Directed by: Noriyuki Abe
Original Work: Kubotite
Studio: Studio Pierrot
Genre: Action, Martial Arts, Adventure
Story:
Kurosaki Ichigo, a fifteen year old human gifted with the ability to see/hear ghosts and a strong spiritual force, comes into contact with a Shinigami (Death God) who is after a Hollow (evil spirit) which seeks the soul of Ichigo. When the Hollow finally appears in Ichigo's house it endangers his family. In order to save Ichigo's life because he was foolishly trying to face the Hollow, Rukia Kuchiki (Shinigami) is severely injured. In order to vanquish the Hollow, saving all of their lives, she decides to transfer her Shinigami powers to Ichigo. Because of Ichigo's exceptional spiritual force, he ends up draining all of Rukia Kuchiki's Shinigami powers. As a result, Ichigo is thrust into the world of a Shinigami, as he and Rukia fight off Hollows and keep the town safe. The story continues with many twists and turns with action, adventure and comedy.
Storyline: 9.5/10
The main bulk of the story doesn't appear until later in the story. The first 5-10 episodes function like fillers introducing the characters. But even these 'fillers' are fun to watch and show the great story line of Bleach. Throughout the series the story line gets better and better with several plot twists.
Characters: 9.3/10
Bleach has a good variety of characters with both a sense of humor and distinguishable antics. This gamut of characters leads to several enjoyable moments watching them all interact. Then when you add even more characters, such as Uryuu and other Shinigami, you get a great variety of memorable characters.
Animation: 9.5/10
In Bleach the makers deal with a lot of ordinary scenes, because the story is set in the town. So usually all you see is a lot of buildings, but when there are any scenes showing any things dealing with the Shinigami/Hollows, the animation team is able to really concentrate on that and thus provide high quality visuals on the things that are really important. Also, the animation team does a wonderful job of showing fluid fighting scenes as well as the characters facial and physical expressions.
Sound: 8.9/10
The opening. "Asterisk", is done by Orange Range while the ending, "Life is like a Boat" is done by Rie Fu. Anyway, the voice acting is well done and shows plenty of emotion while remaining pleasant to the ear. The background sounds such as soul burials, swords clashing, and explosions are well done too. Finally, the background music sounds awesome and whenever it does come on at pivotal times in the episodes, you will be glad it did.
English Dub: 10/10
The whole team of English voice actors are brilliant
OVERALL SCORE: 9.5/10
All in all, Bleach is a great anime which is sure to hook several fans looking for a great new anime.