Bleach: Season 1 (Original and Uncut)

Bleach is an action packed anime that began in 2004 in Japan/2006 in the US. At the time of this writing, the English language dubbed versions have been announced to extend to 172 episodes (or 9 seasons), while the Japanese version has 227 episodes (11 seasons) with no intention of stopping anytime soon. For people who like lengthy anime this is definitely one of the ones to choose but because of the lack of reruns ever appearing on TV networks now is a good time to start.

I personally started watching Bleach after buying a copy of the monthly Shonen Jump that is released here and seeing nice action sequences in Bleach. I tended to avoid any of the hype associated with shows because often times hype has lead me to be bored out of my mind. On that note, Season 1 of Bleach (The Substitute) starts off on a confusing high, goes to a slight droll, and then regains its high at the final 5 episodes of the season.

The first episodes open with Ichigo, the main protagonist, being able to see Souls. He meets another girl who is able to see Souls, Rukia, who comes from the Soul Society, which is explained in later episodes to be this gateway world that maintains a balance between the destinations of the souls (yeah its kind of confusing, but the second season takes place in the "Soul Society" so we will hopefully get a clearer explanation then). She transfers her powers to Ichigo, making him a Soul Reaper, empowering him with the powers to fight misguided souls, ie, evil souls known as hollows. The rest of the 20 episodes explore his role as a Soul Reaper as well as a student/friend. Several episodes have interesting plots as well as interesting commentary on death and such. The main background plotline in these episodes should be evident to most people. The final episode is a cliffhanger, however, the "episode previews" at the end of the credits ruins the "cliffhanger".

The series is written as Original and Uncut, this means that the episodes have the original Japanese opening. All of the 20 episodes in this volume use the original Japanese opening for Bleach, with the song, "Asterisk" by Orange Range (they seem to have done an ending theme in Naruto); the opening song will grow on most people after 20 episodes, even if it sounds weird at first. The two ending themes are also Japanese, the first is "Life is Like a Boat" by "Rie Fu" which has some English lyrics, and "Thank You" by "Home Made Kazoku." The endings are more enjoyable. At the end of each ending is an episode preview with hilarious commentary done by a revolving cast of characters.

The voice actors are all amazing and a few of them have voiced roles in other anime. For example the Johnny Yong Bosch who voices Ichigo sounds exactly like the voice of Lelouch Lamperouge/Zero in Code Geass (basically if you saw that anime, then his voice has not changed one bit). The Derek Stephen Prince who voices Uryu in Bleach sounds exactly like Ken from Digimo, and Shino from Naruto. The voice of one of the Hollows in Bleach sounds exactly like Pakkun from Naruto. So the English cast did well for this show. OF course since this is an ORIGINAL and UNCUT boxset full Japanese vocals are included with English subtitles, so purists should be proud.

The show has solid animation that doesn't fall apart in high action sequences. The solid colors works in making this look like a modern anime as well. Blood is also appropriately shown in this ORIGINAL and UNCUT version.

Finally in terms of the product, a poster of Ichigo is included in which he is wielding his zanpakuto "Zangetsu". Each of the 5 disc's has its own graphic on it. The DVD boxset has an outbox that surrounds a case of the 5 discs. It is reasonably sturdy and nice looking.

Bonus features of the discs includes previews of various Shonen Jump anime such as Naruto, as well as other VIZ media properties. There is also an extensive section on the behind the scenes with the English language cast, and lastly "clean" (creditless) versions of the ending themes.

Ultimately this is a pretty solid boxset for the anime and is an appropriate start for the series. It is suggested that anyone who likes previous Shonen Jump anime, or even just Shonen anime in particular pick up this boxset and start collecting them for Bleach.

Bleach is a amazing anime! I have watched all the episodes out so far In the English Dub (153 episodes with more episodes to come) and in the Japanese Sub (240 episodes with more to come) and its just AMAZING! Sinse Amazon already tells you what Bleach is about in the desription, I'm just gonna get right to the point and talk about the box set.

