Anime Review: Fruits Basket

This is one of my favorite animes, but I will try not to be biased and judge it fairly.

Anime: Fruits Basket

Genre: Comedy and Drama

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

For a video version of this review go here.

General Setup: Tohru Honda is a high-school student who is living in a tent because her mother recently died. She was supposed to live with her Grandfather, but his house is having repairs done, so Tohru is making due. One day she is discovered - she has been trespassing on private land, owned by the Soma family. However, Tohru is offered a place to stay in exchange for doing the cooking and housework. The Somas have a closely-guarded secret that Tohru accidentally discovers - they temporarily transform into members of the Chinese zodiac whenever they are hugged by a member of the opposite sex. Tohru is allowed to stay, but she must swear not to tell anyone of this secret. She eagerly looks forward to meeting all the members of the zodiac.

An Explanation of the Chinese Zodiac: The Chinese Zodiac is a twelve year cycle where an animal and certain attributes are set to each year. Many origin stories exist for this cycle. One version is where God calls all of the animals to a banquet that night. The rat, who likes to play tricks on his neighbor the cat, tells him that the banquet is the next night. The cat slept happily that night and dreamed of going to the banquet. The rat arrived first at the banquet and was given the first place in the Zodiac calendar. When Tohru hears this story as a child she feels sorry for the cat. In Fruits Basket there are twelve people that are possessed by the zodiac spirits, along with a 13th member: the cat. The cat is ostracized and looked down upon even though he is a part of the Soma family.   

Characters: Thoru is a bit of an airhead, but she is extremely compassionate and hardworking. She lives in the same house with Yuki, Kyo, and Shigure. Yuki (the rat) is Tohru and Kyo’s age. He is viewed as a prince at their school. Yuki and Kyo (the cat) have an intense rivalry, kind of like the cat and rat in the legend. They hate each other. Kyo’s temper is easily riled and does nothing to help the situation, but they have both gotten better since Tohru started living with them. Shigure is like the crazy uncle. He is a novelist and is probably the least mature member of the household. The characters in this anime have all gone through hard trials and they grow as they learn to deal with their past.

Plot: This anime is pretty laid-back. It is a slice-of-life show that is mostly about Tohru meeting all the members of the Chinese zodiac. However, the possibility is posed about whether or not Thoru has the ability to lift the curse.

Ending: The anime was created in order to promote the manga, so it only covers a portion of the actual story line. Some resolution is provided in the anime, but to get the rest of the story you need to read the manga.

Things to Watch Out For: This is one of the cleanest animes I have ever seen. The only thing to watch out for is that when the characters transform from zodiac animals to humans they are naked. However, this is not an issue because there are always convenient colored clouds that cover them up.

Humor: Because this anime is so light-hearted there is a lot of humor. A lot of different kinds are used; everything from dry humor to slapstick to puns to awkward situations. No matter what tickles your funny bone you are guaranteed to laugh.

Moral Lessons: Just be yourself. To accept yourself, someone must first accept you. Instead of running away from painful memories you should accept your past and move on.

Sights and Sounds: The soundtrack for Fruits Basket has a happy and relaxed feel, but some songs have hints of tension so it balances out. The anime came out in the early 2000’s, so while the animation isn’t amazing for today’s standards it gets the job done.

Other media: The manga ran from 1998 to 2006. It was written and illustrated by Natsuki Takaya. There is also a short sequel manga that came out this September called Fruits Basket Another.

Fillers: There are no fillers in the anime.

Length: There are 26 episodes in the anime.

Where to Watch: You can watch Fruits Basket for free on Hulu and on FUNimation’s homepage.

Anime Review: Ao Haru Ride

Anime: Blue Spring Ride (Ao Haru Ride)

Genre: Comedy, Romance, Drama

Overall Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Here is a video version of this review, incase you were wondering:

General Setup: Yoshioka Futaba had a crush on a classmate in junior high, named Tanaka Kou. He was kind and quiet and he liked her too. They agree to meet and go to a festival together, but Kou disappears from Yoshioka’s life suddenly before returning their first year of high school. This Kou is very different from the person Yoshioka knew in junior high. He even has a different last name. Yoshioka wonders what made him move away and caused him to change.

