Bleach Vol. 5 Review

To read this review in its entirety please visit otakureview.net

            In these four episodes, the story arc introduced on the previous volume is taken to new heights. The Soul Society has finally caught up to Rukia. Renji has been sent to terminate her. When Ichigo enters himself into the fight he quickly finds himself outmatched and is eventually outdueled by Rukia’s older brother, left with no spiritual energy and barely surviving. Saved by Urahara, Ichigo learns that Rukia has been taken to the Soul Society where she is awaiting a death sentence. A team is gathered and a plan is formed: Ichigo and his team mates will all enter training to learn how to use their powers or in Ichigo’s case, regain his powers or die painfully trying. Then, go rescue Rukia.

Good and the Bad

            The animation through this volume remained strong with the battle scenes once again looking very well put together. The animation was very fluid and paced itself well. The only questionable animation on the volume is during our first look into the Soul Society. With all the build up that this setting has gotten over the last 15 or so episodes, the staff really had created quite a standard for themselves to present something spectacular. I understand the traditional Japanese décor of the scenes but it seems like this series really settled for not taking the opportunity to really make the Soul Society stand out instead of being so understated and common.

            As we get into the ‘training sequence’ for the hero the story had to do something pretty special to avoid becoming predictable. While certain things are just a given during this volume, the staff really do a great job in these episodes of keeping things fresh. Even if you see something coming on this volume, these episodes do a great job of making sure that even though you know what’s coming it won’t happen quite like you expect it to.         

            The character development in this volume was really well done due to how focused it was. While not a lot of development happens with Rukia, there are still a few pivotal scenes that will certainly shed brand new light onto Rukia, particularly her relationship with Ichigo.

Music

            A perfect hit example: The solo violin music during the entrance to the soul society was very well performed. I really liked the simple melody. A perfect miss example: The funk themes in this series do not appear to be disappearing anytime in the near future. They drive me nuts personally but since the staff has pretty much married the concept, it’s here to stay. We should probably just learn to cope with this. 

Dub vs. Sub

            Both tracks remained consistently good on this volume. I was particularly impressed with Michael Lindsay as Urahara. He really pulled out some great dialogue on this volume that was delivered with a perfect laid back style while his training scenes were very intense. Both the Japanese and English tracks provided very enjoyable viewing with no major issues on either end.

Extras

            Production art and clean animations.

Overall

            With a very solid lead in completed, this story arc is going to be very interesting to watch as Ichigo and his team move into the next phase. Fun to watch this volume keeps the series moving in the right direction.