Anime [David Anime] Bleach 2

Without a doubt, it's obvious that Bleach has all the markings of an excellent shonen series -- just to support the excellent reviews of Kungfucius, Ten, Garten and BluWacky, this episode is crammed with tons of action, plot development, and style. However, despite all efforts, this title seems rather . . . bland.

Although there's no doubt that Bleach is a *good* anime series, it seems to be lacking a few critical elements needed to really make it outstanding. First of all, it's easy to get discouraged by Ichigo's utter apathy -- it's clear that he doesn't want to fight ghosts, so why should viewers care as well? Secondly, although there's plenty of action scenes, it seems to lack the intricate tactical systems present in most shonen titles. As a case in point, instead of seeing elegant strategies with genjitsu, taijitsu, and ninjitsu, it's depressing to revert back to 'slash-until-opponent-is-dead' hacks. Finally, aside from character development and action, one has to admit that the graphical style of this title is fairly odd. While the 'blurry canvas' effects highlight the supernatural/ghost elements of the story, it's definitely a bit rough on the eyes.

Granted, all of these points are minor, and it's probable that the next few episodes will address these shortcomings. However, right now, this series really doesn't seem to be compelling, so perhaps we'll just have to wait for Bleach to show its true colors.

Click here to read this story
http://www.davidslife.com/anime/reviews/bleach_2.php