Characters: Yoshioka has adopted mannerisms such as overeating that are unladylike. She does this to throw off attention from boys and allow her to be accepted by the girls. One thing I liked about her was that when she made a true girl-friend she does not let anything get in the way of their friendship. Yoshioka’s first true friend is Yuri Makita. She has the opposite habit of Yoshioka and acts girly on purpose to attract attention. Since junior high Kou has become more negative and harsh. He can also be rude and sarcastic, sometimes without meaning to.

Plot: The plot centers around whether or not Yoshioka and Kou will get back together.

Ending: The anime ends nicely. Not all the strings are tied up, but it still feels resolved.

Things to Watch For: This anime is pretty clean. There are a few instances, like when Kou pins Yoshioka down to demonstrate how vulnerable she is and to enforce his warning to not go into certain areas of town alone.

Humor: Most of the humor comes from situations the characters find themselves in that are embarrassingly funny.

Sights and Sounds: The animation is average, if a little flat. But I really liked the song they used for the opening. The soundtrack has a relaxed feel.

Moral Lessons: Take charge when change is needed. Big holes made from grief can be filled with small pieces. Loving something can bring pain, but it is worth it.

Other Media: Ao Haru Ride is based off a manga by Io Sakisaka. The manga has ended. The anime does not cover all of the manga, but follows it pretty well up to the point it cuts off. There is also an ongoing light novel series and a live action movie.

Fillers: There are no fillers.

Length: The anime is short, with 13 episodes.

Where to Watch: Ao Haru Ride is available on Crunchyroll and Hulu, but the last episode is missing.

Fullmetal Alchemist (2003) Review

Title: Fullmetal Alchemist (2003)

Genre: Shounen, Action, Adventure, Magic

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

For the sake of this review I am going back in time to when Fullmetal Alchemist was the only version released. I will not be comparing the plot points Fullmetal Alchemist vs. Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood vs. Fullmetal Alchemist manga.  I do plan to write about that so don’t worry.

Note: The anime loosely adapts Fullmetal Alchemist manga (Hagane no Renkinjitsushi manga), but only volumes 1-3 (chapters 1-12). After chapter 12 it completely breaks from the manga (with Hiromu Arakawa the mangaka’s permission) and has it’s own original plot.  

General Set-Up: Brothers Edward and Alphonse Elric try to bring back their mother using Alchemy. Failing, Ed (Edward) loses his leg and Al (Alphonse)  loses his whole body. In a desperate attempt to bring back Al, Ed sacrifices his right arm to bind Al’s soul to a set of armor. The two brothers set off and join the military in order to hopefully one day regain their bodies. However, in the country unrest continues as both the military and the brothers face many foes. To say that Fullmetal Alchemist is a series only about Ed and Al restoring their bodies is really a farce. While restoring their bodies at first is the main force driving this show, many other conflicts become more important and restoring their bodies goes on the back burner.

Characters: The rather extensive cast of characters are well written for the most part. If I had to complain about any of the characters it would be the homunculi. At first they seem to be the villains that you hate and don’t have to justify. However, later in the series several of the homunculi get backstories trying to gain your sympathy. It confuses me. Are the homunculi the reincarnation of evil? Or are they something more?

The main cast of the show: Ed, Al, Winry, Mustang, and Hawkeye are well written. Ed and Al really have the feeling like they are brothers and are willing to do anything for each other. Think the Sam and Dean of anime, but SO much better than even that duo. Winry, while not having a lot of screen time, is well developed and acts as a bigger sister to Ed and Al. Mustang, the flame alchemist, and Hawkeye, the sniper, deliver all the awesomeness ascribed to their titles and then some.

Plot: While the show is a Shonen, the plot is extremely emotionally driven--something that becomes apparent after the first season. Good or bad, it is what it is.

