Bleach Series 13 - Part 1   Starring (voice): Fumiko Orikasa, Masakazu Morita, Hiroki Yasumoto and Kentarou Itou Distributor: Manga Entertainment RRP: £29.99 KDVD2830 Certificate: 12 Release Date: 07 April 2014

As Ichigo and Ulquiorra battle, Loly and Menoly find a golden opportunity to dispose of Orihime. Unable to defend herself, Orihime is attacked without remorse while a new enemy arises. Yammy breaks through the floor of the Fifth Tower as Ulquiorra's reinforcement. The combined attacks of Ichigo and Uryu all seem useless against Ulquiorra and Yammy. Meanwhile, in the World of the Living, the mysterious Visoreds step onto the battlefield. Will they be friend or foe...?

Bleach: Series 13 - Part 1 (eps 266 – 278) continues the seemingly endless ongoing drama of Ichigo, once a normal schoolboy, who has been given great power to fight ghosts and the forces of evil and he has continued to do so over and over again.

The three disc DVD set start a new story with Season 14: Fall of the Arrancar, although you will not get to the end of the story with just this set.

I personally fall in and out with Bleach depending on the strength of the story, like most modern anime shows it can sometimes fall foul of the fight of the week syndrome, but on the other hand the animation is great with clean and detailed compositions, the prints are impeccable, making the show great to look at. If you have to have a fight then you might as well have them well choreographed, which they are in Bleach. Mix in the humour and you have a show which never quite disappoints and often delivers.

If you have not been following the show you will have no idea what is going on. The show kicks off with a stolen show and the captains about to take on the opposing army. The Karakura town arc sees a return to the material from the manga and it’s turning out of be one of the better stories. Not that there was anything wrong with the filler arc, some of which I preferred to the canon. We have the epic Ichigo vs Ulquiora fight which showcases the anime at its best.

For extras, disc one has the opening sequence (1 min, 30 sec) with the lyrics displayed, karaoke style, for you to sing along with if you’re interested. I refrained for the sake of my neighbours. Each of the discs has a couple of trailers for other shows, but these can be skipped. Disc two has the ending sequence, also with lyrics, disc three has nothing.

8

Charles Packer