When I got my box set in the mail it came in great condition and their were no scratches on the discs either. The boxset cover has Ichigo Kurosaki and Rukia Kuchiki on the front and on the back it tells you what Bleach is about and what you will expect in the first season. Their are 5 discs with 4 episodes on each disc and it even comes with a douple sided Ichigo poster and on the back of the poster has Bleach character production art inside too. This boxset is made a little different then other anime boxsets, you have to open the Bleach boxset kinda like a book to look at the discs unlike some other anime boxsets that have you unfold it to see the discs and such. Personally, i like how the Bleach boxsets are made better then how other anime boxsets are made. ANYWAYS....If you don't like the English Audio and prefer the Japanese version with subtitles you can always go to "Set Up" on the Main Menu of whatever Bleach disc you are on and change the language, I like the Japanese version and the English version but when it comes to which one i like better i would have to say that i like the Japanese version better but i still very much like the English version too. The subtitles they use for the Japanese version for the boxset are kinda similar to how the English cast people talk BUT the subtitles are still different then it though! i just said that they are KINDA similar, The subtitles are very seeable and easy to read also.

There is also special features like "Behind the scenes from Bleach", Production Art, and the Bleach Ending with no credits in it. The boxset all together is approximetley 460 minutes. If you are a Bleach fan or anime fan PLEASE give Bleach a try!! i'm sure you would like it, especially if u like shonen anime!!!

I was looking around for a good anime and was asking friends what was good. They said either Full Metal Alchemist or Bleach. I researched both and came to a decision to look into Bleach due to the supernatural and samurai fantasy fiction I like, plus the plot and imagination is just astounding. Pretty much, my friends were right about Bleach.

Seeing Im able to do only one review, Im going to include the other 2 seasons of Bleach as well. Warning: I am just giving you a one sentence summary for each season, so read ahead at your own risk.

The first season is amazing and shows pretty much what the show is about.The second season shows Ichigo and his friends arriving in the spirit realm on the way to rescue Rukia from the Soul Society and fight the Soul Reaper captains along the way. And finally, season 3 draws down to who ordered the execution of Rukia, which will be a twist you will not believe; as well as the amazing fights that Ichigo will have as well some of the Soul Reaper Captains.

The way I see it, each episode I watched, the show was getting better each disc. Bleach is one of those animes that gets better each time you watch a new episode, to be honest; it is very rare to find a good show that gets you interested these days. I bought it on trust and instinct, and both of those turned out to be good. I highly recommend this anime for anyone just starting out or beginning to discover anime. Besides, all the Bleach dvds are original and uncut, do not waste time buying the separate little discs; get it all in the box sets on Amazon for cheap.

Bleach: The Substitute

Full Screen

Language: English, Japanese

Subtitles: English

Contents: 5 Discs, each containing 4 episodes each. (20 episodes total)

Episode List:

1. The Day I Became a Shinigami

2. The Shinigami's Work

3. The Older Brother's Wish, The Younger Sister's Wish

4. Cursed Parakeet

5. Beat the Invisible Enemy

6. Fight To The Death! Ichigo vs. Ichigo

7. Greetings From A Stuffed Lion

8. June 17, Memories in The Rain

9. Unbeatable Enemy

10. Assault On A Trip At Sacred Ground

11. The Legendary Quincy

12. A Gentle Right Arm

13. Flower And Hollow

14. Back to Back, A Fight To The Death

15. Kon's Great Plan

16. Encounter, Renji Abara!

17. Ichigo Dies!

18. Reclaim! The Power of the Shinigami

19. Ichigo Becomes A Hollow

20. Gin Ichimaru's Shadow

The first arc of Bleach, originally written by 'Tito' Kiba in his manga series, is known as Agent of the Shinigami or The Substitute. The viewer is introduced to our hero, Ichigo Kurasaki, a spiritually aware high school student who lives in a fictional area called Karakura Town. Our story begins with Ichigo coming in contact with a Soul Reaper from the Soul Society and gaining temporary Soul Reaper powers in order to fend off hollows; evil spirits that feed off of souls trapped in the living world, and keep order in his home town. A great adaptation, director Noriyuki Abe really captured the essence of the manga. The Substitute keeps you hooked from the second you pop in the first disc! Great buy!! Amazing Show!!!!