There are three ways to drive a plot: emotionally, with the characters, or by plot. Fullmetal Alchemist is very emotionally driven, meaning you will learn right where those heart strings are! Most shows that are emotionally driven are either happy-go-lucky shows like Fruits Basket or tragedies like Anohana: The Flower We Saw that Day. Fullmetal is more like the later. While I wouldn’t call it a tragedy, loss is a major driving force that motivates most of the characters. More than most shonen shows, you get to see how real death is (and how it crushes your own heart).

This show has several “fillers.” Yes, I used the F-word of anime. Several episodes (namely in episodes 1-20 which roughly follow the manga vol. 1-3 only before having its own original plot) don’t really have a point. You meet some characters and solve a problem and never use that information again. However, with a few exceptions, these filler episodes were entertaining enough to watch again when I re-watched this series.    

Ending: The ending concludes in the movie called Fullmetal Alchemist: Conqueror of Shamballa. While the ending went with where the plot was going, is was very bittersweet, being more bitter than sweet. I would even go as far as saying the end was a tragedy. The ending not is not a happy one, but a somber one.

Sound: The sound is one of the best things in the show. The track “Brothers” is the crux of the music, even having lyrics in Japanese, English, and Russian. The songs throughout the series never felt out of place. They have the authentic "Western" feel that so often lacks in anime that takes place in the west. The soundtrack is something that I would listen to while doing things such as writing or cleaning that makes those tasks at least 4x better. The songs are emotional and make various moments in the series that more memorable. The opening and endings of this show are also well done. With the time the passes, the animation gets better for each opening and ending and many fans say that the music gets better as well.  

The voice acting is also notable all around the board. If you have a basic understanding of Japanese I would recommend the sub. In the sub you realize just how rude Ed is! Rarely (if ever) using honorifics or keigo, he comes off as a rude kid who swears a lot. However, the sub does not grasp how westerner talk very well. It can't decide if it wants to use western terminology (ex. Doctor Marco) or Japanese terminology (ex. Maruko-Sensei). This makes the sub down-right awkward to watch at times knowing that the staff tried to be westernized, but failed. However, the sub is solid along with the official subtitles.

The English voice cast is amazing! Although, there is no way to translate Ed's rudeness into English, the voice actor Vic Mignogna does an amazing job playing Ed's role. The rest of the cast has very solid voice acting including Al, who was voiced by a girl in the sub, is voiced by Aaron Dismuke who is around Al's age. Seriously, unless you can understand Japanese watch the dub--it is one of Funimation's best work.

Animation: For the time that Fullmetal Alchemist was released the animation was good. Not the best, but nothing to sneeze at either. While it easy to see that the animation is dated when compared to the reboot, it still looks better than low budget anime does today. The animation seems to get better the further you get into the anime as well. Something notable in the animation was the fighting scenes. These scenes had a mix of martial arts and alchemy (magic). Being short (much like Ed) and having done some martial arts and self-defense these scenes look amazing. Not only are they accurate, but some serious bad-guy butt gets kicked.

Things to watch out for: The latter half of the show is rather dark which is deceiving considering the first episodes in the show. Like it makes Brotherhood look like a walk in the park--which it is not. There is blood during the fight scenes. Language can be a problem, but I didn’t think that it was overly vulgar or excessive.

Other Media: Fullmetal Alchemist has a manga by the same name and a reboot anime called Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood.

Where to watch it: Fullmetal Alchemist is available on Hulu and Netflix for free.

Anime Dictionary

If you are new to the world of anime all the slang and lingo can get confusing. I have put together a 'dictionary' of terms you may or may not know.

Arc - a smaller story within the larger story. If Legend of Zelda were an anime, each temple would be considered its own arc.

Canon - an episode or part of a show that is in the original source material or is considered to be true to the author’s intentions (the opposite of fillers).

Dubbed - often shortened to dub. If an anime is dubbed over than that means a voice-over of another language than the original was used. Not all dubs are English.

