needs to be precise, and it is. Neither is overworked. In fact, I don’t like to say this, but it fits like a slipper. It’s comfortable, like an old blanket. I’ve seen it before but it works. In some respects it uses the genre tropes too often, as we have ‘the swimming pool’ episode and, in this show’s slightest failure, a final episode that rings too much of Soap Opera (with Roy making an odd turn of character). Those final two episodes don’t get the balance right and I hope it is corrected by volume 2.
To discredit this show would be a disaster, though. It’s brilliantly presented; beautiful, fun and memorable. I think one of the things that keeps me going is Solty’s innocence. I’m endeared by her and frankly one of my favourite moments is when she startles Roy by declaring her platonic feelings, butch old Roy just can’t cope! In fact, it’s the characters that keep this show alive, and the introduction of new ones keeps it on its toes.
So yes, Gonzo, overall you have made a success. You’ve taken the slice-of-life in Witchblade, the child and man relationship in Speed Grapher, and your trademark explosive action, all to wonderful effect. It’s true to say that this is comfortable, easy to slip in to, but it is also the greatest fun I’ve had in a long time. Hey, wait!? I’ve barely mentioned the plot at all. It’s drip fed to you enough for you to understand the world, but really, this show manages to achieve something very special, which many action-obsessed lightning-paced anime don’t, make the plot play second fiddle to the character.
Video: Consistently good quality, bright colours, though in some scenes it can be too dark. Occasional use of CGI, medium-quality, as expected for an anime show, but isn’t obtrusive.
Audio: Good for both who enjoy dub and sub. The characters are really well defined, and there’s emotion and good comic timing, however, I would listen to the Japanese soundtrack on Episode 6 to limit the amount of cringing!
Extras: A slim selection of Trailers, Textless Opening/Closing and Character Casting.
Reviewer: Lee Millington