I got started watching this Anime by my nephew. He mentioned it, and I sought out the episodes on Joost, Hulu and Youtube. I have to say that I was really impressed by the production. This is an anime the exemplifies what an Anime should be. After just a few episodes, I went out and bought Season One. Now I am a parent of a 9 year old child, so what I have to say is with that in mind. She doesn't really watch this with me, but she knows that it's "Daddy's Cartoon." She watches it with me from time to time but right now she's more interested in Shojo type anime. Bleach is violent, that is one of the things I should say up front. But unlike others, I don't fear my child seeing violence on a Cartoon. The makers of this Anime aren't trying to manage your children, they're trying to tell a story--a fact that animators in the US would do well to realize. That's one of this anime's strengths--it doesn't try to reshape the world. There are good guys and there are bad guys and right is right and wrong is wrong. That's the way a hero's story should be.

Ichigo is a complex character, as are all of the characters in this saga. Even with their complexities, it is easy to follow and I like that. Chad, Uryu, Rukia, Orihime and Kon all develop as characters during the course of this story. No one is cardboard or seems to be window dressing to the story. The way Ichigo interacts with each of them further establishes his image as the hero. I particularly enjoy the relationship between Ichigo and Rukia who come to mean a lot to each other as friends and perhaps even more...

While Ichigo gains strength as a Soul Reaper, he is not invincible. He makes a lot of mistakes and he suffers for them. In spite of this, he overcomes his setbacks and pushes forward. He doesn't think about the possibility that he might loose. He's protective of his friends and willing to sacrifice in order to protect the people who need protecting. This has rapidly become my favorite Anime and I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys anime.

I first starting watching this show on Youtube a few weeks back not knowing if I would have liked it since I already have Shin Chan Season 1, (live action) Death Note 1 & 2, and Dragon Ball Z Seasons 1-9. I ordered this on a Monday and hoping to receive it by Saturday, but got it on Thursday of same week.

Well, lets just say my family (my 23 year old wife, our two year old daughter, and I) are having to pace ourselves with this season due to the fact we will run right through them all without appreciating them. The season is very easy to follow and very interesting. I think after I get all these seasons, I will move on the Death Note volumes.

So if you like Bleach and only want it for the episodes, get it. If you want the case for some reason...kind of not worth it. I would buy it again if i had to so don't get me wrong, but I opened each page to look at the individual disk and the last page literally fell out as i opened it. It was only held together with some substance that I would describe as tape. It works like tape so it holds on only so much. Scotch tape. that is my only beef with the case. I would rather have my dvds held in better, but at least it has the outer case that holds it shut. That helps a lot. Again, The actual dvds, totally worth it. Case is the only thing that made this product not a 5 star.

The bleach series is a stroke of genius. What: with its many assortment of characters; and also with it's classic story of someone trying to save someone, but at the same time giving it a flavor of uniqueness that is truly its own. ^_^ Ever since I watched the first episode I knew that it would be something to continue watching and now I'm addicted to it. I would watch Bleach on Adult Swim's Saturday Night Line-Up so there would be in actual afew episodes that I would miss due to "Mr Sandman". So, buying Bleach is very important. The Bleach series is beyond one of the best out there. Honors to Tite Kubo, and all the people that made and are still making the series come to life on the "Big Screen". Now, I bought the season one and two Box-sets of Bleach but am only going to leave a review here. I don't feel a sense of rambling on so... This is totally great! *bows in thanks* ^_^ I am pleased two-fold.

Loved the show ever since I began watching it. Having the DVD's is a nice comfort to watch the show from the beginning once again.

Good

Bleach is one of my fav im so into it bought all the one that when out there great all the way.

i was very upset because the first one i ordered this when it came to me and i opened, it looks likes someone just open it and took the poster out of the packege and return it back after it been use. i return the product for exchange and its been 2 months now still haven't receive the replacement. so cancelled the product and didn't receive any email if I'm getting any refund for it.