Ed -  short for ending

Fanservice - material which was added to intentionally please the audience. Usually this comes in the form of ‘sexual eye candy’ (for example: dressing all the female characters in skimpy swimsuits). Fanservice for females is rare, but not unheard of.

Filler - a filler episode is based on material not found in the original source. While sometimes entertaining it does not pertain to the plot. (Note: Episodes can be neither canon or fillers.)

Genres - Most genres are pretty obvious, like action and romance. But, there are a few that are a little harder to figure out.

Ecchi - anime that contains sexual innuendos, usually for humor, literally translated it means ‘dirty’

Harem - where a male character lives with or is friends with a lot of female characters. An example of a reverse harem would be Fruits Basket

Hentai - anime with explicit sex

Shoujo - anime that is targeted toward girls

Shoujo Ai - anime that is about a relationship between female characters. The relationship is often romantic, but this genre focuses on the emotional rather than physical aspects.

Shounen - anime that is targeted toward boys

Shounen Ai - anime that is about a relationship between male characters. The relationship is often romantic, but this genre focuses on the emotional rather than physical aspects.

Slice of Life - anime with no clear plot usually set in everyday life.

Yaoi - anime that is about a romantic relationship between male characters (with sex)

Yuri - anime that is about a romantic relationship between female characters (with sex)

Keigo - formal Japanese

Light novel - short chapter books with illustrations

Op - short for opening

OST - acronym for Original (or Official) Sound Track

OVA - acronym for Original Video Animation. An OVA is usually an ‘extra episode’ that is not broadcasted on television

Subbed - often shortened to sub. For a sub the original voices are kept and subtitles in the target language are added.

Anime Review: Death Note

Title: Death Note

Genres: Thriller, Psychological, Supernatural

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

General Set-Up: High School student Light (Rito) Yagami finds a “Death Note” that allows the writer to kill the person whose name he writes.  Armed with this notebook, Light decides to rid the world of all evil by judging all that have done wrong in his eyes. Throughout the story, several people rise up against Light, in order to stop his killing. Most notable is the Japanese police and a strange detective named L.

Characters:  Light is a very different main character. I’ve seen shows where the main character is the villain, but never have I seen a show where the villain was so convinced that he was right, and spent so much time trying to convince you of the same thing. The show is much more enjoyable if you know that Light is the villain instead of wondering how messed up the author is.

The other notable character is L who is not introduced until several episodes into the show. All I feel comfortable saying is that he is a worthy foe to Light.

Plot: This is the show that started the genre of psychological thriller. The plot is extremely well written. With shows this wordy, many people get bored, myself included. However, this show is so well written that I don’t think that it is possible to be bored while watching the show. And that really is the highest praise that I can give it.

Ending: For the ending, and really the second season of the show, there are two camps. There are those who don’t like it because it didn’t go the way they wanted and those who will appreciate it for the amazing plot it has. I have yet to meet a single person who is not in one of these two camps. You like it or you hate it. But if you don’t like it, don’t worry. There is a Death Note movie series that has an alternate ending.  

Sound: The music in Death Note was really well done, like, maybe too well done. At times over dramatic, the music does not fail to impress. Two notable songs are L’s Theme and the first opening “The World.” Both songs fit the characters and show in general well.

The English dub of this show blew it out of the water. Just because of the massive amount of reading that comes with the sub, I recommend watching the dub. But this is not just your normal dub, but I think one of the best dubs I have ever heard. The voice actor for L especially did a good job making you realize that you can’t take everything at face value. The script for the dub was one of the best translations I have seen. One of the major problems with translating anything is deciding if you want to do a word-for-word translation or a thought-for-thought translation. Death Note perfects the balance between the two.

Animation: Death Note is basically a radio show with a crazy high budget. It animation is always fluid, if not over the top. The darker colors reflect the moral grayness of the show. In a word: beautiful.

