No, no, it's not the title of another Bleach movie. Though it does sound catchy, huh. =P Looking at scores and ratings given in anidb, ANN, animenfo etc. etc, one wouldn't be faulted in thinking that Bleach is one heck of an anime. And one would not be wrong, to an extent. While certainly possessing a rather solid story, I do believe much of Bleach's charm and appeal lies in it's cool-factor (seen in abundance in earlier episodes) and the action-packed, zanpaktou-swinging mayhem that make up it's fighting scenes. Who can forget the first time Ichigo stood up to Renji to save Rukia, only to be hacked down by the then incredible 'shinpou' of Byakuya? Or Ishida's fight against Kurotsuchi Mayuri and his Bankai? Indeed, any lame excuse to fight was happily accepted, as I knew it would be a treat to the shonen fan in me.Ah, watching Ichigo FINALLY use his Bankai (after 10 or so episodes of irritating sword-swinging underground) was a special moment. Man, getting past Byakuya's Senbonzakura and stabbing him was an undescribably splendid for me. Hehe. Okay, lame, whatever. Anyway, then peace had to come. You see, in any long-running anime, we have to have side-stories to make it even LONGER-running. Hence, enter the Bounto, Bound, Bount, however the hell it is spelled.These Bounto, if you don't know already, are results of failed Shinigami experiments in Soul Society. They are near immortal, live forever, and control 'Dolls' as their weapons. The 'Dolls' are mostly really lame by the way. So, after years of festering, their wounds of hatred have finally gotten so painful that they are now seeking revenge over the Shinigami, and total decimation of Soul Society. Sounds okay for a side story, no? Much better than the Naruto crap which I stopped watching 70 episodes ago. And it is/was, until the usual sickness plaguing most side arcs set in.Fighting and action were always Bleach's forte, and that went horribly wrong a little ways into the Bounto story. There were way too few battles, and whatever battles we DID get were short and uninspiring. The Shinigami, Ichigo and his gang, well, almost everyone, had their powers 'nerfed' big time. I understand the rather thin story about Kurosaki's inability to use his Bankai in the real world. However, that aside, he didn't even seem to move fast anymore. His usage of Zangetsu was pathetic to say the least. It's like going back 40 episodes and watching him when he first became a Shinigami. Yuck. What happened to those flash-steps, that ability to read his enemies, that inner power he possessed? Getsuga Tenshou seemed a lot more scary when he blasted it at Byakuya.To make matters worse, I do believe the animation suffered as the anime dragged on. Drawings started to get rather inconsistent, with people looking cool one moment and having their eyes too far apart the next. Here's a look at Kuukaku looking all manly in one, and somewhat more feminine in the other. Yes, both show her in a bad mood as usual, but I can't help but notice the fuller eyes and slightly more rounded face in the latter. Before, and after Hollywood got to Kuukaku.And don't get me started on battle scenes. It was plenty hilarious watching Kira swing his 'weight-doubling' zanpaktou up and down, up and down, hacking away at that female ballbearing Doll whatshername. Where is the class in that? =.= Sheesh. And the recent battle between Rukia and Yoshi (that green-haired butch Bounto) only served to amplify this problem. The movements were spastic, and sometimes it looked like they were moving paper dolls on a still background of Rukongai. Oh, and how is it that the frighteningly deadly Senbonzakura that sliced Renji and Ganjuu up didn't even scratch the seemingly weak Yoshi who couldn't even kill the weaker Rukia? Argh.The side-characters seem to be hard-pressed finding someone to fight, and have much less things to do too. Sado-kun and Inoue have used their powers around once each, I think, in this current 30+ episode run. Urahara does nothing but sit around in his shop while the world goes to blazes, and Yoruichi hasn't fought any Bounto yet, eventhough she probably could have taken out a few of them before they started soul-sucking from the Bitto insects...things...whatever. Oh well.Like an old Nintendo fighting game...But in terms of action, at last, there is hope. My perseverance seems to be finally paying off, starting with Ichigo getting rather awesome against Kariya a few shows back. Ishida regains his strength and is hell-bent on killing Kariya to avenge his Bounto girlfriend, lol. Then Byakuya appears, and it seems we're going to get quite a battle between him and Kariya next time around. Yes, I will tell you straight out that I watch Bleach only for the battles (the cool ones, that is), and that's what I'm getting again. The animation is still too erratic for my liking though. Hmm, but if Byakuya can't scratch Yoshi, I wonder how he'll do against Kariya?Bankai!Redemption at last? Perhaps. Or maybe there never was need for any. I don't know. But if things even get close to what they were during the main story arc, what I DO know is, I'll be happy enough.P.S. I cannot stand the way everyone RUNS in this anime. They look like sticks on legs. =SP.P.S. Yoruichi needs to eat more. =D>>> AnimaniaTags: Animation, Anime, Japanese Animation, Manga, Bleach, Bleach Anime, Kurosaki Ichigo, Tenjou
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