Things to watch out for: This anime does not a have a set or morals that any of the major characters follow. You have to decide your own moral code, this show won’t give you one. Many people take this show very seriously and it has sparked a real life murder and has been the basis of several suicide pacts and suicide notes. This has caused the series to be banned in several countries. While I wouldn’t say the show is dark, the moral void is too much for people who have not fully matured. Because of that I would recommend that the viewer be at least 14.   

Other Media: Death Note was originally a manga, but has sparked a trilogy of movies by Warner Brother Japan. (This trilogy follows the anime/manga until the second half then has its own original plot.) Recently a Japanese live action of the anime was released (not related to the movies), but personally I didn’t like this live action adaption at all. It also has two animated movies that cover the basic plot of the anime called Death Note Relight (1 and 2).

Where to watch it: Death Note is available on Netflix and Hulu.

Psycho-Pass (Season 1)

Anime: Psycho-Pass (Season 1)

Genre: Sci-Fi, Crime, Psychological, Thriller, Police Drama

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

General Set-Up: Akane is a new police inspector in a time where a computer system, called the Sybil System, judges criminals to determine how they should be punished. The Sybil System does more than that, it also judges who would be good at what job, who should receive therapy, and who is mentally unstable enough to be put away from society.

Characters: The best part about the show in my opinion is the criminals. Because Psycho-Pass is a crime show, there are criminals that need to be judged by the Sybil System. Instead of using the same kind of criminal again and again, this series chooses to use several types of criminals that are profiles in criminal psychology. Makashima, who is the main villain is notable for his amazing role in the show. He is like Kurtz from Heart of Darkness, sophisticated and maniacal.

 The Enforcers, as they are called in the show, do the dirty work for the police so that the police remain mentally stable. Many are former detectives that are able to think too much like a criminal and are deemed unfit for work by Sybil. Another is a high-functioning sociopath (not unlike Sherlock) who is recruited to work for the police.

Akane Tsunemori is the main character. She has just graduated from the police academy and joined the local police force. While she is naive at times, she is smart and quick to pick things up. She is the voice of reason in the show, often making it hard to relate to her. However, her character is well written and she is enjoyable to watch.

Plot: The plot is well paced, not going too fast and skipping over details and also not going too slow or dragging on and on. The enjoyability of the plot depends on how well you know classic literature, criminal psychology, developmental psychology, and the process of investigations along with the hierarchy that comes with it. The show has enough action and plot that someone without any knowledge about those things can still enjoy the heck out of it. The real use of psychology and classical literature are just the icing on the cake.

Ending: The ending is satisfying and ties up most plot ends. Enough ends were left untied that this show got a second season (which I am not reviewing right now) and a movie.  

Sound: The soundtrack has mostly songs played by electric instruments, but also has more classic sounds including several orchestral pieces and Ode to Joy. Both the openings and endings were well done, but didn’t really stand out.

This show is very hard to watch in sub. A great portion of the script is alluding to different things. The art of saying one thing and meaning another. Unless you are fluent in Japanese, even with the subtitles it can be very hard to understand what the characters mean. Because of this I would recommend the dub because it translates the Japanese thought-for-thought so that a western audience can understand it. And the dub is amazing! The voice actors blew the performance out of the water. None of the voices were annoying and all the characters sounded not only their age, but also the voices fit their personalities. The only thing that the dub doesn’t quite transfer from the Japanese is the level of politeness by certain characters, but who wants to listen to keigo for several hours straight?

Animation: The animation was smooth and well done. CGI and futuristic effects blended in next to normal animation. For the majority of the show the colors were dark enough to fit the dark themes of the show, but light enough I could still see what was going on. I didn’t like the way one of the character’s eyes were drawn, but that is a small complaint and more of a personal preference than anything.

Things to watch out for: “Gaze into the abyss, and the abyss gazed back into you.” Aside from being one of the central quotes of the show, it also personifies my warning to those who want to watch this show. This show is dark in some ways like having people be shot and so on, but the real darkness comes from the psychology used in the show. You will see the thought of those to kill and gaze into their twisted minds. You will most likely disagree with many of the characters and the Sybil System. Calling this show psychological is an understatement.

Other Media: Psycho-Pass has a second season and a movie to conclude the plot.

Where to watch it: Psycho-Pass season 1 is available on Netflix. Seasons 1 and 2 are on Hulu for free.

Tokyo Ghoul (Tokyo Kushu) Review

Title: Tokyo Ghoul

Genres: Thriller, Psychological, Supernatural, Horror

Overall Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars but enjoyable to watch

General Set-Up: Your main character, named Ken Kaneki, is a book-loving introvert/wimp. At first he seems like another whiny, unconfident main character similar to Shinji in Evangelion. But this changes rapidly when he is nearly killed by a ghoul named Rize. Right before she kills him, she is killed in some sort of construction accident (or was it?). The doctor took organs from Rize to replace the ones that had been damaged when Rize attacked Kaneki. Because of this, Kaneki becomes a Ghoul-Human hybrid.  

Characters: Ken Kaneki is by far the best written character in the series, mostly due to the fact that he is really the only  character that changes. He goes from timid college student to, at the very end of the show, a fully realized character. Shows that do this, and do this well, are not common.

The rest of the characters in this show don’t get a lot of character development. You have Kaneki’s best friend Hide, out-going, friendly, confident, and sharp. That’s not a combination you see a lot in anime, and I was disappointed that he was not in the show more. Another character of note is Touka, a ghoul and worker at the same coffee shop that Kaneki works at. She was really well written, but the show chooses not to focus on her a lot. She has the potential to be a really good character, but never really gets used that way. Also, the characters in the CCG, an organization that goal is to kill Ghouls, never are anything more than static characters, but they seemed like they could be much more.  

Plot: The plot is the main issue with this show and the manga it is based off of. It seems to be going one direction, changes direction, and never comes back to it. The first arc appears to be comparing Ghoul society and Human society and how Kaneki fits into them. But all of a sudden it completely drops that topic and moves on without even coming to the crux of the matter. Then it moves on to talking about the higher echelons of the Ghouls society, barely skims the surface, and changes again. Then you think the show is about Kaneki bringing peace to both Ghouls and humans, but before any changes can be made it charges to be about Rize. Then once again it changes to be about Kaneki’s mental state.

None of these topics get fully developed or resolved. The show raises more questions than answers it offers. The anime falls into the trap of rushing through fights and skipping character development because of time restraints. The manga has the opposite problem. It has page after page of irreverent dialogue that by the time you get to the good stuff you are sick of the story.

Ending: The last episode of this show is what I consider the best episode of the show, not just animation wise, but also plot and layout wise. It was one for the few episodes that I felt was fully developed and very much true to the original material. However the actual ending of the show is a cliffhanger, but fear not, there is a second season called Tokyo Ghoul (root) A (that I will review later). Unknown to many people, the second season does not follow the manga, but is it’s own plot line. Tokyo Ghoul (root) A takes many elements from the manga plot line such as the investigators backstories and puts them into a new arc against the Ghouls.  

Sound: One thing this series did right was the opening song. If you look at the lyrics and watch the animation and hear the tone it embodies the show fully. “Unravel” by TK might as well just be called Tokyo Ghoul. Also Unknown Songbird on Youtube has a very good English cover, possibly better than TK’s original version. Other than the opening, none of the songs stood out, good or bad.

Both the sub and dub of this show are solid. Watch whatever floats your boat.

Animation: The animation is one of the best things about this show, provided you don’t watch the TV censored version (that cuts out most, if not all of the fight scenes). It has the rare ability to look both beautiful and terrifying at the same time. The colors can go from bright and cheerful to dark and depressing--and the show does both well. The Ghouls especially look super epic.

Things to watch out for: Tokyo Ghoul is rated TV-MA for a reason. The TV censored version is only TV-14, but make the fight scenes hard to impossible to follow. There is blood EVERYWHERE in the fight scenes. Bones break. People get tortured. This is not a show for people with a weak stomach.  

Other Media: Tokyo Ghoul is based off the manga by Sui Ishida of the same name. You generally get the same plot you do in the anime, but much more expanded upon. Some of the arcs are in a different order, but you still get the same effect. A sequel of Tokyo Ghoul manga is currently ongoing call Tokyo Ghoul:re.

Where to watch it: Tokyo Ghoul is on Hulu for free in both subbed and dubbed and is also on FUNimation.

Anime Review: Bleach

Anime: Bleach
Genre: Supernatural/Action
Overall Rating: 3 stars out of 5

For your personal convenience, here is a video version of this review:

General Set-up: High schooler Ichigo Kurosaki has the ability to see ghosts. He can also see soul reaper (or shinigami) Rukia Byakyua, who should be invisible to mortals. She is patrolling Ichigo's hometown for errant Hollows. (Hollows are dead people's souls who have gone corrupt.) When a Hollow attacks his home, Ichigo helps Rukia defeat it and saves her life. In the process, however, Rukia must transfer her powers to Ichigo, making him a substitute shinigami.

Characters: There are a lot of characters so I am only going to go over the main five. Ichigo’s M.O. is to protect those he loves (his name actually can mean ‘the one who protects’). He can be a little hot-headed and will sometimes charge into situations without thinking. Rukia butts heads with Ichigo a little because they are so alike. Three of Ichigo’s friends from school get pulled into his adventures. Chad (or Sado) is strong, but quiet. Orihime has a bubbly personality and is rather air-headed, but caring. Ishida is a know-it-all who declares that Ichigo is his rival because they both have supernatural powers.  

Plot: Bleach is organized into well-defined story arcs. You could almost watch the separate arcs out of order as long as you understand the basic premise. Theoretically, that is. To me it felt like the tension kept building arc after arc and there wasn’t much down time between arcs. One of the major failings in this show is that the plot can be similar in the arcs, and it can take many episodes to defeat one person. In short, it has Dragon Ball Z syndrome.

Ending: The ending of the anime is okay. It is not a deal-breaker, but some things are left to be resolved. It bugs me because they were so close to the end of the story when they ended the anime. The final arc of Bleach is not animated, and is currently on-going in the manga.

Things to Watch Out For: There are plenty of fights and battles. While epic, these often involve blood. No ‘guts’ are shown, but there is plenty of hacking and slashing (most shinigami use swords). Most blood doesn’t bother me, so I don’t notice it very much. I just wanted you to be aware of this if blood creeps you out. Also, there is some ‘fan service emphasis’ put on a couple of the female characters. It is especially obvious in the Hueco Mundo arc.

Humor: Mostly this anime keeps a serious tone. However, there are more than a few laugh out loud moments.

Sights and Sounds: The music in Bleach is unique. It has an otherworldly-feel, which goes well with the supernatural elements of the show. The soundtrack covers a wide variety of emotions; some songs are upbeat and light where others are intense and suspenseful. The show started coming out in Japan in 2004, so the animation is not as up-to-date as some anime. However, there are still some really cool battle sequences. The type of music changes for every arc.

Moral Lessons: Protect what you love. Fight to the end and never give up if you are fighting for something important.

Spirituals Views: After you die your soul may need the help of a shinigami to crossover to Soul Society (or heaven). In Soul Society you live another life, sort of like being incarnated. Soul Society is divided into districts - some better than others. Shinigami live in Seireitei, the innermost district. It is possible for a deceased soul to become a shinigami. Shinigami are not immortal.

Other media: Bleach was based off a manga. The manga is still ongoing, but it is winding down. There are several movies.

Fillers: Similar to Naruto, Bleach has a lot of fillers. It has 165 filler episodes (that’s 45% of the total content!). However, there are guides that tell you what episodes to skip.

Length: Bleach is also very long, with a total of 366 episodes. I really liked the first arc, called the
Soul Society Arc. To be honest, after the first arc I started to lose interest because it seemed like the same plot was being acted out each time.

Where to Watch: You can watch Bleach on Hulu and Crunchyroll. The first arc (first three seasons) is on Netflix.